Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 34

That picture they'd found in Walt's apartment, Dell realized. He recognized it; more than recognized it...he remembered taking it.

He could feel Willa holding his hand, could hear the cheers of everyone around him, could see the photographer waiting to capture the moment. And from there more things started to fall into place: why they'd been there, when they'd been there, what they were doing, who they were. A world started to come alive right before his eyes, in his mind, and he was frozen still as more pieces fell into place.

A loud click sounded and all the buildings along Main Street lit-up. Dell's jaw dropped in awe as he looked around, and realized that he'd seen this happen before, and not in a vague just past de-ja-vu sort of way: in a real, concrete these are my memories way.

And then it was like waking up from some strange, hyper-realistic dream, because he wasn't sure where or when he was, and for a moment all he knew was that he and the other Keepers had just gotten on the carousel at DisneyLand and now he was standing in the rain in Magic Kingdom in clothes that he had never owned.

To his left, Charlene was experiencing the same sensation, and she felt herself trembling and crying as she turned and saw him standing next to her, frozen still and staring into space. The memories all started to connect, and she knew where they'd been and who she'd been, and what had happened to all of them, and she was about to rush forward and envelope him in an embrace, when she was startled by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the end of the street.

Still unsure of exactly what they were up against, she was ready to grab Philby–who was still resembling a garden statue–and run, when suddenly she was able to make out the source. A loud cry escaped her and she felt her chest burn as her breath caught and her legs turned to jello.

Terry was sprinting towards her from the park's entrance.

Before she could even move forward to meet him, he was there, and in a second had scooped her up in his arms, lifting her slightly off of her feet. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and his hands came up to cradle her hair as he touched her down to her feet. She heard him cry as he squeezed her tighter and she buried her head in his chest.

I'm sorry she whispered, thinking about all that had happened between them before they left 1955, and remembering what had happened when they were whoever else they were and what he'd seen and what she'd said. I'm so, so sorry

I know he whispered back. I am too.

She never wanted to let go of him again, but eventually they had to separate, and when they did he held her chin in his hands.

"We're never coming close to leaving each other again, right?" he said. "Promise me that."

"Losing my memory couldn't keep me away," she said, laughing and crying at the same time.

Terry smiled before leaning down and kissing her. She smiled and cried and tears came down and soaked their lips. It was the best kiss of either of their lives.

Eventually they remembered they were not alone, and, arms still around each other, turned to Philby, who still had not unfrozen from the last time Charlene had seen him. She suddenly remembered what he'd said about Willa and was about to say something when the pounding of footsteps sounded again, and she caught sight of Willa sprinting over from the castle.

Dell's head turned just as she was approaching, though his face was still trance-like. Slowly, he moved his feet forward towards her. She came crashing into him then, her arms quickly wrapping around his neck. She immediately buried her face in his shoulder and her hands in his hair, but, for a moment, he remained still.

He was still trying to deal with all the different realizations coming to his mind. All at once, both sets of memories had their own conflict to handle: alternate reality him realizing that the stories were true, and he was who Casey said he was; real him coming to terms with where he was and what had happened and where he'd been.

And then there was Willa: here, real, holding him, and she was a new set of realizations all on her own; Willa: not his long lost crush, but his girlfriend of three years; Willa: here, with him in this wherever they were, ensuring that he was not alone.

Gradually, the puzzle pieces of reality connected, allowing him to feel more grounded. And then, the biggest realization hit.

He'd never been one to be good with feelings–especially when it came to expressing them. It had caused a fair amount of fights and frustrations between the two of them across the years, her accusing him–rightfully–of being confused. Thing was, he'd always known exactly how he felt about Willa, he just couldn't quite come to terms with it for himself, or understand it fully. Now though, it suddenly made perfect sense.

Here was Willa: Willa who understood him in ways that he was sure no one else in the world could; Willa who could make him laugh no matter how bad his day had been; Willa who thought like him; Willa who beamed like a child whenever she walked into the Magic Kingdom; Willa who was his favorite person to do anything with: whether it was playing video games or watching Marvel Movies or doing homework or even doing nothing. Here was Willa who made his chest feel warm in the best way when she laid her head on his shoulder, who made his stomach do flips when she held his hand. Here was Willa who saw everything there was to see about him–quirks and flaws and dreams and fears–and loved him all the same. Now, having lived through a world–or at least knowing of one–where he never had her, he understood it clear as day: a world like that would be absolutely awful; she was everything.

Slowly, he lifted his arms to join her in the embrace, and his hand cupped around the back of her head, cradling her hair, making sure that he wouldn't lose her again, cherishing this moment, cherishing her. After a while, she pushed away from him, staring into his eyes, her own filled with tears. He still made sure to hold tight to her waist, wanting to keep her at arms' length so that he was sure some crazy apocalyptic time paradox couldn't separate them again.

"I missed you," she said, smiling and crying. "I think."

That last part came out with a slight chuckle, and soon they were both giggling.

Then, without warning, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. His eyes shot open wide at first and he stumbled backward slightly, startling; she'd never been very comfortable with PDA, and so he was caught off guard. Still, he certainly wouldn't complain, and eventually his eyes closed and he melted into the kiss, moving his hands down around her waist.

Eventually, they pulled apart, but stayed not inches apart, their foreheads touching.

"I love you," he whispered. He'd expressed it before, but, he knew, he'd never understood it as much or felt it as strongly as he did now.

"I love you too," she said, crying slightly, and then laughing, and then both of them were wearing toothy grins as they stayed with each other.

Eventually, Willa became aware of the fact that someone else was standing right next to them, and she looked away from Dell to see Charlene and Terry waiting. She let out a yelp and Charlene smiled before they pulled away from their respective boyfriends and rushed to hug each-other, laughing and rocking back-and-forth on their toes.

Dell and Terry embraced too, patting each-other on the back, and then all four friends were exchanging hugs and words of love and excitement. They were soaked with rain and still completely lacking information, but at the moment it didn't matter. They had each other, and, after all they'd been through as friends–as a family–nothing could take away the joy or the comfort of this moment.

"I still don't understand," Charlene eventually remarked, once their initial greetings were coming to a close. "What happened?"

"Perhaps I could shed some light on that subject."

The heads of all four keepers turned to the new voice that had broken their conversation, and they all let out a gasp as Willa felt her eyes fill with fresh tears. 

A/N: Thanks for your continued support. Stay strong and stay magical!