Forget-Me-Not (Varian x Reader)

Chapter 39- The Pink Shell

Varian doesn't make eye contact with me as he looks away, trying to hide his bright red face in the collar of his skirt. "N-No problem..."

"Gross. Get a room." Angry gags.

Max finally stops shaking the cart when he manages to grab the apple back from Ruddiger. We all breathe a collective sigh of relief. "Whoa! What happened!?" Rapunzel asks.

Catalina crawls into the back of the cart and begins scooping up gold coins and jewelry, and I quickly join her, eager to help. As I help her clean, I notice a golden pearl necklace with a large pink shell hanging from it. I slowly pick it up and run my fingers over the smooth pearls. "This is beautiful...who'd you steal this from?" I ask.

Catalina shrugs. "I don't know; I don't remember stealing it."

"Oh," Rapunzel turns around to face us. "Well, whatever it is...it's beautiful."

"And I bet it's pretty valuable." Angry comments.

"Uh, gang, hi, hello?" Varian pipes up and nervously glances at the forest surrounding us. "Speaking of valuables, we might wanna stow the loot. We're coming up on Deadman's Curve."

"What's 'Deadman's Curve?'" I ask, hopping back into my usual seat beside Varian.

Varian shudders. "It's a hotbed of highway robbery."

Suddenly, the sound of something running through the woods swooshes by our cart, and Varian tenses up and grips my forearm. "Relax, Var." I softly say in an attempt to calm him. "It's probably just a deer or something."

"Besides, real thieves don't waste their time on here." Angry adds. "It's mostly for hacks and knuckleheads.

Just then, a scrawny man dressed in black jumps out of the trees and dashes in front of our cart. He pulls out a sword and points it directly at us. "Hand over the goods!" He demands.

Catalina sighs. "Or in this case, both."

"Hi, Dwayne." Rapunzel, Catalina, and Angry all say to the thief, sounding rather annoyed.

The thief-er-Dwayne sighs. "Oh, nuts." He kicks his boot into the dirt a bit. "'Ello, Princess."

Rapunzel groans and facepalms. "Dwayne, what did we talk about the last time you were caught trying to steal?"

He kicks a rock as though he was a small child being scolded by a parent. "Don't do it...I promise. I'll never steal again." He begins walking away. "In fact, I'm gonna look for an honest job right now. Nice runnin' into ya. Enjoy your trip!" Before we can say another word, he hops into a bush.

"Well that was...weird..." I comment.

My sister sighs. "Tell me about it."

Suddenly, Max takes off running and begins zooming around a tree, chasing after Ruddiger, who still has his apple. We all scream as we spin round and round. "Max, stop!!" I cry, squeezing my eyes shut so I don't make myself sick.

"Guys cut it out!" Rapunzel pleads.

Max screeches to a stop as Ruddiger continues to taunt him from the safety of the tree. "Ruddiger, get down here!" Varian orders.

Ruddiger debates for a moment, but before he can do anything, Pascal uses his tongue to snatch the apple away from him. He takes off running away from the raccoon but ends up tripping over Hamuel the raven and drops the red apple, sending it falling to the ground. Dandelion hops forward and catches the apple in her fuzzy white paws right before it smashes to the ground, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. "Good job girl!" I applaud.

Ruddiger suddenly tackles Dandelion in an attempt to get the apple, triggering Max to once again begin frantically jolting around, shaking the cart along with him. "Come on you guys!" Rapunzel sighs.

Max begins spinning around in circles, spinning us and the blue cart full of loot along with him. We all scream as he does so, until he comes to a sudden stop when the apple lands right in front of him. Hamuel grabs the shell necklace and throws it at the apple, piercing into its juicy surface. He begins pulling the apple towards him and is about to take a bite of it when Ruddiger attacks the bird head-on.

Finally, Rapunzel reaches her breaking point. "ENOUGH!" All five animals stop in their tracks and stare at the princess with guilty expressions. "Maybe it's time for you all to just shake hands and get along. I mean, shake hoof and tail or beak in paw.." She glances at Varian. "Is that what raccoons have? Paws? I can never remember if it's paws or feet. Oh, well. Just shake what you've got and get on with it."

The animals nod and Hamuel begins pulling the shell back out of the apple. Suddenly, the hot pink shell begins glowing, and bright yellow rays of light begin erupting from its surface. One of the bright rays swirls around Rapunzel, Angry, Catalina, Varian, and me, shrinks us down, and sucks us into the shell. We all scream in horror as we're sucked away.

The five of us land in a marvelously decorated room, piled high with brightly colored pillows and cushions. Its hot pink walls curved upwards, trapping us in an oddly shaped dome. Dark purple and magenta tarps decorated the ceiling while ornate rugs clothed the floor. It looks like some kind of Middle Eastern-style lounge. We all sit up and stare at each other with dumbfounded expressions. "Where are we?" Catalina asks.

"Okay...either we've somehow been magically shrunk down and imprisoned inside the shell pendant, or..." Rapunzel crosses her legs as she trails off.

"Or...?" I question.

"Or..." She sighs. "Yeah, sorry. I was hoping I'd think of something more positive sounding by the time I finished that thought but I've got nothing."

"So we're stuck?"

She clicks her tongue. "It appears that way."

Angry, Catalina, Varian, and I look around the shell prison, trying to imagine spending the rest of our lives here. I feel a pit fall into my stomach. There is still so much I need to do! I need to restore my parent's memories, get Cass back, and finally tell Varian that I'm in love with him. I blush just thinking about it. "We can't be stuck in here!" I exclaim.

Rapunzel stares at our worried expressions and frowns. "It's okay! It's okay!" She quickly rises to her feet. "We'll find a way out of here. We have been in much worse situations. Definitely not weirder, but worse."

"What have I ever done to deserve this?!" Angry wails.

"Didn't you steal from, you know, dozens of people?" Varian asks.

Angry looks at her feet. "Oh, right. We're doomed." She says, picking up a deep purple cushion and chucking it at the boy.

Varian groans as it smacks him directly in the face, but quickly picks it up and raises it back, preparing to launch it back at Angry. He mischievously smiles at the little girl. Right as he's about to throw it, Rapunzel snatches the cushion out of Varian's hands, causing him to scowl at her. I giggle a bit from the interaction.

"Chin up, guys! I bet Max and the others are already on their way to get help." Rapunzel cheerily says, clearly trying to hide her nerves. Not that I could blame her. After all, based on the way the animals were acting earlier, I was pretty doubtful that they would be able to put aside their differences and cooperate.

Regardless, I try to remain optimistic. "We'll be out in no time!"

Varian smiles at me in agreement. "While we wait, maybe we could try to find another exit." He suggests to the group.

"Good idea!"

We all scatter throughout the pillow room.