A/N: A "Tangled" Oneshot. Hope you enjoy!
"Juliet!" I heard a little boy's voice yell frantically from down the hall of the palace. Quickly I dropped the book I had been reading and sprinted barefoot down the hall to the source of the yelling.
I'm the princess of Corona, my parents are Eugene and Rapunzel Fitzherbert. At 14 years old I'm only 5'3" with long dark brown hair and big emerald eyes that shined everytime I heard the beginnigs of an adventure. My parents have been King and Queen for 5 years now, my grandparents of course still live in the palace with us.
My Mother spent the first 18 years of her life locked away in a tower, never even knowing she was a princess and my Father was an orphan turned to thief who went by the name of Flynn Rider, the Kingdom's most elusive thief. Ofcourse the most unlikely couple crossed paths and with a few swings of her frying pans Mother was able to convince Father to show her to her dream...and the rest as they say is history. I was born a year after their marriage and 8 years later they had my younger brother Noah who is currently in front of our parent's door crying his eyes out with my Grandparents sitting in the hall chairs trying to calm him down.
"Noah?" I asked worriedly reaching him out of breath but looking him over once looking for any signs of injury. All he did was wrap his tiny little arms around my neck and hug me tightly. Looking questioningly over at my Grandparents I realized quickly what was going on."Mother went into labor?" Their nods answered my question and I gave my little brother a kiss on the forehead.
"Noah...it's going to be ok...in a few hours were going to have another sibling," I whispered in his ear sitting down on the tiled floor and placing him in my lap both his arms still wrapped tightly around my neck.
"I know...I'm just scared," He answered sniffling and crying silently into my shoulder, causing the purple sleeve to turn a darker shade from the tears.
"Well what are you scared of?" I asked taking Noah's grip from around my neck and gently whipping the tears from his face.
"When the new baby comes...were going to be forgotten..." He trailed off and the tears began falling again, Grandma beckoned him over and he ran and crawled into her lap where she instantly craddled him. Grandfather watched me with a worried expression as I calculated what my younger brother had just said.
We could be forgotten...No...No we couldn't Mom and Dad would never do that to us. I mean ofcourse the first week of Noah's life mom had been a bit caught up in caring for him but my Father paid just as much attention to me as he always had.
I have always been the Daddy's girl. My father and I did everything together from reading to swordfighting to horseback riding...you name it.
My mother is amazing, don't get me wrong but I just don't have much in common with her. Dad and I always were joking around about things and I loved hearing about the adventures he had when he was a thief.
But what if this baby was a girl? Would that mean that I would be replaced? Would everyone ignore me do to the fact that their was a new little princess?
We sat in silence for hour everyone deep in thought, and the more time that went by the more I dreaded meeting my new as dawn was arriving their was a cry from the inside of the room and Grandmother shook Noah gently awake from his position in her lap, I stood up and stretched sore from sitting on the tile for hours without barely moving.
I waited for the doors to be opened, and I was secretly hoping they never would, that the last 9 months had just been a bad dream...but the odds of that happening were very slim. I shouldn't even be worrying this much I mean there is only a 50% chance that my worst nightmare could be the child in there.
The door creaked and I jumped slightly at the noise but noting the look of sheer joy on my Father's face I could tell that my nightmare had come true. His brown eyes were sparkling and his brown hair was slightly disheveled along with his black vest but nothing to wipe that joy off of his face.
"It's a girl!" He said excitedly as both of my grandparents and Noah smiled at him and went closer to see if they could be welcomed in to see the little girl. My Father moved aside for them to enter and I took the oppurtunity to quickly retreat down the hall to my chambers. My father used to look at me that way, his little girl. But apprently I didn't have that role in his life anymore.
Ten minutes later I sat on on of the ledges of the castle high above the town and overlooking the water that surrounded the kingdom's capital. I usually wasn't allowed up here without my father, but today I just needed time to myself and I did not want him here with me. The sun was beginning to rise, purple was being replaced by dull reds and oranges just anticipating the moment that little slip of yellow peaked its way over the line of I played with the lace on the end of the purple dress I was wearing and tried holding in the tears. I really was being immature...and overly emotional.
But there was just some kind of fear that kept tearing at my hearts...the fear of being forgotten...of being replaced.
"You know...the first time I came up here in the end led me to your mother?" I was startled out of my thoughts by the deep sounds of a man's voice, one I knew well and the last voice I wanted to hear right now.
"Yeah...I do know I believe I have been told that story about a million times...or have you already forgotten that?" I said the last part quietly so low that I doubt he even heard but turning around and seeing the almost pained expression on his face, I bet he did. Earlier his face had been so full of life, had I really been the one to steal that joy? See I already was a terrible daughter.
Sighing he began to walk over the ledge I was sitting on and sat down next to me running a hand through his hair."Might as well tell me what's wrong now Juliet...before your Mom get's a hold of you" I had to smile a tad at that, whenever you were sad in my household Mother would go out of her way just to bring back the smile to your face, but I began to frown as I realized that right now my frown was probably the last thing on her mind.
"Nothings wrong," I stated grumpily crossing my arms still staring stubbornly off into the horizon. Maybe if I was lucky he would become so annoyed with me he would leave.
Another part of me wished that he wouldn't leave.
Scoffing my Father wrapped his arm around my shoudlers "Now Julie...I know that something is wrong...the second I walked out of that door you took off like you had seen a ghost...in fact you were as pale as one too," Julie. That was the nickname only my Father called me. I remained silent still."Well if you aren't going to tell me...then...then...I guess I will just have to smoulder it out of you!" I rolled my eyes at his exclamation and unfolded my arms.
"Ohhh...don't go through such drastic measures..." I told him sarcastcally looking over at him and finally looking into his eyes. What I saw stopped me in my tracks of saying yet another snide comment.
Those brown eyes that had been so full of joy earlier were looking at me with concern yet underneath it all you could see the love he held for me.
"Look I..." Wringing my hands nervously and a bit out of guilt I looked downwards at my dangling feet and the still sleeping village.
"...you know you would never be replaced right?" I heard him whisper and I looked up shocked that he had seen right through me, I mean my father isn't the best at reading people.
"How did you...?" I asked him quietly replaying all my actions through my mind, I had never really given away the reasons behind my instant bad mood.
"I saw the look you gave me when I walked out of the room...the second you saw my smiling face...you knew what was going on, you knew what was behind those doors. I could tell by the hurt expression you gave me before walking away...that you felt that you were being replaced...that you had never seen that kind of joy on my face," I stared at him my mouth opened wide.
Here I was thinking I had snuck away from everyone, when one of the most oblivious people I know could see my concerns and fears.
Was I really THAT obvious?
I could feel the moisture on my cheeks before I could register what was going on. The tears came fast and my dad reached out to my cheek catching them.
"You'll always be my little girl Julie...no matter what happens or who tries to change it..." With that I finally broke down and we hugged right on the ledge but nether of us feared falling.
"If it makes you feel any better...your sister already won't let me hold her...she's quite fond of her mom," I had to smile a watery smile at that. Maybe she was going to be Mommy's Girl.
"What did Noah think?" I asked remembering how distraught he had been right when Mother went into labor.
"Well when we showed her to him this is what he said "This is totally stupendous!" I giggled at the words my little brother had choosen, ofcourse he was trying to be like his father.
"I think...I want to meet her," I quietly told my father a touch of fear still in my voice.
"I think you need to," And with that the sun finally peaked over the horizon and we made our way off the roof.
"Rapunzel...someones here to meet her sister," My father said as he held my hand and peaked into the bedroom him and my mother shared. Looking back at me I received an encouraging smile, but that didn't stop the shaking in my hands and butterflies in my stomach.
What if she looked like me? Exactly like me! Then what? I wouldn't even be the only me still.
But seeing the encouraging look on my father's face I pushed those nerves down as he opened the doors wider pulling me in with him.
My Grandparents both beaming stood on one side of the king bed in the corner of the room, where my mother sat admist the ruby red silken sheets, tired yet looking down lovingly at a little blanket clad bundle. Beside her lay Noah under the covers already fast asleep a small smile on his face.
Taking a few awkward steps in everyone seemed to register our entrance. I looked down at my barefeet and thought of bolting from the room when my father squeezed my hand and began pulling me towards the bed.
My mother looked up at me and I could see concern come to her wide emerald eyes that we shared. I gave a small smile and my Dad and I stopped at the side of the bed where Noah wasn't resting.
"Hello Darling...are you alright?" She asked me one hand craddling the bundle while the other gently patted my still slightly wet cheek. I just nodded trying to take a look at the little human concealed by the bundle."Would you like to see her?" Mother asked excitedly and before I could answer she was patting the bed next to her, I took a seat timidly tucking my knees under me. "Here!" She passed me the warm bundle and I looked down.
Cocooned in the blankets was a tiny baby girl, her fist curled and eyes open. The color was a very dark blue, which usually meant a child would have brown eyes, they looked exactly like Noah's had when he was born. She had long eyelashes and you could tell she was going to favor our mother as she already had her mouth and nose, where as Noah and I favored our Father. But what shocked me more then the fact that she wasn't even crying but just staring at the world around her, was that I could see a lock of blonde hair from inside the blanket.
"Mom?" I whispered out of shock wondering if the child in my hands would have the ability to heal just like my mother had.
"Don't worry...already tried...she does not have magic hair," My mom whispered in my ear watching my expression as I looked at my younger sister.
"What's her name?" I asked curiously looking up at my parents who both shared the same look at eachother.
"We hadn't picked one out yet...do you have any ideas?" My Father asked timidly as he wrapped one of his arms around my mother's shoulders. My grandparents smiled at me seeing the instant smile that spread out on my face.
"Well...how about...Adeline Rose?" I asked the both of them as they both nodded their heads in approval.
"Now...let's see if she is going to want to come to Daddy now...come here Adeline," My father took the little girl in his arms the second she looked up she began to cry. Rolling his eyes he gave her to my mom who was giggling and came over to me wrapping his arms around my shoudlers and placing a kiss on my forehead.
"See nothing to worry about," He whispered in my ear and I couldn't help but smile.
Yeah...nothing to worry about.
A/N#2: What did you think?(I went back and edited.)