/it breaks my heart that you can't let go/ you say you're fine/ but girl, i know/ you've been dancing, dancing, dancing with your shadows/
-dancing with your shadows, phillip phillips
Varian and Y/n had been walking around the castle, collecting laundry from all of the guest rooms and making them up. They hadn't spoke much since Varian's strange reaction to Y/n's offer, and just completed the chores in silence- though not as comfortable of a silence as before.
The laundry on the cart had reached ridiculous heights, so when they passed by Rapunzel's room, Y/n could only hear her voice, the doorway obscured by the pile of clothing.
"...practical. Okay. Sure." she was saying, her voice sounding a bit dejected, before going up with confusion.
"Automatic laundry cart?"
"Now that..." she heard Eugene say, "I have not seen."
Y/n snickered a little bit, thinking of how the overflowing cart must look from that angle. She and Varian continued pushing it down the hall, bumping into a few columns on the way.
She could hear her sister rushing after them. "Uh, Varian? Y/n? Woah!" a shirt fell off the pile and landed on Rapunzel as Y/n stepped out from behind the cart, Varian close behind her. "Hey, Princess!" he exclaimed.
"What are you two doing?" Rapunzel asked, sounding concerned.
"We're helping Cass with her work!" Varian said proudly. Y/n nodded. "She needs help to pull guard duty." Y/n explained.
"But..." Rapunzel's expression was one of worry and concern. "Varian, shouldn't you be setting up your exhibit? And Y/n, don't you want to see the Expo?"
Varian shrugged, putting his hand on the back of his head and running a gloved hand through his hair. "Oh, theoretically. But I am presenting second to last, so I figure that'll give me a few extra minutes to get ready."
Y/n stood next to him, taking a handle of the cart as Varian walked back over. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to look around once we're done."
Varian smiled. "See! Plus, we just have that one room left right there."
Y/n pointed down the hall. "Oh, and that room."
Varian nodded, then looked around the cart down the hallway. "And that- that one too. Also that one."
The two of them walked down the hallway, and Rapunzel rushed after them. "Look, Varian, I know you really like- oh, um, Cass. Right. Cass. Yes, um, her, but I think-"
"Don't worry!" said Varian, turning around as Y/n stopped the cart, his tone partly reassuring, and partly stop talking before you reveal anything else. "Cass agreed to be my assistant during my presentation, so, ya know, we got everything under control." He turned around and began walking towards a set of double doors. "On to the next room!"
"Oh, Varian-" Y/n began, trying to catch up to him, "that is not a room, that's a..."
"Oh, that's a-" Varian said automatically, leaning on the door, before it swung inward and he fell. Y/n couldn't see exactly what happened, but she heard loud thuds and shouts of panic emanating from the door.
"...staircase." she finished with a wince.
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Later on, after Varian had recovered from his staircase incident, he and Y/n were down in the servant's tunnels, emptying the laundry pile into a chute. Varian pushed the door closed with an exhale, leaning against it, and Y/n patted his shoulder in a gesture of... sarcastic reassurance.
"Wiped out?" asked Cassandra, who was now fully in uniform as she walked down the hallway, carrying a helmet under her arm.
Varian stood up straight with a grin. "Who? Us? No. Just fainted." He paused, realizing his mistake. "Uh- um, I mean, fin- we finished! Finished."
Y/n decided not to mention Varian's earlier bout of unconsciousness- if only to protect his dignity.
"Finished?" asked Cassandra. "Wow, kids. I'm impressed."
"Oh, it was no big deal." said Y/n. No big deal, just trying to get information out of you later. No problem.
Varian smiled again, beginning to walk away. "Now," he began smugly, "if you'll excuse me, I have a contest to win." He turned to Cassandra with a hopeful- and embarrassed- expression. "Assistant?"
"Remember, you said it would only take a minute!" Cassandra shouted after him. "I'm on duty!"
Y/n looked away, her gaze landing on the stone floors of the hallway. Again, she had already known Varian wanted to impress someone else today- that much was clear. And yet... it still hurt, knowing he didn't want her to help him with his presentation.
As Y/n was beginning to zone out, she was snapped back to reality by the sound of glass shattering, and a shout coming from down the hallway. "Ow! My back!"
Cassandra and Y/n walked over- sure, Cassandra more... urgently than Y/n, but she'd argue that her lack of enthusiasm was justified.
Stan, the guard, was lying on the floor, and Rapunzel was standing next to him with a concerned look. "I went to get Master St. Croix a drink, and slipped on the floor!" he was saying. "What kind of monster would leave a wet floor where people could slip on it?" Y/n winced, remembering cleaning this exact hallway with Cassandra and Varian.
"Stan, what happened?" The Captain had arrived, and was staring sternly down at Stan. Rapunzel tried to help him up, but an unpleasant crack echoed through the hallway. "Oh! My back!"
The Captain put a hand to his face in exasperation. "We need someone to replace him as Master St. Croix's security detail. Pete! On the double!"
Pete began running down the hallway. "On my way! Whoa-!" With a thud, he slipped on the same spot, crashing to the ground. "Ow! My back!"
Pete was now sprawled on top of Stan, both of them groaning in pain. "Why is this floor so slippery!"
Y/n's gaze turned to the Captain, but she could still hear the sounds of another guard running down the hallway- "Hey, Pete, are you oka- Whoa! My back!" The Captain sighed. "Cassandra, are you up for this?"
Cassandra smiled, but Rapunzel turned to her with a pointed cough. "Uh, Cassandra, don't you have somewhere to be during the judging?"
The three of them heard a squeaking noise and turned, seeing Varian wheeling his invention, which was covered by a sheet, down a hallway. Cassandra looked down, seemingly hesitating a bit, but shook off whatever emotions were plaguing her and looked back up with a determined expression. "I'll do it."
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The Science Expo had officially begun, and Y/n was standing in the crowd next to Varian, who was watching the stage excitedly. Y/n was getting a bad vibe from the guy onstage, but if Varian respected this person, she wouldn't ruin this for him. He had begun to speak in a pompous voice, but Y/n's eyes were locked on Cassandra, who stood to his right.
"One of you," St. Croix began in a very self-important voice, "will walk away with the greatest prize in all of sciences." He paused for dramatic effect. "My approval."
"As for the rest of you," he said, his voice changing, "may the universe show mercy... on your wretched souls." Varian's ecstatic expression turned to one of nervousness as he heard these words. Y/n's face darkened- this guy was making Varian this upset? Absolutely not.
St. Croix straightened back up. "Good luck," he said, walking towards the podium.
Varian, who was still nervously fidgeting, began to walk around the backstage, and Y/n followed. They pushed past the curtains, emerging next to Cassandra. "You ready?" Varian asked Cass- although he shot a glance at Y/n while he did so. "Because a certain alchemist could use his assistant."
"Listen, Varian..." Y/n's eyes narrowed. She saw where this was going. "I'm really sorry, but things have changed. I can't help you anymore." Her expression was regretful, although... Y/n could swear that a proud smile was threatening to break through. "I'm St. Croix's personal-"
"Hello?" asked the man in question from over on the podium. "Security detail? I have moved my person in this direction."
Y/n looked back to Varian, who's face had fallen. She felt a rush of anger- who was Cassandra to give him this false hope, and then ditch him as soon as he needed her?
"A personal security detail, huh?" he asked sadly. "Must be a big deal." Y/n saw no remorse in Cassandra's expression, and her anger only grew. Still, she kept it contained- for Varian's sake.
"Don't worry about me." he said with a sad smile. "I am sure I can find another assistant, in the next... five minutes."
He pushed back through the curtain and began to walk away, but Y/n followed him and grabbed his gloved hand, stopping him in his tracks. She waited until his blue eyes were focused on hers before she spoke. "I'll be your assistant, Varian."
His expression turned to one of panic, and his face went red. "Um- no! No, no, that's completely fine, I can find someone else-"
Y/n sighed. "Would you rather ask him?" She gestured towards Shorty, who was drunkenly attempting to speak with a participant's goat.
Varian frowned, then let out a nervous "heh" and smiled at her. "Okay. Okay, let's do this."
"Let the judgement... begin!" exclaimed St. Croix, and the curtain was pulled back to reveal the first participant. Y/n did not have time to see their invention, however, because Varian was currently pulling her along to whatever he had covered under the sheet.
"Okay, so- uh... I really don't want to spoil what this is going to do, but, um..." he pulled back the sheet, showing Y/n some sort of metal... cannon? She couldn't quite tell what it was. "I'm going to need you to help me reveal the- erm, the invention, and pour in this sand." He gestured to a large sandbag sitting next to his machine, and Y/n picked it up. Holy- that's heavy! How did he get this up here?
"Got it." Y/n said, determined. She would not mess this up. She glanced over, seeing Rapunzel and Eugene wheeling some sort of fan onstage. Considering all of the crushing rejections she had been hearing up there, she did... not think that would go well.
"Anything else?" she asked, turning back to Varian.
"No, um, that should be it." he said nervously, frantically checking all of the mechanisms of... whatever this was.
"Next!" they heard from the stage, and the pair stepped up, wheeling the machine. Varian gulped nervously, and Y/n gave him a thumbs up.
Varian stepped out from behind the golden curtain onstage, and Y/n stood next to the invention, waiting for a cue. "Behold!" she heard Varian say proudly. "The power of alchemy!"
Deciding it was as good a time as any, Y/n stepped out onto the stage, holding the curtain in her hands. Varian grinned at her, and she wondered why he had been so nervous earlier. "I give you..."
Y/n pulled the curtain back with a flourish, revealing his machine. "The Elemental Remogrifier!"
The audience gasped and applauded, and Varian took a brief bow before continuing. "Assistant?"
With a grunt, Y/n hefted the sandbag, pouring the contents into the barrel of the Remogrifier. "Here we go..." Varian muttered under his breath, beginning to spin a crank on the side. He then pulled a lever, and the machine began to whir, spinning in circles. Varian raised his voice to be heard over the noise.
"The rotation causes friction, which heats the sand, while the counter-centrifugal force promotes particle compression! The end result?" Varian moved the lever back into place, and the spinning came to a stop. "Fifty pounds of sand turns into..." he reached his arm into the machine, feeling around for whatever was now inside.
"This." He raised his arm victoriously, and Y/n gasped. Varian was holding an uncut purple gemstone, which sparkled in the sunlight. "I call this new element..."
His eyes briefly traveled to Cassandra, but locked on Y/n a moment later. "(Y/n)rium."
Y/n gasped, taking a short step back as the audience erupted into applause. Varian bowed, still holding the gemstone, and Y/n, still shocked, began to curtsy, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Shorty, who still appeared to be very inebriated, had fallen onto a goat, which was now panicking and had hit one of the earlier presenters, whose knife flew towards St. Croix. Y/n stepped out of the way, shocked, as the knife skimmed the edge of her hair, nearly slicing her golden streak.
Cassandra lunged for the knife at the last moment, stopping it an inch from St. Croix's face. The crowd gasped. Y/n turned to Varian, who looked equally shocked.
St. Croix stood up straight, shoving Cassandra's arm, which was still holding the knife, aside. "Despite its lack of flair and panache, I was almost inclined to give your device a mediocre assessment."
"Flair?" asked Varian incredulously. "What does that have to do with-"
"However," interrupted St. Croix. Oh, if you were awful before, it's just getting worse. "Considering my nasal cavity was nearly lanced, and your assistant did nothing to stop it, I've no choice but to disqualify you. Next."
Varian looked like he was about to protest, but stopped himself, walking away sadly. Y/n, however, was not giving up as easily. "Sir," she began, barely containing her rage, "with all due respect," Heh. Never specified how much was due. Could be none! "You can't disqualify him because I didn't grab a knife out of the air."
St. Croix scoffed incredulously. "What does a child like you know about science?"
Y/n scoffed right back at him. "So a child like me can't know science, but is still expected to snatch flying knives from the air? And if I don't, you blame another child for it? I-" she looked over at Varian, who was giving her a dejected look. "Fine. Whatever." She stomped off, seething.
Before she and Varian could reach the stairs, however, pink smoke streamed from the curtains, and a woman burst out. "Everybody at this expo make some no-ise!" she shouted proudly, and Y/n recognized her as one of the presenters from earlier in the day.
"This is the momensational moment you've all been waiting for." she said proudly. "That's not even a word..." muttered Varian next to her.
"But first!" the woman exclaimed, pulling a rope and triggering some sort of cannon. "I give you... chocolate!" Chocolates shot out of the cannon, and Y/n saw St. Croix catch one and unwrap it frantically. "Now this is science!"
"Jaws, prepare to drop." said the woman. "Larynxes, get ready to scream, and eyeballs? How about you take a good look around, because once I unveil my marveltacular creation," she gestured at a structure covered by a sheet. "Also not a word," muttered Y/n, leaning over to Varian.
"... the world will never look the same!" the woman finished proudly. Varian raised an eyebrow judgementally. "I give you..."
The woman pulled off the sheet with a flourish. "The Fantasphere!" Underneath the sheet was what appeared to be a brightly colored table holding a crystal ball and two magnets, adorned with strings of tacky gemstones.
The woman pulled on a lever on the side, which tilted back the magnets, raising the crystal ball about two feet into the air, and let out an exaggerated gasp. "How'd she do it?" she asked in a stage whisper. "Oh my gosh! It's awesome!"
As the crowd began applauding, Varian turned away from Y/n and towards the woman. "But wh- what does it even do?"
The woman dropped her smile, before putting it back in place and looking at Varian. "The real question, kid, is... what doesn't it do?" She threw a candy at him. "Now here, have some chocolate and shut up." She smiled again, walking back to her invention and beaming at St. Croix.
"Its luster is glorious!" exclaimed St. Croix from the podium, as the woman gave an exaggerated gasp. "I see no need to continue this contest!"
St. Croix walked over to the presenter, pinning a blue first-prize ribbon to her chest. She gasped and cheered, jumping up and down as the crowd applauded.
Varian looked down dejectedly, walking off the stage, and Y/n followed him. She reached Varian as he sat down at the edge of the courtyard's fountain with his eyes closed.
Y/n sat down next to him gently. "You should've won."
Varian sighed. "It doesn't matter. All I really wanted to do was... it's not important."
Y/n thought about how afraid he must be to say this- Varian always seemed to have words for everything, but he was barely talking now. Y/n looked into his eyes. "Varian, why didn't you want me to help you in the first place?"
He looked at her for a moment, before putting his face in his hands. "I just- well, I was just... nervous. I wanted it all to be perfect... I wanted to impress you. I thought that if I showed you what I was capable of, you might... see something in me. Something special."
Oh.
Oh.
OH.
It was Y/n?
Varian looked away as Y/n stared, dumbfounded. "I was just being dumb."
Y/n recovered her senses and reached out, taking one of his gloved hands. "But you did impress me! It didn't have to be perfect for that." She looked away, embarrassed. Was she really about to do this? "I... I think you're amazing. You're smart, you're compassionate, you're unique."
Varian looked up at her with a smile. "Thanks... for saying that."
Y/n smiled back at him, thinking all the words she wasn't saying. It breaks your heart to see him like this- he says he's fine, but even after you've complimented him, he's still going to be upset- lost in all those shadows in his head.
Y/n let go of his hand as she sat up straighter, craning her neck to see St. Croix investigating the Remogrifier. "Oh, it looks like St. Croix liked your invention after all!"
She expected Varian to be excited, but his expression quickly went panicked as he lunged towards his machine. "Master St. Croix! No!" he cried, running for his invention. "No, don't!"
He ran at the machine, trying to pull St. Croix's hands away from the wheel on the side. "You- you're building too much pressure!"
"Back off, boy!" said St. Croix, shoving Varian aside. Oh, no you do NOT. "I'm a scientist."
"Don't!" Varian shouted again, but this did nothing to stop St. Croix from pulling the lever on the side. The machine spun dangerously fast, and exploded with a bang, the barrel flying off across the courtyard.
"Somebody do something!" cried St. Croix. Y/n grabbed Varian by his shoulders and jumped off the stage, getting them out of the way of the barrel which was now speeding towards them. Cassandra, who was still onstage, lunged for him, but wasn't quite fast enough to stop the barrel from flying into him and knocking him into the air. "Double disqualified!" St. Croix screamed as he soared away.
Y/n looked up, seeing the barrel fly into the Fantasphere, hovering above the table and beginning to spin frantically.
"You... you saved me! Again!" said Varian with a laugh, looking up at Y/n as they pulled themselves off the ground. She laughed with him. "Let's not make a habit out of it. Now come on! We've got a job to do!" The two ran towards the Fantasphere.
"Oh... this is bad." said Varian as bolts of electricity began to lance outwards from the new mechanism. "How bad?" asked Y/n- although she was pretty sure that she could guess.
"Introducing counter-centrifugation to the magnetism could result in..." the barrel spun faster, creating a vortex above itself as wind whipped through their hair. "Well, that!" finished Varian.
The table with the Fantasphere rose into the air, pulled by the vortex, and Varian's face somehow got even more worried. "Its angular momentum is rapidly approaching critical velocity. Once that happens, it'll suck up everything in sight! Us! The castle! Everything!"
The vortex was only increasing in size, and had begun to suck in objects from the surrounding area. One woman's invention was lifted into the air, and she flung herself off of it with a yelp.
"Oooo-kay!" said Y/n, staring into the vortex. "Very bad!" She looked back at Varian. "So, how do we stop it?"
"There's only one way to stop it!" Varian shouted, raising his voice over the wind. "I gotta get close enough to pull the hand brake!" He began to walk towards the vortex, but Y/n stopped him, taking his hand. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.
He gave her a confused look, probably about to ask if she had heard everything he just said, but she just smiled at him. "You're gonna need an assistant."
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thank you all for reading! get ready for chapter seven, readers :3
-leviathan and yuki