As the warm Corona sun bids farewell to the day, warm rays of light danced through the leaves of the trees, casting a golden glow onto our wagon. Creamy white clouds were smeared across the pink sky, creating a rosy atmosphere. A slight chill fills the air as the sun begins giving away to night. I shiver a bit as I breathe in humid but fresh-smelling air, evident after the rainstorm earlier in the day. The sounds of birds chirping slowly shift into a choir of frogs croaking and the occasional hoot of an owl.
Typically, we wouldn't be traveling outside of Corona so late in the day, but Rapunzel was insistent that we take this trip to Neserdnia so Catalina and Angry could return that last of the treasure they had stolen.
Varian and I had spent the whole day in his lab trying to come up with a cure for my parents, but after only reaching dead ends I decided that we needed a brain break. Varian had protested at first, as he was desperate to find a cure to fix his mistakes, but I managed to convince him when I told him he could get a copper-plated alembic (a crucial piece of equipment to save my parents) from the market.
As we rode along the bumpy dirt road, Hamuel and Pascal suddenly soared down from above, crashing into the back of the cart and dumping a bag of stolen items over. "Careful you two," Rapunzel warns, hopping to the back of the cart to aid the animals. "We don't want to break this stuff before we get to Neserdnia."
"That's right," Angry nods her head, causing her short black ponytail to bounce a bit. "'cause once me and Catalina return this last sack of stolen loot, we will have officially put our thieving days behind us!"
I smile at the girls. "I'm proud of you two. You've really turned your lives around."
Catalina beams. "Thanks, (yn)." She sweetly says, hardly an ounce of shyness in her voice. I was so happy to see how confident she had become.
"Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on a copper-plated alembic from the Neserdnian market!" Varian giddily exclaims. "Do you have any idea how many poly-alchemical substration tests I'll be able to run?" His blue eyes meet mine, the slightest hint of guilt flashing across them. I knew why he hadn't told Angry and Catalina the real reason he needed that alembic. The girls were some of the only residents of Corona who don't know about Varian's past, and the alchemist wanted to keep it that way. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone else holding his history against him.
Angry rolls her dark eyes. "Anyone wanna switch seats with me?"
"Hmm." My sister happily hops in between Varian and Angry. "We're happy to have you two along." She says, smiling at Varian and me. "Plus, I'm hoping once Max and Ruddiger have some bonding time together, they can finally become friends!" She whispers.
Max scoffs in reply. He suddenly spots a bright red apple dangling from the branch of a tree we're passing and stops in his tracks. He gazes at the apple longingly, and Ruddiger then notices it as well. The raccoon rubs his paws together as he licks his lips, all the while chittering happily. Dandelion notices this, and she quickly hops out of my lap and rushes to her friend. The orange-colored bunny grabs Ruddiger's striped tail, trying to hold him back, but to no avail. Ruddiger hops off the cart and scurries up the tree that the juicy red fruit was hanging from, and snatches the apple right before Max can. The raccoon then skitters in front of Max and holds up his apple while shaking his rump, taunting him. Dandelion and Pascal glance at each other and sigh.
Max angrily whinnies and stomps toward Ruddiger, trying to steal the apple back. The cart rattles as he does so, causing all of the stolen loot to spill out of the bags and all of us to bounce around. I fall over to my left and my torso lands directly in Varian's lap. Varian stares down at me, and I stare up at him, the two of us not even reacting for a couple of moments. Our faces flush red and I quickly sit back up. "S-Sorry." I stutter out.
Varian doesn't make eye contact with me as he looks away, trying to hide his bright red face in the collar of his skirt. "N-No problem..."
"Gross. Get a room." Angry gags.
Max finally stops shaking the cart when he manages to grab the apple back from Ruddiger. We all breathe a collective sigh of relief. "Whoa! What happened!?" Rapunzel asks.
Catalina crawls into the back of the cart and begins scooping up gold coins and jewelry, and I quickly join her, eager to help. As I help her clean, I notice a golden pearl necklace with a large pink shell hanging from it. I slowly pick it up and run my fingers over the smooth pearls. "This is beautiful...who'd you steal this from?" I ask.
Catalina shrugs. "I don't know; I don't remember stealing it."
"Oh," Rapunzel turns around to face us. "Well, whatever it is...it's beautiful."
"And I bet it's pretty valuable." Angry comments.
"Uh, gang, hi, hello?" Varian pipes up and nervously glances at the forest surrounding us. "Speaking of valuables, we might wanna stow the loot. We're coming up on Deadman's Curve."
"What's 'Deadman's Curve?'" I ask, hopping back into my usual seat beside Varian.
Varian shudders. "It's a hotbed of highway robbery."
Suddenly, the sound of something running through the woods swooshes by our cart, and Varian tenses up and grips my forearm. "Relax, Var." I softly say in an attempt to calm him. "It's probably just a deer or something."
"Besides, real thieves don't waste their time on here." Angry adds. "It's mostly for hacks and knuckleheads.
Just then, a scrawny man dressed in black jumps out of the trees and dashes in front of our cart. He pulls out a sword and points it directly at us. "Hand over the goods!" He demands.
Catalina sighs. "Or in this case, both."
"Hi, Dwayne." Rapunzel, Catalina, and Angry all say to the thief, sounding rather annoyed.
The thief-er-Dwayne sighs. "Oh, nuts." He kicks his boot into the dirt a bit. "'Ello, Princess."
Rapunzel groans and facepalms. "Dwayne, what did we talk about the last time you were caught trying to steal?"
He kicks a rock as though he was a small child being scolded by a parent. "Don't do it...I promise. I'll never steal again." He begins walking away. "In fact, I'm gonna look for an honest job right now. Nice runnin' into ya. Enjoy your trip!" Before we can say another word, he hops into a bush.
"Well that was...weird..." I comment.
My sister sighs. "Tell me about it."
Suddenly, Max takes off running and begins zooming around a tree, chasing after Ruddiger, who still has his apple. We all scream as we spin round and round. "Max, stop!!" I cry, squeezing my eyes shut so I don't make myself sick.
"Guys cut it out!" Rapunzel pleads.
Max screeches to a stop as Ruddiger continues to taunt him from the safety of the tree. "Ruddiger, get down here!" Varian orders.
Ruddiger debates for a moment, but before he can do anything, Pascal uses his tongue to snatch the apple away from him. He takes off running away from the raccoon but ends up tripping over Hamuel the raven and drops the red apple, sending it falling to the ground. Dandelion hops forward and catches the apple in her fuzzy white paws right before it smashes to the ground, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. "Good job girl!" I applaud.
Ruddiger suddenly tackles Dandelion in an attempt to get the apple, triggering Max to once again begin frantically jolting around, shaking the cart along with him. "Come on you guys!" Rapunzel sighs.
Max begins spinning around in circles, spinning us and the blue cart full of loot along with him. We all scream as he does so, until he comes to a sudden stop when the apple lands right in front of him. Hamuel grabs the shell necklace and throws it at the apple, piercing into its juicy surface. He begins pulling the apple towards him and is about to take a bite of it when Ruddiger attacks the bird head-on.
Finally, Rapunzel reaches her breaking point. "ENOUGH!" All five animals stop in their tracks and stare at the princess with guilty expressions. "Maybe it's time for you all to just shake hands and get along. I mean, shake hoof and tail or beak in paw.." She glances at Varian. "Is that what raccoons have? Paws? I can never remember if it's paws or feet. Oh, well. Just shake what you've got and get on with it."
The animals nod and Hamuel begins pulling the shell back out of the apple. Suddenly, the hot pink shell begins glowing, and bright yellow rays of light begin erupting from its surface. One of the bright rays swirls around Rapunzel, Angry, Catalina, Varian, and me, shrinks us down, and sucks us into the shell. We all scream in horror as we're sucked away.
The five of us land in a marvelously decorated room, piled high with brightly colored pillows and cushions. Its hot pink walls curved upwards, trapping us in an oddly shaped dome. Dark purple and magenta tarps decorated the ceiling while ornate rugs clothed the floor. It looks like some kind of Middle Eastern-style lounge. We all sit up and stare at each other with dumbfounded expressions. "Where are we?" Catalina asks.
"Okay...either we've somehow been magically shrunk down and imprisoned inside the shell pendant, or..." Rapunzel crosses her legs as she trails off.
"Or...?" I question.
"Or..." She sighs. "Yeah, sorry. I was hoping I'd think of something more positive sounding by the time I finished that thought but I've got nothing."
"So we're stuck?"
She clicks her tongue. "It appears that way."
Angry, Catalina, Varian, and I look around the shell prison, trying to imagine spending the rest of our lives here. I feel a pit fall into my stomach. There is still so much I need to do! I need to restore my parent's memories, get Cass back, and finally tell Varian that I'm in love with him. I blush just thinking about it. "We can't be stuck in here!" I exclaim.
Rapunzel stares at our worried expressions and frowns. "It's okay! It's okay!" She quickly rises to her feet. "We'll find a way out of here. We have been in much worse situations. Definitely not weirder, but worse."
"What have I ever done to deserve this?!" Angry wails.
"Didn't you steal from, you know, dozens of people?" Varian asks.
Angry looks at her feet. "Oh, right. We're doomed." She says, picking up a deep purple cushion and chucking it at the boy.
Varian groans as it smacks him directly in the face, but quickly picks it up and raises it back, preparing to launch it back at Angry. He mischievously smiles at the little girl. Right as he's about to throw it, Rapunzel snatches the cushion out of Varian's hands, causing him to scowl at her. I giggle a bit from the interaction.
"Chin up, guys! I bet Max and the others are already on their way to get help." Rapunzel cheerily says, clearly trying to hide her nerves. Not that I could blame her. After all, based on the way the animals were acting earlier, I was pretty doubtful that they would be able to put aside their differences and cooperate.
Regardless, I try to remain optimistic. "We'll be out in no time!"
Varian smiles at me in agreement. "While we wait, maybe we could try to find another exit." He suggests to the group.
"Good idea!"
We all scatter throughout the pillow room.