Escape the Dark, Hold the Light

Chapter 14: The King and Queen of Hearts

"Mm, strawberry!" she pursed her lips in delight.

That was when the sundrop noticed the panic-stricken child. It saddened her to see how jumpy her boy had become after all this time. So she shook off as much goop as she could and went over to console Varian.

"Oh, sweetheart. I know how important this is to you, but I think getting some fresh air will be good for you right now." Rapunzel told him as she wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back comfortingly. "Hey. You know, we're having the Day of Hearts festival today. Why don't we all go together? That'll be fun, right?"

"I-I guess so." the little one replied, settling down in his friend/guardian's embrace.

Arianna had been watching everything from the other side of the lab. And while she was completely clueless as to why she was covered in pink goo, the way her daughter tenderly hugged a child as only a mother could bought a smile to the queen's face.

Later that morning, the sky had cleared and was a gentle pink, perfect for the Day of Hearts. The front of the castle had tents for food, games, and activities. Of course, the heart of the festival (pun intended) was Herz der Sonne's book of hearts that was available for the viewing public for one day only. It stood on its annual pedestal just under the balcony.

Varian walked between Rapunzel and Eugene, holding the princess's hand as a constant in case he got too anxious being around so many people. Despite him being a teenager, the boy was perfectly fine with holding his friend/guardian's hand in public. But his left side felt a little neglected and Eugene was right there. So, being brave, Varian slipped his other hand in the dark prince's. Now that was much better. The teen's sense of security had doubled and he smiled warmly. Eugene quickly noticed the occupancy in his hand and the look of contentment on his boy's face. He immediately welcomed this with a soft grin and the trio continued to stroll past the tents hand-in-hand.

King Frederic and Queen Arianna were close behind, but not holding hands. While the king's eyes wandered aimlessly, the queen's focus was on the group walking ahead of them. She then spotted an arts and crafts booth and it gave her an idea.

"Rapunzel. Eugene. Varian." Arianna called, having made her way to the tent. "Come over here."

The Coronan trio followed the queen's voice to the tent so that could investigate what she found, leaving the king to ogle the other stands. Ruddiger stayed with Frederick to keep him company. There was an array of embroidery thread in all different colors, an assortment of charms, and an instructional sheet.

"I found this woven bracelet project that's great for families." Arianna told them. "It would be perfect for the three of you to do together."

"I thought the Day of Hearts was a couples holiday." Varian said, raising an eyebrow.

"The Day of Hearts is about true love. And true love can come in all different kinds of forms." the queen shared with him. "People do think of couples when they think of true love, but there's also true love in friendship and family."

"You know, for someone who lost their memories, that was actually pretty wise." Eugene whispered to Rapunzel, feeling impressed.

"This sounds like a great idea, Mom." the princess told her mother happily. "Where do we start?"

"Each of you pick your favorite color of thread and follow the instructions as shown." Arianna disclosed. "You can even add some charms if you want."

So the Coronan trio each picked their choice of colored for the bracelet: sunshine yellow for Rapunzel, royal purple for Eugene, and ice blue for Varian. The princess even picked a gold sun and a silver moon charm to hook on. Following the directions, two pieces of the three colors were cut to about 60 inches. The six pieces of string were then tied together and pinned to the table to keep them in place. Following the diagram, the three participants started weaving and tying the strings. Little by little, Varian could see that the woven pattern start to take shape. Pretty soon, the striped bracelet was complete and Rapunzel attached the two charms she chose on either side.