The Ties of Friendship
Summary: Rapunzel both gives and receives various forms of advice when she returns for a week-long meeting. (This will be a multi-chapter story, but most likely no more than four or five chapters. :D)
Disclaimer: I don't own Sofia the First or Tangled. :D
A/N: Yep, she's back! I'll admit, this show gave me WAY more respect for Rapunzel than I thought possible. I mean, I liked her and everything to begin with, but she wasn't really on the top of my list when it came to favorites. She was more in the middle. Now, she's moved up quite a bit thanks to her "awesomeness" in the show I guess. Haha. That's the way it works!
Amber hummed brightly as she wandered through the castle hallways, a thoughtful look lingering on her face. She traced a hydrangea that she held loosely in her left hand. It was a soft blue with a purple center. She inhaled the fragrant scent before sighing with a dreamy smile on her visage.
"Oh, I know that look."
The princess paused upon hearing a familiar voice and she looked up, her face breaking into an even brighter smile. "Rapunzel?!" She actually ran to the other princess and hugged her, surprising the visitor of Enchancia.
"Whoa there," the other blonde laughed, returning the hug from the usually standoffish girl. "Wow, you sure are affectionate today." She grinned and gestured at the flower. "Could it possibly be because of this? Hmm?"
Amber blushed and hid the flower behind her back. "N-No, that's nothing! Heh, it's just a token—a thank you—from a fellow student. I…gave him one of my tea cakes and he appreciated it."
"Mm-hmm." Rapunzel grinned as the girl just blushed more. "Okay, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. By the way, have you seen your parents recently?"
"Oh, they should be in the throne room." She tilted her head. "Why are you here, Rapunzel?"
"Ha, I actually had some business to do while I'm here this week. Your father invited me to stay in the kingdom, and then your mom invited me to stay in the castle." She shrugged. "So here I am."
"Wait, you're here for a whole week?" Seeing the other girl nod, Amber squealed quietly in excitement. "Yay! I have so many fun things we can do! We can have a tea party, have a slumber party, ooh—and you need to meet my pet unicorn!"
Rapunzel laughed nervously as the girl was listing all the things they could do. "Those all sound great, but I'm still supposed to attend meetings, so it won't be all fun and—did you say you had a unicorn?" At Amber's happy nod, she smiled and shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"
After settling into a spare room, the older princess followed Amber down the various halls as she chatted about recent school activities, the holidays that had come and gone, her gifts and experiences during the early winter, and what she had in mind for upcoming snowy days. It made her rather happy to listen to the girl talking so positively about various topics. It was quite different from the worried girl she'd met a few months ago, though she still had no recollection of said meeting. Still, they'd probably more than made up for that by now.
"Rapunzel?" Amber asked quietly, garnering the attention of the older blonde beside her.
"Amber?"
"What's the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?"
Rapunzel raised an eyebrow before laughing softly. "Well, I guess my husband saving my life and encouraging me to leave the tower is the biggest thing… Why? What's going on?"
"I need some advice." She paused and looked around before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the ball room and shutting the door. "I want to know how I can do something nice for a—friend—and not have others judge me for it."
"Judge you?" the purple-clad princess repeated, frowning slightly. "Why should someone judge you for doing something nice for another person?"
"You don't understand. I have a bit of a reputation at school, as being kind of…well…"
"High maintenance?" She grinned when Amber gasped.
"You said that with such ease! I'm not that high maintenance…"
"How many tiaras do you have?" She giggled at the look on her face.
Amber blushed and waved her hands, still holding desperately to her hydrangea. "That is beside the point! I just want to know how to do something nice for someone without it being a big deal to everyone around me. Don't forget, I'm still school age. These things make a difference at this point in my life." She sighed and pouted a little bit.
Rapunzel laughed and smiled, taking Amber's hands as she knelt to her. "Look, what matters is that your intentions are good. It doesn't even matter what it is that you choose to do. True goodness and intentions come from here." She pointed toward Amber's heart. "You want to do something nice for this boy?"
The younger girl blushed a little more. "H-How do you know it's a boy?"
"Girl, I wasn't born yesterday, and you're not the first princess to have feelings for someone." She grinned. "Maybe…compliment him on getting an answer right in class. Or share another one of your tea cakes with him. Or…just talk to him. Sometimes the nicest thing you can do for someone is just talk to him, and show interest in having a genuine conversation with him."
"Oh… So getting him a flying horse may be a little extravagant and extreme, huh?"
Rapunzel paused and sighed, lowering her head. "Please tell me you didn't do that, Amber…"
"N-No! Daddy wouldn't have approved it anyway. And I really don't want him to make a bigger deal of this than it is, after all." She smiled thoughtfully. "After all, I'm still just eleven years old…"
"Snow white was fourteen when she found her true love," the older princess mentioned with a sly smile, making Amber's eyes widen. "But like you said, you're still young. Things are different now, of course. Don't rush things and just be yourself. And don't spend any money on this kid either, because if you follow your heart instead of your riches, things usually work out for the best in the end."
Amber smiled brightly, hugging her friend. "Thank you, Rapunzel."
"You're welcome. Now." She winked as Amber stood back and let her stand again. "I've got to get to my first meeting. Afterwards, we'll discuss this newfound hydrangea obsession of yours."
Amber blushed lightly and laughed nervously. "O-Okay." She sighed as Rapunzel left the room to head to the throne room in order to get the first meeting underway. She smiled as she gazed at the flower, remembering her friend's words, and happily floated from the ballroom back down the hallway toward her bedroom.
To be continued…
A/N: Rapunzel will be giving advice to various people in this story. One of the last things she'll do is receive some advice, so stick around for that. ;) Have a good week! ~AquaTurquoise