[In Rapunzel's Bedroom]
It's very dark and gloomy in the usually bright and sunny kingdom of Corona. Frederic opens the door to Rapunzel's bedroom, with two paintings in his hands, hoping to get Rapunzel's opinions on them.
"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, which of these should we mount in the main hall? This one says, 'He's all business' whereas this one I feel says, 'Stern yet approachable'. What do you think?" Frederic asks, holding the two paintings that look exactly the same, but Rapunzel isn't in her bedroom.
Frederic hums, hugging the paintings to his chest, before looking around Rapunzel's bedroom. He approaches her desk, which her journal is open, opened by the wind with the pages fluttering.
Curious, Frederic looks at the page of Rapunzel's painting of their family and smiles. Then he turns the page, with a *Flip* He raised his eyebrows, shocked by the journal painting of Rapunzel and Eugene managing to save themselves with her hair, when Varian's hot water invention exploded.
Frederic decides to look through Rapunzel's other journal paintings. *Flip* Rapunzel and Y/n, from when they entered the Challenge of the Brave. Rapunzel painted a picture of her and her little sister, running from Wreck Marauder.
*Flip* The face-off against Andrew. Rapunzel painted a picture of herself dangling from the Saporian hot air balloon by her hair. In the painting, Eugene reaches out to her, standing in the basket, Andrew and Cassandra battle it out and Varian stands in front of Y/n protectively, while the youngest princess holds Herz Der Sonne's book.
[In The Meeting Room]
Frederic's eyes widened. The journal entries still haunt him during his meeting with the Captain of the guards. "You'd like to tighten security for the princesses, your Majesty?" He asks the king.
"Discreetly tighten, Captain? Though they are keeping their promises to stay within the walls of Corona, I fear Rapunzel and Y/n have been demonstrating a knack for.. getting into trouble." Frederic informs him. The Captain bows in understanding.
(Y/n's POV)
[Later]
I walk out of Uncle Monty's and Attila's shop, having just bought a cupcake. I smell the creamy icing and takes a bite - delicious, as always!
A strange whispering then encourages me to turn around. I can't quite see who it is, but I swear it's somebody. They then disappear around a corner.
"You saw that too. Right, Bucky?" I ask. My grey squirrel friend squints his eyes, then nods. "Let's go into the bookshop. We haven't been there for a while." I tell him. The bookshop is my favourite shop in the village. Other than the sweetshop.
Bucky gestures with his hands, like pocket watch, telling me that we've been gone from the castle for a while. "I know, Mommy said be back by lunchtime. She understands." I say, then sigh. "It's my dad, I'm worried of.." I admit.
Walking into the bookshop, I immediately spots my older sister. "A world travel guide." She comments, then picks it up. But as soon as the large book leaves the shelf, it's enormous weight accidentally pulls Rapunzel to the floor.
"Hey, sis!" I greet. "Hi, Y/n. Want to look at this Atlas?" Rapunzel asks. "No, thanks. I want to check out the storybooks." I answer. Rapunzel nods.
[Meanwhile]
I reach the end of the bookshop, in the fiction story section, and spot my best friend browsing the shelves.
"Boo!" I say, tapping his shoulder. Varian gives a startled yell, then turns around to face me. "Hi, Varian!" I greet, with a wave and a smile.
"Y/n!" Varian greets, with a hand on his chest. "Aw, did I scare you?" I tease. Varian scoffs, lowering his hand. "Pfft, scared? No way!" He replies, rather unconvincingly. He looks like he saw a ghost.
"Really? You sounded pretty scared." I tease. "Heh, yeah.. it was.. just this book." Varian says, with an chuckle, gesturing to the red book in his hand. "Quite a scary.. b-book." He adds.
I cross my arms, unconvinced. "Is that right?" I ask, then grab the book. "Hey!" Varian says, trying to snatch it back. "Let me see this 'Scary book'." I giggle, then manage to take it from him. "'Flynnigan Rider: The Earl Strikes Again'?" I read.
"Yeah.. scary book." Varian replies, chuckling with a hand behind his head. This makes me giggle again, as I hand him the book back. "Don't you have the whole collection? Why did you pick that one?" I ask.
"Ah.. well, this will complete the collection. Because I accidentally ruined my old one." Varian admits. "What happened? Experiment gone wrong?" I ask, causing Varian to scoff again. "No." He answers, simply. I raise an eyebrow in disbelief, with a smug smile. "I spilled warm cocoa on it." He confesses, looking down at the floor.
"Only you.." I say, then browse the shelf of fiction stories. I then climb the ladder that's attached to the large bookcase. "Ooh!" I say, spotting a favourite story of mine. I then make the ladder glide across its rails, to the other side of the bookcase. I then grab a dark blue book from the top shelf.
"What book is that?" Varian asks me, curiously. "'The Curse of the Key'. Have you read it?" I ask, with an intrigued smile. Varian shakes his head. "I don't think so.." He replies.
"It's a love story, mostly. A princess is stuck with a cursed key and in the end, she has to choose between the brave prince or the shepherd's kind son. It ends happily, of course and it's one of my favourite stories." I explain, leaning on the bookcase, while still standing on the ladder, holding the book to my chest with a smile.
Varian chuckles. "And let me guess: she chooses the one who isn't a royal?" He assumes, with a grin. "I won't spoil it. You'll have to borrow it from me, when I'm finished with it." I reply.
With a smirk, Varian watches me glide back across to him on the ladder but his eyes widen as it goes too quickly and the sharp thug against the rails makes me let go of the ladder. "Whoa!" I say with wide eyes, as I fall, only to be caught by Varian in bridal position. He quickly dropped the red book he held, which fell to the floor with open covers, and he didn't hesitate to run over and catch me.
Letting out an awkward giggle, I step down.
"Thanks, Var.." I say. He nods, in response.
"Of course, anytime.." He tells me.
"Y/n, I'm heading home. Are you coming, too?" Rapunzel asks, approaching us. "Uh, yes. I'm coming." I reply, and we exit the bookshop after borrowing our books.
"Uhoh.. it looks like it's going to rain." Varian observes, as lightning flashes in the sky. "It sure does.." I agree, with a nod then I pause. "Y/n, what is it?" Rapunzel asks. "Is that Stan up there?" I ask, pointing to a familiar guard standing on top of a tower with a telescope in his right hand.
My eyes widen, as Stan quickly hides behind the tower. I then hear a couple of yelps and I see some crows fly away as Stan falls from the tower and lands in a large barrel of water. "My back!" Stan yells in pain, after the splash.
Rapunzel and Varian and I share puzzled expressions before we walk elsewhere. We walk over to a fountain, where a girl with red braids watches the ducks in the water. However, something rises from the water. Pete, either taking a swim in the water or just spying on us.
"Is it me or are the guards following us everywhere?" Rapunzel asks. "It's definitely not just you. I saw one, before I entered the bookshop." I reply. "Definitely strange.." Varian comments.
Rapunzel then grins. "What do you say we don't make it so easy for them?" She suggests. I smile. "I'm in. How?" I ask. Rapunzel smiles, then takes off, running ahead.
I giggle, following her. "Come on, Varian!" I encourage. "Uh, I don't know. I should've been home a while ago.." He tells, rubbing the back of his neck with an unsure expression.
"So should Rapunzel and I." I point out, then stop and cross my arms. "Unless you're afraid that I'm faster than you." I tease. Varian then playfully glares at me. "Oh, it's on now!" He states, then we both run through the village.
Varian and I manage to catch up with Rapunzel, but the three of us stop when we spot Stan and the Captain within the crowd.
After turning around for a split second, I spot Pete, the guard, following us. "Come on, come on!" I giggle, running ahead and motioning for Varian and Rapunzel to follow me. They nod and the three of us run off together.
"Over there!" Varian suggests, pointing to a cart of pumpkins that's leaving the village. "Good idea!" Rapunzel says, and jumps onto it. Varian and I then climb aboard, with him giving me a helping hand.
The Captain sighs. "Hey! There they go!" Pete says, pointing to the pumpkin cart. "Bye!" Rapunzel teases, waving to them. I also wave to the guards with a smile while Varian gives a salute with two fingers as the cart leaves the village.
[A Few Minutes Later]
We soon see a wooden sign in the forest, as the cart continues - 'The Snuggly Duckling'. "Let's get off here." I suggest. Rapunzel nods and we jump off of the pumpkin cart.
"We showed them, huh?" Rapunzel asks. "Yeah.." Varian chuckles. "Yeah, I guess. But now there's a slight chance we'll get stuck in the rain." He points out, before a loud thunder crash is heard. "Slight?" I ask. "Okay, a huge chance." Varian corrects.
[In The Snuggly Duckling]
The lightning flashing brightly and the thunder roars loudly, as the wooden pub door swings open. Everybody turns around with a shriek and Ulf faints. But it's only Rapunzel, Varian and I.
"Ooh! Are you telling ghost stories?" Rapunzel asks. "Nah, Big Nose here was just tellin' us about his date last week." Hook Foot answers. "Ahh, sweet, sweet Rhonda." Big Nose says, dreamily. "Aw.." I say, as Hook Foot rolls his eyes.
"So what are you three doing out in this lousy weather?" Hook Foot asks. "Good question. I thought our dad was done being overprotective, but for some reason, it seemed like guards were following us everywhere today." Rapunzel answers, wringing her hair out and sitting down with Varian and I sitting beside her.
"Hot cocoa? Just made fresh." Attila offers, holding a tray of several mugs of hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles on top. I nod, with a friendly smile, as we take a mug.
"Thank you, Attila." I say, raising my mug to him before taking a sip. Rapunzel and I then hum in delight. It tastes absolutely delicious. And judging by Varian's satisfied smile with a whipped cream moustache on his face, he thinks the same!
"Come on, Raps, this is Corona! Guards are like cockroaches in this kingdom." Hook Foot points out. "Hook Foot's right. No one's following you. This storm has just put everyone ill at ease, and you're probably you're just imagining things." Big Nose assures us, sitting down.
"I don't know about that.. they followed me, too." I point out. Just then, the door swings open again and the Captain appears in perfect timing with the thunder and lightning. "Oh, hello, fellas." He greets, with a salute. "He did it!" Every thug, except for Ulf of course, yelps as they all point at each other. Varian can't help, but snigger.
"I was just wandering by and.." The Captain lies, approaching the table. He then pauses when he sees Rapunzel and I. "Princesses? What a surprise to find you here." He lies, sitting down.
"Uh-huh." Varian remarks, unconvinced.
I give a small wave. "Hi, Captain." I add.
"Huh! Funny seeing you here." Rapunzel chuckles.
"Funny? Why there.. there's nothin' funny about it. I come here all the time to shoot the breeze with my old chums, Hook Toes, Hornswoggle and that guy." The Captain lies, pointing to Hook Foot, Attila and Ulf. I can't believe the Captain doesn't remember Attila's name. After all, he was leading the trials of what happened to Uncle Monty's shop.
"Ha.. isn't that right, fellas?" The Captain asks. The thugs all face away from him. "Yep, nothin' I love more than wettin' my old whistle at the ol' Cozy Quacker." The Captain lies. "Wow.." Varian whispers, in disbelief. I let out a small scoff, nodding as if to say 'I know, right?'
"Specialty of the house. Slop." Attila remarks, handing the Captain a mug on unappetising liquid. The Captain frowns, but then notices Varian drinking his hot chocolate and setting the mug down. After comparing Varian's beverage to his own, the Captain almost picks it up to drink it when a rat pops out of the mug.
"Well, this has been fun, princesses. Uhh, let's say I escort you two back to the castle." The Captain decides, immediately standing up.
The thunder crashes loudly as Varian takes another sip of his hot chocolate. Everybody jumps and Varian spills the hot beverage on his apron. "Hot, hot, hot, hot!" Varian exclaims repeatedly, quickly flapping his apron up and down to stop his skin from burning. I hand him a rag from the table and he frantically scrubs at his apron.
Meanwhile, Vladimir bursts into the pub, soaking wet. "No one's goin' anywhere. The roads are all flooded." He tells them, as the lightning highlights his stern expression. "Fantastic. We'll just have to wait out the storm." The Captain states.
Varian groans. "My dad's going to be worried. I should've been home ages ago." He states, seeing how dark it is outside.
The Captain approaches the fireplace. "And by the way, it's absolutely freezing in here. Don't you people know how to keep a fire goin'?" He remarks, going to reach for a spiky club covered in cobwebs.
"NO!!" Hook Foot yells.
"THAT'S OFF LIMITS!" Attila yells.
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Big Nose yells.
The Captain ignores them and grabs the club.
The wind howls fiercely and the Captain drops the club on the floor. Hook Foot immediately hangs it back up on the wall and puts everything else back in its place - even the cobwebs. The wind silences.
"That club is never to be disturbed." Hook Foot states. "Why? What's so special about it?" Rapunzel asks. "Not special. More like spooky. It belonged to the Duckling's original owner, Ruthless Ruth." Vladimir tells us. Ghostly laughter is then heard.
I feel a shiver up her spine as the ghostly laughter echoes throughout the pub. It sounds like a warning. I then feel calmer when I feel someone's hand in mine. I turn to my right to see Varian beside me, holding my hand.
"Ruth was the meanest pub thug to ever live. She used that club to intimidate her customers." Vladimir explains, bending down to poke at the fire.
"They called it her 'Listen Up Club', and legend has it that whoever disturbs it will incur the wrath of Ruthless Ruth's wraith!" Hook Foot adds, as thunder crashes loudly and lightning flashes.
"The wrath of Ruthless Ruth's wraith?" I ask, before the thunder and lightning pounds and flashes again. I let out a sharp, startled gasp, holding my older sister's hand as well as Varian's.
"The wrath of Ruthless Ruth's wraith!" Big Nose confirms, causing the same reaction from the thunder and lightning again.
The Captain's anger boils. "Could everyone just stop saying, 'The wrath of Ruthless Ruth's wraith'?" He snaps. I screw my eyes shut, expecting the thunder and lightning to strike again. It doesn't. The only audible sound is the pattering of the rain.
"I'll never get how he did that.." Varian jokes, in a whisper. I giggle softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd rather take my chances out in the rain than spend one more minute listening to you buffoons and your silly ghost story!" The Captain remarks.
The thunder crashes again, this time extremely loud. All of the candles in the pub then blow out and the shutters all close. I let out a small scream as the fire in the fireplace suddenly explodes. Varian quickly pulls me away, as the thugs rush to the door of the pub.
"Whoa! Let's get outta here!" Vladimir says. Big Nose tugs the door handle, but the door doesn't budge at all. "It's stuck!" He tells us. "Aaah! We're trapped in the pub! It's the wrath of Ruthless Ruth!" Hook Foot panics, pulling at his hair.
"This is all your fault, Captain." Attila snaps, pointing at the Captain menacingly. "Oh, please. You don't honestly think Ruthless Ruth is behind this?" The Captain remarks, with an eye roll.
"Guys, he's right." Varian states, surprising me. "He is?" I ask. Varian nods. "There's no such things as ghosts, it's just not scientifically possible. I'm sure that there is a perfectly logical explanation for all this." He tells me.
Just then, we hear a loud cackling. "Wait, where's Shorty?" Rapunzel asks. Attila, who has Hook Foot clinging onto him, points ahead. Shorty then levitates into the air, with ghostly teal blue eyes. "You have disturbed my slumber! If you don't listen up and note my words by dawn, you will all be trapped in here with me forever!" Shorty states, levitating towards us with a wicked grin.
"There's no such thing as ghosts.. they're not scientifically possible.. there's no.. such.. thing." Varian mutters to himself, holding my hand tightly and running the gloved fingers of his other hand through his black, blue-streaked hair.
"Shorty! Ruth! Whoever you are, what do you want?" Rapunzel asks. "I want.." Shorty says, in a spooky voice, waving his hands hauntingly. "Yes?" We ask. "I want.." Shorty repeats. "Yes?" We ask again. Shorty then collapses to the floor. "..a sardine sammy and a jug of pickle brine." Shorty muffles, lifting his finger in the air.
"Enough of this nonsense!" The Captain snaps. "Captain? Didn't you hear? He says we have until dawn to figure out what Ruth wants or else we're gonna be trapped in here forever." Rapunzel states.
"You're gonna listen to him? You realize he eats cheese off the floor?" The Captain remarks. "One man's floor is another man's plate. Clink." Shorty says, clinking his cheese with a rat and the two eat their cubes of cheese in sync.
"The priority is to get the princesses out of this pub and back to the castle as quickly as possible." The Captain says, storming over to the door and hitting it. "Uh, Captain? That won't work." Varian states.
"Is there anything we can use as a battering ram?" The Captain asks. "A battering ram isn't the answer. We need to know more about Ruth and the Listen Up Club." Rapunzel says.
Then, the fire in the fireplace goes out. Luckily, Big Nose lights a candle. "Well, they say that she lived to terrify those around her. And legend has it that people's screams were music to her ears. And she would go on terrible rampages, storming through the streets of Corona." He tells us.
"No one knew when she would strike. All they knew was she would disappear from the pub, and when she did, no man, beast, or building foundation was safe from the swing of her fearsome club." Hook Foot adds. My eyes widen, anxiously.
"Afterwards, she'd come back to the pub, and etch a notch in her club for every unlucky creature she'd destroyed in her path." Big Nose says.
"Then she'd have dinner, a bowl of putrid, slimy slugs." Hook Foot adds. "I heard it was hairy spiders." Big Nose pipes up. "I heard it was both! And she ate them alive!" Hook Foot states. "And she didn't chew!" Big Nose adds. "She had horrible table manners." Hook Foot confirms.
"Yeah. And they say all of Corona lived in fear of the mighty barbarian until the day she died." Big Nose concludes. "S-So.. the only way to appease her is to figure out how to 'Listen up'." I realise, air quoting with my fingers. Big Nose nods, relighting the fire in the fireplace. "Or we're gonna be stuck here forever." He tells me.
"I don't wanna be stuck here forever. There's only one slice of pie left!" Hook Foot states. "That's your main concern?" Varian asks. "Cut it out! Pie's important to me, okay?" Hook Foot snaps.
"Uhh, guys?" I say nervously, stopping an argument from escalating. I point up at the violin, playing all by itself with the same teal blue glow that filled Shorty's eyes.
"And the other instruments, too." I add, as a piano, guitar and a variety of other instruments levitate into the air. "We've gotta get outta here, now!" The Captain states, before he and the other thugs proceed to use Vladimir as a battering ram.
Although it's quite spooky, I can't help but listen to the tune. It sounds pretty nice. "Ruth, please. All we're trying to do is figure out what you want." Rapunzel says. I look around at all of the levitating instruments. "Does it have something to do with this tune?" I ask.
All the instruments suddenly fall to the floor with a loud crash. A teal blue mist then floats from the piano and begins to circle around Rapunzel, Varian and I. "Listen up.." A voice echoes. "Who said that?" Rapunzel asks. "Listen.. up." The voice repeats.
I then see Varian holding out a small vial, to the blue mist. "Varian, what are you doing?" I ask. It looks like he tries to catch some of it in the vial, but it doesn't work. He then groans, putting the cork back in it. "I've never seen such such a bright substance, before. I thought.. maybe I could study it." He replies, slipping the vial back in his apron.
"As much as I love your obsession with alchemy, now may not be the time." I tell him, gently. Varian nods in agreement, as the blue mist knocks the Listen Up Club and it's metal hook off of the wall. The both clatter upon the floor.
"Wow! Look at this." Rapunzel comments, tracing her fingers over the X's on the club. I kneel down, pick up the wall hook and stand up to put it back, but I pause. "Wait a minute.." I say.
"What is it?" Varian says, standing beside me. I flick the hook and a small chime is heard from it, while it lets out small vibration waves. "The club's hook. It's a tuning fork." I answer.
I almost drop the tuning fork on the floor, as the louder thunderclap makes me jump with a squeal. The decapitated moose head on the wall over the fireplace then looks at us with teal blue eyes, just like Shorty's was. Varian then pulls me behind him, as it starts laughing maniacally.
"Just to clarify, all logical reasoning is out of window now. Right?" I ask Varian, who looks hesitant until he sighs. "Pretty much! For the first time in my life, I have no answer to how something is happening." He admits. I hold his hand.
"Princesses! Listen, and listen to me well, spirit!" The Captain yells, brandishing his sword. "Uh, Cap, not so sure you wanna take that tone with the undead." Hook Foot warns him, as Ulf secretly eats the last slice of pie.
"No more games! Under the authority of King Frederic of Corona, I demand you release us or face the consequences!" The Captain yells, ignoring Hook Foot. Rapunzel raises an eyebrow at the Captain, in confusion. "What consequences can you make a ghost face?!" Varian points out.
"We are running out of time. Okay, let's think. What do we have to go on?" Rapunzel asks, pacing around. "The Listen Up Club and this tuning fork." I answer, chiming the fork again.
Varian then gasps. "Hit it again." He tells me. I shrug, then flick the tuning fork again. Varian then points to a spot on the wall, where a teal blue shade of goop leaks out of the cracks and circles around two holes, looking like a circular pig snout.
"Rapunzel, come see this!" I say. Rapunzel comes over to us, as Varian looks at the two holes in the wall with narrowed eyebrows in a concentrated expression. Then, he looks at the tuning fork. "Here, can I just..?" He asks me, holding his hand out for the tuning fork. I nod and hand it to him.
After handing him the tuning fork, Varian carefully inserts it into the two holes in the wall. "It's a keyhole.. and this tuning fork is the key!" He states, enthusiastically. He turns the tuning fork and the wall opens up like a door, to reveal a small cavern.
"Whoa.. how many passages does this place have?" Rapunzel questions. Varian looks at us, stunned. "You've been through more?" He asks. I nod, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Long story. Come on." I tell him and we enter the cavern.
"Uhm, Ruth? Are you in here?" I hear Rapunzel ask, as I look up at the variety of tuning forks hanging from the ceiling. "Wow.. look at all these." I whisper, gently running my finger across them and creating a choir of chimes, making me smile.
"Guys, look!" Varian says, pointing to some song sheets by a variety of candles. Rapunzel and I glance at each other, before we slowly approach it. I examine the notes on the sheet music.
Taking a lot of music classes has helped me read music, so after a lot of concentration, I hum the tune on the pages. The realisation makes me gasp. "It's.. the same tune we heard earlier. When the instruments were floating in the air." I tell them.
A cold breeze then flows through the room, making the tuning forks all chime. "How is there a breeze in here? There's no airflow." Varian points out, since the wind came from opposite the door.
"W-We should.. probably go.." I say, taking a step back away from the sheet music. "Uh, Y/n?" Rapunzel says, pointing behind me. My eyes widen and I turn to face the ghost of Ruthless Ruth.
"You're.. y-you're Ruthless Ruth.." I manage to breath out, as Varian stands in front of me, pointing at the ghost. "N-Not one more step. Er, float." He tells her, while shielding me with his other arm. "Listen up!" Ruth demands, making us all jump.
"The legend is wrong. We all have dreams. All I wanted was for them to hear my song." Ruth admits. This make my eyes light up with ecstasy. "You write music?" I ask.
"So you weren't a barbarian, like they were saying?" Varian asks. "Oh no. I was a barbarian, blue streak. But I never disappeared to go on rampages. I was just hiding away in here, practicing my music." Ruth answers.
"Wow! A ghostly musician!" I exclaim, delighted. Ruth then sighs, sadly. "That's where you're wrong, Little Princess. My only dream was to write a rabble-rousing chantey.." She tells me.
"♪ And hear it sung aloud at the pub ♪" She sings. "Oh, but but I was afraid no one would listen.."
This makes me frown. "That's terrible.." I whisper, sympathetically. "'Listen Up', means listen to your song." Rapunzel says. "It ain't just a club, Rapunzel." Ruth says softly, then vanishes.
As Ruth vanishes, I hear her voice again.
"Listen up, Little Princess. I know you can.."
We then hear yelling and crashing. We rush out to see the pub thugs being terrorised by possessed items. Remembering what Ruth whispered to me, I rush over to the club.
The X's on the club are on lines. This makes me gasp in realisation. "What is it?" Rapunzel asks. "Oh! Why didn't I see it? They're musical notes!" I tell them. "Ruth wasn't as bad as we thought!" I tell the pub thugs, as we approach the piano.
"And this isn't just a club. It's her secret song, but she was too afraid to share it. And now we all have to play it." Rapunzel realises. I nod with a smile.
"What?" The pub thugs ask. "Here, hold this please." I tell Shorty, handing him the club and sitting at the piano. "Sis, you play piano?" Rapunzel asks. I nod. "Mom's been teaching me." I reply.
"This is for you, Ruth.." I say, looking up. Then I start to play some of the notes. As I okay, the weapons are put back and the chaos comes to an end. I look at Rapunzel and Varian to see their proud smiles. "Guys, I think she likes it!" Rapunzel states. "We're gonna be free!" Varian cheers.
A guitar then appears in Rapunzel's hand and she proceeds to play the same tune. But this peace is interrupted when the Captain suddenly snatches the club. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Varian asks, immediately running over to take the club back.
The Captain pushes Varian away with his hand, then snaps the club in half and throws it into the fire. "No!!" Rapunzel and I exclaim. "Take that, Ruth!" The Captain yells.
"Why would you do that?" I ask, before we hear Ruth's voice. "Now I'll never have the chance for my song to be heard! And none of you will ever see the light of day again!" She declares.
"What are you doing, Captain?" Rapunzel asks. "You don't stop an evil ghost with a song. You stop it with force!" The Captain states.
"Did you hear what Y/n said?! Ruth's not evil! The club was just her song!" Varian yells. "Well, I-I did have a moose on my head." The Captain admits.
"Captain, having somebody play Ruth's song was her dream." I explain. "Oh." The Captain says, with a facepalm. "Sorry." He mutters.
"You've crushed my dreams, and now I'll crush you!" Ruth tells us, appearing in a large red hue. "None of you will ever see the light of day again!" She yells, levitating all the pub furniture in the air.
Varian stands in front of me protectively, as Ruth recauses chaos. "Wait." I tell Varian, approaching Ruth. Varian's eyes widen. "Ruth, wait! It's not dawn yet! We can still finish your song." I tell her.
"No, we can't! That hothead with the misplaced eyebrow burned my music! The new day is nearly upon us, and I'll be relegated back to the depths of my chamber!" Ruth yells. "But the club was just a piece of wood. The song is your dream, and no amount of fire can burn that away. The song is still in your heart." I reply.
Ruth slowly places a hand over her heart.
"But I can't do this alone." She tells me.
"You want have to." I reply, approaching the piano.
"I'll help." I tell her, with a smile.
Rapunzel smiles. "I will, too." She states.
"Me, too." Varian adds, sitting beside me.
"You really think I should sing it?" Ruth asks. "You need to face your fear, anyway. It may as well be done, by letting your true self shine." Varian tells her, with a friendly smile.
Ruth smiles at us warmly, as I smile back at her and begin to play the first few notes of the song on piano. I feel Varian's gloved hand on my shoulder as I start to play the song.
(Ruth): "♪ Since I was a lassie,
Just a sweet young thing,
All I truly longed to do
Was make up songs to sing ♪"
Shorty, Ulf and Vladimir, who were under ghostly possession, snap out of it and drop the Captain to the floor, hearing Ruth sing.
(Ruth): "♪ Sure my voice was rotten
And had a pity twang
But I had dreams, and in my dreams
This is what I sang
Listen up, all you goons
Listen up and hear my tunes
Every line, boys, is mine
So listen up ♪"
"Catchy!" Rapunzel compliments.
Varian and I nod in agreement.
(Ruth): "♪ How I yearned to sing it, still I was afraid
Guess I feared they call me weird
And mocked the songs I made
So I shut my PIE HOLE
And hid my work away ♪"
(Rapunzel): "♪ But you had dreams ♪"
(Ruth): "♪ And in my dreams,
This is what I played ♪"
Rapunzel stands on the piano, with her arms out in a sympathetic stance as she sings.
(Ruth): "♪ Listen up, if you please
Listen to my melodies ♪"
(Me): "♪ Folks she wrote every note ♪"
(Varian, Rapunzel, Ruth and I): "♪ So listen up ♪"
Varian's eyes widened at first, when he heard me singing. After giving him a proud smile, he then joined in with Rapunzel, Ruth and I. As I played the piano, I felt my cheeks get warmer.
(Ruth): "♪ I kept my song a secret
But carved it on this club
Waiting till the perfect moment came
At last I worked the nerve up
And stood before the pub
I let one note come through my throat
And then I died of shame ♪"
"Died?" Big Nose asks. "Died?" Attila asks.
"DEAD!!" Ruth confirms, before singing again.
(Ruth): "♪ And now I haunt this tavern
Suffering for my art
Years and years of doubts and fears ♪"
(Me): "♪ It's time to heed your heart ♪"
As Ruth sings about suffering, she splits her ghostly body in columns. When just her large pink heart was left, she blew it, with her floating head, in between Varian and us with a random wink and a smile. As I sing, I pushed the pink heart towards her reassembled ghost body with a smile.
(Ruth): "♪ I can end this curse now
If I can end the song ♪"
(Varian): "♪ Like in your dreams ♪"
(Ruth): "♪ But in my dreams
You ALL must sing along ♪"
(Ruth): "♪ Listen up, all you thugs
Lift your voices and your mugs
Don't be shy, let it fly! ♪"
(Thugs): "♪ Listen up ♪"
Ruth floats past all of the thugs, then into the air with a twirl and encourages them all to join in right away. "Ha! That's it!" Ruth praises, triumphantly.
(Big Nose): "♪ Listen up ♪"
(Attila): "♪ Listen here ♪"
(Hook Foot): "♪ Raise the roof ♪"
(Shorty): "♪ And rock the house! ♪"
(Thugs): "♪ Make it loud, sing it proud, listen- ♪"
"WAIT!" Ruth yells. "What's wrong?" Rapunzel asks. "Him!" Ruth answers, pointing at the captain. He isn't singing. Everybody needs to sing, to free Ruth.
"Come on! Everyone needs to sing." Rapunzel tells him. "I-I haven't sung in quite some time. What if rusty?" The Captain asks, with a hand on the back of his neck. "Your name's not Rusty, it's Captain. And I'm Susan." Shorty jokes, making me giggle.
"Please, Captain. It's almost midnight. We have to free Ruth!" I plead. The Captain rolls his eyes, before reluctantly joining in.
(Captain): "♪ Listen up, listen close
You're disgusting, old and gross!
But your song is quite strong, listen up ♪"
"Nice(!)" Varian remarks, under his breath.
This makes me giggle again.
(All): "♪ Listen up, listen up
Everybody raise your cup
Here's to Ruth, that's the truth ♪"
(Captain and Rapunzel): "♪ Listen up ♪"
(Ruth): "♪ Listen up ♪"
(Varian and I): "♪ Listen up ♪"
(Ruth): "♪ Listen up ♪"
(All): "♪ Listen up! Yeah! ♪"
Everybody joins together in song wonderfully, reminding me of the first time Rapunzel and I visited the Snuggly Duckling and sang together.
I watch as everybody dances, except for Varian and I, since I continue to play the piano while Varian sits by my side. Ruth then gives me a smile, and the piano suddenly continues playing by itself.
As a pink hue fills the pub's interior, Varian smirks and holds his hand out, silently asking me to dance with him since the piano plays by itself.
With a soft giggle, I hold his hand and stand up from the piano bench. As we all sing and dance together in a triumphant celebration of Ruth's soon-to-be freedom, Varian holds his arm above me, making me twirl beneath it.
The song then concludes, with us all cheering and laughing. Truly one of the best nights of my life. "That was great!" I hear Rapunzel giggle.
I curtsey to Ruth, applauding her with a smile and the kind ghost reciprocates with a bow and a smile.
[The Next Morning, Early]
Rays of sunlight streak through the shutters of the Snuggly Duckling, as I flutter my eyes open slowly. I must have fallen asleep, after the song finished.
I look over to the armchair by the fireplace and see Rapunzel sleeping peacefully, with Pascal on her head, using some hair strands as a blanket.
After a brief glance down, my eyes widen. I fell asleep on the couch, with Varian. His arms are wrapped around me protectively, as he sleeps and my head is nuzzled comfortably into his chest. My eyes then unwiden, as I feel relaxed at the warm feeling of his arms around me and the soothing background sounds of his heart beating and his gentle breathing. I can't help, but smile a little.
I glance up at his face, seeing as much of it as I can. His freckled and rosy cheeks, his little nose.. his eyes then slowly open, making me quite anxious. 'Imagine what he'll say or think about this!' I think to myself, nervously.
Varian's eyes then meet mine and we can't help but stare into them. "Hey.." He whispers, with a soft smile. "Hi.." I respond, in a whisper.
All of a sudden, Varian's eyes widen, realisation the situation and he instantly sits up. "Y/n! Sorry! I am so sorry!" He tells me. "Varian, ssh. Everybody else is still asleep.." I whisper. Varian chuckles, then runs his gloved hand through his hair.
"I-I am so sorry! I didn't realise-" Varian whispers. "It's fine, it's alright. I don't think either of us knew what we were doing." I assure him. Varian nods. "Right. Let's just forget it ever happened." He tells me. "Of course." I agree, with a nod and a smile.
But how come I didn't quite want to forget?
I then take a step outside of the pub. It's been a whole day since I've seen the sunlight and I'm delighted to see it again. I then notice Ruth floating out of the Snuggly Duckling's front door.
"Uhm, Ruth? I have a couple of questions. Why did you wait so long to find somebody to play your song? And why did you choose me?" I ask.
Ruth sighs with a smile, floating over to me and placing her hands on my arms. "Because I knew you'd understand, Y/n. I know a fellow music lover when I see one. And you are certainly a very special one. Just follow your heart, and you'll do amazing things." She tells me, making me smile.
I then hear Ruth mutter something to Varian, who stands behind me. Although I didn't hear what she said, Varian smiles and nods in agreement while I noticed his cheeks turn a little red.
"By the way, when it comes to making dreams happen, you and your sister might wanna take your own advice." Ruth tells Rapunzel and I, before disappearing in a burst of light.
"So long, ghost." The Captain states. "Bye, Ruth." Attila adds. "Say 'Hi' to my Uncle Murray for me!" Hook Foot tells her. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. I thought Ruth was a goat." Shorty states.
"Well, this has just been splendidly eventful but I better get home and make up a lie to my dad, why I was gone for so long." Varian tells us. "I'd walk you home myself, but I can't. Our dad will already by worried." I reply. Varian nods in understanding.
"It's fine, don't sweat it Y/n. I'll see you tomorrow?" Varian asks. I nod, with a smile. "Bye, Var!" I reply, waving as he quickly runs away to Old Corona.
"Princesses? Are you ready to return to the castle?" The Captain asks, then chuckles. "I know I am." He states. "I am so ready." Rapunzel adds. I shrug. "As ready as I'll ever be.." I sigh.
[In The Castle Hallway]
"Ruth reminded me of something very important, Y/n. No one is just gonna hand me my dreams. I have to go get them myself. And I know Dad's heart is in the right place with sending all the guards to protect us, but it's time I put him in-" Rapunzel states, opening the meeting room doors.
However, we both pause. I quietly gasp. Daddy looks terrible. He's leaning over the Corona map with a heartbroken expression. "Daddy?" I say. "Rapunzel! Y/n! You have no idea how worried I was. I love you so much, darlings. You mean everything to me." He replies, immediately rushing over to us and wrapping us in a warm hug.
"Dad?" Rapunzel asks, then sighs. I love you, too." She replies, as we continue to hug our father. "Me, too!" I reply with a smile, joining in on the hug.
Question Of The Chapter!
What's one word to describe the Captain?
(No curse words, please) :)
My Answer: Small-minded.
Yours?