"Wow," Varian said in wonder, his mouth open slightly and his head subconsciously cocked to the side as he looked at you.
You were adorned in a lengthy dress that flowed around your ankles, its purple hue shifting colours as the sun beat down upon it. You'd brushed your hair, so it was relatively presentable, and it hung in simple design.
You were beautiful.
"Stop gawking, Varian," you teased, walking over to him.
Your boyfriend was dressed in a grey waistcoat and dress trousers, his boots shined of all the mud.
You could see the faint imprint of a sheath underneath the cloth of his trousers, holding a knife inside. You had one as well, hidden in the folds of your dress's secret pocket. You could feel it lightly pressed against your leg.
Varian held out his arm, smiling down at you with a look of pride and awe. You gladly took it, and grinned to yourself when it slipped around your waist. You looked up at the sky, seeing the moon already shining in the blackness, and sighed.
"We're quite late, you know," you reminded Varian, and he shrugged.
"We have plenty of time," he said, "the ball doesn't end until morning."
Ugh. Trust Rapunzel and her unnecessarily long celebrations.
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And so, you begun the journey to the castle, walking in pinched shoes and shivering in your thin dress.
What a fun night this would be.
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"Names?" A very serious looking man said, his moustache twitching as he talked, his mouth invisible to the naked eye.
"Lucius Storrand and Giselle Pond," Varian said, his arm still around your waist.
The guard scanned the list, and you bit your bottom lip as time went on... and the guard still hadn't found your names. You gripped the your knife through the folds of your dress, your teeth gritted... that was until the guard moved aside.
"Have a lovely evening, folks," he said, and you could scarcely hasten to believe that under the thick caterpillar that lay on his top lip; he was smiling. He tipped his hat at you as you passed through the grand gates, into the courtyard.
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You and Varian slipped into the ballroom, which was filled to the brim with bustling couples, dressed to the max, talking in pairs. Varian looked down at you, a slightly worried look on his face.
"That's a lot of people," he pointed out as his grip on you tightened. You rubbed his hand and held it by your side, so that they were both placed on your waist.
"The sooner we get the information we need, the better," you reminded, "then we can leave."
Varian smiled at you, his eyes soft, yet hard.
"Should we split up?" You suggested. Varian bit his lip.
"As much as I want to stay with you, we'd be less recognisable on our own. We've kind of been branded as a duo," he rationed, and you pulled away from him, kissing his cheek as you did.
"Let's reconvene every hour," you said, pointing to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, currently showing the time as 10 O'clock.
Varian saluted you loosely, before slipping into the crowd, and you only had a second to yourself before the people engulfed you as well.
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You pushed past everyone and made your way to the snacks, since it was common knowledge that everyone with information hung out by the snacks.
Or maybe you were just telling yourself that.
You were very hungry.
You positioned yourself by a particularly fragrant plate of cheese, your arms folded across your chest as scanning the crowd.
Every once in a while you spotted Varian mingling with various people, or simply eavesdropping on others. And every once in a while he'd wave at you, and you wished from the bottom of your heart that you were with him.
"Someone looks down in the dumps," a voice said from beside you. You jumped slightly, and turned to see... well your worst nightmare.
"King Eugene, its an honour," you gushed, curtsying. He laughed to himself.
"Never was one for formalities, just call me Eugene," he said, holding out his hand. You stared at it, your mind having a battle with itself.
You shook it.
"Woah ho ho, firm grip!" Eugene said, pulling away his hand, "You must be used to shaking people's hands."
You shrugged at his comment, to which he responded by chuckling heartedly.
"So, where's your other half then?" Eugene asked, and your heart stopped beating. Your eyes widened. Did he... did he know? No, he couldn't... or he shouldn't at least.
"My... other half?" You asked, sounding confused.
"You're at the couples ball! Where's your boyfriend? Or girlfriend, I don't judge," Eugene said, holding up his hands to proclaim innocence.
"Oh... my boyfriend is talking to people," you said, pronouncing every word carefully as the excuse popped up in your mind. In the end though, it wasn't really much of an excuse.
Eugene nodded, and went to walk away. No. You couldn't lose this opportunity.
"What about your other half?" You yelled, rather forcefully as well. Eugene turned back to you.
"Pardon?" He asked, in a fake French accent.
"Queen Rapunzel, where is she? I just mean, it's no secret that she loves parties," You added hastily, trying to explain your outburst.
"Oh, Blondie is... busy at the moment. Secret queen stuff, you know," Eugene said, bouncing back over to you. You pouted, looking upset.
"It's just, I was really hoping to meet her in person," you sulked, looking up at Eugene with big (E/C) eyes. You knew Varian could never say no to them, so you figured you'd give it a try.
"Well shucks, kid, don't give me that," Eugene said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. You quivered your bottom lip.
"Gah, fine, come on then," Eugene beckoned, and you tensed up.
"Can I quickly get my boyfriend first?" You asked, sure Varian would want to come.
Eugene smiled.
"Sure," he said, and you ran off to find Varian.
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"Var," you hissed into his ear, and the poor man almost jumped out of his skin.
"Jeez, (Y/N), you nearly gave me a heart attack," he joked, and your eyes fluttered to the wine glass in his hand, which was filled with clear, fizzing liquid.
"Varian, you haven't been drinking have you?" You said, and Varian shook his head.
"It's sparkling water," he said, holding it out to you. You took a sip, and indeed, he was right.
"Varian, I've been speaking to Eugene, he's about to take us to Rapunzel," you said, and Varian almost spit out his drink.
"How did you wrangle that one?" He asked in amazement, and you shrugged.
"Guess I just have talent," you teased, and Varian rolled his eyes.
"Now, let's go," you said, and Varian's eyes twinkled with mischief. "What better place to get information than the beast herself?"
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"So this is the lucky man, eh?" Eugene grinned, pulling Varian into a man hug. Varian immediately tensed up, and Eugene frowned, pulling away.
"What's wrong?" He laughed, and Varian smiled wonkily.
"Physical contact," you rushed, holding hands with your boyfriend to calm him down. Eugene laughed .
"I feel sorry for you then," he said out of the corner of his mouth, and you smiled, squeezing Varian for support.
"Well, off we go" Eugene shouted, clapping his hands together. He swung on his heel, and headed out into the crowd.
"We better follow him, or we'll lose him," you rushed, and started to walk, but you were pulled back when Varian didn't move.
"Var?" You asked, pulling his arm slightly, "Are you okay?"
He shook his head, regaining himself.
"Yeah I'm fine," he assured, walking up to you.
"Now let's go meet Rapunzel."
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Sooo... I might have to do a Part 3... because this is much longer than I thought it would end up being. Sorry!