It All Started...

by David W. Smith

  As it was, he was more concentrated with the subtly seductive sway of Kimberly’s hips as she walked slightly in front of him. He heard her give a sharp gasp, and without warning, she suddenly stopped, causing him to run into her.

  She waved off his muttered “sorry”, and pointed at one of the pictures on the wall. It was in the 1958-1959 display showing the construction of the Matterhorn Mountain, the Submarine Voyage, and the Monorail that were the main rides of that expansion.

  “Look at that, Lance.” Kimberly pointed at a black and white picture of Walt with a Tyrolean hat on his head. The shot looked to be in a dim antique shop; he stood next to a counter…and held a shield. Lanced leaned forward and looked at the old picture. It was then he saw what Kimberly had recognized: It was the wolf shield in the drawing. Side by side, Kimberly and Lance looked below the picture where a small, brass plate read, “Zermatt, Switzerland—1958.”

  After a moment of silence to digest the image, Lance broke the silence. “So, do we have to go to Switzerland?” Kimberly looked up from the picture. “You do know how to ski, don’t you?”

  Before Kimberly could reply, the door to Administrations opened and a long-time supervisor, George, came out. He nodded to Kimberly and looked at Lance as if he should know who he was, but just couldn’t place him. “Hi there, Kimberly,” he muttered as he tried to go around them.

  “Hi, George!” Kimberly greeted the older gentleman. Before he got a few steps past them, she called out to him again. “Hey, George.”

  Surprised by the call, he stopped and turned around. “Yeah?”

  Kimberly took a step closer to the supervisor. “George, maybe you can help us here.” She threw Lance a quick look to see if it was all right. At his subtle nod, she pointed at the picture of Walt. “Would you, by chance, know the location of this wolf shield that Walt is holding?”

  George peered down at the picture and then walked away. They thought he was just going to leave, as if he hadn’t heard her question. But, he stopped at another section of the wall of pictures. “Come over here.” He motioned for them and then pointed at a picture in the 1962-1963 section. It was obviously a ‘before and after’ picture of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. The ‘before’ half of the picture was the famous picture of Walt walking through the back of the Castle right before opening day. George indicated a section of the Castle above Walt’s head. It was the plain face of the balcony under the three high arched windows, the picture taken from the Fantasyland side of the Castle. The ‘after’ picture showed the same balcony—only this time there were three shields in place on the face of the balcony. The third shield to the right was their wolf shield!

  Kimberly gave a delighted shriek of joy, one that made the usually-sour George light up. “Glad I could help.” He then turned and continued his interrupted journey.

  “Oh my god! I see that every day when I work as a princess in Fantasyland. No wonder it looked familiar to me.”

  “I know! How can you be so dense?” Lance had to kid her as he obviously enjoyed the sight of her dazzling smile.

  “Hey, Brentwood, you didn’t know where it was either! And how long have you worked here? Forty years?”

  They both laughed as Kimberly slipped her arm around his and said, “Come on. Let’s go see Walt’s wolf.”

  They stood below the pink balcony and looked up. As the crowds coming and going through the Castle parted around them, some paused to see what had captured the attention of the two people in that odd manner. When the ones who stopped didn’t see anything different or noteworthy, they merely shrugged and went on their way.

  “Does our shield look like it sticks out further than the other two?” Speaking softly, Lance ignored the few people who still looked upward with them.

  “Could be,” she squinted; the sun was cresting in the south where its brightness formed a silhouette of the castle’s turrets and rooftops. “Do you think we need to find out if there’s something that might be hidden behind it?”

  Lance rubbed his chin as he thought out loud. “Or inside it. One of our clues was hidden inside a fake rafter.” That clue he had found with Adam had been in the garage of Walt’s old house. “If Adam hadn’t been a General Contractor, I don’t know if we would’ve found that one. It blended in so well it was almost invisible.”

  “Then I think we need to get a closer look.”

  Lance grinned over at her. “You bring a ladder with you?”

  “No, but I have an idea.” She started to walk through the shadowed interior of the Castle, heading toward the drawbridge. “Tell me, Lance, how do you look in tights?”

  “I don’t,” he replied stiffly.

  Kimberly just laughed and led him backstage to Costuming.

  Moments later, Daniel Crain looked up at the backside of the Castle. “Ah, so that’s where the old man meant. It’s nice to have them doing all the work for me.” He chuckled at his joke and blended back into the shadows of the exit leading to Tomorrowland. “Now all I have to do is wait.”

  “No!” Lance’s refusals were getting more and more heated. Arms folded over his chest, his attitude was clearly obstinate. “It’s…it’s just wrong!”

  Kimberly looked at the costume she held out to the ever-stubborn Lance. “What? It’s a perfectly lovely costume. Tim wears it all the time. He doesn’t have a problem with it.”

  “Then let Tim wear it. And feathers? Oh, come on now!”

  “And I thought you were secure in your masculinity,” she teased. “It’s only one feather.”

  His arms tightened against his chest. “I am secure. I could give you a list…never mind,” as her fair eyebrows shot up. “I simply refuse to look like an idiot.”

  “Lance, unless you have another suggestion, I know this plan will work. I dress as Cinderella. You dress as Prince Charming. We walk through the Castle, go upstairs through a secret passageway, and exit out on the balcony. We wave at the guests below, pretend to waltz a couple of steps.… Oh, dear. Perhaps I should have asked earlier. You do know how to waltz, don’t you?” She decided to prolong the teasing as long as she could.

  He rolled his eyes. “Of course I do. You don’t attend cotillions in Boston without knowing how to waltz.”

  Her green eyes had a wicked sparkle. “I’ll ask you about the cotillions later,” she promised. “After we waltz, I drop my shawl over the wolf, and you do what you need to do with it. Simple.”

  He stared at her. “You aren’t going to give this up, are you?”

  She again held out the princely costume to him. “You’ll look dashing.”

  Lance grabbed the clothes out of her hands. “I always look dashing.” He gave a loud sniff as he headed for the men’s changing room with the hope there was no one there who knew him—especially his security partner, Wolf. He’d never hear the end of it if Wolf was there.

  The crowds parted as the royal couple swept past them. Kimberly had to keep hissing for Lance to smile as she daintily held up one side of her blue princess dress with her sparkling gloved hand. Dressed in dark blue tights, brown knee-high boots, and a white doublet with a golden cross embroidered on the front, Lance had to keep blowing the dark blue feather out of his face as it drooped from the flat velvet cap on his head. They stopped every few hundred feet to allow guests to take pictures. The guests were excited, especially the women who came across the pair. They hardly ever got to see Prince Charming. And such a handsome one, at that!

  Lance finally got into the spirit of the moment when he was asked by a darling little girl to sign her autograph book. He had to change the ‘L’ into a wide flowing ‘P’ when he remembered how he was supposed to sign the book. He actually felt the relief flow off Kimberly when he started acting in a more princely fashion. He hadn’t realized how difficult he was making it for her.

  “This way,” she whispered when they arrived at the back of the Castle. “We’ll be right back.” She gave an airy wave to the guests who were still waiting for pictures. Kimberly led the way into a
Cast Member’s Only door. As they entered a small portico, Kimberly pointed toward the corner of the closet-sized room. “There’s a stairway over there.” She took his hand when the door closed, shutting off their source of light. There was a small fluorescent bulb under the first step of the stairway but it offered very little contrast once the door was shut.

  “Glad you know where you’re going.” Lance’s eyes took a while to adjust to the blackness. He felt her fingers in his hand and, once again, enjoyed the touch of her even if it was encased in a light blue, elbow-length glove.

  Kimberly lead the way to the stairs, but the narrow passageway up to the balcony only allowed one at a time up the stairs. “Watch your step and stay close.” Kimberly let go of his hand and moved up the stairs ahead of him. Lance reached forward in the darkness for her, his hand finding the small of her back. Feeling his hand just above the bustle that was part of her elaborate costume, Kimberly smiled in the security of the darkness. “Uh, not too close, Mr. Brentwood.”

  “Hey, you said to stay close,” Lance reminded her with a little laugh.

  “Okay, but be careful…it can be very dangerous in here.” Kimberly tried to sound menacing.

  “Maybe I should hold on with both hands, then,” Lance joked as he matched her step for step.

  “Don’t push your luck, mister.” Kimberly finally reached behind for his hand. “Here, just hold my hand. It’s safer than where you’re grabbing.”

  Kimberly led the way a few more steps and then came to a landing. Lance was able to join her as there was room for both of them. Another fluorescent bulb lit the floor. A muted green exit sign was hung above a door. “We don’t use the balcony very often. The guests prefer us down at their level for pictures. But, we used to use it for shows a few years back.” She paused and then added, “It is going to be bright out there when I open the door. You ready?”

  Lance enjoyed just hearing her voice in the darkness. Without visual distractions, he could notice her tone more acutely. He wanted to continue listening to her in this dark, almost tranquil room. Begrudgingly, Lance quit protesting her plan. “Yep, ready if you are.”

  They squinted at the brightness when Kimberly opened the outer door. They were on a walkway that covered the entire back edge of the Castle. Kimberly led them to the balcony. From the noise rising from the ground level, they could tell right away that they had been spotted. For the guests below, this was something different and the royal pair soon had a large crowd watching. Lance found himself in an unfamiliar panic. It was not just from having to wear the embarrassing tights and feathered hat, but also from being exposed to the masses on a raised balcony that made him feel like he was on stage with the sun as their spotlight.

  “Dance with me.” Kimberly wondered why Lance just stood there looking like a deer in the headlights. She held out a dainty hand almost right in his face. It only took Lance the count of two before realizing what Kimberly was asking of him.

  She was pleasantly surprised when Lance gave her a courtly bow at his waist. With his left arm tucked behind his back and holding her left arm up in the air with his right hand, he led her through a classic waltz step that covered most of the walkway, ending back at the balcony. When they stopped and faced the guests, a large round of applause went up.

  The two took a bow and waved goodbye to the observers below. Lance had timed it so that, when they finished their dance, they would be standing in the middle of the balcony, directly behind the three shields that were attached just below the balcony’s ledge. As people below began to disperse, Kimberly let her shawl down off her shoulders and laid it over her arm, resting it on the edge of the balcony rail. She moved it over to cover the far right crest, the one that had the wolf depicted on its shield.

  Lance took his cue and reached down over the rail to grasp the shawl. To the crowd below, the delicate garment must have caught on something sharp, because Prince Charming had a terrible time getting Cinderella’s shawl loose. Lance was able to wrap the shield in the shawl and used it as cover to lift the piece off of its heavy mounting hooks. The two-foot tall shield slid easily off the pins, but Lance had to lift it up a good four inches before it slipped free. When he suddenly ducked down behind the edge of the balcony, out of sight of the guests below, the shield was securely in his hands. As he worked on retrieving whatever secret the shield held, Kimberly covered for him by waving and calling greetings to the little girls below.

  “Got it!” Lance gave her an over-loud whisper as he stood from his hidden position. Using the shawl once more as a distraction, he slid the shield over the rail and carefully back onto its hooks, the whole process not taking more than thirty seconds.

  “That was quick.” Still waving, Kimberly glanced at Lance as he stood and handed her the abused shawl in princely, dramatic style.

  “Yeah, well, I almost dropped it,” Lance whispered through a clenched-teeth smile.

  “The clue?”

  “No, the shield.”

  “Oh, dear,” Kimberly winced, thinking about the horror if that had occurred. “Let’s not knock out anyone below. This might be hard enough to explain as it is.”

  “It’s fine. Everything’s back as if we never touched the shield.”

  “Okay. Good. Well, just keep smiling and let’s get off the Castle. This isn’t exactly an authorized appearance, you know.” She kept a pleasant smile on her face as she talked. “You ready to go?”

  “Any time you are, Princess.” Lance walked a little gingerly as he headed for the door. Seeing the way he walked, Kimberly wondered if he pulled a muscle or something when he leaned over the rail to lift the crest. Lance leaned close to Kimberly’s ear so he could whisper to her. “You could have gotten me a costume with pockets, you know.”

  “Where is it?”

  “You don’t want to know,” he told her with a grin.

  “Charming.”

  “Always. Let us be gone. Our admiring subjects await.”

  “Don’t get lost in the role,” Kimberly muttered as they exited the balcony and headed for the stairway back to the ground level.

  It took Kimberly and Lance almost a full hour to work their way through the delighted fans. They gamely posed for numerous photos again, all the time basically walking backward toward the backstage area where they would be able to change clothes again and head home. To make sure they had the least time backstage and the least possible chance of running into someone who might know they really weren’t supposed to be there, they aimed for the Cast Member’s Only door that was nearest to the changing rooms. And that meant more time with the guests.

  Lance was very conscious of the plastic capsule hidden underneath his clothes. He had to be careful how he walked and was unable to bend over to have his picture taken with the little Princes and Princesses. This, however, proved not to be much of a discouragement to the moms who were more than happy to throw an arm around the handsome Prince Charming and pose for their own picture. Lance heard quite a few comments like: “Just a minute, honey. Mommy’s busy.”

  When they were finally backstage, Lance leaned wearily against the closed door. “How do you stand that day after day?”

  “Stand what?”

  He closed his open mouth and just smiled at her. “Never mind. I’ll meet you back here after you change, and we’ll head to my place to check this out.”

  Kimberly’s green eyes sparkled with excitement. She had to literally remind herself not to bounce up and down and clap her hands. They were still aware of the fact that they had made an unscheduled appearance and had basically ransacked part of the Castle—all of which was probably recorded for posterity in numerous cameras and camcorders. That probably wouldn’t go over very well with The Powers That Be should those pictures come to light. So, they needed to play it cool until they were safely off the Park’s property. Kimberly just grinned broadly and gave Lance a nod in agreement. Sweeping the hem of her blue gown up into her hands, she turned and ran up the steps to the dressing rooms. La
nce had a vision of glass slippers and sparkling stockings as she disappeared from his view. Then, remembering his own predicament, he hurried into the men’s changing room. With the hidden capsule, the tights were not only embarrassing, but now they were also uncomfortable.

  Whenthey returned to Lance’s apartment, Kimberly watched impatiently as he worked on opening the narrow capsule he had retrieved from behind the wolf shield. Right by his side, she reached out occasionally as if to do it herself; only to smile and pull her hand back.

  “So, exactly where was this hidden?” Unable to keep still, she had to ask something.

  Lance looked at her funny. “Behind…the…wolf…shield…,” he slowly answered.

  She playfully swatted his arm. “No, I mean in your costume.”

  “You really don’t want to know.”

  “Eww.”

  “Hey, you asked,” he mumbled, as he tried the seal again. This capsule was much narrower than the others had been. It had been nestled into the back of the shield, almost becoming a second backing for it. Painted the same color as the front of the shield, the blending had been perfect. If Lance hadn’t known what to look for, he probably would have just passed it by. Thinking about the timeline, he didn’t know for sure when the shields had been placed on the Castle. In the famous photograph of Walt walking through the back of the Castle moments before Opening Day, there were three empty places for the shields that would come later. Lance figured it was probably some date in the 1960’s that the shields were all put into place, including the more famous one on the front of the Castle.

  Lance had taken the first animation cel he had found in Columbia out of his small safe and put it on his coffee table along with the clues. Kimberly, he could tell, was excited to be in on this find and subsequent unveiling of the next clue. He also silently tormented her by pretending to have an extremely difficult time getting the capsule to pop open. Watching her reactions out of the corner of his eye, he could tell she was about to grab it from his inept hands and gnaw the end off with her teeth if she had to. When she gave another impatient groan at an ineffectual turn of the end cap, Lance decided to end her misery and easily pulled the cap off.