Ariel - The Next Generation: Kayla White

“NO!”

The door had closed so quickly that not even Wolf had been fast enough. Kayla was now at the mercy of the queen.

“No, Kayla, no!!!” Warren shouted, and threw himself against the door. It didn’t budge an inch.

“Step aside,” Wolf growled, and he, too, threw himself against the door. Nothing.

“There’s got to be some way,” Wendell said fiercely. “Don’t give up…”

“Who are you, anyway?” Wolf asked cautiously.

“Sniff me,” was the reply.

Wolf tentatively brought his sensitive nose to the stranger. “Cripes!” he shouted. “It can’t be!”

“But it is, Dad,” Warren said. “It’s Wendell.”

“You don’t look like the Wendell I know,” Wolf said with a little nervous laugh.

“Snow White brought me back to save my daughter,” Wendell explained, and the two embraced. Warren suddenly felt ashamed of how he had doubted his instincts.

“We’re wasting time,” he reminded them awkwardly.

“Huff puff, we are!” Wolf exclaimed. “Now, we need a plan.”

“Oh, good idea!” Wendell said sarcastically. “’We need a plan,’ he says.”

Wolf grinned. “It’s good to have you back, Wendy.”

Meanwhile…

Kayla squirmed under her mother’s grasp, but the queen’s hand remained firm as her nails dug into her daughter’s flesh.

“It’s good to see you, my darling,” she sneered. “Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Not particularly,” Kayla replied icily, still struggling to get free.

“Oh? That’s not very nice, is it?”

“It wasn’t very nice to kill my father!”

The queen seemed to falter for a split second, but she quickly got hold of herself.

“Whatever gave you that idea, darling?”

Kayla nearly wanted to vomit at the sound of the queen calling her “my darling.” “I just know.”

“Oh, but someone must have told you. Was it… oh, Gregory Sampson, by any chance?”

“No.” She cried out as her mother twisted her arm.

“Who was it then?”

Angrily, Kayla lifted her leg to kick her, but the queen saw this motion and swiftly took her other arm, pinning her to the ground. She then knelt and put one of her feet securely on each leg, holding them down as well.

“Now then, my darling. What shall I do to you? You know very well that the punishment for killing someone of the royal family is death.”

“A punishment that you deserve,” Kayla retorted.

The queen took both of her skinny wrists in one hand and used her free one to slap Kayla in the face. Kayla winced, wishing she could rub her stinging cheek.

“Now then,” the queen said as-a-matter-of-factly, “what kind of death do you prefer?”

“I prefer yours!” Kayla shouted, and spat triumphantly in her mother’s face.

Her triumph, however, soon ended. “You little brat!” the queen exclaimed, and grabbed her daughter’s throat.

“Oh, shouldn’t we go to them, Daddy?” Virginia said, worried. “We should go and help them…”

“I don’t think so, sweetheart,” Tony said gently. “Wolf is there. They’ll make out all right.”

“But Kayla’s so young –“

“Virginia,” Gregory began, “I think this is something that they have to do on their own.”

Tony nodded in agreement and gave his daughter a hug. “It’s okay,” he soothed. “We’ve done our share. Now all we can do is hope.”

“Hope,” Virginia said dully. “Who has hope?”

“You of all people should,” Gregory said with a smile. “Your story of the search for the mirror has been told many a time.”

Virginia managed a laugh. “And what a search it was!”

“You gained and lost so much on that journey,” Gregory said.

“Sometimes I think I lost more than I gained,” Virginia admitted. “I mean, let’s face it. I lost the only mother I’ll ever have. And sometimes, I think of what could have been. If only I could have held on a little longer, I never would have had to poison her, and Wolf could have saved me in time.

“But then, I think of what I have now, and I know – I really and truly know – that what I’ve gained is more valuable than anything I could lose in a lifetime.”

Tony smiled. “That’s my girl.” He glanced over at the dead body of Chief Farmer, disgusted. “Now come on, help me bury this guy. I never want to see this bastard’s face again!”

Wendell, Wolf, and Warren pushed at the door together, but still nothing happened.

“Goodness,” Wendell said wearily.

Wendell.

“Oh, you again!” he said aloud. Wolf and Warren looked at him curiously. He cleared his throat and thought inside his head, Oh, you again.

Wendell, every minute that you spend out here, Kayla is closer to death.

I know. Is she all right?

At the moment, no.

Oh, dear. What’s going on in there? He joined his friends in another attempt to break down the door. Nothing.

The queen is choking her to death.

“No!” Wolf and Warren, watched, surprised, as Wendell jumped up, his eyes blazing.

Don’t think, dearest Wendell.

He took a few steps back and narrowed his eyes at the door.

Become.

He ran.

Wolf and Warren gasped as the door flew open.

Kayla felt herself slowly slipping away, and as her strength gave up, so did her struggling. Purple spots danced before her eyes, and she tried to ignore the awful, desperate feel of her burning lungs. She calmed herself down by thinking of only one thing: Warren.

She could faintly hear a ‘boom’ from somewhere in the distance, and she felt her mother’s vicious hands on her neck twist as she turned to see what it was.

There was a scream. An awful, piercing scream.

As the queen’s hands slipped away from her throat, Kayla took a precious breath, coughing and choking, as Warren and Wolf ran to her side.

“Kayla! Oh, Kayla!” Warren would have wrapped his arms around her, but he decided to give her some room to catch her breath.

Her chest heaving, she managed to give her friends a small smile.

“WENDELL?!”

Kayla, Wolf, and Warren looked up, surprised, to see their very own King Wendell towering over the queen.

Wendell looked surprised himself. He glanced at the mirror by the wall. “I’m back!” he exclaimed happily. He then turned back to his wife and glared at her.

“Yes, it’s me, Wendell. The dear husband that you murdered, remember?”

“You’re…you’re dead!” the queen sputtered.

“Well, I’m back now, aren’t I?” Wendell pointed out. “I’m so very disappointed in you, Jazzy. What a naughty little wife you turned out to be.”

“What?” the queen said innocently. “I didn’t do anything to you, darling.” She pointed dramatically at Kayla. “It was her! That ungrateful little –“

“Just because I’m technically dead doesn’t mean I’m stupid,” Wendell cut in. “You know that the penalty for killing royalty is death, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Well, what will it be then? Would you like to be hanged? Shall we cut off your head? Shall we drown you? Or, better yet, how about I go and strangle you with my bare hands!”

“No!” Wendell stopped and turned at the sound of his daughter’s voice. “Don’t do it, father. You’ll be just as bad as she is!”

“She’s right, Wendell.”

It was then that Snow White appeared before them.

“Enough lives have been lost,” Snow White continued. “Why take another?”

“Grandmother,” Wendell said impatiently, “this awful woman has destroyed my family!”

“And yet, you want to destroy her. Are your feelings not the same as hers?”

Wendell was silent.

“Violence is not the solution to all problems. You must choose the right path.”

“But what is the right path?” Kayla asked suddenly. “Sometimes it’s hard to see it.”

“That’s true,” Snow White said lovingly, “but you try your best. And sometimes, there are people like me to help.”

“What are you going to do with me, then?” the queen asked. “Throw me in prison?”

“I like that,” Wendell said decisively. “If I can’t kill you, I’ll lock you away.”

Snow White touched Wendell’s hand. “This is when I leave you.”

“Am I… am I going to stay here for the rest of my… err… second life?”

“When your job is done, you will come back to me.” Snow White turned to Kayla, Warren, and Wolf. “Good-bye, Kayla. I love you. Good-bye, Wolf and Warren. The Fourth Kingdom is forever in your debt, as it always has been.”

Warren and Wolf waved good-bye, and Kayla ran up to give her great-grandmother one last hug. “Thank you,” she whispered tearfully, “for everything.”

“You take care of yourself, sweetheart,” Snow White whispered back. “I’ll always be with you.”

Taking a step back, Snow White vanished.

Wendell watched his grandmother go, and then turned back to his wife. “Well, Jazzy? Any last words?”

Silence.

“I wish it wasn’t like this, mother…” Kayla began, but the queen cut her off.

“Yes, you do. I knew you hated me since you were a little girl. You probably think I was a horrible mother to you, and perhaps I was. But I want you to know that I’ve never stopped loving you, not for a moment –“

“Oh, cripes, of all the lies to tell your child!” Wolf spat out disgustedly. “After you tried to kill her-“

“Sometimes I lost control, yes, but it never meant anything.” The queen sighed and smiled sadly. “I’m her mother. That counts for something, doesn’t it?” She turned to Wendell and stood up slowly. “I surrender, darling. Take me away.”

At that moment, Elliot ran in the room, and let out a yelp when he saw Wendell.

“What’s this?” he sputtered. “Your Majesty, what’s going on…”

“Never mind it, Elliot,” the queen said. “I’m resigning; I’m no longer queen. You are hereby dismissed from my service. Ask Lord Sampson for your pay.”

“But-“

“Go, Elliot. Now.”

Confused, but forced to obey, Elliot bowed and turned on his heels, leaving the room.

“Kayla,” Wendell said, “go with Wolf and Warren. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

“But-“

“Kayla, I’ve got to take care of your mother. Please, do as I say.”

Kayla nodded. “Fine.”

“Come on, Honey,” Wolf said, putting his arm around Kayla. “Let’s go home. Everyone must be worried sick about you.”

Reluctantly, Kayla left with them, glancing back at her father from time to time. Soon, they were out in the chilly night air, homeward bound. Warren slipped his hand into Kayla’s, and suddenly she didn’t feel so alone any more.

Wolf watched with a quiet satisfaction.

A wolf mates for life.

“Kayla! Oh, Kayla!”

“Virginia! Tony! Gregory!”

“Kayla!” Virginia, Tony, and Gregory ran to give her a hug. “But what are you doing here?” Virginia asked. “What happened to the mirror?”

Slowly, Kayla, Warren, and Wolf gave them an account of what had previously happened.

“The important thing is that you’re all safe,” Gregory said when they were done.

“Absolutely,” Tony agreed. “The queen can rot in hell for all I care.”

Kayla shrugged. “I suppose so.”

Virginia eyed her knowingly. “Dad? Warren? Wolf? Why don’t you guys go to bed? You must be exhausted. Gregory, you can have the extra couch, if you don’t mind.”

They all took the hint and said their “good-nights” quickly. When they all left, Virginia sat patiently, staring at Kayla for a long time.

“She was my mother,” Kayla said at last.

“I know.”

“It hurts. It hurts a lot.”

“I know.”

Kayla let silent tears run down her cheeks. “I guess you’d understand.”

“I do, sweetie. Come here.”

Virginia took Kayla in her arms and gently stroked her hair. “Tell me what you know of the death of my mother.”

“That part was always described vaguely. You were being choked to death, and you were forced to kill her with a poisoned comb in self-defense.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Let me tell you my view of the story,” Virginia said. “You know about my mother trying to drown me and ending up in the kingdoms, right?”

“Yes.”

“When I finally met her again, I was doing everything I could to make her remember; to make her see who she really was, but I was failing desperately. Do you know when she finally did remember?”

“No.”

“When she was dying. She was lying on the floor, the poison quickly consuming her life. I was kneeling beside her, sobbing, horrified at what I had done. Can you imagine what it must feel like to know that you are responsible for your mother’s death?” She paused to sniffle and wipe her eyes. “I was so afraid that she would die without knowing who I was. But in those last few seconds, do you know what she said? She stroked my cheek with her gloved hand, and she told my not to cry. She called me her little girl again, and I knew that everything was going to be all right.”

Kayla broke away from the embrace. “That must’ve been tough.”

“I want you to know that I understand exactly how you feel right now, and that it’s okay to cry. But everything is going to be okay, you’ll see.”

Kayla managed a smile. “Thanks, Auntie Virginia.”

“Mmm. Now, go on to sleep.”

Kayla made her way wearily to her bed on the living room floor, and Virginia went into the bedroom that she shared with Wolf. She eased herself onto the soft, fluffy mattress, snuggled up next to her husband, and fell asleep.