Part 5
Upon Empath and Smurfette's return
to the village, they ran into Narrator who was busy telling the
story to whoever was listening.
"Oh, hello there, Empath and
Smurfette", Narrator said. "You got back from smurfing your
message to Laconia and Woody?"
"They have their hands full with a
child, but they should be coming to our wedding, Narrator," Empath
said.
"Have you seen Vanity Smurf?"
Smurfette asked.
"Last I know, he has gone to smurf
the invite to his friend Periwinkle the pixie," Narrator said. "By
the way, Brainy wanted me to smurf you two that Tailor is
expecting to have you smurf to the Imaginarium for a dress
fitting."
"A dress fitting in the
Imaginarium?" Smurfette said. "Well, I can't wait to see what
smurfy dresses he has in mind for me."
"This smurf can't wait to see them
as well," Empath said. "Thank you for relaying the message,
Narrator."
"I would be rather remiss if I
didn't tell you how jealous I am that you're marrying Smurfette,"
Narrator said. "She's a very fine young woman that I was hoping to
someday marry. I have a feeling that you'll be an excellent
husband for her."
Smurfette kissed Narrator on the
cheek. "And you're a very excellent storyteller, Narrator, who
will make a very good husband someday."
This made Narrator blush. "Aw,
gee, Smurfette, I just don't know what to smurf to that."
Then Papa Smurf arrived in the
village. "It's all set, Smurfette. Flowerbell has accepted the
invite and she will be attending as your matron of honor."
"Smurftastic!" Smurfette
exclaimed, giving Papa Smurf a kiss on the cheek. "I knew that I
could count on her."
"She won't necessarily be
attending alone, Smurfette," Papa Smurf said. "She's smurfing
along a friend of hers."
"A friend?" Smurfette said. "Oh, I
can't wait to meet her friend."
Then Century came into the
village. "Century, where are the other Smurfs you went with?" Papa
Smurf asked.
"They chose to stay in Pussywillow
Hollow, Papa Smurf, to protect the pixies," Century said. "Somehow
they can't stay in our world for very long, so they'll keep smurf
over them until the day before the wedding and then they'll escort
them here."
"Oh, my smurfness," Smurfette
said. "I just hope Hefty and the boys will be all right."
"Hefty is a very brave and
resourceful Smurf, as are the ones Papa Smurf has chosen to go
along with him," Empath said. "If anyone can keep themselves and
the Pussywillow Pixies out of harm's way, they can."
"I hope you're right, Empath,"
Smurfette said. "The hollow isn't safe for any Smurf, including
you."
"It wasn't the hollow that was
dangerous to this smurf, Smurfette," Empath said. "It's that
Princess Chamelianne, who tried to make this smurf think that this
smurf was a Wartmonger and even turned this smurf into one in
order to hunt down the pixies."
Smurfette made a face thinking
about how Princess Chamelianne looked. "She's definitely not a
princess that I would want to be like!"
"Papa Smurf! Empath! Smurfette!"
Tracker shouted as he approached. "I just spotted Dreamy's ship.
It should be arriving at port soon."
"Let's be there to greet them upon
arrival," Papa Smurf said as they headed to the port and watched
the S.S. Smurf arrive to dock.
The crew of the ship disembarked,
with Handy being the first. "We did it, Papa Smurf," he said. "We
smurfed the invite to Marina the mermaid, and she said she will be
attending with her friend Dylan the Snorkelian."
"Excellent work, Handy," Papa
Smurf said. "Now we just need to receive word from a few others."
"Papa Smurf, I hear a stork
approaching," Tracker said.
They now went to the clearing on
the north end of the village and waited for the stork to land. On
the stork were two mechanical Smurfs, with one of them carrying a
third. "Hello there, master Handy," one of them said.
Handy couldn't believe what he was
seeing. "Clockwork Smurf? Clockwork Smurfette? But you both look
like Papa and Mama Smurf!"
"I'm now the leader of an entire
village of Clockwork Smurfs, master Handy," Papa Clockwork said.
"And this is the first child that
we smurfed together," Mama Clockwork said, showing Handy the
mechanical baby Smurf.
Handy was further astonished by
the sight. "Incredible!" he said. "You smurfed this Baby Clockwork
by yourself?"
"Not just by myself, master
Handy," Papa Clockwork said. "Me and Mama Clockwork smurfed this
one together."
"May I hold it?" Handy asked. Then
Mama Clockwork handed Handy the Baby Clockwork, who held it just
as he would hold Baby Smurf. The mechanical baby looked up at
Handy and smiled.
"That's your grandfather, master
Handy," Papa Clockwork told Baby Clockwork.
Handy smiled. "I can't believe it!
I'm a grandfather! And at such a young age too!"
Papa Smurf chuckled. "I'm sure
you'll have plenty of time to smurf your wisdom to this little
miracle, Handy!"
Soon Empath and Smurfette joined
Tailor inside the Imaginarium for her dress fitting.
"It's just so wonderful that the
Imaginarium allows me to smurf up so many magnificent possible
designs for your wedding dress," Tailor said. "And of course, you
can choose to alter the designs however way you want it."
"At least I don't have to get
unsmurfed just to try on a dress in here," Smurfette said.
"And it's so private in here,"
Empath said. "You won't have Sneaky Smurf trying to sneak a peak
at you when you're undressed."
Smurfette laughed. "Why can't a
Smurf like him ever grow out of smurfing something like that?"
"Okay, we've set up a mirror for
you to smurf yourself in whatever dress appears on you," Tailor
said. "Just simply smurf before the mirror and relax while the
dress appears."
Smurfette then stood before the
mirror and watched as her normal clothes was replaced by an
imagined dress. She took a look at it and then said, "Uh, this
doesn't smurf right."
Then another dress appeared. "No."
Then another. "Uh-uh." Then another. "This doesn't work." Then
another. "Not in this lifetime."
"This could take forever, Empath,"
Tailor said as they watched her go through several more dress
designs. "Why not just simply choose the one you want her to smurf
in?"
"No, Tailor," Empath said. "This
is her wedding too, and this smurf wants her to make the decisions
on what would look great on her."
"Suit yourself, then," Tailor
said.
Then after a few dozen more dress
designs, Smurfette said, "Now, this is the design that I want!"
Tailor saw the dress she appeared
in. "You sure this is the dress you want? Something about it
doesn't smurf right with me!"
"Empath, what do you think?"
Smurfette asked.
Empath took a good look at the
dress Smurfette appeared in. "Tailor, this is definitely the dress
Smurfette should appear in for the wedding."
"Okay, fine, then," Tailor said.
"I'll just get the measurements and the cloth, and I'll start
smurfing work on it."
"Now it's your turn, Empath,"
Smurfette said. "I want you to smurf before the mirror and tell me
which bridegroom outfit looks smurfy on you."
"Smurfette, this smurf thought
that this is supposed to be your dress fitting," Empath said.
"Oh, come on, Empath, smurf along
a little," Smurfette said. "I want to see how my Prince Smurfing
will look when I smurf him at the altar."
Empath sighed as he went over to
the mirror and Smurfette stepped away, appearing in her regular
clothes. "Okay, then, show this smurf the first outfit."
Throughout the rest of the day and the
following day, Empath and Smurfette went through the entire
village looking at what the Smurfs were planning to do for the
wedding. Greedy and Biscotti created a sample of the wedding cake
that they intend to bake, with Sculptor desiging the little bride
and groom figurines for the top within a heart shape. Vanity was
creating floral arrangements with the help of his friend
Periwinkle the pixie, who decided to stay in the village and offer
some assistance in that area. Harmony, despite being the worst
musician in the village, was busy at work composing his own
musical masterpiece that he hoped to play at the wedding. Printer
showed samples of the programs he was developing with finely
crafted designs by Painter. And Architect was going through the
various seating arrangements for every Smurf, including the
guests.
By the end of the second day,
Empath and Smurfette felt exhausted. They took a break in Tapper's
Tavern with a bit of smurfberry wine that Tapper had served them.
"It's a very special vintage, my friends," Tapper said. "I was
smurfing it for this particular moment when the two of you would
be smurfing together."
"This smurf appreciates it,
Tapper," Empath said. He raised his glass toward Smurfette's.
"Here's to our future together."
Smurfette raised her glass and
clinked it with Empath's before they both took a sip together.
"Mmm, very smurfy."
"Something seems to be smurfing on
your minds," Tapper said. "I'm believing that it's all the
preparation for a ceremony, wanting it to be so perfect and yet
uncertain of what you really want with it."
Empath nodded. "It's such a
momentous occasion for the both of us, Tapper, we're not sure how
we would be able to keep it simple."
"Hmmm, sometimes I just wish we
could smurf it simple," Smurfette said. "It's just so much work to
make it smurf so beautiful, and there's always the chance that
something can smurf wrong with it."
"A beautiful wedding isn't about
decorations or cakes or dresses or anything like that," Tapper
said. "The beauty of the wedding comes from how you both wish to
express your love for each other. Even if a major disaster were to
strike the village on the day of your wedding, it shouldn't stop
you from showing that you're willing to spend eternity with that
person and that you're willing to sacrifice all that you are and
have for that person. Woody and Laconia didn't have the perfect
wedding, and look how they turned out."
"This smurf would go through
anything just to have you, Smurfette," Empath said.
"And I would smurf you everything
I have just to have you, Empath," Smurfette said as they both
looked into each other.
Tapper smiled. "You see, if you
have love for one another, that should be enough for a beautiful
wedding. Of course, if you have need of anything for me to smurf
for the wedding, don't hesitate to let me know."
"Thanks, Tapper, we appreciate
it," Smurfette said, not looking away from Empath.
Tapper took this as his cue to
leave this two alone and returned to his place at the counter. His
thoughts turned to Hefty and the Smurfs that Papa Smurf had sent
with him into Pussywillow Hollow. Century said that they would be
staying there to protect the pixies until the day before the
wedding. He just hoped that Hefty and the boys would be all right.
It was night in Pussywillow Hollow.
The pixies had folded over their wings and slept on the branches.
Hefty, Duncan, Willpower, and Tuffy were camped nearby, huddled
together near a fire they have built.
"The nights here are so chilly,"
Willpower said. "I'm not sure if I can smurf through a few more
nights of all this hiding from the Wartmongers."
"Just hang in there, laddie,"
Duncan said. "You've smurfed through much worse than this with all
that time-traveling we did when Grandpa Smurf lost the Key of
Chronos."
"Right now I'd rather be smurfing
through time than wasting it protecting the Pussywillow Pixies
just so they can attend a wedding," Hefty said.
"You always seem to have something
against Empath and Smurfette smurfing together," Duncan said.
"You think that smurfing Empath
and Smurfette together for the past ten years was easy?" Hefty
said.
"I never said that it was easy,
Hefty," Duncan said. "Sometimes I do think about what kind of
future I would want to smurf with such a fine lass like her. I
would give anything to make sure that she would be happy. But I
know somehow that she would never be happy smurfing her whole life
with me."
"So you would just give up on her,
like every other Smurf seems to be smurfing when it comes to her
and Empath," Hefty said.
"That's one battle that I just
don't have enough strength to keep smurfing, Hefty," Duncan said.
"I would rather give up my happiness for Smurfette's than be
selfish and expect for the slim chance that Smurfette will someday
smurf her heart to me if she's already smurfed it to someone
else."
"Well, I don't intend to retreat
from this battle, Gutsy," Hefty said. "I'm going to let Smurfette
know how much I care for her, and I'm going to fight for her heart
no matter what."
Duncan sighed, realizing how
dead-set his friend is and how he isn't going to persuade him to
change his mind.
"Let's just smurf to sleep. We're
going to need our strength to continue our job here in the hollow
before we return to the village."
"Aw, let them come," Tuffy
muttered. "I'm not afraid of what's going to happen, and I'm not
afraid of this wedding."
Hefty snickered as he settled down
on a leaf along with Duncan and Tuffy. "You will be, Tuffy. You
will be."