Varian kept an arm wrapped tightly around you as the two of you, Rapunzel, Eugene, Fredrick, and Arianna trudged through the snow. You all shivered from the cold.
"Remind me why we're out here again," Varian said.
"We're looking for a special Christmas tree," you said.
"Why exactly are we the ones doing this?" Eugene asked. "Don't you have tons of servants in the castle that could do this?"
"It's sort of a family tradition," you said. "Something to help us escape from being royals for a bit, and we remind our subjects that we're humans just like them and view them as equals."
"Right," Eugene said rolling his eyes. Rapunzel gave him a bit of a nudge with her elbow and pecked his cheek.
"I quite enjoy looking for a tree," Arianna said. "It can be a nice change to get out of the castle and see the nice landscape of the kingdom."
"I'd probably enjoy this more if there wasn't so much snow," Eugene said followed by a sneeze. "Man, I hate snow."
"Tell me about it," Varian said. "Much longer out here, and I'll probably freeze."
You looked at Varian then at the scarf around your neck. A smile spread across your face as you undid it slightly. You wrapped one end of your scarf around Varian's neck while keeping the other end wrapped around your own neck. "Is this better?" you asked placing a warm kiss on his cheek.
"Uh, uh, I uh," Varian was too flustered to speak properly.
"I thought you were more articulate than that," you teased. Varian pouted but wrapped his arms around you anyway. You giggled and nuzzled your face against his.
"So what kind of tree are we looking for?" Rapunzel asked. "I thought they were mostly dead at this time of year."
"Evergreens and pine trees are actually able to remain green through the winter seasons," Varian said.
"We usually go with a grand pine tree," you said.
Suddenly, you heard a strange sound and stopped in your tracks, making Varian stumble. "Did you hear that?" you asked.
"What?" Varian asked.
Eugene looked over at the two of you with a small smirk. Rapunzel looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He whispered something into her ear. A small smirk came to her face as well as she nodded. Eugene slowly made his way towards you two, while you had your backs turned.
"It kind of sounded like..." Before you could finish your sentence you felt someone pick you up and throw you over their shoulder.
"Hey!" Varian exclaimed as Eugene ran off with you over his shoulder.
"I got your bride, Varian!" Eugene teased as he ran around. "Come and get her!"
"Eugene, put me down!" you exclaimed as he ran around.
"Hand her back!" Varian yelled as he chased Eugene around. He suddenly pulled a familiar pink chemball out of his satchel and threw it at Eugene's feet. Eugene was stopped in his tracks. He looked down in confusion to see his feet were stuck in pink goo.
"Hey, no fair," Eugene said as Varian walked up to him with a smirk.
"Sorry, Eugene," Varian said pulling you out of Eugene's grip and holding you bridal style. "Nothing personal. But no one takes my bride." He kissed your forehead, making you blush.
Varian dropped a strange sphere on the goo trapping Eugene, making the goo disappear and free Eugene.
"Varian," you said. "I heard the sound coming from over there." You pointed in the direction you heard the sound. Varian nodded and walked that way for a bit before putting you on your feet. After a minute or two, you came upon a sight that made you gasp. You saw a dead doe ;lying in the snow with a young fawn laying next to it licking its face.
"Oh my," you said slowly approaching the animal. "You poor thing." You got down on your knees next to it. It looked up at you with curious eyes. You slowly reached your hand out and petted its head. It leaned into your touch and moved closer to you. You smiled while petting it.
Varian walked up next to you and got down on his knees as well. "A new member of the family, huh?" he said petting its head as well.
"Well, she doesn't have anyone else to take care of her," you said. "She needs someone."
"The more, the merrier I suppose," Varian said with a small smile.
You carefully picked the fawn up and headed back towards the group.
"Oh, (y/n)! Varian!" Rapunzel squealed when she saw you come back. "Who is your little friend?"
"She doesn't have a name yet, but she needed help," you said. "Hey, I'm the only one of the group who doesn't have an animal companion."
You, Varian, Rapunzel, and Eugene all laughed until you heard your dad calling you all over. You all gasped at the amazing tree before you.
"It's amazing," Varian said.
"It's perfect," you agreed. The fawn in your arms made a funny sound. "I think she agrees, too."
"We have found our tree," Eugene said with a proud smile, putting his hands on his hips.