/i'm dying, and i'm trying/ but believe me, i'm fine/ but i'm lying/ i'm so very far from fine/
-fall away, twenty one pilots
Y/n slowed her horse down, waiting for Rapunzel and Cassandra to catch up. She was glad she had worn pants today- Rapunzel's riding style in her dress looked absolutely miserable. Y/n was wearing long black trousers, a white off-the-shoulder blouse and a (f/c) corset, with knee-high boots- far more comfortable than whatever Rapunzel was wearing. At least Cassandra had enough intelligence to wear pants.
Y/n's horse paused, letting the one Cassandra and Rapunzel were riding take the lead as they rode past the Snuggly Duckling. She fiddled with her hair as she waited. Y/n had (h/l) (h/c) hair with a single golden streak, which was often the target of her constant fidgeting. She suspected it had some connection to the flower that saved Rapunzel- but of course, Y/n was not nearly lucky enough to inherit its powers. No, that honor was reserved for her older sister. The special one. The one her parents would never be able to stop comparing her to.
"Are you alright, Y/n?" Rapunzel asked as she and Cassandra passed her.
"I'm fine." Y/n replied, snapping out of her spiraling thoughts. I'm lying, aren't I? I'm so, so very far from fine. She could feel the pull beginning in her brain, begging her to spend hours thinking of every reason why she'd never be good enough, but she resisted the urge and turned back to Cassandra and Rapunzel.
The two women were staring straight ahead, with seemingly no observance of their surroundings, but Y/n turned her head towards the tavern. She was about to look away when her gaze caught on a familiar shape in the tavern window- Eugene. He definitely recognized the three of them, and Y/n could guess that his idiotic bravado would lead him to follow them wherever they went. Regardless, Y/n decided that this information was unimportant, and kept riding.
The trio stopped and dismounted their horses when they came within view of a run-down mansion. Rapunzel and Cassandra glanced at each other nervously, like they were silently wishing the other would go first. With a hidden roll of her eyes that was quickly replaced by an expression of "bravery", Y/n led the way to the door.
"So, this is where Varian lives?" asked Rapunzel. No, we're just stopping here for fun. "It seems cozy," she continued as they ascended the stairs, "in an 'I wish I had said goodbye to my loved ones before I left' sort of way." Y/n resisted the urge to scoff- her sister was supposed to be the courageous one, yet here they were.
The door creaked open ominously, revealing a dark hallway. Cassandra took a deep breath and stepped forwards, beckoning Rapunzel and Y/n behind her. Y/n bristled at the thought of listening to Cassandra, the handmaiden who had stuck to Rapunzel like glue since the day she had returned, but swallowed her pride and followed.
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After navigating the front portion of the house, the three encountered a heavy wooden door with purple smoke curling from the edges.
"Raps, (N/n), just watch your step." murmured Cassandra as she pushed the door open.
If the hallway had been tinged with smoke, the room inside was brimming with it. Y/n could barely see a foot in front of her face. She hesitated for a moment, nervously glancing about the space.
"It's just fog. I'm sure it's okay." Rapunzel said, looking around fearfully. "Uh huh. Sure." commented Y/n, not fully paying attention- she was more focused on the small string that Cassandra had just tripped on. A tripwire?
Y/n's attention was instantly grabbed by the series of mechanisms that had just begun to trigger, which formed a seemingly random string of reactions. She didn't quite realize what was happening until the reactions had triggered a catapult-like mechanism, firing a glass orb at the three of them. In less than a second, their feet were trapped in some sort of purple solution.
"Fine! A booby trap!" Rapunzel exclaimed nervously.
"It's fine. This is fine. Everything's fine." Y/n muttered nervously.
Cassandra frantically tried to pull herself free of the solution, to no avail. "Raps, (N/n), everything's gonna be-" she gasped, letting out a startled noise.
A shape emerged from the purple smoke, two yellow-green eyes glowing like lanterns. As it got closer, Y/n could tell that it was a person, wearing a metal mask and a heavy coat. It spoke in a distorted voice, each word spaced out.
"What... do... you... want?"
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Rapunzel started stuttering nervously. "Um... hi! So sorry to bother you, sir. I wanted to ask you about my hair." She laughed nervously. "You know, because you're such a magic exp-"
"Magic?!" exclaimed the mystery figure, who Y/n assumed must be... Varian? "I do not work with MAGIC."
Suddenly, the person leaned back, pulling the metal mask off his face, revealing what appeared to be a teenage boy underneath. When he started speaking again, his voice was far more squeaky and high-pitched than it had sounded under the mask. "I mean, it's not magic, it's alchemy, but don-don't sweat it."
Y/n's heart seemed to skip a single beat. The boy- Varian- was short, she could tell, as he was standing on top of a table to appear taller than them. His hair was fluffy and black, with a single turquoise streak running through the front- similar to her golden one, but not identical. His face was covered in freckles, and his eyes shone a brilliant blue, even in the dim light. Y/n didn't, never had, never would believe in love at first sight... but she still couldn't explain the sudden spike in her heart rate when he made eye contact with her.
"Got it." Y/n muttered, only half listening to herself.
"So, uh, what is this?" asked Rapunzel, who was attempting to pull herself out from the goo.
"Oh, it's a chemical compound of- uh- my own design. A-thank you," Varian said, shrugging off his coat and sounding quite pleased with himself. Underneath the coat, he wore a pale turquoise shirt with brown pants and a dark brown apron, along with black gloves and bronze goggles on his head.
"See, we have a bit of a critter problem out here, and, through the miracle of modern alchemy, I have found a humane way to solve the problem." said Varian, picking up a raccoon that was also caught in the goo and throwing it out the door.
Y/n fixed her face back to a neutral expression before anyone could catch her- blushing? Was that what this was? Embarrassing. Sure, what he was saying was interesting, but that was irrelevant. Still, it couldn't hurt to show some interest- alchemy had always been the most compelling of her studies. "What exactly causes the cohesive force in this compound that keeps things in place?" asked Y/n casually.
Varian's face brightened. "Oh! Well, it's actually an element of my own-"
Cassandra groaned. "Look, this is riveting, but could you get us out of here?"
"Hah!" exclaimed Varian nervously as he began to pat down the pockets of his apron. "Where is that neutralizing parti-" he pulled out a vial of yellow-green liquid just as the raccoon walked back into the room. "O-oh come on! Get, get out of here!" Varian picked up the raccoon, by the tail this time, throwing it back into the hallway.
Varian knelt down, shaking small droplets of the particle on the goop holding the three of them in place.
"I- I am so sorry, Your Highnesses," he said, kneeling on the ground.
Wait.
Highnesses?
No one had ever addressed Y/n as "Your Highness" since Rapunzel had come home. She'd simply... faded into the background. Suddenly, she had an unexplainable rush of happiness. Y/n barely knew this boy- he probably didn't know her name- but he saw her, like maybe she was something more than a footnote in Rapunzel's story.
Rapunzel seemed surprised, for different reasons. "'Your Highness'? You know who I am?" No, Rapunzel, that's how he addresses every stranger he meets.
Varian laughed. "Uh, how could I not?" he laughed again. "Look at your hair! Uh- Your Highnesses." He cleared his throat with an embarrassed smile.
"Oh, please," said her sister, "Just Rapunzel."
"Yes, just- just Y/n." Y/n said, finally regaining her powers of speech.
"Wow, really?" Varian asked, running a gloved hand through his hair. "Okay, so, Rapunzel," Varian spoke, his voice speeding up as he started to walk in a circle. "Fantastical stories of your hair returning have spread all throughout Corona." He picked up Rapunzel's ponytail, seemingly inspecting it. "Yeah, people say it's magic, but personally I don't really believe that. You see, I am a man of science, specifically al-" he was interrupted while holding his finger in the air.
"Alchemy. We know." said Cassandra. "Now listen, kid. We need your help, but let me make something clear." Varian looked at her, nervous and wide-eyed. "What happens here, stays here. Got it?" Cassandra asked, picking Varian up by the collar of his shirt.
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A few minutes later, Y/n was leaning on a long table that Rapunzel was lying on. Varian had some sort of magnifying device, and was muttering to himself as he examined her hair. "Ah, yes, this is- this is, uh... it's very..."
"Long?" offered Y/n as she glanced around at the various mechanical devices scattered throughout the room.
Varian laughed, lowering his magnifying glass. "Long- yes, um, that's one word for it. But oh, no, don't worry, Your High- Rapunzel," he corrected, sounding very pleased with himself, "I'm sure that I, Varian," he began, raising his magnifier once again, "can unlock the mystery of your hair with the power of SCIENCE!" he exclaimed, throwing the magnifying glass to the side and pointing his index finger in the air- less than a second later, the glass spun around, hitting him in the head. "Ow!"
"Are you alright?" Y/n asked, concern lacing her voice. What's wrong with you? You barely know this guy! Why are you... genuinely worried about him?
"Oh yeah, no sweat, it's just a little-" Varian put his hand to his head, and looked at it. His hand came back with a spot of blood on the glove. The second he saw the blood, Varian started mumbling something unintelligible and fainted. Y/n took a step forward and put her arms out, catching him as he fell. For the love of Demanitus, keep that stupid blush off your face.
She set him down gently on the ground next to the table. Okay. How to ask this without sounding jealous? She wasn't going to fall into the cycle of hate right now- at least not here. "Rapunzel," began Y/n, "does your hair still do the... thing?"
Rapunzel smiled. Like an idiot? Yeah. Like an idiot. "There's only one way to find out!"
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just to clear up some confusion- the italics outside of quotations are y/n's thoughts. her internal monologue is in the second person, but i do see how it could be confusing, so i'd just like to clear this up. - leviathan
thank you guys so much for the reads! we hit over fifty before Varian even appeared? genuinely (and excitedly) shocked. we hope you enjoy this book- get ready for some more of our favorite alchemist.
love,
leviathan and yuki