Maddy took deep heavy breaths as her arms were still out. After finishing the song she somehow sang like a pro, she stood on top of a large hill that overlooked the beautiful ink colored landscape of the toon world.
Her mind was in a blank as her brain was trying to process at what just happened. Like a light switch suddenly switched on, Maddy blinked.
"Wait…WHAT?!" she yelled all around her surroundings. She literally was circling around the top of the hill as she was having a hysteria of confusion. "Wha-how did I? What did I? WHAT SONG DID I SING?!"
Maddy felt she was hyperventilating as her world was starting to spin. Placing a hand on her head, she went and sat on a rock that was near her. She took deep steady breaths as she massaged her aching head. Squeaking was heard as she looked down and saw Squeaky jumping on her lap trying to get her attention.
Even with the shoe trying, Maddy wasn't even responding. All Maddy could hear was this powerful noise pulsating in and out of her ears. She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth as she placed both her hands over her ears, but the pulsation was unbearable. She even felt its volume increasing as she closed her ears.
Just as she thought her pain would last, she felt soft hands on her shoulders.
"Maddy," It was Yensid's voice. He spoke in a soft voice. "It's alright. You are having a panic attack."
"What?" Maddy felt her breaths staggering as her throat went tight.
"Shh, Maddy. Just concentrate on my voice and take nice deep breaths."
Maddy did as she was told. She took few staggered breaths, which she felt her chest getting tighter and tighter. Breathing deeper, she felt her chest starting to expand, each breath making it loosen and loosen. She felt her toon shoe friend in her hands, so she brought him closer to her chest. Doing that, her breaths were becoming deeper and calmer. Her eyes slowly opened as she looked behind, and Master Yensid was looking down at her with a rare look of concern.
"Yensid? What's happening to me?" she asked in worry.
The wizard didn't answer as he placed his thumb on her forehead. Doing that, some soft pulsating feeling went through her mind and body. This feeling felt warm, which made her shaken up muscles relax more, and her breaths becoming deeper every second.
"You have just experienced a toon phase," Yensid answered, taking his thumb off. "Which is something a regular toon would experience like a normal routine. They would perform as if they were on camera, or if they were on stage."
"Does it occur out of nowhere?"
"Not necessarily, it usually happens if you have a reason to sing it, or if another person is singing a familiar tune."
Another person? Who else would want to sing the same song as Maddy? From what Yensid explain to her before, toons would usually sing a song about what is going on in their life, or just do it to make people laugh (recalling from Roger singing about him and her Uncle Eddie last year). She was mostly singing about herself going through trying to find her new self.
The only thing Maddy is confused about is who else would sing a similar song with her?
"Well Madelyn," Yensid said as he adjusted his robes. "Since you were supposed to come for an appointment, would you like to start that now?"
"Here?" Maddy looked around, not sure if they can have a checkup in the middle of the nowhere.
The wizard shook his head. "No," he brought his arms out, and suddenly he Maddy and Squeaky disappeared in a cloud of dark blue smoke. A second later, Maddy found herself in what looked like a magic chamber fit for a wizard.
The chamber was large with light stone walls and large windows having a wide view of the Toon world. There was a large desk with a skull holding a small flickering candle, four different colored books that possibly hold spells, and a quilled pen in a bottle of ink. Against the walls were a bookshelf carrying more books that looked ancient, shelves carrying potions of many different colors, and two hanging drapes covering something behind them.
Maddy turned to the table and saw Yensid sitting on a large chair with a large book laid in front of him. The wizard gave a hand motion and the candle on the skull flickered and the flame grew a little bigger, giving the large room lighter.
"Pardon the darkness Madelyn, but I haven't been getting many visitors," Yensid said. "I prefer to work when its dim and quiet."
"That's alright." Maddy nodded. "I prefer to work in the dark as well."
"I see," the wizard then looked in in book. "Now then, why don't we begin your appointment?" He swung his hand automatically and a chair swirled its way the front of his desk, then gestured the girl to take a seat.
Maddy nodded, then took her spot in front of the toon wizard, and her appointment began.
A needle pierced through Savy's skin, evoking a little squeak from the girl.
"Oh, I'm sorry milady," a female toon golden retriever cringed, seeing that she poked her highness's toe where she was mending the bottom of the skirt.
"It's alright," Savy said as she stood on the small stool as her two maids were making some touches on her gown for the royal ball.
"The dress looks lovely on you milady." The other maid, a toon gray cat, helped turn Savy to the three panel mirrors. The girl gasped in awe at what she was wearing. The dress was a gorgeous pink and red ballgown fit for a fair princess. The skirt itself was a tickled pink fabric layered rose red chiffon with golden flakes in each layer from top to bottom. The top was the same pink with off the shoulder sleeves and a deep sweetheart neckline with red and gold trimming. The waist had small gold rhinestones rising up in a triangular shape toward the bottom of the sweetheart.
"How do you feel in the dress?" the cat maid asked.
The princess glided her hand over the chiffon fabric. A small frown edged on her face as she examined every part of the dress. Every detail was etched in great craftsmanship, and the colors combined together with utter beauty. As much as she was beyond awe of how beautiful her dress is, but she couldn't express it openly.
"Its…It's lovely." She answered in a calm voice.
Randall, who he and Wacky were sitting on a small couch to see Savy in her dress, noticed Savy's weird behavior.
Just then, Joe came through the large double doors and went toward the cat maid.
"Ah, Mrs. Bell, how is everything going for the fitting?"
"Everything is fine sir," the cat maid, Mrs. Bell, answered with a smile. "So far, me and Daisy May have added a few more rhinestones on the waist and mended the bottom of the skirt."
"Splendid," he then turned to Savy who was still staring at herself in the mirror. "Your highness, it is best that we get going to prepare your speech for the council. They will arrive soon to hear your speech you've been preparing for some time."
The princess sighed. "Very well." With help from the maids, Savy stepped down from the stool and made her way to the changing divider to get her dress off.
"So Maddy," Yensid started as he looked through his large book.
He was still sitting in his chair while Maddy was sitting in a comfortable lounge chair where she was laying against an elevated back and her feet were up. Squeaky was lying next to her as she petted him as a comfort animal.
"From our last visit," the wizard continued. "We've discussed about what to expect as the Toon DNA progresses through you. Like how it has changed your physical self, such as you no longer need glasses, or you have no skin blemishes anywhere. Have you noticed anything else changing or was it still those?"
"Well," Maddy thought aloud. "I noticed that my belly is more 'flatter', and I don't have any of that stubborn body fat whether I sit down or look at myself in the mirror."
"That is also another physical change. You see, your DNA is changing progressively as time passes. You no longer have to deal with any flaws humans go through like gaining or losing any weight." The wizard explained, then thought of something else. "What about mentally? The last we checked, you were still grieving about your loss of your humanity, but we discussed on coping. How was that for you?"
Maddy breathed as she fidgeted her hands. Her mind had a lot of thoughts of what should she say to the wizard. As thoughts pooled in her head, she heard Yensid speak.
"Take your time Maddy, you don't have to answer quickly."
The girl nodded as she looked at the ceiling. Her mind was still thinking of what to say to the wizard. Why is she so uptight? She was able to answer him last time, so why not now? She felt her fingers automatically petting the toon shoes smooth body, which gave her a little bit of comfort. She did say to herself that she is alright, but looking now, she doesn't feel alright.
"Coping um," Maddy breathed. "I-I'm having a hard time… I mean, anyone I see is calling me a hero, but…" she shrugged. "I don't feel like one. Yes, I saved ToonTown from almost being destroyed, but…"
"But what Maddy?" Yensid asked.
"But it cost me of who I am. I mean, yes, as a human, I wanted to be an artist, maybe work at Maroon Cartoons, but is that what I'm going to do for the rest of my life now that I'm immortal? If I did work at Maroon Cartoons, would people be suspicious that I go to work, do my job, and people see me not having a single age mark if I worked there when I'm…42, but don't look like it?"
Yensid processed what Maddy just told him. During the session, he wrote a few notes down in his book at what she said. Even his personal notes from her explanation, seeing if he could help in anyway. He looked up at Maddy who was staring at the ceiling and continuing petting Squeaky. Looking in her eyes, he sees she's getting a little uptight and seems to be on the brink of tears. He knew not to provoke anything to the girl, or she'll break down.
The wizard gave a breath. "Listen Maddy, what you are asking may be difficult to answer, but it isn't something you should answer in one night."
"Huh?" Maddy turned to the wizard.
"You are 19, a young adult. You don't have to decide what you need to do for the rest of your life yet. Others like you take years even after finishing college to realize what their sole purpose in life is. You may have decided what you wanted to be as a human, but now you have to think what you want to do as a toon. To do that, you just have to be patient."
Patient. Is that her answer? As much as Maddy hates the idea, it is what the great wizard told her.
She sighed. "So, what do you want me to do now?"
"Nothing yet. I just want you to live your life as it is now. Be with you friends, family, and live the life as you were as a human. Even with your toon phases, think of them as a new perspective in your life. They are neither a curse nor a blessing. They are now a part of you, and who knows, they might help you in the near future."
Maddy gulped. As much as it was good advice, she was still not sure about it.
The white feather pen glided over the golden parchment. Elegant cursive letters were being forged from thick black ink seeping out of the solid gold pen tip to the stained pages. The sound of the quick scribble was written down to the bottom and ended in a large curve the read Savanah.
The princess sighed as she placed her feather quill in its ink bottle, then brought her paper to eyes length. After finishing the preparations for the royal ball, Savy had her class lessons, which she finished with flying colors, and then she was told to go over the list of guests who were going to the ball.
So far, she had read all the guests names, which she looked through twice, and is now checking off names who are going or not. Whether they're friends, business, or if they could be trusted or not. After reading the names, she had to write her signature on each page and let either Randall or Wacky send them for the epistoler to create personal letters for each guest. As much as it sounded quick and easy, it was really not.
In recalling her parents involving with trade, Savy barely remembers which one does what, or who is a close friend to the family. As princess, she should know this from her lessons, but there are those days that she forgets and has to ask for an explanation. Even though her parents have been gone for a few weeks, she really misses them so.
"Mrow…"
"Huh?" Savy looked down from her desk and saw a small ball of light purple rubbing against her leg affectionately. It looked up at her with beady black eyes, and another 'mrow'.
"Oh, Mr. Kat." Savy leaned down and picked up the scrawny cat. She laid him on her lap, and gently scratched behind his right ear. The cat purred as he leaned his head against her palm, his spine curving upward with delight. That made the girl giggle with amusement as she continued.
Just then her bedroom door was knocked three times. The princess ceased her scratching as both looked at the door.
"Come in!" Savy called out.
The door open to reveal Randall who stepped in and walked toward her.
"Randall," Savy said as Mr. Kat slipped off. "Perfect timing. I'm almost done with these guest lists and have one more to do. I will say, there are a lot of names that I've never seen before, so I said yes to them, and put a note to have some background checks and possibly a first meeting with them. It may be a lot to go through, but I just want to make sure they can be trusted and may help the kingdom."
Randall nodded. "An excellent idea…my lady." He ended with a bow.
That made Savy looked up at her friend with a raised eyebrow.
"My Lady?" She rose out of her chair and turned to her friend. "Why the sudden politeness? You know you can talk to me like a regular person."
The lizard scratched behind his neck. "I know Savy, I guess it's just a force of habit. That, and Joe keeps telling me to not be so casual with you in public."
"Really? I don't think your casual around everyone."
"Well. Tell Joe that."
With that, both Savy and Randal gave a good laugh. There laugh echoed around the room, in which it was heard in the halls as a muffle. Even Mr. Kat, who went to the princess's bed, gave out a dry laugh. Both seemed to laugh like for a while until Randall eased by clearing his throat.
"Anyway, that's not the reason why I came." He looked at Savy with a smile. "I'm here to relieve your duties."
That made Savy smile turn into an ajar. "What?"
"I relieve you. You are taking a well-deserved break from castle duties, and you are accompanied by me and Wacky Weasel to ToonTown."
ToonTown? Is that what Randal said to her? A break by going to ToonTown?! She hasn't seen ToonTown for a long time, she only remembered a few things she saw when she was little but couldn't seem to remember the rest. From growing up in the castle, she seems to only remember her times in the castle from sneaking into the kitchens behind the cooks back or playing around the royal gardens with her friends.
"So what do you say?" Randall's question brought Savy out of her thoughts.
His only answer was a smile and two nods.
Two eyes blinked through a large painting of the princesses father. Both were wide blue irises that were not seen by the two beings in the bedroom.
On the other side of the painting, a toon penguin was looking at the pair of friends through two holes through the painting. She wasn't a penguin from Mary Poppins, in which she had more cartoon expression from her large oval eyes, having a rounder beak, afro hair tied in a green hairband, and wearing a matching skirt.
The penguin gulped as she saw Randall opening the door for Savy and her cat and they all left the room with a click of the door. Now alone, she turned her heel and walked down the dimly-lit stone hallway that was lighted by small torches. As he walked through the halls, sweat began to pool around her forehead, and worry was through her eyes.
"What am I going to say to his greatness?" the penguin asked in a soft but squeaky voice. "He could get mad when he finds out the princess is leaving."
Turning down a corner, he found a large wooden door with large metal hinges, and a large letter 'D' in the center of the door. The penguin looked up at the door with a gulp, as if he was scared of what would be behind the door. Shaking his head, he brought his fist at the door and gave three knocks. He waited for a few seconds, then a low dark voice was heard behind the door.
"Come in."
The penguin gulped again, it sounded calm, but something else lingered through the voice, but she can't describe it.
Opening the door, the penguin entered what looked like a weapons room. Different lengths of swords, daggers, spears, and many more were mounted on the walls. Gorgeous mirrors etched in gold swirls and jewels. Each one different in size, shape, and color. As she past them, each reflected her nervous stature at the same time.
The penguin turned to the end of the room. Sitting at his chair, was a large emperor penguin than his two other goons holding a tall mirror that was about half the size of him. He had large biceps that his charisma features were gushing in the mirror. His red cape draped behind him as it was held by a golden clasp with the kingdom's heart insignia in the center.
"Ohh, you are a handsome fellow," the penguin gushed through the mirror. A cheeky grin plaster over his beak. He gasped. "Oh yes you are. Yes you are...!" He turned to the other two penguins. "What do you think?"
"Oh yes...Yes you grace." Both goons nodded in approval.
"I know!" Drakes then gave out a hearty laugh as the two were laughing. "You know, from what I've been through over the years, do I deserve more that what I have?"
As he said that, music started to shake around the small room. Drake gave a smirk as words came out of his mouth.
I've been bowing, I've been scraping
I've been lying like a rug
And for many years I've had to follow the rules
But today I am escaping
to fulfill my engagement to court
It was open now, so how could I refuse?
He took out the same ruby necklace that Mr. Scrooge owned. As he looked in the large ruby in the center, he was imagining his soon to be future.
As the family are away
I'll suave the princess to her liking
And what better husband could a princess choose?
I'm a suitor who will suit her
Bring the kingdom to my reign
And I'll wear the crown, for how can I refuse?
The big penguin smirked as he brought out his sword, and made a heroic pose.
Raise every glass
And rouse every cheer
Praise that the reign of Drake has arrived!
Master in charge of all that I see
All hail me!
As Drake stepped forward, his two lackey's decided to join him in song and dance.
And by marrying the princess I get all that I desire
Like a moat
An ermine coat
And palace views
Even though she ignores my every word
It's a sign of inner feelings for 'muah'!
For inside she's thinking
How can I refuse?
"Uh, Captain Drake?" the small penguin called behind him.
Drake stopped singing, realizing that he is not completely alone. He cleared his throat then turned his body down to the other penguin.
He cleared his throat. "Ah Winn, you've returned."
The small penguin, Winn, nodded quickly. Sweat starting to form around her brow.
The larger penguin raised an eyebrow. "Anything to report?"
Winn shook her head. "No, nothing of the ordinary." She then gulped. "Except-"
"Except~ what?" Drake crossed his flippers with a look of impatience.
Winn tried placing words together, but couldn't seem to place anything together. As she tried, Drake was starting to tap his foot, impatience clearly spread around his beaked face. The penguin groaned.
"Well, what is it?!" he exclaimed.
"The princess is leaving the castle!"
That made the two other penguins drop the mirror and it shattered to a million pieces. They quivered over at Drake, who looked like he was on the verge to explode. Quickly, the large penguin grabbed the smaller penguin in front of him and lifted her up to his face.
"What do you mean, she's leaving the castle? She..." he threw Winn down on the ground. "Is NOT supposed to leave the castle!"
"B-b-b-b-bu-but Drake please!" Winn lifted off the ground and gave a pleading look. "It wasn't my fault. It was Randal! He's taking out of the castle!"
"What?" Drake dropped Winn in a loud thunk. The leader penguin turned his heel and turned to his mirrors. His many reflections looked back at him with his anger and snarl. "Now my plans will be thwarted! How can i-" He shook his head. "No! I won't give up!" He turned to his goons. "I won't let that stop me because as Emperor, I can find another way~"
He paused, a new plan went through his head.
"Ah~" he pointed his flipper in the air, then turned down to Winn who was still on the ground.
Its...a...temporary setback,
Its a momentary lapse,
But conveniently my ego doesn't bruise!
And the moment they've return
I will show them with charisma and bruteness
You can bet your bullion there'll be no "I do's".
As he ended, he thought of a new devious plan.
So, lets say the girl goes missing
Then the word goes out to town
Then I find her, bring her back
And I make the news!
Then the royals return
and they'll be so grateful!
Now they'll have to pledge her to me!
Then I tell them,
"How can I refuse?"
When our ceremony's over
I'll arise and take the throne
And that puny Savannah can kiss my hands!
For the kingdom and my castle will be mine with her as my trophy,
If the crown should fit, then
How can I refuse?
Soon, all three of his lackeys decided to join him in song! They each took a mirror and circled him with his own reflection, and spun around him in sync.
So get ready with the roses
And stand by with the champagne,
When you've got a brilliant plan you never lose!
Yes, before the chapter closes
I'll be big as Charlemagne,
It's a thankless job but
How can I refuse?
The three lackey's stop, then they took out hidden swords and rose them up with Drake's sword that stretched higher than everyone elses.
How...can...I...re...FUSE~!
At the end, Drake gave a deep menacing cackle, then gave out a sickening sneer that outdid his bright yellow eyes.
In case you noticed, I decided to add more to this chapter to introduce Drake and his goons (the fanfics antagonists) from The Pebble and the Penguin. I was reminded by Heartissopure that I still need to introduce him, and gave him his song to sing. I gotta say, I feel this story is somewhat going to follow the Princess/Prince and the Pauper story. Crazy right?
PS: I don't know who Drake's goons names are so I made them up.