Unexpected Perfection (Emperor's New Groove)

Part Eight

We had finally escaped the jungle to reach the green hills and mountains that surrounded the palace, it could even be seen from where we were standing. We all had made light conversation on our way here. It was this weird transition that my dad and I were experiencing, from tolerating the Emperor's presence to growing to enjoy it.

We walked along the dirt path, surrounded by rolling waves of grass. My dad was walking ahead as me and Kuzco walked aside each other.

"Here," he said in a muffled voice. Looking to my side, I found him holding a wildflower in his mouth. Surprised, I slowly grabbed it, caressing the petals.

Smirking, mainly to mask my unexpected blush, I gave a soft, "Thanks".

Kuzco swallowed and then asked, "So...what are you going to do? When you get home?"

Thankful for the conversation to distract me from my reaction to the flower, I replied, "Well, we'll probably have to tell my mom about this whole fiasco. The rest of my family still doesn't know that our home was at risk," I gave him a grateful smile, "but afterward... I think I'm finally going to leave."

The llama's head snapped towards me, "What? You're leaving?"

I chuckled at his reaction, "Yeah. My friend and I have been planning it for a while. A whole year dedicated to traveling the empire and maybe even more than that." My hands moved in the air exuberantly.

"Wow," he cleared his throat, "You'll come back though? I mean, for your family and stuff..." his voice drifted off.

"Of course, I'd miss you guys too much." I walked towards my dad who was standing at the entrance of the bridge, leaving the Emperor to catch on to what I said.

~

"Ok, once we cross this bridge, it's only an hour to the palace," my dad said happily.

Kuzco laughed, "Good, because believe it or not, I think I need a bath."

"Oh, I believe it," I quipped as we started across the wooden bridge cautiously. My dad went first then Kuzco followed by me. Kuzco gave a sarcastic laugh looking back at me.

Suddenly, the crack of wood and snapping of rope echoed through the rock canyon. My dad fell through the broken wood.

"Dad!" Ignoring the possibility of myself falling through, I rushed towards the hole where my dad disappeared. Kuzco and I peered down and both sighed in relief as we saw my dad dangling below us. Multiple ropes tied around his body kept him from falling to his death. "Oh, thank goodness!" I started to pull at the ropes to hoist him up. My efforts were in vain due to my dad's dead weight, "Kuzco! Help me get him up."

Out of the corner of my eye, a figure jumped over the missing pieces of wood. Continuing my attempt at pulling my dad up, I briefly looked across from me to find Kuzco standing there. My face morphed into confusion but deep down I felt the gnawing pressure of what he was going to do. "Kuzco," I whispered sadly.

My dad shouted from below, "Kuzco! Quick! Help her."

I looked at the Emperor, holding on to the splinter of hope that he wasn't going to leave. "No. I don't think I will."

"Kuzco, pl-please h-help," I pleaded, emotion clogging my throat.

Anger took over my dad, "You're going to leave me here?"

Ignoring my begging, the Emperor arrogantly said, "Well, I was going to have you imprisoned for life, but I kind of like this better."

My dad bellowed, shaking his fist in the air, "I thought you were a changed man."

"Oh, come on. I had to say something to get you to take me back to the city."

"So all of it was a lie?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me uneasily, "Well, yeah. No, wait. Uh, yeah, yeah. It all was a lie." The Emperor shouted 'Toodles' and then started walking towards the end of the bridge.

Forcefully pushing all emotions towards the Emperor aside, I focused on saving my dad. "Okay," I said to myself, "Dad! I'll, uh, I'll go get a rope, tie it to the post and then drop it to you and you can pull yourself out."

My dad released a breath, clearing his mind of anger to focus on the issue at hand. "Alright, Sweetie. Be careful!"

Giving a single nod at him, I then stood up to get a rope sturdy enough. Slowly, I made my way back towards the way we had come. Abruptly, the ground beneath me was suddenly gone and I fell. My screaming was cut off as the ropes suddenly stopped my descent, causing the air to rush out of my lungs.

"Are you okay? Amara. Look at me," my dad said sternly. Worry was painted over his face as he inspected me for any injuries.

"I-I'm okay," I gasped and then said to myself, "Just don't look down."

We both looked up as we heard frantic footsteps hitting the wood of the bridge. "Amara?"

"Down here," I snapped.

He took a step further but the wood collapsed and he fell through.

Giving him no sympathy, "Welcome to the party, Your Highness."

Sweetly my dad asked, "Are you ok? Are you alright?" Taking his worried inquiry seriously, the Emperor replied only to have my dad punch him, "Good! That's for going back on your promise!"

The Emperor quickly used his powerful llama legs to kick my dad, "Yeah. That's for kidnapping me and taking me to your village... which I'm still gonna destroy, by the way." His face quickly turned into alarm as my dad shot at him, pushing the llama into the rock wall.

My dad bumped into me as his momentum made him swing back towards the canyon wall opposite the Emperor. We were all clutching to the cliffside now. They both kept bickering at each other, my dad rightly so, but it was getting annoying. Our life was literally dangling before death and they were fighting! Lunging at each other they continued to throw kicks and punches while I stayed grasping at rock crevices.

Not distracted by the violence, I noticed the thinning of their ropes from all the movement. Urgently I shouted, "You guys!" they continued, "You guys! Knock it off!" I thought of a quick lie to distract him. "Dad! I'm getting married." That made them both stop. Before they could ask questions, I pointed up and said, "The ropes they're-" Snapping. Everything fell towards the water below including my dad and the Emperor. I was stunned into silence.