Wolf! Happily Ever After?

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  “No!” she screamed. “You will not defeat me again!” She threw a final green bolt at Wolf as she instantly changed form and took to the air. The dark black raven hovered just out of their reach. Aware that there were no more arrows, she had one last taunt to scream at them. “I am not done with you yet! I will find you wherever you go and I will get back what is mine!” With that promise, she turned and streaked into the air with a powerful thrust of her wings. She vanished from their sight as the few remains of her pack slunk off into the depths of the forest, never to be seen again.

  Surrounded by her green blaze, Wolf snapped and bit in every direction as he tried to fight the final spell she had flung. Eyes just beginning to cloud again, in his agony, he turned to the nearest person—his brother Mato. With one last snarl, he hurled himself at the man, teeth bared and claws foremost.

  With a sinking heart, Mato raised his sword and braced himself as the tip of the blade buried itself into the side of his brother.

  Disneyland — 2008

  “Quick, Mato, give me your cloak! Cloak…the green thing on your back…. We’ve got to get Wolf covered up before anyone comes along.” Wals had already tugged off his own battered red cape and draped it over the prostrate form of Wolf, unconscious on the cold stone floor of the Castle Walkthrough. With no outer windows, he couldn’t tell what time of day—or night—it may have been. The Park could be open, closed, busy, being fumigated….he had no way of knowing.

  At Wals’ urgent request, Mato turned from the brightly-lit window. Inside was a pretty fair representation of the wiya he had known as Rose, lying in an oddly furnished room with a man dressed similarly to Wals bending over her to apparently give her a kiss. Not aware of the story of the Sleeping Beauty or ever having been inside her fair castle, he couldn’t make heads or tails out of the animated scene that played over and over. He already knew he wouldn’t understand most of Wals’ explanation anyway, so he silently complied. His arms ached as he reached up to unfasten his green velvet cape and tuck it around his brother. “Where are Wolf’s clothes?”

  Wals had run down a couple of the steps to see if anyone was coming. He couldn’t hear anything, but the soft music that continually played as ambience could mask subtle sounds. “What? Oh, that. When he changes into a wolf, his clothes aren’t needed. When he comes back, he’s always like this. There’s no way for him to put them on ahead of time. But he usually plans ahead by leaving clothing somewhere close by. Now that I think of it, I think he left his uniform in one of these rooms.” In his anxious state, Wals quit talking when we began to ramble and, instead, tried the doorknob nearest him. He couldn’t exactly remember which room had belonged to Merri when she lived here to keep an eye on Rose. She had pretty much kept under wraps, only coming out to present herself as an animal handler for Disneyland.

  As he opened a door up on the next level, not even pausing to wonder how it could possibly be unlocked, he found the correct room. Without taking the time to look around, he quickly gathered the uniform he spotted in a neatly piled stack off in a dark corner. Had he bothered, he would have found the room was completely empty, devoid of any signs of habitation. Merri had made sure there was no trace of anything left behind that would raise a question about her—or her abilities. Once Wals let go of the door handle, it quietly shut and locked itself for good.

  “How badly hurt is he, Mato? He usually regains consciousness by now.” At Mato’s blank look at his last sentence, Wals reworded it. “He shouldn’t still be sleeping.”

  “Ah.” Seeing a handful of clothes in Wals’ arms, Mato proceeded to rip the unneeded cloak into long strips. Small particles of fluff filled the air like a strange green snow that appeared out of nowhere. The pieces of velvet were then wrapped around Wolf’s ribs where the sword had pierced him. His mouth a firm line, Mato felt tremendous guilt because he had to hurt his brother, but there simply had been no other way to stop him. Both men carefully pulled the uniform’s pants over the many cuts and scrapes on Wolf’s battered body. As they gently lifted him to tug on his shirt, some of the larger cuts reopened and blood immediately seeped through the clean fabric.

  The sound of running feet coming up the stairs caused the two men to exchange a worried look. Wals quickly repositioned the red cape over the worst of the blood stains. Mato drew his knife and stood resolute, face to the approaching noise.

  Wals almost yelled at Mato, but recalled their position and reduced it to a loud hiss. “Put that away! We’re in Disneyland, for crying out loud! You don’t need that.”

  Obviously not in agreement, Mato still complied and slipped the dagger back into his boot. He knew he’d be able to reach it quickly enough if Wals was wrong and it was needed.

  In a flash, Lance, dressed for work in his security uniform, burst into sight with a first-aid kit in hand to bring them both tremendous relief.

  “How did you know we were here?” As Lance kneeled next to his immobile partner, Wals thought of the incongruity. Someone usually had to be called for help.

  “How long has he been out like this?” Lance first wanted to know, putting a cool hand on Wolf’s hot forehead. “We had cameras installed in here just after you and Mato left so we could monitor it from the control room. Kimberly has been watching you since you arrived.” His answer was hurried as he picked up his walkie-talkie.

  “He was like this before we came back.” Mato spoke for the first time since Lance had gotten there. “It was a bad fight,” he murmured, hating his role in it.

  The pain in the brother’s eyes was obvious. Not know how to reply, Lance just merely nodded as he pushed the button to connect to his wife back at the mansion. Explanations would come later. Now, Wolf’s care—and the need to get him quickly out of sight—were the most important things. “Yes, he is as bad as he looks, Kimberly. We need to get him out of sight. Where do you suggest?”

  Back in the War Room, Kimberly studied at the huge holographic map of Disneyland projected into the middle of the room. She wasn’t used to having to look for hiding places. “There’s some kind of empty room under the Hungry Bear. What about that? That way he’ll be close the portal when its time to get Mato home.”

  Lance looked to Wals for confirmation, as they could all hear Kimberly’s voice over the two-way radio. “I know where that is. We’ll need a wheelchair or something to get him over there, though. He won’t be walking any time soon.”

  “Yes, I heard, Lance. Give me a second.” Kimberly’s voice died away from the radio as she went over to the phone that went directly to the Park. Within a minute or two she was back on the radio. “Done. Lance, why don’t you go downstairs and wait for the chair? Wals and Mato are too conspicuous in those clothes. I already put a call in to Doctor Houser. This isn’t his specialty of cryogenics, but I’m sure he’ll know what to do to help. I’ll also send a security detail to divert traffic for when he gets here.”

  “That’s a good idea. We’ll need a couple of escorts, too. Once we get Wolf comfortable, we’ll get Wals and Mato changed into regular clothes.” Lance eyed their torn, dirty costumes. He silently shook his head thinking about what they must have gone through to come back in that condition.

  “All right. Peter is on a play date, so I’ll probably arrive around the same time as the doctor. See you all in a bit. Take care of Wolf!” Kimberly called out a little louder before she disconnected.

  The wheelchair arrived within minutes and was there waiting for Lance at the exit to the Walkthrough. Mato and Wals carefully brought Wolf to his feet and carried him down the last few flights of stairs. Once settled in the chair, Lance wrapped Wals’ red cape over Wolf a little tighter this time to hide and, hopefully, help stop the flow of blood.

  “Okay, here is where it gets fun.” They already attracted attention from the guests, both from Mato and Wals being—sort of—dressed like princes and someone being carried out of the Walkthrough and placed in a wheelchair. The attraction wasn’t known to be so exciting that a guest wouldn’t be abl
e to take it. A few of the people who stood around looked up at the pink towers of the Castle, contemplating giving it a go to see what all the fuss was about. Lance pointed toward the other side of the courtyard. “Let’s take the shortcut to Frontierland. It’s not as well used as the route through the Castle entry and into Main Street.”

  Two of Lance’s and Wolf’s security friends quietly appeared next to the wheelchair. They took one look at Wolf and threw a worried glance at Lance. “We need to get him out of sight under the Hungry Bear.” That was all Lance needed to say. He knew these two could be counted on for any emergency or problem and would never mention it again.

  Nodding their understanding, the oldest, Bob, gave a grunt. “Too bad there aren’t any hidden passageways we can use. I think cutting through Adventureland would be the best route. It would also be the smoothest ride without the rough concrete in Frontierland.”

  Joe, the other guard, concurred. “Over the top of the Pirates entrance, then the upper level past the Haunted Mansion and down past the canoe dock. Agreed? We’ll have to go double-time. Y’all ready?” He looked at all the men. Wals nodded in agreement. Mato impatiently waited for them to do something besides talk.

  They took turns pushing the wheelchair, and one of them always made sure Wolf didn’t tumble out. They traveled as fast as the crowd would allow them. The guests, seeing a fast-moving wheelchair accompanied by Security, were helpful in quickly getting out of the way. It seemed to take forever before they were safely out of sight under the huge wooden restaurant, mere steps away from the small canoes Wals had used such a short time ago.

  The plain white room they were in once again had become more or less of a storeroom of odds and ends discarded from the restaurant with forgotten broken canoe paddles and parade pieces littering the area. Cast members who had known about the little-used room had brought in a variety of “borrowed” furniture pieces over the years so they could use the room for secret rendezvous. Once, it had hosted a huge after-hours party that had ended with an impromptu canoe race and most of the participants skinny-dipping in the River.

  Wals and Lance both cast subtle glances at each other, each wondering how the other knew about this place. Questions like that, too, would come later, when they were in private and Lance’s wife wasn’t nearby.

  Kimberly had met Dr. Houser at the special VIP entrance to the Park and rode with him to the delivery entrance of the Hungry Bear, tucked behind the Winnie the Pooh ride there in Critter Country. Once they arrived in the hidden room, the doctor merely nodded hello. There was little surprise on his face when he saw Wolf’s brother standing there. After his past experience with both Wolf and Wals in the early 1800’s, nothing much surprised him anymore. His medical bag was opened, and he got right to work examining Wolf. The patient had barely regained consciousness by this time, but, typical for him, felt no need to announce that fact.

  Kimberly walked up to the silent, tense Mato as he watched his brother. Lightly resting her hand on his arm, his eyes softened when he turned to face her. “Thank you for bringing Wolf back.” The words seemed so…so inadequate for all he’d done. Her tear-filled eyes showed the depth of her gratitude. “We don’t know what we would’ve done if you hadn’t been able to come.”

  “He is my brother.”

  She patted his arm and nodded her understanding. “I wish I had a brother like you. I would have felt very safe growing up.” She looked back when they heard a low groan come from the patient. “Is he going to be all right?”

  A look of worry crossed Mato’s eyes, but it was quickly gone and the warrior replaced it with pride. “Yes, he is Lakota. He will get better. He would have to answer to our father if he didn’t.”

  That brought a quick smile to Kimberly’s face. “That I understand, too. We go to a lot of pains to make sure our parents don’t know how badly hurt we really are.”

  With his partner in good hands, Lance felt at liberty to attend to other necessary matters. “Wals, where’d you leave your other clothes? In your locker or did you hide them on the Island like Wolf usually does?”

  Tearing his eyes from his hurt friend, his mind filled with the fight, losing Rose, the violence of the vortex, and that final threat from Nimue, he had trouble focusing. “Oh. I think I left them here. I think…. It seems so long ago,” he faded off, and looked back at Wolf when he heard a muffled curse in Lakota. At least, he assumed it was a curse when he heard Mato give a deep chuckle.

  “I’ll go check. You all stay here. I need to get all of you a change of clothes. Anyone else need anything? Doctor?”

  Dr. Houser, who had been silent since he started Wolf’s examination, looked up from his patient, distracted by the interruption. “What? Oh, no, thank you. I think I have all that I need. From the small amount of blood still seeping out and the minimal swelling, it appears the puncture wound missed all the vital organs, thank goodness.” His every move was watched by the anxious group who had stood back to give him room. He silently eyed the long, ancient-looking sword that still hung from Wals’ belt, remembering from his time in the past. “The other cuts and contusions seem to be fairly minor in comparison…. Although, I’m not sure where the burn marks on his arms and neck came from. At least I think they’re burn marks.” He looked to Wals and Mato for any information they could give.

  Not knowing exactly how to describe a glowing green arc of white-hot lightning coming from a centuries-old sorceress, Wals and Mato looked at each other and just shrugged innocently. With an unbelieving “Hmph,” the doctor turned back to his patient who had already started to complain—a sign they all took as encouraging.

  When he was stable enough and Doctor Houser proclaimed him able to be moved without reopening his wounds, Wolf was taken to Lance and Kimberly’s place in the Hills. Wolf, of course, considered himself quite able to go back to their village with his brother. Finally listening to cooler heads than his own, he stoically resigned himself to the fact that he would have to put up with everyone’s hovering for a few more days before he could go home.

  “Wals, I suggest you go back to work for a couple of days while Wolf recuperates. That way you can keep on record as an active cast member.” Kimberly had come across Wals as he wandered aimlessly through their house in the Fullerton Hills. He was getting antsy with nothing to do. Not yet talking about Mato and his experiences, she wondered if work would be the answer to get his mind off whatever they had been through. Mato wasn’t a problem. He never wanted to leave his brother’s side. But Wals needed a diversion. It became more and more difficult to keep him from following Lance into the off-limits War Room.

  She was glad to see his eyes light up. “Back to the canoes?”

  “Well, no, you had been reassigned to Fantasyland, you know. You should go back to Casey Jr. Or,” her face brightened as she thought up an alternate choice, “I can put you on the Storybook Land Canal Boats.”

  Wals clamped his mouth shut. He would rather go back and face Nimue again….

  “Okay,” Kimberly said slowly. “Casey Jr. it is.” Unable to read the look on his face, she took it as a yes. “All right?”

  “Fine,” he replied in a clipped voice.

  “Your lead, Anne, reported you were doing a good job….” Kimberly faltered when he plastered an obviously fake smile on his face.

  “How…nice…of her. My car’s outside. I’d better go check in now.”

  Lance had just come into the library when Wals pushed past him, muttering something under his breath about puffy shirts and lederhosen. When the front door slammed shut, and the windows quit rattling, he turned to his wife. “Did I miss something?”

  Kimberly looked flummoxed. “I think perhaps I missed something.” She could only shrug her shoulders. “I merely suggested Wals might like to go back to work. I thought it would be good to get his mind off whatever it was they went through.”

  “Did you let him go back to the Canoes? He loved that position.”

  “Oh? Should I have? I sent him
back to Casey Jr. Although I did offer to have him switched to the Canal Boats if he wanted.”

  Lance let out a laugh and gave his beloved wife a hug. “And he took that badly, did he? Poor Wals,” he theatrically sighed. “I think we should change him back to the Canoes…but let’s wait a few days. Speaking of which, I have a question for you, Madam Trivia Master, what do these names have in common: Nellie Bly, Lady Katrina, Lady of Shallot, Annie Oakley, Bold Lochinvar, Lady of the Lake, Lady Guinevere, and Gretel?”

  Kimberly gave him a light slap on the arm. “That’s an easy one! My father told me all about The Mud Bank Ride.”

  When Lance gave her a blank look, she grinned smugly. “Ah, I have another one on you this time! I believe that makes our score 210 to 166. Well,” she started when she took his arm in hers as they strolled out of the library, “It all went back to Walt’s love of miniatures.”

  Disneylandia — 1952

  After a decade of collecting and building his own intricate, elaborate miniatures, Walt unveiled his first Americana exhibition at the Festival of California Living in Los Angeles, California. Walt described the attraction he had built as a “visual juke box with the record player replaced by a miniature stage setting.” Almost eight feet in length, the entranced audience listened to the recorded voice of the actress who had appeared in the movie So Dear to My Heart as they peered into the small version of her rustic cabin. They marveled at Walt’s handiwork that included rocking chairs, plank floors, a stone fireplace—the stones having come from his Smoke Tree Ranch property, small rugs, lace curtains, dishes, and even an outhouse.

  The public reaction was so positive that Walt wanted to expand the exhibit to include at least two more tableaus. The most energetic display would be the frontier music hall. Titled “Project Little Man,” this would feature a one-eighth scale, three-dimensional old-time vaudeville dancer. The Imagineers filmed the moves of a popular actor/dancer while others built the elaborate music box that would house the gears and mechanics of what would come to be known as the beginnings of audio-animatronics. Walt, though, didn’t like the unmovable clay face of the puppet, and wanted to do more work with pliable plastics.