by Mia Archer
Now that we were in the ride proper I could see why Dani had been so keen on getting me in here alone. At least I hoped I knew the reason why she wanted me in here. We were surrounded by animatronic characters singing and dancing all around us, but other than that it was as though the two of us were alone. The boats all had a high back, so we couldn’t see what was going on in the boat in front of us and the people behind us would have no idea what was going on in our boat.
I shivered as I realized that a trick of this ride’s design meant we were completely alone in one of the most densely crowded places on the planet.
I licked my lips. Forced myself to breathe as the enormity of what that meant crashed down around me.
“What did you never think, Dani?”
I turned and looked at her. She was staring at me. Not a stare with one of those looks as though I was crazy. No, this was so different. She was staring with a deep interest that sent a fire dancing along my skin. She reached out and brushed a hand against my cheek as music swelled around us with the main romantic theme from another movie.
“I never thought I’d come here with someone I cared about. At least not until I was way older,” she said.
We moved into a new room and my attention was pulled away from Dani for a moment. Though to be honest I needed a distraction. My heart raced with anticipation. The animatronics around us helped take my mind off of that. We were in a room where people twirled and spun in fabulous dresses that looked like the sort of thing they would’ve worn in grandfather’s time. Definitely nothing like the balls we had in the palace now.
“I always thought the depiction of royalty in these movies was a little ridiculous,” I said, wanting a change of subject. I wasn’t quite ready to deal with the consequences of what Dani had just admitted.
“Really? Always seemed okay to me,” she said. Was that a touch of disappointment in her voice? Did she think I wasn’t interested? That was the last thing I wanted. Why was I pulling away from her when I was so close to getting what I wanted? Why was I afraid?
“Right, but the details are all wrong. You have architecture from two hundred years ago mixing with fashion from a hundred years ago, and the way they depict royal life is nothing like…”
I trailed off. I was getting one of those looks again. I blushed and looked away. Oh yeah, if there was a moment brewing there then I’d gone and ruined it. Stupid idiot. I shouldn’t be running from this. It was just the two of us here. No Felix. No father. No one to tell me what I was doing was scandalous and wrong.
“You seem to know a lot about this sort of thing,” Dani said.
“I’m just interested in history,” I said. I hoped that would be a believable enough excuse, even if it didn’t sound very convincing.
The boat continued on in the darkness and we moved into a room depicting a scene that was very familiar to me. It should be, considering it was showing the scene from the hedge maze. The one depicted in the topiary where I’d met Dani earlier in the day, only instead of a hedge carving it was animatronic versions of the prince and princess miming singing while their song blasted out of hidden speakers somewhere in the massive room. I felt Dani snuggle up even closer.
“You know when I watched this movie growing up I always hoped my prince would come,” she whispered. “It was only recently that I realized the truth I’d been hiding from. That I was looking for a princess to sweep me off my feet.”
I panicked for a moment. That sounded an awful lot like she’d figured out who I was. After all, there were only two princesses in this room who could sweep her off her feet, and I didn’t think the robot going through fixed motions eternally kissing her robotic prince was going to step down and sweep Dani off her feet. That would be pretty freaky if it did happen.
Only she didn’t say anything about me being a princess. She just leaned in. Closed her eyes. Pursed her lips. I shivered as I realized what was going on. She was talking metaphorically. She had no idea who I was.
And she was leaning in for a kiss. Right. I couldn’t quite believe this was actually happening, that I’d found happiness like this on a trip where I was supposed to be kept away from the world and exactly this sort of thing.
I leaned forward an lost myself in the moment. I pressed my lips against Dani’s and felt magic that went so far beyond any of the “magical” experiences on offer in the park.
17: Dani
Magic. Sparks. Explosions. My first kiss ever with a girl and it was so much more than any kiss I’d shared with Colin. It was one hell of a confirmation that my desire to be with another girl was very much a real thing and not just theoretical.
It was also different, in a way. Her kiss was softer. Less insistent at first, though that quickly changed as she sighed and wrapped an arm around me. I’d heard stories of people using this ride as an excuse to make out, sometimes to do a lot more than making out which usually resulted in being ejected from the park, but I hadn’t really thought it would work out for me until it actually happened.
I’d hoped, of course.
I was so preoccupied with that wonderful kiss that I barely noticed when we burst into the light and the noise of a crowd washed over us. A noise that quickly grew louder as people looked over and realized there were a couple of girls making out. Flashes went off before I could pull away, and when I did pull away with a huge blush creeping across my face I saw people snapping pictures and taking videos with their phones.
“Damn it,” I growled. “Nice of those assholes to make a spectacle of us.”
I figured the situation wouldn’t be the same if it was a girl and a guy making out. That was something people saw all the time on this ride. Put two pretty girls together kissing, though, and suddenly it was a spectacle that needed to be recorded and shared with the world. I just hoped if people posted those videos online they didn’t wind up back where someone from the band would see it.
At least I hoped they wouldn’t see it until after the trip was over. I was already getting enough bullshit on that front. This would add fuel to that fire.
Amelia’s reaction was different than mine, though. She reached out and clutched my wrist so hard that it was almost on the verge of pain. She wasn’t taking this nearly as well as I was. She flinched away from the cameras and scrambled to get her hat and sunglasses back on even though we were still inside and the sun wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Heck, it was late enough in the day that even outside the sun was probably going down.
“Is something wrong?” I asked, thinking back to all the weirdness earlier in the day that was adding up to one hell of a big secret that I was getting more and more curious about with each passing moment.
“I just hate having my picture taken,” she said. “Now come on. We need to get out of here!”
People in the crowd were pointing and their conversation was a dull roar, but we were too far away to make out what they were saying. A few people taking pictures and video seemed a heck of a lot more interested than what they should be for a couple of girls kissing. What the hell was going on here?
I never got an answer. As soon as the bar holding us in the boat released Amelia hopped out and ran for the exit. I had no choice but to follow, but I turned and looked at those strange people one final time. My curiosity was rewarded with more blinding lights flashing in my face as they took more pictures.
Weird. Totally fucking weird.
I turned back towards Amelia but she was gone. She’d sprinted down the tunnel leading out of the ride. As I sprinted after her I heard people shouting, but I didn’t look back to see what was going on.
I needed to find Amelia.
I stepped out into the park and it was much cooler than when we’d gone into the ride. Dusk had settled over the park and I couldn’t see the sun overhead which was a nice change. As I stood looking around electric lights flipped on and I was bathed in multicolored lighting from all the stores and rides. The crowds were also pretty sparse for some reason. There’d been rivers of people mo
ving through this street when we arrived and now it was pretty much a ghost town in comparison.
All of that barely registered, though. I was more concerned with the fact that Amelia wasn’t one of the people out there in that crowd. I looked around for her familiar face and came up blank.
I fought down the panic that was threatening to burst free. She had to be out here somewhere. She wasn’t going to abandon me because of some people taking her picture. Not after that incredible kiss we’d shared. At least I prayed she wouldn’t abandon me.
That would do wonders for my self esteem if she did.
I peered around the ride and noticed there was a little alcove with a single gift shop selling merchandise based on the movies shown in the ride. Beyond that was a sign that advertised restrooms, and it was all set in fake rock work that looked pretty damn realistic. Those rocks rose up to form a small mountain, pretty tall for the park, with a castle on top that topped the ride proper and had somehow been faked to look like it was far off in the distance.
Most importantly, though, it didn’t look like there was anyone down there in that alcove. Whatever made the park into a ghost town had also emptied that area out. I figured that would be as good a place as any to find Amelia.
I rounded the corner and sure enough there she was, curled up leaning against the rock wall rocking back and forth. I wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, I’d never kissed a girl before and I’d also never dealt with a girl having a complete meltdown after kissing me, so I just sat down next to her and curled up as well.
I also made sure to not sit up against her on the off chance that it was that kiss that was freaking her out and not all those pictures being taken. I’d feel really crappy if a kiss from me was enough to do this to her, but there wasn’t much I could do except be here for her if she needed me.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I’m going to be fine,” she said. “I’m sorry I reacted like that. It wasn’t fair to you.”
“So it wasn’t…”
Damn this was hard to say. I wanted to know if it was the smooching that freaked her out, but I was also terrified of the answer. What if she said that’s what did it? I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle that.
“Wasn’t what?” she asked.
“The kiss? Y’know, that freaked you out?”
Amelia’s eyes went wide. They reflected the light from a streetlight hovering overhead.
“No! That wasn’t it at all. Trust me. That was good. Very good,” she said.
Well that was enough to give a girl a case of the warm fuzzies. It was also a relief to know I wasn’t the reason she was acting this way. Still, there was the question of all the weirdness that had been going down today. I was curious, but I was also afraid of trying to satisfy that curiosity. Afraid asking might push her away. If she reacted like this to some people taking her picture then I wasn’t sure what would set her off.
It figures that my first time falling for a girl would involve falling for one of the crazies. Though I suppose we were all a little bit crazy in our own special way. That’s what made life so interesting.
“So what was going on back there?” I asked. “You’ve been acting kind of weird ever since we met in that hedge maze. Is there something going on that I should know about?”
Amelia opened her mouth but was interrupted by a fanfare of trumpets that blasted out from hidden speakers in the rock work around us. The fanfare faded and went into the theme from Over the Wall and then an announcer came on.
“The Royal Company is pleased to welcome you to our evening fireworks spectacular which will be starting in ten minutes! Please follow your guides and be sure to clear out of the streets before the magic begins!”
Okay then. That explained why the streets were pretty empty. Everyone must be gathered on some of the main thoroughfares where they could be assured of getting a good view that wasn’t interrupted by rides built into massive fake mountains.
Amelia looked away, but I wasn’t letting her get away that easily. I reached over and pulled her towards me gently. I wanted to pull her in for a kiss, but before I did that I wanted some answers. She looked down, then back up, and I realized there were tears welling up in her eyes.
This really was some dangerous territory I was moving into. She reached up and took the hand resting on her cheek. Wrapped her fingers around mine and gave it a squeeze.
“Dani, I’ve had such a wonderful time with you tonight, and I really want to continue enjoying that.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I want to enjoy the time we have together. I don’t want anything to get between us. Can’t we just have tonight?”
Damn. Can’t we just have tonight. That sounded an awful lot like she didn’t think there was any chance of something long term happening here. Not that I should’ve expected anything long term from this. A romance in a theme park with a girl who literally lived on the other side of an ocean with me going off to college in the fall? Yeah, it’s not like we were going to get married any time soon.
Still, to be reminded of that hurt just a little. And it also made me more inclined to give her what she wanted. This might be the only night we had together. What did I care if she acted a little weird? Chances are I’d never see her again after tonight, an that was a bittersweet thought.
“You’re right,” I said. I smiled. “We’ll always have tonight?”
Amelia smiled and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered. “We will always have tonight, and it’s not like it’s over yet!”
More trumpets blasted over those hidden speakers. It was really impressive how they managed to make it seem like there were no electronics in evidence, though I suppose the darkness helped to conceal them.
“The Royal Company fireworks spectacular will start in five minutes! Please follow your guides and be sure to clear out of the streets before the magic begins!”
“We’re going to miss the show,” I said. “There’s no way we’ll be able to get through the crowds to a big spot.”
“Too bad we can’t see through this big mountain,” Amelia said. She looked down towards the restrooms which were set into a sloped part of the rock work. She got a strange smile on her face and looked at me with a suddenly mischievous twinkle in her eye.
“What are you thinking, Amelia?” I asked. “And why do I have the feeling it’s going to potentially get us in trouble?”
“I was just thinking those rocks there are sloped so that we could get up there easily enough if we wanted to. I bet there’s a great view of the fireworks from the top of this fake mountain!”
I glanced around. “I don’t know. If they can hide speakers as well as they have then something tells me they can hide cameras just as easily. We’ll probably have security escort us out of the park or something.”
Visions of getting kicked out of the park and banned ran through my head. I’d been in a strange fairytale zone all day walking around with Amelia, but that was a reminder that I’d be going back to reality soon enough. Fredericks would kill me if I managed to get myself banned right before the big performance tomorrow.
And yet. Amelia looked so excited at the idea. I couldn’t say no. I was going to risk getting in trouble. She seemed to have this crazy idea that she couldn’t get in trouble, and it was rubbing off on me. I wasn’t sure that was a good thing, but I smiled anyways and the way she smiled back made it so worth it.
I’d already done several crazy things today. What was one more? Besides, if we only had this one night then I wanted to make sure it was memorable!
I glanced down towards the main drag but most everyone was rushing off towards the Royal Palace. No one was looking down our way as we scrambled onto the rocks. I worried for a moment that they might collapse under us if they were made of foam or something, but they held under our weight.
We finally scrambled to the top of the fake mountain and I stared at the lit up castle on top of our mountain.
Now that we were up here I could see that the thing was barely taller than us, and the top was much smaller than the bottom as though some mad scientist had used a shrink ray on the top and not the bottom. Maybe that was to make it look bigger or farther away than it actually was or something.
I quickly ducked back down and pulled Amelia with me.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“That castle is lit up. Anyone who looks up here would be able to see us blocking the light,” I said.
“Oh. Good idea. I never would’ve thought of that,” Amelia said.
We scrambled back down the mountain until we were facing the Royal Palace off in the distance, though now that we were up here above the crowds it didn’t look nearly as far away as it had seemed from the ground. Maybe they used fakery to make it look like it was farther away too. Faking things to make them look more impressive than they actually were seemed to be honed to a science in this park.
Trumpets sounded one final time and the announcer came on to welcome everyone to the Royal Realms fireworks spectacular. Music started up all over the park and then the fireworks started exploding in the sky in a timed sequence that was nothing short of spectacular.
Only my attention was barely on the fireworks in the sky. No, I was drawn to the fireworks happening right next to me as Amelia reached her arm around me and snuggled up against me once more. Her head came to rest on my shoulder and I put my arm around her as well.
It was a truly magical experience, and it had nothing to do with the display in front of us.
“This has been a good day,” Amelia said. “I wasn’t expecting anything like this when I came here.”
“I know what you mean,” I said. “I figured I’d be miserable this entire trip, then I snuck off and found you.”
Amelia turned and looked up at me. Leaned in close. I knew where this was going, and I was more than happy for it to go there! I leaned in and for the second time that night I felt her lips against mine. The fireworks show was forgotten as we found another improbable bit of privacy in the middle of one of the most densely populated places on the planet. The fireworks, the music, the entire outside world was forgotten for one perfect moment in one perfect kiss that turned into a perfect intense makeout session.