Storm Black and the Seven Tarts (Part 2)

As good as things were going for Storm, was as good as his stepfather THOUGHT things were going for him.

Even if you can't tell. He was really happy. He's just also REALLY evil, so he looks mad all of the time.

Of course, he was still as egotistical as ever, and it had been a few hours since his last ego-stroke, so he figured it was time to summon Mirra again.

"Mirra, mirra...in the well..."

"Oh...my freaking GOODNESS! Why do you insist on saying that insipid little rhyme? I mean, it's so ridiculous. You can just say "Hey, you!" and I will pop right up. Honestly."

"I'm sorry...did I ask for opinions from the oversized butterfly? You're here for one reason, and one reason only...now...out with it! Before I cut your wings up and feed them to you!"

Mirra had something to tell him, of course. However, she was pretty certain that it was something that he didn't want to hear. However, since he was so brainless and despicable, she decided that she would go ahead and tell him, anyways.

 "So...yeah! About that "hunkiest of them all" thing..."

 "As it turns out...my stud-o-meter tells me that you are NOT, in fact, the hunkiest. It still seems to think Storm is. That means one of two things..."

"He's either still alive, or he makes quite a sexy corpse!"

"Isn't that just the FUNNIEST thing you ever heard of? Imagine that! Storm is still alive! Bwahahahahaha."

"That's not funny, you insane little twerp! That's the most awful thing I have ever heard."

"This is all your fault, you...you...BLOCKHEAD! Why, I oughta just snap your stupid little body in half right here."

 "Fortunately for you...I have a plan. And I don't have time to break you into 500 different pieces...yet. Hmmph. If you want something done right...you have to do it yourself!"

________***________*** ________***________

The evil stepfather indeed had a plan. It involved an elaborate disguise.

 He figured that since he was in costume, Storm would never be able to guess who he was, and his evil scheme would succeed.

He had managed to squeeze ALL of the details out of Mirra (literally) and he made his way to the girls' shack in the middle of the forest.

He just knew that THIS plan was fool proof. His only mistake before was letting that incompetent pixie be in charge of anything important.

Storm promptly made his way to the door as soon as he heard someone knocking.

"Hello, stranger whom I have never seen before in my life! I am here today to tell you about my new product."

"Uh...thanks, but no thanks. I don't buy things from door to door salesmen. Good day."

"Ahhhh...but today is your lucky day, person that I have no idea who you are! I am not here to sell you anything...in fact...I want to GIVE you something! For one day, and one day only - I am giving you a free sample of my amazingly un-dangerous product. I have invented a new fruit, and, today,  I said to myself 'Hmmm...I think that I will find the person that I recognize the LEAST and give them a free sample of this amazingly tasty, and non-poisonous fruit.' So...whaddya say??"

"Uh...you look familiar."

"Certainly not. I have never seen you, or your dead mother, before in my life. Here...take the fruit."

 "Are you sure I don't know you? You seem REALLY familiar...I swear I know that face from SOMEWHERE..."

 "Oh, just shut up and eat the fruit. I mean...uh...go ahead and eat it...they have a very short time before they go rotten...HURRY!"

Apparently, his mother had never had the conversation with him about taking food from strangers, because Storm bit right into the fruit without another thought.

"Say...how did you know that my mother was de..."

"Oh no...something's wrong with m..."

And with that...Storm was dead.

Expired.

Deceased.

Gone to meet his maker.

...You get the picture. ;-)

The evil stepfather was pretty pleased with himself, as you might imagine. (The dirty, rotten, son of a biscuit.)

It wasn't long, though, before he heard women giggling and talking. He figured that he'd better hightail it outta there.

 

So, in a flash of light...the deed was done, and he was gone.

The girls were devastated to find Storm sprawled out across the front porch. 

They were too late, though...there was nothing that they could do for him. There were a lot of "what ifs" and "if onlys" thrown around, but they all knew that there was nothing they could have done to save him. His evil stepfather was determined to end his life, and there was nothing in the world they could have done to stop him.

...it didn't make them feel any better, though.

They all agreed that he was entirely too beautiful to be placed underground, and they couldn't bear to be without him...so with the blessing of the pixies, they placed him on an above-ground grave in Pixie Forest.

While they were mourning, they noticed a flash of light in the corner of the forest.

It was Mirra, the evil stepfather's pixie. She couldn't stand the thought of these poor girls crying their heart out...she had to let them in on her little secret.

"Girls...I know that I might be the last person that you want to hear from...but I am his stepfather's pixie."

"I can't tell you everything...but I can tell you that no one knows this secret about me - I can see the future."

"The fruit that was given to Storm was not a poisonous fruit...but a fruit that contained a magical spell. There is only one pixie that knows how to break this spell."

"The pixie will be making her way through the forest soon! So please...don't be sad...I  have seen the future and I know that there is nothing for you to be crying about. But, for the time being - stay away from Pixie Forest...I don't want to take a chance that you will scare her away!"

And with that, Mirra disappeared. The girls didn't really know what to think. They didn't really want to get their hopes up...but they also wanted to believe that their Storm would be back some day. They decided to be cautious, and stay away from Pixie Forest...but their hearts didn't hold much hope for a happy ending.

True to Mirra's word...there WAS a strange pixie wandering around the forest. She didn't tell the girls the ENTIRE truth, though. Yes, she could see the future...but she couldn't see small details.

So, there were a few things that she DIDN'T know, that she probably would have been interested in.

 She didn't see that the pixie in question was almost exactly like her.

...in male form.

Morty was the pixie that was conjured by Princess Ember of a neighboring kingdom, to perform the same duties that Mirra performed.

Ego stroking.

She was definitely beautiful - and she knew it, too. She made sure that Morty gushed over her gorgeousness at least a few times daily.

She was not as evil as the stepfather, though, even though she DID have her moments. She still had a heart - and when she saw the beautiful Storm laid out in the middle of the Pixie Forest - it melted.

 

She tried to wake him, but when she felt how unbelievably cold he was - she knew that it was too late.

She couldn't help sobbing for the lovely young man that laid dead out in the forest.

So, she did the only thing that she knew to do...she begged Morty for help. She knew that he was a lot more magical than she gave him credit for. 

Morty knew a spell...one he had never used...but he would try just about anything for Ember.

And he hated to see her so upset.

So, with a few magical words...and a wave of his hands...the spell was done.

And, in no time at all...the studly prince was enveloped in a cloud of sparkles.

Morty was pretty excited. He had been a little worried - he knew that the spell did something...but he was starting to think that maybe he had used the one that turned dead people into caterpillars. He wasn't sure...but now he was...YAY!

Storm couldn't believe what was happening. The last thing he remembered was eating that piece of fruit. He could vaguely hear people talking around him...but he couldn't always make out what they were saying. He was starting to worry because he had heard so much crying. He thought he would never wake up again.

But...he was alive! Thank goodness!

He figured that whatever had happened was because of the pretty brunette that was standing beside him.

So, he walked straight up to her...and kissed her right on the mouth!

"Uh...thanks!" she said, "But it wasn't me...it was him!" And she pointed to Morty.

"Uh...no offense dude, but..."

"It's ok, man. I don't want to kiss you, either. I'll just take her kiss as a thank you, and give you a nice 'you're welcome.'"

Ember was very concerned about what had happened to Storm. She demanded to know the full story.

 I'll spare you the details for the third time.

Ember, however, was not pleased at what she heard. She couldn't believe that someone would be so horrible to their own step-son.

She vowed then and there to find this man, and make him pay for what he did.

Storm, on the other hand, was just anxious to  make it back to his girls.

 And that was exactly where he was headed.

________***________*** ________***________

Back at the house, the girls were having a hard time coping.

At this point, it had been days, and what little bit of hope that had been hanging around, finally packed up and left. They hadn't been to work since Storm had passed away. They couldn't do anything but mope around. 

It's so hard to believe that one person could make that much of an impact on their lives in a short amount of time...but the hole that he left in their lives just couldn't be filled.

However...there was one person that was taking it harder than the rest.

Ditzie refused to move from his bed, and she spent most of her time asleep, and curled into a fetal position. His room still smelled like him, and as long as she was in there...she could feel a little better, and hope that the pixie was right - and that he would be back some day.

All of a sudden, a noise brought her out of her slumber.

She didn't want to get her hopes up...was this a dream?? 

Or was Storm really standing in front of her??

She jumped from the bed and grabbed hold of him.

She couldn't believe her eyes...or her hands. It was really him...he was really there...he wasn't dead, after all...the pixie was right!

She couldn't resist jumping into his arms. It had been so long since she had seen him...and she was so happy that he wasn't really dead.

The other girls heard all of the commotion downstairs and decided to see what was going on.

I can assure you, that no man has ever been hugged or kissed more in their entire life, than Storm was when they discovered that he had made it back home.

________***________*** ________***________

 Back at the castle, the old skunk was bragging to Mirra about how well everything had gone over.

It was pretty nauseating for her to listen to his drivel, especially when she knew what was going on...but she had to stomach it and remember to nod and smile. Men are so ridiculous sometimes.


All of a sudden, someone busted through the door.

And they didn't appear to be coming by for a cup of coffee and a chat.

The look of terror on Ember's face caused the evil stepfather to have a fright.


...the look of yummy on Morty's abs caused Mirra to have a drool.

"Listen to me, you lousy old goat! You are a disgusting excuse for a human being, and if it's the last thing I do...you will PAY for what you did to Storm, do you hear me?"

"Oooooo...look at me...I'm a mad little princess. I'm going to stamp my little foot and throw a temper tantrum over something I can't do anything about. He's DEAD, stupid. Now get out of my face, and take your gnat with you."

Speaking of the "gnats."

Mirra was finding Morty to her liking.

And, I'm thinking that he didn't think she was so bad, either.

But their little love fest was getting shoved to the side by the fight that was going on around them.

"You are nothing but a worthless piece of garbage, and a sorry excuse for a human being. It's a good thing that I came along or Storm would STILL BE DEAD!"

"Ooo...I'm scared. What are you going to do about it, princess?? Huh?"

Oooo...burn!

Apparently, she knocked at least a little bit of sense into him, because immediately...he started apologizing. 

Perhaps, he just wasn't used to women fighting back.

Whatever the reason, Ember noticed something in his lovely purple eyes while he was pleading with her for forgiveness. 

She could see sadness hidden deep within them. 

*sigh* 

Women. Always trying to change bad boys.

The sap was definitely running deep in THIS joint.

Ember, however, still was not very happy about what he had done to Storm. She had already devised a plan to make everything ok. 

In order to completely win her heart, he was going to have to apologize to Storm. He was, after all, the one that was on the receiving end of his nastiness.

I don't know about you...but I'm seeing a pinch there.

"Storm...I...I'm so sorry about what I've done to you and your family."

"I'm a terrible, horrible person...but do you think that you could EVER forgive me?"

Storm had a heart of gold, and he was nothing if not forgiving - so of course, he forgave his evil stepfather. Besides, he knew that the kindness of Ember would have to rub off on him at LEAST a little bit, right?

Being angry at him would never bring his mother back, but he had the girls now...and they were his family. He was happy - and he felt like everyone else deserved a chance at happiness, as well.

Ember and  the stepfather (who's name we now know is "Cruz") now are happily married, and currently residing in the castle, with Storm's blessing.

They are going to need the space. There is a little secret that Ember needs to tell Cruz...

Morty and Mirra still reside with them in the castle, although since they aren't needed much anymore, there is lots of time for OTHER entertainment.

The pixies invited Storm back to the forest, where they finally gave him back his clothes, and his beloved hat.

He now permanently rules the kingdom from the comfort of the girls' house in the middle of the forest. He can't imagine ever leaving them.

And the girls?

Well, they are doing just as well as ever. 

They still go to work every morning, and spend time with Storm every evening.

Well, with the exception of one of them. In light of recent events, Ditzie felt it best to have an early retirement.

And, they lived happily..ever...after.

Well, most of the time. 

;-)