Rapunzel, your Father, your Mother, and you, all sat in the throne room. Today Rapunzel was being trained on how to be Queen, and you had to watch so you could help make decisions in the need arrived.
"Your Majesty!" Feldspar began, "Ever since you repaved the roads, wear and tear on people's shoes are at an all-time low!" You saw Pascal yawn, "Not one person has come into the cobbler shop all week!"
You suddenly remembered that your travel boots were quite worn from constantly traveling over to Old Corona, "I see." The king started, "Well, we can't very well unpave the roads, can we, Feldspar?" Your father started, "However, it occurs to me that the royal guard is in need of new boots. Do you think you could be of service, sir?" You leaned to the right and whispered to your father that you needed new travel boots, your father sent you a questioning look before nodding, "And my daughter here requires a new pair of travel boots?"
"Might, might I?" Feldspar was ecstatic, "Why, of course, Your Majesty!" The man bowed, before turning around and walking out of the room, going to make boots probably.
Rapunzel leaned to the left, whispering to your father, "Do the guards really need new boots?" She asked, you noticed that she was sitting cross-legged in her seat. Your father turned to her.
"Uh, no. But the livelihood of our local businesses is worth the extra cost!" The man educated, you were also a bit surprised.
Rapunzel folded her hands together, "Wow! I have learned so much from shadowing you these last few days!"
"Good!" Your father started, "Because you two must be prepared for any contingency while we're gone." He said, a sternness in his voice. Internally you were happy that they were leaving so that you could just walk through the palace gates and go anywhere without your father being concerned.
Your mother looked at him, "Uh, Frederic, we're going to be away for two days." She sounded like she was lecturing him, "We deserve a little break." She was right about that, they definitely needed a break, "I think she can manage." She finished.
"Oh, I know she can." Your father responded, "After witnessing the supreme judgment she exercised while defending Attila, there's not a doubt in my mind." That was the day that Atilla was charged with breaking and entering, and Rapunzel proved his innocence. "But that doesn't mean a father can't worry."
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After a while of being taught how to make royal decisions a familiar face walked into court. The man who you would recognize as Varian's father. You hadn't seen him since the whole water heater ordeal, but you knew he recognized you. The man made eye contact with you before returning to face the king.
"Quirin! My old friend!" Your eyes widened as your Dad spoke, "What brings you from Old Corona Village?" You didn't know that your father knew Quirin.
The man bowed, "Your Majesty, Old Corona is facing quite the dilemma." You saw Rapunzel frown. You hoped this wasn't about the rocks.
"Oh?" Your father started.
Quirin smiled weakly, looking down at the ground, "Uh, yes... It would appear this year's harvest has proven quite bountiful!" You heard a door creak to your left and turned, spotting Varian peaking through the door, "So much so, that I humbly request more land to accommodate such bounty!" By the look on Varian's face, you could tell that Quirin was lying.
Nigel leaned over and whispered something to your father.
"Quirin, I am pleased to hear how well Old Corona is faring and even more pleased to grant your request." Your father said standing up. Quirin looked up, his face full of shock.
A smile grew on his face as he spoke, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Now you were positive this had something to do with the black rocks, Quirin knew something about them and he wasn't saying what he knew. The man stood up and walked out of the room. You quickly ran from your spot and walked out the door to your left where you saw Varian, you turned a corner and saw the boy and his father quarreling, you pressed your back against the wall so they wouldn't see you.
"That is enough, Varian!" Quirin demanded.
Varian looked up at his father, concerned, "Yes, sir." The boy stood still as his father walked away. You quickly walked over to the boy and placed a hand on his back, you heard the door open behind you and Rapunzel walked out.
"Varian?" Rapunzel started, "Is everything okay?"
The boy pulled away from your touch, "No! No, it's not." He said before turning around, (Y/N), Rapunzel, we came to see your dad about the rocks in Old Corona."
Rapunzel and you shared a look, "Yeah, but your dad just said--" She started before being cut off by Varian.
"My Dad lied. Things have gotten worse." The boy looked down at the ground.
You frowned, you had just been there the other day. Had things gotten this bad within a week or so? "How much worse?" You asked.
The boy turned to you, "After you left, the other day things got a lot worse."
Rapunzel walked in front of the boy and placed one hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Varian. I haven't forgotten our agreement. We're gonna figure out the mystery behind these rocks. Together." She placed her other arm on his shoulder, "Just give us until our father returns. Everything is gonna be okay. I promise." Varian looked up at the woman and smiled.
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You stood outside with your family, including Eugene and Lance. Your parents were decked out in winter clothes. You wrapped your arms around yourself, suddenly realizing how cold it was.
Your mother wrapped you in a hug, "We hope to make it to the mountain retreat by noon." She then turned to Rapunzel after releasing you.
"I'm so excited for you guys!" Rapunzel said, embracing her mother tightly, "Take good care of them, Max!" Rapunzel turned to the horse at the carriage.
Eugene walked over to the group of you, "You two kids have fun now." He said, a laugh in his voice. Everyone behind you sent a small bow to the King and Queen.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Rapunzel? (Y/N)?" Your father asked, sending you a nervous look, "Because, your mom and I can always stay." Your mother sent him a smug look, "We have plenty of anniversaries to come, you know."
Your mother smirked, "Frederic."
Lance spoke up from behind you all, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. We've totally got everything under control. The man placed a hand on Eugene and Rapunzel's shoulders.
"Er, thank you... you?" Your father said, causing you to chuckle. There was no way you were letting Lance do anything that could put Corona at risk, "That's comforting. Everyone chuckled at that. He then glanced down, looking at Lance's feet, "I'm sorry, are those my shoes?"
Lance laughed before slowly walking back.
Rapunzel then walked up to your father, "Hmm. I won't let you down, Dad." This greatly comforted him. He smiled and placed a hand on Rapunzel's cheek.
"I know you won't, sweetie." He said, "Now remember, you'll discover when you become queen, many voices demand to be heard, but when all is said and done, the voice in your heart is the one you should follow."
Your parents said their last goodbyes before getting in the carriage and waving as they rode away. Rapunzel and you waved as they left.
As soon as they passed the gates Lance exclaimed, "Kitchen raid!" All the men from the snuggly duckling shouted in joy as they all ran towards the castle. Cassandra, who was standing with them before they left, let out a growl before running after them with a sword that she pulled out of her dress.
Eugene followed them quickly, "Hey, hey, hey, Cassandra, make good choices! Make good choices!"
You giggled as they all ran off.
Rapunzel exhaled sharply, "I've got this." You turned to her with a smile on your face.
"That's the spirit."
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The next day you were sitting on your balcony, looking out the window, when you saw just how long the line for the royal council was. This could be a lot of stress for Rapunzel and you hoped that she would solve all the problems with care and precision. You then turned to look at the pavilion and saw the men from the snuggly ducking, Eugene, and Lance painting and renovations. You saw Hook-Foot drop a bucket of paint on Eugene, and after a couple of seconds, he dropped another one. You laughed loudly, gaining the attention of a few of the men.
Attila waved at you, you waved back before turning to look back at the line. More and more people came through the line looking angrier and angrier by the minute. You decided that it might be smart for you to step in now. You quickly ran down to the throne room just in time to see a mob of people walking through the doors to Rapunzel.
"Your Highness!"
One man holding a sheep started speaking, "Since we shared the pasture we can't tell whose sheep are whose!"
"Oops..." Rapunzel said.
"I can't hear my customers and ruin all their dos!" A man wearing a pair of earmuffs said.
A box of cats being carried by rats was pulled across the throne room floor, "Now the cats are quiet! But the rats are running riot, up and down the avenues!"Said a woman and a man. People were grumbling, and Nigel was trying to get them out of the room.
You shushed everyone and turned to the men with the sheep, "Tie a blue string to your sheep." You said to one, "And tie a red string to yours, so when you share the pastures you can tell a difference between the two." The men looked shocked before nodding, realizing that it was a good idea. You then faced the barber who was looking angrily at the man with the fiddle, "You pointed to the man with the fiddle, "We'll make his room soundproof, so you can hear your clients speak." You turned to the last woman, "Instead of in the palace square we will distribute the cats around Corona so that the rat problem will be taken care of. We will feed the cats in separate places so that there aren't too many mobbed in one place. Some cats will be placed on ships so they can take care of rats that may be transported from other countries." The majority of people looked satisfied and Nigel pushed them out of the room. You turned back to Rapunzel.
"Gosh, what a big disaster, and everybody knew it. I had one job to master, and I completely blew it." She got up from her seat and walked out the door, followed closely by you, "I was so darn certain that I got this," She walked up to the painting of your family, "but I'm not this. Not yet." She sunk to the ground, "Who would have thought how far from getting this I could get."
You kneeled next to your sister and embraced her in a hug, "Remember Rapunzel, the livelihood of our local businesses is worth the extra cost. Make sure you try to think of the best way to get things done, not the most friendly way." You said, earning a small nod from her before she got up and walked to her room. You frowned, this was going to impact her.
Hopefully, Eugene could help her snap out of it, you weren't so good with helping people deal with disappointment.
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As you walked up to your room you looked out the window, noticing how dark it had gotten. White flurries had landed on your balcony. It was snowing! You hadn't seen snow since... well... last year. Running up to your room you quickly changed into your winter coat and ran back outside so you could enjoy the snow.
You found Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra standing at the top of the stairs in the palace square, "Loyal subjects of Corona," Rapunzel started as you walked up and took your place next to Cass, "as your temporary queen, I officially declare today... a snow day!" The crowd who was gathered in the square cheered. You cheered too.
Eugene started speaking too, "And as your temporary king, I..." No one was paying attention to him and he was hit in the face with a snowball.
The five of you- you just noticed Lance was behind you- started walking down the ramp to the center of the square so you could all spend time in the snow. You hopped on the railing of the ramp and slid past Eugene chuckling. The man sent you a playful glare. You had already made your way to the bottom and started building a snowman, it had been a while and the snowman looked kind of lumpy. You convinced yourself it would look better when you finished.
After a full day of everyone playing in the snow, a large group of townspeople decided to set up a fire and sit around it. Listening to Xavier tell campfire stories. It would get windy at random but then would be calm during other minutes. This was odd for snowstorms like this.
"Does it always snow this much?" Rapunzel asked.
Xavier prodded the fire, "Only once. At least, according to legend."
"There is a legend for snow too?" You asked.
The older man nodded, "There is a legend for everything, you just have to find them."
"What is the legend?" Rapunzel asked.
Xavier lit a torch, "The Legend of Xan Tiri." He said. For some reason, that name sent chills up your spine. Or maybe it was just the cold? You had no idea, "Eons ago, an evil warlock, Xan Tiri, had a deep hatred for Corona. And cast a spell which caused a blizzard to sweep across the land." You stared at the fire with interest, it was almost as if you could see the shape of the stories he was telling in the fire, "The storm destroyed everything in its path. All would have been lost, had it not been for the ancient engineer, and inventor, Lord Demanitus. Using both magic and science, Demanitus built a massive subterranean machine, deep in the Corona mountains. This mighty device had the ability to change the direction of the wind and it pushed the flurries out to sea. The day was saved. Xan Tiri had, indeed, been defeated. But some say the curse of the storm lives on and is simply waiting to strike again." The man finished.
Rapunzel looked up at the snow and then back at Xavier, "Waiting? For what?" She asked.
"For Corona to be at its weakest," Xavier said, prodding at the fire.
Rapunzel frowned, "For Corona to be at its weakest." She repeated, "But... it is only a legend, right, Xavier?" She asked, hoping for a nice answer.
"My dear," The man laughed, "every legend is born of truth."
Everyone's eyes widened, and the guy with the horns on his helmet clapped in shock.
Eugene decided to speak up, "Bravo! Wow! Way to keep the party going as always, Xavier." He said, almost as soon as he finished his sentence the wind picked up and everyone was pushed backward.
"Woah!" Rapunzel exclaimed, "Okay, um, I think for everyone's safety, we should all head indoors." Everyone grabbed onto their snow gear and started walking towards the castle, which seemed to be the safest place at the moment. You, Rapunzel, and Eugene decided to walk behind the group to make sure everyone got back safely. That was when you heard a neigh.
You spun around, immediately recognizing the horse coming through the snow as Maximus. The horse slowly made it through the gates and stopped, letting out a snort.
Rapunzel and You stared in shock, "Maximus!" You both exclaimed before running towards the horse.
"What happened?" Rapunzel asked, "Are you okay?" She said. You looked around for your parents and saw them nowhere, "And where..." Rapunzel paused, looking around for them too, "Maximus, where are our parents?" Her voice was low and full of concern.
The horse nickered softly and looked down.
The head guard kneeled next to the horse and picked up a part of the reigns, "It looks like there was an accident up on the mountain."
You stepped towards the guard, "Accident?"
"Rapunzel, (Y/N). I think your parents are in grave danger." The man said, causing your eyes to widen.
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