Part 7
Back in the village, there was a
rehearsal for the wedding ceremony that Brainy Smurf was in charge
of. He wanted to make sure everything went along smoothly in the
rehearsal as it would in the actual ceremony, but without all the
players, and also with a few Smurfs causing problems like Dimwitty
bringing the wrong things to the bride and groom, it was very
frustrating to both Brainy and to the others in the rehearsal.
Then during the rehearsal came a
shout. "Success, my fellow Smurfs! We've safely brought the
Pussywillow Pixies to our village!" It was Duncan with the Smurfs
that went with him into Pussywillow Hollow, plus some others.
Smurfette left her place in the
rehearsal, as did most of the other Smurfs, to greet their new
arrivals. Brainy did not like this interruption one bit.
"Oh, my young child," Elderberry
said as she and Smurfette greeted each other with a hug. "I'm so
happy for you. I wouldn't think that I would be able to see
someone like you get married to one of your fellow Smurfs!"
"So where is the lucky
bridegroom?" Lilac asked.
"He's over there at the altar with
Brainy," Smurfette said. "Empath, the Pussywillow Pixies are
here!"
Empath left the altar to meet the
new arrivals. "It's so good to see you again," Empath said to
them. "This smurf only wishes that our first meeting was under
better circumstances."
"You look like such a brave and
noble soul, young man," Elderberry said. "Not that I don't think
highly of your friends that escorted us here."
"Yes, well, these Smurfs are truly
a brave and strong group, Elderberry," Empath said. "This smurf
couldn't think of any Smurfs who would be best suited for the
job."
"Okay, you Smurfs, let's smurf
this rehearsal again from the top," Brainy said as he approached
them, disgusted by all the hassles and interruptions. "I suppose
that the three of you Pussywillow Pixies are assigned to be the
bridesmaids for Smurfette."
"That's right, and I'm supposed to
be the flower girl," Acorn said.
"Fine, then you four can join
Smurfette as we resmurf the rehearsal one more time," Brainy said.
"Brainy, the pixies have just
arrived," Smurfette said. "Can't you smurf them enough time to
relax before smurfing them through a rehearsal?"
"You're the one who wanted this
wedding to be so smurfect, Smurfette, so I'm just trying to follow
orders and making sure that everybody else follows them, including
the bride and groom," Brainy said.
"Well, I say you should let them
relax and stop worrying so much about how smurfect this wedding is
going to be," Smurfette said.
"This smurf agrees with what
Smurfette has to say, Brainy," Empath said. "They seem to know
what's expected of their roles in the wedding. They'll do just
fine regardless."
Brainy pulled on his hat, ready to
tear it off his head. "Oh, fine! Smurf it your way! But don't
blame me if your wedding doesn't turn out to be smurfect!"
"My, my, this Brainy Smurf seems
to be rather touchy today," Elderberry said.
"He just wants to do a perfect job
at the wedding," Empath said. "By tomorrow, he's not going to care
about all these little problems and will just enjoy himself the
way he normally does."
"Yeah, by smurfing everybody to
sleep," Snappy said.
"We just want to thank you for
thinking about including us as part of your wedding," Bramble
said. "It looks like it's going to turn out to be beautiful
anyway."
"Hey, Clumsy," Pansy said as she
spotted him among the Smurfs. "Long time, no see. How have you
been doing lately?"
"Uh, you know, just the same as
usual for me," Clumsy said. "Smurfette just smurfs so pretty, I
can't wait to smurf her in the wedding dress."
"Me too," Pansy said. "Of course,
I would probably trip and fall if I were to wear a wedding dress."
"It don't matter to me if you
did...you'd still look pretty in one anyway," Clumsy said.
"Oh, that's just sweet of you,"
Pansy said, as the two of them went off to talk to each other.
Empath turned his attention to the
Smurfs escorting the Pussywillow Pixies. "So how was it staying in
the hollow for about a week?" he asked Duncan.
"Uhhh, I feel like the smurf of
the place has smurfed onto me, Empath," Duncan said. "And then I
had to deal with Hefty smurfing on about you and Smurfette all the
time. I think there's something wrong with the boy."
Empath noticed that Hefty had just
left, wearing a facial expression more commonly found on Grouchy.
"This smurf senses that he isn't
comfortable about what's going on," Empath said.
"So, are we on for smurfing the
bachelor party in the Imaginarium?" Tuffy asked.
"Of course, Tuffy," Empath said.
"Why wouldn't this smurf want to attend such a party?"
"Some of your fellow Smurfs might
think you'd change your mind if you smurfed through the bachelor
party, Empath," Century said.
"Really?" Empath said. "That
depends on what's going to happen during the party."
"Just be prepared for anything, is
all that I can smurf you, Empath," Duncan said. "This will
separate the Smurfs from the Smurflings."
Empath sighed as he began to
wonder what's in store for him.
Meanwhile, Handy had a private talk
with Marina the mermaid. "So how's life with your...uh, new
boyfriend?" Handy asked.
Marina laughed. "He reminds me so
much of you, Handy...he's smart, brilliant, inventive, brave! He
showed me the people who lived in his village under the sea, and
it just amazes me how much they are like your people...well,
except that there also female Snorkelians."
"I just wish we could smurf more
time together, Marina," Handy said. "It's just so unfair that I
have to smurf on land and you have to smurf in the sea. I'm glad
that you've smurfed somebody who will always be with you."
"Handy, he can never replace the
feelings that I have for you," Marina said. "I still love you and
I still wish that we could actually be together. I still
appreciate that you went out of your way to rescue me and my
father King Aquarius, and that you got the lilyroot from the Pool
of Avalon during the time he was sick."
"Yeah, those were the days, all
right," Handy said. "And now I'm surprised to find out that I'm a
grandfather Smurf to one of my creations."
"The Clockwork Smurf," Marina
said. "It's surprising how much he looks like your Papa Smurf
now."
"There's just so much that
smurfened with him while he was smurfing with King Gerard, I just
wish he could have smurfed me more often about those things,"
Handy said.
Marina held Handy's hands in hers.
"Handy, you'll make a good husband and father someday. My only
hope is that you'll find somebody that will care for you just as
much as I do."
"That's my wish as well, Marina,"
Handy said. "But there will never be anyone in my life who's like
you. Nor will there be anyone like Smurfette."
"No, I guess not," Marina said,
smiling as they looked into each other's eyes.
By the end of the day, with all the
preparations done and the rehearsals finished, the Smurfs went
their own separate ways to their own separate parties. Smurfette
joined her female guests in the dining hall where Biscotti and
Culinary served finger food and she opened up all the gifts her
fellow Smurfs have made for her, including the ones that Nanny
Smurf have knitted over the week. Then Tailor arrived with Vanity.
"This is the finished wedding
dress, Smurfette," Tailor said as he presented it inside the box.
"There's also the hat that Empath smurfs you're supposed to wear
when you become his wife."
Smurfette pulled out the dress and
showed it to all her guests. "Oh, Smurfette, that is absolutely
gorgeous," Lilac said.
"That is a very beautiful wedding
dress, my child," Elderberry said.
"Shucks, you make me wish that I
was young enough to smurf that thing," Nanny said.
"That dress seems very appropriate
on you, Smurfette," Flowerbell said.
Laconia signed a message of
approval which Smurfette understood.
"So how does it feel to soon
become the wife of Empath Smurf?" Bramble asked.
"Gee, I don't know," Smurfette
said. "It's like so exciting and yet so scary at the same time. I
can't believe this is actually happening to me."
"Laconia says she is sure you'll
make an excellent wife," Periwinkle said, interpreting her signs.
"Being a wife," Smurfette said.
"It's like something I always wanted to be, and yet it means that
I won't be the Smurf I used to be anymore."
"That is part of growing up, my
dear child," Elderberry said. "To step from being a maiden into
being a mother is no small easy task. In some ways, I envy that
you have found a mate that you will love with all your heart and
soul. It's just something us pixies can only ever dream about."
"I only wish that I had your
courage, Smurfette," Flowerbell said. "I wouldn't have had to rely
upon my charms to trick anyone into loving or marrying me."
"But the thing is, Smurfette,
we'll be there to witness your smurfing from being a single Smurf
into being Mrs. Empath Smurf," Nanny said.
Smurfette shed a tear. "I know,
and I'm very grateful to have you all here as my witnesses, and as
my friends. This is the very day I have waited for. And I don't
want to let anybody down."
"You won't, my child, you won't,"
Elderberry said. "Believe in yourself."
Meanwhile, unnoticed by any of the
female guests at the bridal shower, a lone Smurf was watching the
whole thing, remembering the days when it was just him and
Smurfette, and hardly anyone stood in his way except for the other
Smurfs whom Smurfette had also loved. It seemed so fair and
honest...until Empath came along, and all bets were off. Now he
wanted so much to tell Smurfette how much he loved her, and yet no
matter what, it wouldn't change how she would ever feel towards
him at all.
He felt a single tear fall from
his eye, watching Smurfette being all happy.
Meanwhile, in the Imaginarium, the
adult male Smurfs were holding their bachelor party. Only this
party wasn't what Empath or anybody was expecting.
"Ah, here we are again, right
where I want you to be," Gargamel said as he was holding a good
deal of the Smurfs captive in his laboratory. "You rotten little
Smurfs think you can always get away from me, but this time is
where I will prove you wrong. Soon I will be able to complete my
Philosopher's Stone, and with that stone I'm going to turn half of
your village into gold, and the other half is going to serve me
and my cat on our dinner plates!"
"You won't get away with this,
Gargamel," one of the captured Smurfs said.
"Always the same refrain that I
hear from you," Gargamel said. "Well, where's your beloved Papa
Smurf this time? Is he going to save you like he normally does? Or
is he too cowardly and too impotent to do anything about his
little Smurfs?"
"Empath will come to save us, and
then you'll be sorry," another captured Smurf said.
"Oh, yes, the son of Papa Smurf,"
Gargamel said. "Let him come...I will be expecting him."
"Uh, Gargy, don't you think it
would be better to give up the Smurfs rather than risk having
Empath come to their rescue again?" Scruple asked a bit fearfully.
"Have you no faith in the power of
evil, my worthless student?" Gargamel reprimanded. "He is just one
powerful Smurf, but his power is no match for mine."
"That's what you think," Empath
said, emerging from behind a vial on a shelf. "Crazy, sound the
alarm!"
Crazy appeared from behind another
vial and made a very loud siren noise. Then every Smurf popped up
from everywhere in Gargamel's lair and attacked the evil wizard,
some with various projectiles, others with direct assaults.
"Azrael! Scruple! Stop those
Smurfs!" Gargamel shouted as he futilely tried to swat some away.
But Scruple was easily overwhelmed
by the number of Smurfs attacking him. It was the day of their
final battle with Gargamel when he wore the Gauntlets of
Gantharros, except that they were fighting him without the
gauntlets.
"There comes a time when every
Smurf must stand up for what is good and cute and blue in the
world," Narrator said as he was observing the Smurf attack on
Gargamel. "And on this very night before Empath and Smurfette's
wedding, that time is now!"
"Hey, seriously?" Grouchy said,
standing beside Narrator.
"Sorry, it's kind of what I do,"
Narrator said.
"Hey, gato estúpido! Tratar
de cogerme!" Zipper said, taunting Azrael.
Azrael tried to give chase to
Zipper, only to find that Zipper was always one step ahead of him,
easily evading him. He ended up luring Azrael into a net where he
got tangled up in, struggling to find his way out until he hit his
head against a wall, knocking him out.
Then came Wild Smurf swooping down
from the rafters with a big sack that he dumped right onto the
wizard's head, blocking his vision. Gargamel found himself falling
right to the floor, where a bunch of Smurfs were waiting to tie
him up with rope.
The captured Smurfs cheered as
Empath unlocked the cage they were trapped in. They rejoiced as
they saw their nemesis again on the floor at the mercy of his
prey.
"This is one victory that's
definitely worth celebrating!" one of the Smurfs said.
"And here's where we have the
victory celebration," Jokey Smurf said. "Cue the beach and the
music!"
The scenery then changed from
Gargamel's hovel to the beach front setting where the Smurfs
normally held their beach parties. Sloppy was already there with
his band ready to start the music. And soon the Smurfs were
dancing and singing and having the time of their lives together.
Polaris stood by and watched the
festivities from a distance, not wishing to participate in them.
"A rather interesting setting for this 'bachelor party' of yours,
Empath," Polaris commented.
Jokey went over to where Empath
and Polaris were standing. "Great idea for a bachelor party, isn't
it?" he said.
"A very interesting surprise,
indeed," Empath said. "One last adventure we'll have together
against the evil wizard Gargamel. This smurf appreciates the
sentiment."
"It's too bad Hefty isn't here to
smurf the fun, though," Jokey said as he went back to join the
others in dancing.
"Wait a minute," Empath said as he
went over to talk to Jokey. "You said that Hefty hasn't appeared
in here?"
"I haven't smurfed him at all,
Empath, and neither did Tapper smurf up," Jokey said. "I could
understand why Tapper wouldn't smurf up, but Hefty?"
"You suspect something has
happened to him?" Polaris asked when Empath rejoined him.
"Duncan said earlier that Hefty
was just going on about this smurf and Smurfette when they were
both escorting the Pussywillow Pixies," Empath said. "And this
smurf sensed that Hefty wasn't happy. This smurf must go and talk
to him to find out."
"This one will remain here to make
sure the festivities don't get out of hand," Polaris said as
Empath exited the Imaginarium.
Empath realized that if neither Hefty
or Tapper showed up at the bachelor party, there was only one
place Hefty would go. It wasn't exactly the place that Hefty
himself would frequent, and Empath knew that Hefty wasn't much of
a drinker of sarsaparilla ale. But Tapper's Tavern was the place
to look for him.
"Thank Smurfness you're here,
Empath," Tapper said as Empath entered the tavern. "I was going to
smurf your bachelor party, but I just knew one Smurf wasn't going
to attend it, and I didn't know what to smurf, so I let him smurf
here!"
"Where is Hefty?" Empath asked.
"Over by that table, smurfing with
that Psychelisphere," Tapper answered, pointing in that particular
direction. "All I smurfed him was a single mug of sarsaparilla
ale, and not his usual kind, either. But it's like he barely even
smurfing it!"
"This smurf will handle this,
Tapper," Empath said as he went over to the table where Hefty was
sitting. His face wore frustration, and not just from how badly he
was trying to play the Psychelisphere. Something was definitely on
his mind.
"Would you mind if this smurf just
sat here with you, Hefty?" Empath asked.
Hefty shrugged, barely noticing
Empath at all. "Be my smurf."
Empath sat across from Hefty and
watched him continue playing the Psychelisphere. "It's rather
strange to see you play a game that doesn't require physical
exertion, Hefty," Empath said.
"Just so much on my mind about
what's smurfing on, I don't know what to smurf," Hefty said, again
not paying any attention to Empath.
"What is it that you're thinking
about?" Empath asked.
"Just that one question,
Empath...why," Hefty said. "Why is it that Smurfette will never
smurf in love with me no matter how hard I try to please her? Did
I smurf anything wrong to her?"
"All this smurf can sense is that
the only thing you did to Smurfette was just be yourself around
her, Hefty," Empath answered. "She wouldn't expect anything less
than that from you."
"But it's still not enough," Hefty
said. "I can see now that nothing I can smurf for her will ever be
enough to smurf her heart."
"And you blame this smurf for it,
Hefty," Empath said.
"Yeah, I blame you for everything
that smurfs wrong in my life," Hefty said. "You smurfed into my
life and smurfed a mess of it. I smurfed pride into being the
first...the firstborn among the Smurfs, the first that found
Smurfette out in the forest, possibly even the first that smurfed
in love with Smurfette. And then you came and smurfed me that
being first isn't everything. I really hated you for it, Empath. I
wished that you could smurf back to Psychelia and never smurf back
at all if it would mean that everything in my life would be
smurfy."
"Do you still wish for this smurf
to go back to Psychelia now?" Empath asked.
"If that would mean that Smurfette
will marry me instead of you, then yes!" Hefty said. "But I see
now that you truly don't belong in Psychelia anymore. And I can't
wish for anything unsmurfy to happen to you or Smurfette because
I'm too much of a Smurf for that. The thing is, I can't offer you
or Smurfette anything but grief because the only thing I'm good at
is smurfing muscles and smurfing with my fists!"
"That's not true, Hefty," Empath
said. "If anything, whatever differences we may have with each
other, you have always inspired this smurf to be strong and brave
and to rely on this smurf's own physical strengths when this
smurf's mental abilities aren't enough. This smurf would gladly
give up all my minds-eye abilities just to be able to know what
it's like to be you for a day. And those heart tattoos...this
smurf originally thought you wore them because you love to show
how strong you are. But now, this smurf sees that you have chosen
that particular marking because you love to show that you care for
your fellow Smurfs, and how you choose to show how you care for
them is by using your strength to help others, not to hurt them."
"Yeah, I really helped my fellow
Smurfs back then in the day, Empath," Hefty said. "I treated you,
Grouchy, and everybody else really badly, and I'm beginning to
realize how much of a jerk I was and how much of one I became over
the years. Even Smurfette sees me as a jerk. I guess I desmurf
it."
"We all have our faults, Hefty,"
Empath said. "But the one thing this smurf never wants you to stop
being is who you are. And no matter how much you hate this smurf,
this smurf is never going to hate you in return. You are my Smurf
brother and you are my friend. Nothing in the world will ever
change that."
"I'm not sure I can ever be a
friend to you, Empath," Hefty said. "And I'm not sure I can let
you marry Smurfette without me smurfing anything about it."
Empath sighed. "You have the right
to confess yourself at the wedding, Hefty. Just get some rest and
we'll see what happens tomorrow." He got up from his seat at the
table and began to leave.
"Empath," Hefty said, "remember
when you smurfed my hand when I was smurfing you hard in the
chest, and I had to have my hand smurfed by you or else I wasn't
going to smurf it again? You never apologized for it."
"This smurf can only apologize for
causing you pain, Hefty, but not for the intent," Empath said.
"Well, I hated you for smurfing
that to me," Hefty said, looking away from his game to look at
Empath. "But now all I want to say is...thanks for smurfing that
to me. I needed you to smurf me in my place."
Empath didn't know what to say to
that. "This smurf will see you in the morning, Hefty," he said
before he left.
Late at night, when every Smurf has
gone to bed, Smurfette looked at herself with the wedding dress
she was going to wear. She had to admit that it looked really
beautiful on her. Tailor and Vanity had really put their hearts
into making the dress be everything Smurfette wanted.
And then she looked at Empath's
hat lying on the chair next to the mirror. She knew what it
symbolized: the moment she wore the hat, she would no longer be
just a child Smurf or even a single female Smurf. She would
forever belong to Empath as his wife.
She picked up the hat and looked
at it some more, pondering what she would look like wearing
something that she knew has Empath written all over it. She felt
like she had to satisfy her curiosity.
Immediately her other hand removed
the white hat from her head and tossed it onto the chair before
she placed Empath's hat on her head. She then looked at herself in
the mirror with the wedding dress and Empath's hat.
She was startled at the sight of
the Smurfette that was now staring back at her. It was like the
day Papa Smurf had transformed her into a real Smurf. Except that
now it wasn't that Empath's hat made her more beautiful or
anything. It just simply made her look really different.
She continued to examine herself,
turning this way and that, stroking her hair and trying to see
something in this Smurfette that would soon become Empath's wife
in more than just formality. She imagined what she would look like
in everyday clothes, greeting her fellow Smurfs as well as her
husband-to-be wearing his hat. She imagined what she would look
like as a mother of Empath's children while wearing the hat. She
imagined a lot of things, even what she would look like at Nanny
Smurf's age while wearing the hat.
And through it all, she felt a bit
scared. This was like a point of no return for her, that she
cannot go back to the Smurfette who was originally so content with
flowers and dresses and just loving all her fellow Smurfs equally
without much of a care in the world.
But even through the fear,
Smurfette managed to smile, as if being married to Empath would
make her somebody to be recognized in the Smurf Village. She knew
everybody would treat her different. But they would not treat her
as a nobody Smurf anymore.
Already she was calling herself
Mrs. Empath Smurf in her thoughts. It had such a beautiful sound
to it that she didn't mind repeating it over and over. She could
live with such a name.