A Dagmarvelous Party
It was the first time Bean saw everyone in the castle move so quickly. Usually, everyone would drag their feet, hide, or not do their job. Her father, or older brother Tavish, had to threaten them just for everyone to get something done. But tonight was different. Everyone was moving with a sense of purpose. Maids were getting the cleaning done, and the outside of the castle, which usually never looked good, was picked clean of any dead animals, mainly caused by Luci spitting out the skeleton. Word spread quickly about Dagmar's return. Bean and Tavish greeted nobles from the lands that carriage by carriage. All they talked about was the revival of Queen Dagmar and how they couldn't wait to hear the story of how it happened. One of the biggest surprises was Tavish's greeting of the Duke of Twinkle Town's son, Bertram. He shook his hand and brought him into a hug. Even Bertram was shocked at this gesture. But he didn't complain in the slightest.
Hilda greeted Bean with a hug and told her how happy she was for her. "I can't believe you went through all of that!" The pink-haired thief gleamed. "I'm sorry about what happened with your little elf friend. I'm here for you if you want to talk about it."
"Thanks, Hilda, that means a lot," said Bean, bringing her in for another hug. "And thanks for coming."
"When Tavish came to me and told me everything, there was no way I'd miss out on this celebration!"
"Everything alright?" said Tavish, walking over to them.
"Yes, royal prince of Dreamland. Everything is alright. I'm just giving Bean here a well-deserved hug," said Hilda, wrapping her arm around Tavish's. "And after the celebration, I can give you way more." She chuckled flirtatiously, reached up, and kissed Tavish on the lips.
Tavish pulled back, chuckling nervously. The prince looked around anxiously. "H-Hilda, dear, please. Let's save that for when we're alone!" He whispered to her.
Hilda rolled her eyes. "Ok, ok, fine." She removed her arm from his.
"I'll meet you in the party hall. I have to make sure everything is ok. I'll see you soon."
Hilda reached in for a peck on the cheek, but Tavish quickly hurried off. "Ugh, what is his problem? Is he embarrassed to be seen with me around his Nobel buddies or something?" She crossed her arms and pouted.
"No, no, Hilda, it's been a crazy day. He wants to make a good impression on Mom!" said Bean. "You know how Tav is."
Hilda sighed. "Yeah…I guess. I'm not too keen on the royal lifestyle, but I guess I should be more supportive." The thief frowned.
Bean, of course, knew the reason why he was so cautious. If anyone from any royal family or neighboring land saw Tavish and Hilda together, it would surely lead to gossip. And it would spread back to the Skylands. If that were to happen, it would ruin everything. That crazy princess would wage war on Dreamland in a heartbeat. Bean placed her arm around Hilda and smiled. "Come on, let's go inside and sneak some of the food. You know they're never going to eat it all!"
Hilda smiled and chuckled a bit. "Oh, alright. Remember the time I ended up working here in the kitchens?"
"Oh, god. Don't remind me," said Bean, laughing.
"I made a mean mud pie!"
"You used real mud and fed it to people in the castle!"
"I know! And I loved it!" Hilda let out an evil laugh as the two entered the castle. "I mean, I didn't see anyone not enjoying it."
The party haul was full of nobles from Dreamland and others from far out. They all spoke at the tables, talking, laughing, and catching up with one another. A lot of them kept turning their heads towards the entrance of the room, eagerly waiting for Dagmar to make her entrance.
Bean sat at the main table with Hilda and Tavish and listened to some conversations. "It truly is a miracle! To think that Queen Dagmar would return from the dead!"
"I heard that King Zog has the secret of immortality! That's how he was able to bring back Dagmar!"
"I heard that it was the prince that found it!"
"Of course, Prince Tavish is a genius!"
Bean scoffed. "Of course, you get all the credit." She glared at Tavish.
Tavish smirked while glancing at some of the nobles conversing. "I wonder, with Mom back, how my odds are getting on the good side of some of these nobles. They do have wonderful connections, after all."
"Can you save your scheming another time, Tavish?" said Bean, annoyed.
"Please?" Hilda looks over at the prince. "Can we just enjoy our time together?" She placed her hand on his, but he moved it away. She looked at him, confused. "What?"
"Hilda, remember, we can save that for when we're alone, Ok?" said Tavish.
"I can't even hold your hand?"
"Please, just wait till everything is over."
Hilda scowled and placed her elbow on the table and her chin on the palm of her hand. Bean wasn't too pleased to see this and kicked Tavish's leg under the table. Tavish yelped and glared over at Bean. "Why did you do that?" She kicked him again. "OW! Bean!" Hilda giggled silently. Before Tavish could say anything else to her, the herald entered the room, and everyone seated turned their heads to him.
The messenger clears his throat. "Here ye, here ye! Returning to the court after fifteen years, once a statue, now statuesque, it's the dagmarvelous DAGMAR!"
He stepped aside, and Dagmar and Zog entered the room to thunderous applause. Dagmar, with a glowing smile, waved at everyone. She wasn't the only one who was vibrant. Zog had the biggest smile on his face. No one has seen Zog smile happily like that in years. Once Bean and Tavish saw that, they knew their family was back.
"The long wait is over!" said Zog, jubilantly. "You're wonderful Queen has returned!" Everyone in the room applauded and cheered.
"Thank you all for coming!" said Dagmar. "It is wonderful to be back, and most of all, to be back in the arms of my family." She grasped Zog's hand and looked over at Bean and Tavish. "Alright, let's eat. I'm starving."
The nobles all began to dig into their food. Dagmar and Zog joined the family table. The King and Queen sat beside their son and daughter, and Dagmar looked at Hilda. "And who do we have here?" She asked, smiling at Hilda.
"Oh, Mother, this is my friend Hilda!" said Tavish, placing his hand on her shoulder. Hilda snapped her eyes onto Tavish and gave him a bewildered look.
"Hilda?" said Zog. "Oh, wait a second, I remember you now! Jeez, how long has it been? I remember you, Tavish, and Bean giving me a headache every other week.
"Oh, yeah, hehe, sorry about that," said Hilda, forcing a tiny smile. "Also, it's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Dagmar. I've heard a lot about you."
"Hopefully, nothing negative," Dagmar laughed.
"Oh, no, when Bean or Tavish talk about you, it's always the best." The thief smiled weakly at her. "They really missed you."
"Yeah, we struggled for a while after you were gone, Mom," said Bean.
"It seems I missed out on quite a bit while I was a lump of stone. I have a lot to catch up on." The snowy-haired queen placed her hand on Beans. "How have you been doing all these years, Bean?"
"Well, umm…I'd rather not talk too much about some personal stuff till later, BUT!" Bean's eyes gleamed. "Oh, there's so much I gotta tell you! Like, the time I fought a giant spider girl, oh, oh, and that one time I got possessed by demons and—"
"Wait a second, when did you get possessed by demons?!" said Zog, staring at his daughter, shocked.
"Oh, uh…" Bean shifted her eyes around.
"You came from the den of wonders that day, Bean," said Tavish. "You hallucinated everything."
"Oooooh, right," said the princess, thankful for having Tavish come in for the save. "I was very high that day, never mind."
Dagmar let out a small chuckle while covering her mouth. "My goodness, my little girl has been on so many adventures. Tomorrow, I want to hear all about them!" She looked over at Tavish. "My goodness, Tavish, why so quiet?"
"Oh, I just-" Tavish blushed a bit. "I just realized how many stories sister has. I don't have too much to show on the scale she does."
"You could've been on crazy adventures with me if you weren't so cooped up in that cave of yours," said Bean, smugly, with a grin across her face.
Tavish scowled at Bean. "I'll have you know, sister. I conduct necessary research that will help everyone's health here in Dreamland. Although my potion skills could still use some work…"
"You're dabbling in alchemy now, Tavish?" said Dagmar.
"Oh, yes, I did make a few potions that cure the common stomach ache," said Tavish.
"I drank a few of 'em after an all-nighter. The cherry flavor makes it easier to go down," said Zog.
Dagmar smiled at Tavish. "Well, I'll have to look at some of the work you did. It looks like you inherited your Mother's interest in alchemy."
"You're an alchemist, mother?" said Tavish, surprised.
"I've dabbled in a few things here and there. I could probably help you if you let me see your work."
Tavish's eyes glimmered. "I-I would love that, Mother! Maybe I can start doing better by the kingdom with what I have…"
"Oh, don't be like that," said Zog. "You've been doing great with prince duties! Hell, you even got a wonderful marri—YEEEOOW!" Tavish poked Zog in the thigh with a fork. "What was that for?" He stared at his son angrily.
"Sorry, my hand slipped," said Tavish. "Oh, I have an idea that'll distract from my royal duties. We should do a family outing!"
"Oh, yes, that's perfect!" Dagmar clapped her hands happily.
"Can I come?" said Derek, standing beside Bean while munching on a chicken leg.
Bean rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Derek, I guess you can—DEREK?" She sprung from her seat, staring at him. "W-Where did you come from?!"
"I came to get a chicken leg because the table that had it ran out," said Derek. "Oh, who's the really pretty lady?" He smiles over at Dagmar. "Oh, she looks like you're old, Mommy!"
Dagmar's eyes widened. She looks over at Zog, confused. "Zog, who is this? And why did he call me old mommy?"
Zog looked nervous. "Uh, well, um…you see—"
"Helloo everyone! Your marvelous queen has arrived!" said Oona, walking through the party room entrance. "How come nobody told me we were having a queen celebration?" Everyone in the room gasped. Bean and Tavish's jaws hit the table. The twins and Zog have entirely forgotten about Oona and Derek.
"Thank you all for gracious gasp—WHAT THE HELL?" Oona shouted, placing her eyes upon Dagmar.
Dagmar glances at Zog. "Zoggy…what's the meaning of this?"
"Oh boy…oh boy uhhh…heeey Ooona, uhh… How are you?" said Zog, getting up from the table and walking over to her. "Hehe, I know this might be a shocker, but, ummm, Odval, would you care to explain to Oona here? Please?"
"Umm…" Odval walked over to Oona and cleared his throat. "Queen Oona of Dreamland, meet, Queen Dagmar."
"Also, of Dreamland," Damgar glared.
"So, this is why the kingdom was unusually noisy! This reanimated corpse with cotton candy hair is walking around!" Oona spat.
"Oh, please calm down. You don't want your feathers all over the floor. The maids worked hard to clean it," said Dagmar stoicly.
"I am not bird type!" Oona shouted.
"Ladies, ladies, please, let's calm down here," said Zog, standing between them. Zog turns to Oona. "Look, sweetie, let's talk about this, ok? I'm sure we can work something out." He took her hand, but Oona snatched it away.
"You bet your fatass we have a lot to talk about. Come on, Derek!" Oona turns around and storms out of the room.
"Awww…I was just about to eat some cake," said Derek, following his Mother.
Bean turns to Tavish. "Am I the only one who completely forgot about Oona?"
Tavish shook his head. "I'm ashamed to say she completely slipped my mind."
"Hey, where did Hilda go?" Bean looks at her empty seat.
Tavish looked around and saw Hilda walking out of the party room. The prince called to her, left the table, and hurried after her. The two met in the stone hallways. "Hilda, wait!" He grabbed her hand, but she snatched it away.
"I'm leaving!" Hilda tried walking away, but Tavish stood before her. "Move!"
"Look, I know you're upset but—"
"You're goddamn right. I'm upset! I can't believe you're hiding our relationship from everyone!"
"I…I know Hilda, but please—"
"But what? Are you ashamed to have a peasant girlfriend? Or is it the fact that I'm a thief? Is that it? Would it make the great prince of Dreamland look bad?!" Hilda clenched her fist. The pink-haired thief was fuming.
"Of course, I'm not ashamed of you! That's not it at all!" Tavish reached out to touch her cheek. "Hilda I…I just…"
"Just what?!" Hilda shoved his hand away. "What is it that I'm doing? Why do I have to hide myself from everyone besides Bean practically? Why is she the only one that knows?"
Tavish lowered his head. "Please just trust me, Hilda…"
"I don't know if I can…or have the heart to." Hilda walked past Tavish. "I need to be alone for a while. I have…a lot of things to think about." With that, Hilda left.
Tavish placed his back against the wall and let out a deep sigh. He put his hands on his face and let out a painful groan. "I'm so sorry, Hilda…I'm…I'm such a fool,"
"So, that's who that was?"
Tavish turned his head. It was Dagmar. She walked over to her son, smiling at him. "So, she's your lover?" The queen stood beside Tavish.
"Yes…well…I hope to still be with her soon," said Tavish, rubbing his eyes stressfully.
"Why did you hide this from us?"
"I…" Tavish sighed. "You see, Mother, I'm to be married to the Skyland Kingdom's princess, Annabel…and…I haven't told Hilda that yet…"
Dagmar gasped. "Ooooh…"
"But…I only did it because it would benefit Dreamland. But I ended up in a relationship with Hilda that following month. She's the only one who I truly love. If I call off the wedding with the Skyland Kingdom, Annabel will wage war on Dreamland. She's just that crazy!"
"Well…it seems like Zog's issues with relationships rubbed off on you." Dagmar caressed Tavish's head. "Oh, this is a very unfortunate situation."
"I don't know what to do. I don't want to keep hurting Hilda like this…" Tavish closed his eyes and rubbed his head.
"There there, my bright little boy. Mommy is here," Dagmar wrapped her arms around Tavish, holding him.
Tavish felt as though he was a child again. It had been so long since he was in his Mother's embrace. The prince wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed in relief. "Thank you, mother…" He whispered.
Dagmar giggled. "It'll be ok, Tavish. We'll get this all straightened out, ok? For now, let's worry about getting our family back on track."
"R-Right. I do hope things won't get too ugly between Oona and Zog," said Tavish, letting go of his Mother.
"Oh, trust me, dear, they won't," said Dagmar sweetly.
The two walked down the hallways of the kingdom and back to the party room. They ended the night by watching the nobles depart back to their homes.
Bean and Tavish stood with their Mother and father. To them, nothing was wrong as their family was back.