[Twenty Five Years Ago]
"I can't stand this anymore!" King Edmund groaned, with his voice echoing in the large room. "This stone has destroyed too many lives!" He stated, pointing his sword at the brightly shining moonstone, encased within a cage of black rocks.
"It stops today!" King Edmund declared, then took off running. He yelled and smashed at the rocks with his sword - they didn't break. His sword did.
King Edmund had enough and tossed his shattered sword away. Then he lunged to grab the moonstone itself, but was quickly stopped. "Your Majesty, please! You're not thinking clearly. You know the stone cannot be destroyed!" Quirin reminded him, pulling him away.
Edmund broke loose, then reached into the spherical cage. However, as soon as his gloves touched the stone, a powerful shot burst from it, and an explosion blasts him, Quirin, and the white-haired woman with them (called Adira) back.
The castle began to crumble. When Adira and Quirin came to, their eyes widened at the sight of the king trapped underneath a cluster of black rocks. "Your Majesty!" Quirin yelled, as he and Adira managed to free him.
Once freed, Edmund coughed, not daring to look into Quirin's eyes. "I was a fool. It cannot be stopped. Our only hope is to keep its power from the world." Edmund stated, pleadingly.
"But, your Majesty!" Adira protested. "At any cost! You must leave this castle. Keep any from finding it." Edmund commanded.
Adira looked down, then spotted a black rock on the ground, in the shape of a sword. She stooped down and gently caressed its smooth edge.
"Anyone who seeks out this opal must be stopped!" Edmund told Adira and Quirin, firmly.
[Present Day]
The sun shines down upon the land down below, with it streaks of light stretching out warmly. The soft white clouds gently drift across the bright blue sky, as a gentle breeze pushes them along supportively. The fields of grass and sunflowers dance gracefully in the light wind and birds are heard, chirping together harmoniously.
A caravan-like cart is pulled across the countryside by Fidella and Maximus, as a hummingbird graces a sunflower with a kiss before flying away.
The window half of the door to the caravan opens and Rapunzel glances out of it, beaming excitedly.
Rapunzel also wears a different dress. The now nineteen year old princess wears a dress of black, purple, lavender and pale pink, with a belt.
(Rapunzel): "♪ I want to break every rule
And cross every line
I want to show all the stars
How stars ought to shine ♪"
Rapunzel runs out of the caravan, as Cassandra urges the horses along the path. "Whoo-hoo!" Rapunzel cheers, running through a field of grass.
(Rapunzel): "♪ I want to do as I please
And knock the world to its knees
And go wherever the breeze is blowing ♪"
Rapunzel glances up at a tall tree and wraps her golden hair around it. Once it's secure, she climbs up the tree with the rest of it flying in the wind.
(Rapunzel): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
Got a whole wide world to see
Nothing's stopping me ♪"
Rapunzel has a fun time with Pascal, doing somersaults in a field of flowers and running through a long wide river triumphantly.
(Rapunzel): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
'Cause with so much waiting
I know it's waitin I feel it waiting out there
Everywhere ♪"
Rapunzel lets out a happy sigh, as she inhales the fresh air and birds fly around her. "Blondie, wait up!" A familiar voice says. Rapunzel turns around with a smile, as Y/n and Eugene catch up with her.
Eugene wears a blue denim jacket, beige trousers, a white shirt, black boots and black gloves.
The still fourteen year old princess wears a beige knee-length dress, blue heels and a blue jacket to match, with a belt around it.
Eugene collapses on a rock, out of breath. "Oh, man, do you have any idea how hard it is keeping up with you out here?" He asks Rapunzel.
"And a little scary. I panicked when I didn't see you in there with us." Y/n adds. "Come on, you two! It's my first trip outside of Corona! It's like a whole new chapter of our lives has just begun." Rapunzel points out, beaming happily. Eugene then sits up.
Eugene subtly takes out a small box, opens it, looks at the ring inside, then closes it. "Uh, that's kinda what I was thinking, too." He replies, quietly.
"I mean, aren't you two excited to see where these rocks are taking us?" Rapunzel asks. "Mm.." Y/n hums, with a shrug. "Curious, definitely. I wouldn't say excited. Eugene?" She asks.
"Well, uh, let's see. Excited? To follow a bunch of creepy rocks? Ah!" Eugene says, then yelps at the pain of him slightly poking the sharp end of a rock. "To who knows where?" He questions, doubtfully.
Rapunzel sighs with an eye roll, then shakes her head, playfully smiling at him. "Of course, I'm excited. I'm with you. What else could I be?" Eugene asks, holding Rapunzel's hand. Y/n giggles. "I guess it's a little exciting." She admits.
(Eugene): "♪ We're gonna toss out the maps
And follow the sun
(Rapunzel): "♪ We're gonna blaze our own path
And go on the run ♪"
Eugene smiles, getting the map out from his denim jacket, crushing it up in his hand and tossing it away. Rapunzel then grabs his, and her little sister's, hands and they jump from a waterfall, then float upon the surface of the river below.
(Y/n): "♪ We're gonna get out
And do what nobody's done ♪"
(Rapunzel): "♪ There's so much out there to do
We've barely begun ♪"
Y/n, Eugene and Rapunzel run to a large field of grass, where Y/n finds a large hole and drops a pebble down it. A large swarm of beautifully coloured butterflies surround them in a friendly way, then they colour the sky, to their pleasure.
(Eugene): "♪ We're gonna take every dare ♪"
(All three): "♪ And feel the wind in our hair
With no one tellin' us where we're going ♪"
(All three): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
If you're there I'm gonna be
Where I wanna be ♪"
(All three): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
And the word is calling it keeps on calling ♪"
(Y/n): "♪ Just think of all that we'll share ♪"
(Rapunzel and Eugene): "♪ Everywhere ♪"
Y/n, Rapunzel and Eugene meet a farmer and his daughter, then dance with them. The three of them then roll a large flowery hill. Y/n and Eugene stop but Rapunzel gladly dives into a wide river of mud.
With a smug grin, Rapunzel reaches her hand out. Y/n jumps back and Rapunzel grabs Eugene instead, pulling him into the river with her. Y/n can't help, but giggle through her line, as Eugene and Rapunzel both end up getting covered in mud.
"Rapunzel! Y/n!" Cassandra calls, as she pulls the caravan up by the river. Y/n turns around and runs over to her. "Anything different?" She asks Cassandra, who shakes her head.
"Nope. Still not a word, or anything done at all." Cassandra answers, then scoffs. "I still cannot believe you and Rapunzel brought him." She states.
Y/n sighs. "Rapunzel and I have explained this to you and Eugene a dozen times, Cassie. It'll be good for him, you'll see." She tells her. "I'm still against it, and so is Eugene.. probably." Cassandra sighs.
Then Cassandra glances over at Rapunzel, now clean from her mud bath. "Do me a favor, you two. Try not to run off like that. Not that I don't think you can handle yourselves, but I promised your dad I'd keep you both safe, and I'd hate to lose you two less than a week on the road." Cassandra tells the princesses. "Has it been that long already?" Rapunzel teases. Y/n nods.
Cassandra doesn't wear a new outfit, though.
She stays in her warrior's outfit.
"You've got to exercise at least some caution out here. Trust me, girls. The real world isn't all fun and games." Cassandra warns the princesses.
"Next stop: Vardaros!" Hook Foot cheers, poking his head out of the sunroof. Lance joins, with the same excitement. "City of fun and games!" He adds, making Y/n giggle.
"I am so glad we decided to bring those two along. Not to mention the unstable criminal." Cassandra groans. "Oh, come on, Cass! Vardaros is an amazing city! You're gonna have fun! Which I'm guessing is a new thing for you." Eugene jokes, as he and Lance look hang upside down from the roof.
Eugene then glances between Cassandra and the princesses. "Although, I will agree with you on the 'Unstable criminal' part. Unless you meant Lance or myself." He points out.
"Cass, Eugene, you have to trust our decision. As long as Varian is locked away in there, he'll be fine. He'll be even better, if we find a way to free Quirin." Rapunzel tells them. "Yet, I wish you didn't have to do that to him.." Y/n mumbles, with a shrug.
"I know, sis.. but just give it some time and if things are different, like you said, then we won't have too. You just need to wait." Rapunzel tells her. Y/n sighs, and nods. "Wait.." She mutters.
"Come on, Pascal!" Rapunzel then says. Pascal hops out of Rapunzel's blue bag. "It's our first big city outside of Corona. You heard 'em, Cass! This is gonna be fun!" She states.
(Cassandra): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
Got a feeling things'll be
Happening suddenly♪"
(Rapunzel): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
Gonna chase my destiny
Find the best in me ♪"
(Y/n): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
With my best friend here with me
Soon he'll be happy ♪"
(Eugene): "♪ Next stop, anywhere
Cause it's time we went to be
Where we're meant to be ♪"
(All four): "♪ Next stop, anywhere ♪"
(Cassandra): "♪ And the world is waitin' ♪"
(Eugene): "♪ I feel it waitin' ♪"
(Y/n): "♪ It's really waitin' ♪"
(Rapunzel): "♪ It's all just waitin' out there ♪"
(All four): "♪ Everywhere ♪"
(Eugene): "♪ Everywhere ♪"
(Y/n, Cassandra & Rapunzel): "♪ Everywhere ♪"
Rapunzel grins, looking down at her map. "Vardaros, here we come!" She declares. "I thought Eugene threw that away." Y/n recalls. "He threw his away, little sis. This is our 'Just In Case' map." Rapunzel answers. "Oh.." Y/n replies, with a nod.
"Not that you shouldn't trust the endorsement of three lifetime criminals, Raps, but maybe you should trust me, too. I just want to make sure that we're not losing sight of what we're doing out here." Cassandra tells Rapunzel.
"I know! Believe me, Cass. I want answers more than anyone. I feel like whatever is waiting for us at the end of this road, is only part of why we're out here." Rapunzel says, unrolling the graphtyc's scroll from her bag.
"Uh-huh, and the another part involves bringing along a dangerous and unstable alchemist." Cassandra remarks. "He had his reason, for being dangerous Cassie.. if you trust Rapunzel and I, then you shouldn't worry." Y/n tells her.
"Not worrying, kid. Just being cautious." Cassandra states. Y/n sighs, crossing her arms. It's going to take a while for the others to trust him.
Noticing her little sister's frown, Rapunzel sends Cassandra a glare, then rests a hand on Y/n's shoulder comfortingly. "Why don't you go and check on Varian? He needs someone supportive with him, after all." Rapunzel suggests.
Y/n smiles up at her older sister and nods. Cassandra rolls her eyes and stops the caravan momentarily, for Y/n to step down onto the grass, approach its main door and step inside.
Lance immediately turns to Y/n, as she enters the caravan. "Are we there, yet?" He asks, like an eager child. Bucky, Y/n's small grey squirrel, rolls his eyes, while the youngest princess giggles at his enthusiasm. "No, not yet." She tells him.
Heading to the back of the caravan, Y/n frowns at the sight of her best fri- actually, she's not sure where they are with that yet. But she frowns at the sight of Varian with his wrists chained to the walls, going over some notes he worked on the night before. Luckily the chains are long enough for him to do that.. but almost nothing else.
Y/n's frown fades when she reminds herself of all that he did. To her, to her older sister, to her mother and father, and to Corona. But she doesn't stay mad at him, when she also reminds herself why he did it, and why he deserves a second chance.
Varian also has Ruddiger by his side. Y/n wanted him to come, too. But Varian's outfit isn't much different to how it was before. The only differences are his brown boots and his hooded green cloak.
Sensing Y/n's presence, Varian glances up at her and Ruddiger chitters in delight. Y/n tosses a red apple to the raccoon, who eats it immediately. "What are you doing here?" Varian asks.
"I just thought I'd come check up on you." Y/n tells him, sitting opposite him at a table. Luckily, they had the courtesy to chain Varian by the wall at a table so he won't just stand. And his side has two blankets and a large pillow, for nighttime.
Like the cell, there is food for Varian. Much better food on a plate, of course. But similar to when he was in his cell, most of it remains untouched.
Y/n glances at the almost untouched food. "Please don't tell me that's all you're going to eat." She tells Varian, with a frown. "Huh? No, of course not. I've just been busy.. looking at everything we have for some answers." Varian says. Y/n nods.
"Well still, remember to eat something. I know how important this is, but you're health tops that by far." Y/n points out. Varian glances at the plate, then nods, putting down the papers in his hands and pulling the white plate in front of him.
"Any luck so far?" Y/n asks, as Varian begins to eat his plate of ham sandwiches like it'll disappear if he doesn't. This makes the youngest princess frown.
Varian doesn't look as unfortunate as he looked when he was locked up in his cell. His hair is tidier, his eyes show that he's getting better sleep and he doesn't have dirt on his face. He still looks quite frail, though, and his face is a little sweaty.
After swallowing his last gulp of food, Varian shakes his head. "No.. nothing." He answers, with his voice cracking slightly. Y/n holds his black gloved hand comfortingly. "Don't worry, Var. We will find a way." She assures him.
Varian nods slightly. "Th-Thanks for being there for me, Y/n." He says. Y/n nods. "Of course." She replies.
Taking a quiet, but deep, breath, Y/n stands up and takes the chains off of his wrists. The chains. The cuffs still remain there, keeping his wrists together, just in case, but she unlocks him from the wall. "How about we get some fresh air?" Y/n asks. A small smirk appears on Varian, then he nods.
Exiting through the backdoor of the moving caravan, Y/n and Varian stand together on the porch outside as Fidella and Maximus carry on down along the path.
Varian shuffles his wrists in front of him, clearly not liking having them chained. "You know I wouldn't choose this, but this the only way to get the others to trust you.. a little." Y/n tells him.
Varian nods. "I know.. I get it. I just hope it'll be more than just a little soon." He points out. "I get that, but you must remember Varian-" Y/n reminds him. "I know, I know what I did. But.. h-how do you apologize for something like that?" Varian asks.
Y/n hesitates, making Varian look down sadly. Then she pulls the alchemist in for a hug. "Actions speak louder than words. You can make it up, through what you do. Not just what you say." She advises.
Varian's eyes widen, slightly startled by the hug. He'd return the hug if he could, but the wrist cuffs won't allow that. Instead, he blushes. A lot.
[Meanwhile]
"Alright, boys!" Eugene says, opening his ring box with a proud grin. "We're gonna try this proposal thing one more time, and where better than Vardaros? One of the most beautiful cities in the world. It's perfect!" He points out, showing Hook Foot and Lance the beautiful ring.
"Didn't she say 'No' the first time you proposed?" Lance asks, with crossed arms. Eugene glances up at him, with a frown. "I'm just sayin'. You probably thought that was gonna be perfect, too." Lance replies. "Thank you.. Lance(!)" Eugene snaps, shutting the ring box.
"It makes perfect sense to me(!) The princess is out in the free world for the first time in her life(!) I'm sure she's just itchin' to settle down with you(!)" Hook Foot remarks.
"We're here." They hear Cassandra say.
As soon as this knowledge fills their ears, Hook Foot and Lance immediately open the door and rush out, bursting with eagerness. "Woohoo! I'm gonna find a picnic spot!" Lance cheers. "No way! You got to choose last time, and there were ants all over the place!" Hook Foot reminds him.
Eugene sighs, taking out the wedding ring and staring at his reflection in the mirror. "Come on, Fitzherbert, forget Hookfoot! Forget Lance! This is Rapunzel we're talking about. Of course, she wants to get married. Besides, I'm not asking her to settle down and throw her life away. I'm just asking her to.." He states, walking away from the mirror. Then, his eyes widen in realisation. "..settle down." He admits, then frowns sadly.
Eugene then shakes his head. "Okay, enough already! You just have to ask her flat out!" He tells himself, narrowing his eyebrows in determination. "Rapunzel Will you ma-" He rehearses, getting down on one knee and holding the ring box out.
Suddenly, the caravans front door bursts open and Rapunzel falls inside, upon the floor, with a small squeal. Eugene's eyes widen, definitely not expecting that. Rapunzel glances up and Eugene quickly closes the ring box, smiling sheepishly as he hides the box behind his back.
Rapunzel stands up. "Eugene, did you just ask me to marry you?" She asks. "What?! Ha ha! No! That's crazy! No, I just I dropped something. And I got it. That.. that something that I dropped, and I knelt down and I picked it up, which would explain why I was on one knee. I can see how you would, uh.. you know." Eugene blurts out, with a nervous chuckle.
"I thought I heard you say 'Marry me'." Rapunzel says, hugging her arm and frowning at him. "Oh, I see now! There's the confusion, because I didn't say 'Marry me'. I said.. 'Laramie'. Uh.. I was talking about my old dog, Laramie." Eugene lies.
"You were talking about your old dog, Laramie? To yourself?" Rapunzel asks doubtfully, edging closer to him. "Yep! Good ole scruffy, totally real, and totally not made up, Laramie!" Eugene lies.
A deafening screeching sound is then heard. As soon as it's heard, Rapunzel and Eugene, as well as Varian and Y/n, rush out of the caravan, followed by Hook Foot and Lance. Eugene and Lance get their hands ready for any attack, while Varian stands in front of Y/n and Rapunzel gets her frying pan ready.
"Okay, Cass! Cass! Are you okay? We heard a scream!" Rapunzel says. "A scream? It sounded like a pterodactyl screech. And, unless Cassandra's secretly a dinosaur.." Varian remarks. "That wasn't me." Cassandra states, revealing the true source.
Cassandra holds Shorty by the back of his shirt and he lets out another ear-piercing goat-like shriek, making everybody cover their ears. Then he chuckles and Cassandra drops him to the floor.
"Shorty?" Y/n and Rapunzel ask, simultaneously.
"How did you get here?" Eugene asks.
"How indeed! The circumstances which lead to my unexpected departure from Corona, make for a long, yet fascinating, tale." Shorty says, standing up. "Bottom line us, beardy." Cassandra demands. "I fell asleep in a food trunk." Shorty answers.
Varian's eyes widen, then he gags a little. "Were those ham sandwiches in there?" He asks Y/n, in a whisper. "Thankfully not." She assures him, making the alchemist sigh in relief.
However, Lance's eyes also widen and he rushes over to the food trunk. There's no food left. Lance is horrified. "Huh? No, no, no, no, no! The food! He ate all the food! The bread! The cheese! Those little cocktail weenies in the peppercorn jelly. Gone! ALL GONE! Why? WHY?! You're a monster." He states. "This is the worst day of my-" He adds, in a high pitched, squeaky voice. Y/n approaches Lance, and pats his shoulder comfortingly.
Letting out a dry scoff, Varian gestures to Shorty. "I still can't believe you thought I could mistake him for Rapunzel." He states. "You still lost." Cassandra reminds the young alchemist, with a glare. "Barely. Rapunzel cheated, bringing magic to an alchemy fight." Varian fires back, with a shrug.
"Look Varian, I know you're in a place where you still hate me. But you are stuck with us, now that we're away from Corona. So, please, just.. try not to, okay?" Rapunzel asks, as if it's easy.
"I can't make any promises, princess. But you should be glad about that, because if there's no promise to make, there's no promise to break either." Varian points out, with another shrug.
Eugene pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well, I guess someone should head into town and pick up more supplies. Anyone up for a walk?" He asks.
"Uhm, I'll.. go. If that's okay." Rapunzel volunteers, walking up to Eugene. "Sure! I mean, if you want to go for a walk, you don't need to feel pressured." He assures her. "No, no. I-I won't." She replies.
"But just to be clear, I didn't officially ask you to go for a walk." Eugene points out. "Okay, but the question was still out there. Doesn't that count?" Rapunzel asks. "That depends." Eugene answers.
"Are you officially asking me if it counts?" Eugene asks. "Would that change your answer?" Rapunzel asks. "I don't know." Eugene answers.
Cassandra sighs in annoyance, while Hook Foot, Lance and even Shorty share equally annoyed expressions. Meanwhile Varian turns to Y/n, glancing over at Rapunzel and Eugene, silently asking her what's the matter with them. Y/n shrugs.
"Honestly, I'd rather take being in a cell right now.." Varian mutters, in annoyance. Y/n puts a hand on his shoulder, comfortingly. "That could easily be arranged." Hook Foot fires back, earning a glare from the young alchemist.
"Would it change yours?" Eugene asks. "A question's a question. The answer should be the same either way." Rapunzel points out.
"Yeah, now, I'm confused, Rapunzel. Do you want to go for a walk or not?" Eugene asks. Rapunzel pauses. "Do you want to go for a walk?" She asks.
Cassandra groans, finally losing her patience with them. "GUYS, I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE!" She yells, finally silencing Rapunzel and Eugene. "Enough! No one's going for a walk! Let's just take the caravan into town! Together!" She demands.
Nobody argues with that, thankfully.
"And, remind me why he's out here?" Cassandra asks Y/n, gesturing to Varian and his wrist cuffs. Varian gives a weak, sheepish smile due to her snap, but Y/n shrugs. "I just thought some fresh air would be nice." She replies.
[A Few Minutes Later]
After getting into the caravan and a lot of uncomfortable silence, with glares at either Rapunzel and Eugene or Varian, Y/n sighs.
"Vardaros sounds nice, huh? A fun new city we've never been to?" Y/n asks Varian, who shrugs in response. Y/n awkwardly nods, in return. She knows Varian wants to redeem himself, but it's kind of hard when only one person trusts him.
"Here we are." They hear Cassandra say.
The caravan stops and everyone quickly exits.
"Vardaros! Here we- Oh!" Lance says, wide eyed.
It doesn't look as amazing as they thought.
"Uh.. ew." Lance adds, scanning across in shock.
Y/n and Varian walk out and their eyes widen at the sight of Vardaros. There are wrecked ships, crumbled buildings, not to mention black rocks. "Whoa.." Y/n says, stunned.
"Wow guys, you were right! This is great! What do you wanna do first? Get matching face tattoos? Or see if we can get a deal on a rusty hatchet? Oh, I know! Let's see who can catch the plague first!" Cassandra says, with sarcasm lacing every word.
"I don't understand! What happened?" Eugene asks. "Come on, guys! Maybe it's not exactly how you remembered it, but that doesn't mean it's not a fun-loving city!" Rapunzel says, optimistically.
Rapunzel then approaches a black-haired teenage girl, sharpening a knife. "Hello, there! We're new in town. My name's-" Rapunzel introduces. "Get lost." The girl interrupts, bluntly.
Rapunzel stares in shock, as Cassandra places a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should hold off on the introductions. Something tells me if word got out that actual royalty were in town, we could be in trouble." She tells her.
"You know, I hate saying this, but she's right. Let's keep a lower profile, princess. We'll go get the supplies. You guys take the caravan back up to the camp. The last thing you need is for someone to recognize you." Eugene points out.
"Can I come and help? I probably won't be recognised by anybody." Y/n pipes up. "Uh, I don't think that's a good idea." Varian says.
"I'm sure she'll be fine, Varian. Eugene will look after her." Rapunzel assures him. "Oh, really? Is that a promise?" Varian asks, crossing his arms. "That's it, you little-" Cassandra snaps. "Okayy, he was kidding!" Y/n says, quickly stopping her.
"You know, you haven't got a lot to be smug about little man. If you think it'll be hard to gain our trust, think about the rest of Corona when we return." Lance states. Varian's eyes widen - he's not wrong.
"Moving on, Lance.." Y/n tells him, then turns to Varian. "We'll be back soon." She tells him. "Uhh, Kiddo? If you won't be recognised for you, you may be recognised for this." Eugene points out, holding her long golden hair streak in his fingers. "Ohh.. that's true." Rapunzel says, as Y/n nods.
"Take this." Varian offers, pointing to his cloak, since his hands are still cuffed together. Y/n carefully removes the cloak from him, moves her hair behind her shoulders and slips the hood on her head, perfectly covering most of her hair. Just like when she left the castle, to find Rapunzel. "Thanks, Var." Y/n says, with a smile. Varian nods.
[A Little Later]
Back at the caravan, Varian glances at Ruddiger, who snuggles against him, then the alchemist twiddles his thumbs. He can't help, but worry about Y/n being out in a supposedly dangerous city. Luckily not all by herself, but still.
Meanwhile, Rapunzel also has a lot on her mind as she glances at her newly added journal entry: the one where Eugene proposed to her.
"He asked you to marry him again, huh?" A voice asks. Rapunzel shuts her journal, wide eyed. Then she turns to Cassandra, who rolls her eyes with a scoff. "Come on! I know you guys well enough by now!" She tells Rapunzel, with her arms crossed.
"I-I guess he maybe asked me." Rapunzel admits.
"Well? What did you maybe say?" Cassandra asks.
"I didn't say anything." Rapunzel answers.
Hearing a small, but amused scoff, Cassandra turns to Varian and glares at him. Despite being responsible for the scoff, he just shrugs it off.. then smirks in amusement when Cassandra turns back around. "And I'm not sure why." Rapunzel admits. "Oh, I can tell you why." A voice says. She, Cassandra and Varian turn their attention to whoever the anonymous voice belongs to. They peek around the corner of the caravan to see a white-haired woman with two different earrings on and red face paint down the left side of her face.
"You have bigger things lying ahead of you." The woman tells Rapunzel, then takes a bite of her apple. "Greetings." She greets, with her mouth full.
[Meanwhile]
"I told you she was gonna say 'No'. She wasn't ready!" Hook Foot tells Eugene, as they, Lance, Shorty and Y/n make their way back to the caravan, with each of them carrying a bag of food.
"For the last time, she didn't say 'No', Hookfoot. She didn't say anything." Eugene admits, making them all turn to him in shock. "Which, in a way, is kind of worse than saying no, so I'd appreciate it, if you'd just change the subject." Eugene states.
"You got it, pal. I'm not gonna say another word." Hook Foot lies. "Thank you!" Eugene replies. Seeing the smug grin on Hook Foot, Y/n sighs and turns to Lance. "Three, two, one." She whispers, then points to Hook Foot. Just as she predicted, he does indeed say another word.
"Hey! Here's a fun fact. Rapunzel's agreed to marry me as many times as she's agreed to marry you! And I didn't even have to ask-" Hook Foot teases, earning a large bag tossed in the face from Lance.
"Now, that's enough, Hook Foot! Eugene's in pain." Lance defends, pulling his buddy closer. "It's not his fault he couldn't see that asking a girl who is free for the first time in her life, to clip her wings and get hitched, would be a horrible idea, but Eugene is still our friend! And we should stick by him, no matter how oblivious or-" He states, earning an annoyed glare from Eugene. "Desperate!" Hook Foot suggests. "Yeah." Lance agrees. "Downright pathetic he comes across." Shorty adds.
"Isn't that right, buddy?" Lance asks. Y/n sighs, at their unintentional bullying. "You are all just awful, awful people." Eugene tells them, almost taking the words straight out of the youngest princess' mouth.
"Hey! You!" They hear a voice yell. They then turn to see the same black-haired teenage girl, who told Rapunzel to get lost earlier. "You guys are friends with that annoying girl with the long hair, right?" She asks them, with an eye roll.
Y/n gasps, as Eugene glares at her. "Hey, hey! Easy! That happens to be the woman I love." He snaps. "And my older sister. And she's not annoying." Y/n adds. "Yeah! We like to use the term 'irrepressible'." Lance adds. Y/n narrows her eyebrows in confusion, unsure what that means.
"No! She's in trouble. You better come with me." The girl tells them, then runs. Everybody glances at each other, with Y/n and Eugene sharing worried expressions, then they dumped their supplies and followed after the girl.
They eventually find the girl in a dark alley, but it's only her there. "Where is she?!" Eugene demands, pulling his sister-figure behind him protectively. "How should I know?" The girl asks, tossing a small bag in the air and catching it in her palm with a small clinking sound coming from the inside. Money. "Some guy just gave me a sliver of gold to get you to come down here." She tells them, walking away.
"Hello, Rider." An anonymous voice says, from the shadows. The stranger, holding a knife, turns out to be Weasel. "Hoo! Anthony, the Weasel. See, I knew it was you before I even turned around! Must be standing downwind." Eugene states.
"Eugene..?" Y/n says, pointing her thumb behind them, anxiously. He, Hook Foot and Lance whirl around to see four tall rough-looking men standing behind them with harsh 'If looks could kill' glares.
"Oof! And I thought I was a big, ugly goon!" Hook Foot remarks, as they edge closer. Y/n holds Eugene's arm, wide eyed, as he and Lance stand in front of her. "An old friend would like to do some catching up with you." Weasel tells Eugene.
[Near The Caravan]
"I'm sorry, who are you, exactly?" Rapunzel asks the white-haired woman, confused. "Oh, right, sorry! Princess Rapunzel, my name is Adira." She introduces, with a respectful bow.
"And what do you want, Adira?" Cassandra asks. "A word with Rapunzel is all.. alone. If you don't mind." Adira answers.
Cassandra chuckles, dryly. "Not gonna happen." She states, stopping Adira with her hand. "Just a second, Cass. Let's hear her out." Rapunzel says.
"Okay, I gotta be honest. I know we just met, but, uh, I'm not a big fan of people touching me." Adira tells Cassandra. "And I'm not a fan of people who lurk in the shadows." She fires back, raising her fist.
"Okay, last chance to do this the nice way." Adira states, cupping her hand over Cassandra's wrist, who smirks in return. "And where's the fun in that?" She remarks. "Cass, no! Wait." Rapunzel objects.
Adira roughly tosses Cassandra to the ground, but she skillfully gets back on her feet. "HEY!" Rapunzel yells. Adira turns to her, who has her frying pan raised threateningly. "I don't know who you are, but you do NOT get to do that to my best friend." She tells Adira. Pascal and Ruddiger watch from the caravan, worriedly, while Varian casually looks through a book, despite his hands still being cuffed together. Adira sighs. "Alright, then." She says. Ruddiger turns away and Pascal covers his eyes.
Rapunzel charges at Adira, with her frying pan raised, but she stumbles and falls to the floor. "Let's try that again, weirdo." Cassandra says, pulling out her sword and charging over to Adira while Rapunzel quickly gets up.
"I'm not a weirdo. Am I?" Adira asks, dodging Rapunzel with her frying pan. "Eccentric, maybe. Unconventional, sure, but weirdo?" Adira asks, dodging Cassandra's sword several times.
Adira then takes a step behind Cassandra, and quickly trips her to the floor with his foot. Pascal winces, covering one eye, while Ruddiger and Varian hold in sniggers, earning a glare from the green chameleon. "Oh, come on, guys. This is ridiculous. I don't wanna fight you." Adira says, dodging Rapunzel again. "You could've fooled me." Cassandra says, brandishing her sword.
"You guys aren't even trying." Adira remarks, flipping over her stylishly. "Oh, wait. They are trying." She realises, with an eye roll, after raising her hand and catching Rapunzel's frying pan.
"That's it!" Cassandra snaps, trying to strike Adira with her sword, but she misses. "Huh?" Cassandra says, as Adira knocks her sword away with her foot. Then she makes Cassandra tumble back onto the floor, after Cassandra thinks she's going to kick her.
"Enough!" Rapunzel demands, lassoing Adira's wrist with her hair. "Yeah, see, I thought we covered this." She points out, clenching her fist then getting her sword out. "I don't like being TOUCHED!!" She yells, then uses her sword to cut Rapunzel's hair. But, both the black rock sword and the golden hair glows, then dims, with neither of them shattering.
This surprises everybody. Even Varian.
"Huh? It didn't cut." Adira whispers, shocked.
"It didn't break." Rapunzel adds, also shocked.
Varian, seeing the blue glow on the sword, quickly puts the pieces together. "It's made of-" He says.
"Princess! Cass!" A voice yells.
They turn to see Hook Foot, running over.
"Hook Foot. Are you okay?" Rapunzel asks.
"Why is he only here? Where's Y/n?" Varian asks. "I can see you have your hands full. I'll seek you out later." Adira tells them, before slipping her sword away, turning around and leaving them.
"I fought as hard as I could, and barely got away alive!" Hook Foot tells them. "Wait, wait? Fought.. fought who? Where are Y/n and Eugene?" Rapunzel asks, worriedly. "I'm so sorry.. they took them." Hook Foot answers. Varian and Rapunzel stare wide eyed, as their mouths drop open in shock.
[Meanwhile]
Eugene grunts as he is shoved to the floor, tied up in ropes, by the thugs that took them. Lance is then brought to his knees, with Y/n in between them. Shorty plops down beside them, then falls over, snoring peacefully. Bucky rolls his eyes.
Of course, Y/n's small grey squirrel friend could easily free them from the ropes with his teeth, but.. what then? They don't have any weapons and these large thugs could easily kill them all.
Eugene, Lance and Y/n glance up at the sound of heavy footsteps. "It's the.. oh, it's.. it's the.." Lance squeaks, nervously. His nerves make Y/n nervous.
"Baron!" Eugene greets with a nervous grin. Y/n is immediately shocked. "That's the-" She asks, in an accidentally raised voice, but pauses when Eugene nudges her to be quiet. She nods.
"Haha! Long time, no see. I'm glad to see you've set up shop here in Vardaros now. In fact, we were just admiring what you've done with the place." Eugene tells the Baron, who glares at them menacingly.
"If you'd like to keep your tongue, I suggest you stop moving it now." Weasel states, grabbing Eugene by his jacket and raising his fist at him.
"Anthony, enough." The Baron demands.
Weasel releases Eugene and backs away.
"Quit playing games, Rider. I've been waiting for this moment. It's time to make amends for what you did to my Stalyan." The Baron states.
"Oh, right! The Stalyan incident. You really should let this whole Stalyan thing go. Come on! I mean, it's ancient history. Let's all just move on." Eugene chuckles, nervously. "Let's not." A woman snaps.
Eugene, Lance and Y/n turn around to see a rather pretty woman, with long brown hair and purple eyes smirking at them. She also wears knee-length black boots, a black skirt, a pink shirt and a long sleeve black jacket with a belt. Lance's eyes widen. "Hello, Stalyan." Eugene squeaks, nervously.
Y/n's mouth drops open a little, and is about to ask again, but quickly closes her mouth and just stares in shock. She thought Lance meant 'Stallion', like a prized horse that belonged to the Baron, when he first told her about the incident. She never would have guessed an actual woman, called Stalyan.
Stalyan picks up a large bag of hers and walks past them. "Hello.. Rider." She greets, slapping the back of his head as she walks by. Then she approaches the Baron and kisses his cheek.
"I'm so confused." Shorty states. "Stalyan is the Baron's daughter. And Eugene's ex." Lance explains, to Shorty and Y/n. "I see! And who's this Eugene guy?" Shorty asks.
"Wow." Y/n says, stunned. "You really meant you've 'Got a thing for brunette women', huh?" She asks Eugene, referring to the quip in Rapunzel's tower after he was healed. He nudges her again.
"Hey! Stalyan! How are ya? Uh, look, before you get too upset, I can explain." Eugene tells Stalyan. "Oh, I'm not upset, Rider, besides, what's to explain? You left me at the altar!" Stalyan snaps.
"Did I? Did I.. do that? Is that how it.. went down? Because that's not how I remember it! But hey, you know, it was.. it was quite some time ago. Who's to say who did what that day? I mean-" Eugene says. "Stop talking." Stalyan interrupts, shutting him up.
"After what you did, I swore that if I ever saw you again, I would break a lot of bones." Stalyan states, walking up to Eugene. "Fair, fair. We're talking about my bones, is that correct?" He asks.
"But.." Stalyan interrupts, raising a finger. "..with time comes perspective. I realized that we were meant for each other, Flynn Rider. Partners in crime. Partners in life. We can't change what we are." She tells him. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?" Eugene asks, confused.
"I'm making you a proposition, Rider. Keep good on the promise you made to my daughter, and marry her." The Baron states. Y/n's eyes widen. Eugene can't marry her. He and Rapunzel are meant to be.
"Waiting for the 'Or'." Eugene remarks. "Or you, Strongbow, the little girl and your pet troll will perish." The Baron states, rising out of his chair. "Painfully." Weasel sneers, wickedly grinning.
"You can't make me marry her, Baron!" Eugene states. "Oh, I'd like to give it a try." The Baron tells him, opening his ring. A spider crawls out of it!
Lance shrieks in fear. "It's a spider. Y/n, Eugene, it's a spider. You guys know I hate s-s-spiders." He panics, then begins hyperventilating anxiously.
"Not just any spider. It's a venomous Kai spider." The Baron explains, letting the spider crawl around his hand. "Its bite causes fever and delirium. Only when there's swelling of the tongue and throat, do you know the end is near." He adds.
Despite Y/n not being an arachnophobe, she also panics anxiously when the Baron descends the stairs and approaches them, holding the spider over each of them. But he stops at Lance.
"Spiders bite. He's on me! He's on me! He's walking! He's walking! He's on my hand! He's- OW!" Lance panics, trying to blow the spider off but it bites him and he lets out a shriek then passes out.
Y/n gasps, terrified. "Lance!" She cries. "NO! Is he dead?" Eugene asks. "No. The half-wit passed out from fear." The Baron answers. A second later, Lance's eyes open. "He's right. That's exactly what happened." He assures them. Y/n sighs in relief.
"But he will be dead by nightfall." The Baron states, making all three of them stare in horror. "Unless, of course, you have this. The anti-venom." The Baron tells Lance, holding a tiny vial of orange liquid.
"Marry Stalyan, and this will be your wedding present from me." The Baron bargains. "Trust me, Rider. It's meant to be." Stalyan says, putting a hand on his shoulder and standing beside her Father. Eugene glares at them.
"Congratulations, Mr. Groom." Shorty chimes in.
Questions Of The Chapter!
(That's right! For this chapter, there's two)
First off, what do you think so far?
My Answer: I'm excited to write more!
Your Answer?
Also, I loved writing a
'Snow White and the Huntsman'
parody story, that's based on my Tangled story. Now, I've seen a channel that does similar Disney parody stories, but the main character is Draco Malfoy, instead. And I was curious if you guys would be interested in reading that. You know, other Disney parodies that are based on my Tangled story. What do you think?