Unexpected Perfection (Emperor's New Groove)

Part Six

We clung to each other as we reached the end of the cliff. I fought against looking down as I heard small rocks bouncing down the long drop. The jaguars inched closer, reveling in their catch, but just as they were about to pounce an unsteady yell was coming towards our direction.

"Dad!" I pointed fervently, "Kuzco! It's my dad!" The Emperor's face turned into complete joy and relief. As my dad came closer, he held out one arm to catch us, the other gripping the vine he swung from. I jumped into his open arm and sighed in relief but that quickly vanished when I realized the Emperor was still stranded on the cliff.

The jaguars began to stalk closer as we swung back towards the Emperor. His attention captured by the cats, Kuzco gasped in surprise when we snatched him. I looked down at him happily but my eyes widened when I saw that he was struggling to breathe. My hands were tightly clasped around his long neck from when I grabbed him off the cliff.

"Oh! Sorry!" Carefully, I held onto the rope so that my dad could use his free arm to hold Kuzco.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I gotcha. You're safe now." He looked at me, "You okay, sweetie?" Before I could reply, we hit a large broken tree branch. The sudden stop in momentum made the vine snap and twist around us. We were tied to a tree.

"Maybe I'm new to this whole rescuing thing, but this, to me, might be considered kind of a step backward, wouldn't you say?" I bumped my hip into the Emperor at his snarky comment. He and I were tied next to each other with my dad on the other side of the branch.

My dad rambled in an attempt to assure us that we were okay but before we could think of a solution the frightening snaps of wood were heard.

"I hate you." I was surprised by the Emperor's emotionless reaction to the imminent event of us falling towards the very distant ground.

Our screams echoed throughout the jungle and canyon walls as we plummeted down towards the river valley. Miraculously, the ends of the log hit sharp rocks on our descent. Slowing our fall and also protecting us from being the ones jabbed by solid stone. In a blink of an eye, we plunged into the deep river, remaining underwater until the log started to float back up.

Without any time to catch our breath, we were hurled down a chaotic stream seeming to hit each rock along the way. After falling down a short waterfall, we finally floated in a calm section of the river. Deep gasps for air could be heard from all of us.

The Emperor recovered quickly, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting all funned out." I laughed, failing to keep my mouth shut. "How are you laughing right now?"

I smirked, "I thought your whole life was fun."

"It was until you two came along," he sniffed.

"Uh-oh." I craned my head towards my dad's direction even though it was impossible to see him.

"What?" I asked timidly.

The Emperor sighed, "Don't tell me. We're about to go over a huge waterfall."

"Yep," My dad's voice softened, "Amara, I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

The Emperor interrupted us, "Sharp rocks at the bottom?"

Sighing, my dad replied, "Most likely."

"Bring it on."

~

Everything felt so heavy... and numb. Oh, never mind, now my head's pounding. With my eyelids still closed with exhaustion, I slowly took in my surroundings through my other senses. Weakly, I dug my hands into the hard surface I was laying on. Dirt. Solid ground, I thought happily. A light but cool breeze whispered over me making me shiver, I was still wet.

"For the last time, it was not a kiss."

"Well, whatever you call it... it was disgusting. And if you would've done what I ordered you to do in the first place, we all could've been spared your little kiss of life."

After a few attempts, I successfully opened my eyes. Moving to a sitting position seemed to stimulate my lungs as they became irritated. I coughed loudly, water making its way out.

"Amara!" I heard two startled voices exclaim.

Looking up, I found my dad and the Emperor a couple feet away. The Emperor had a large smile painted across his llama face while my dad was glancing at him with confusion before returning his attention to me.

"Hi, you guys," I said, slowly walking toward them. I sat back down by my dad who seemed to be attempting to make a fire. My body already burned with the little energy I spent walking over.

The Emperor cleared his throat, his face returning to its naturally arrogant expression, "Well, now that you're both awake, you will take me back to the palace. I'll have Yzma change me back, and then I'll start construction on Kuzcotopia."

Too tired to contribute my usual sass, I let my dad take charge and accidentally fell asleep.