Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled or Wreck-It Ralph.
Chapter 4: Racing for Your Dream
^Corona Castle^
The break had gone by very quickly as the children were eager to hear the next segment of the story. "Can we hear the next part now, Princess?" One boy said.
"Yeah, I want to know how Ralph and Vanellope build a kart." "What I really want to know is what happens to King Candy." "Why would you want to know that, he's mean!"
Rapunzel shushed her citizens. "Alright, alright, we'll read the next part. Our break is over." Pascal pushed the book over to her and she set it in her lap. Opening the book, Rapunzel spoke, "The next day, Ralph and Vanellope got to work on Vanellope's kart for the race…"
It was mid-morning and Ralph and Vanellope were already building a kart for Vanellope to enter in the race.
"Are you sure you know what we're doing, kid?" Ralph wondered for what seemed to be the twentieth time that morning.
The child in question rolled her eyes and groaned. "I'm certain, Ralph. I've read all of my books from cover to cover a hundred times. I think I know what goes into a kart. Now all of the karts seem to have smaller wheels in front and bigger ones in the back so put that one there and that one goes back there." She instructed as Ralph constructed the vehicle. Thanks to Vanellope's knowledge of kart construction and Ralph's strength, they were able to quickly assemble a kart and they were putting the finishing touches on it: the wheels. "We're done! Perfect! Ralph, say hello to the Likkity Split!" The nine year old gestured to the finished product.
It was a rickety looking thing. Not wanting to hit Felix up for more money than necessary, Ralph and Vanellope decided to only use the money they had for little parts, the entry fee for the tournament, and lunch while the rest of the kart came from Niceland's abandoned junkyard. Miraculously, the duo was able to find every bigger part they needed there.
Ralph eyed the machine skeptically. "I don't know, kid, you really think this can hold up against the racers?"
"I'm positive. We've got a working engine, wheels, pedals, a driver's seat and that's all we need." Vanellope hopped in the seat and tested the engine. "It works! Come on, let's go sign up and test this out on the practice track."
"Okay, but what about King Candy, if he sees you then he'll know that you escaped your tower and then you won't get to participate."
"Oh, Stinkbrain, that's where you're wrong. He won't know it's me."
"And how do you plan on that happening?"
To answer his question, she pulled out a pair of red racing goggles. "He can't know it's me if he can't see my eyes. When I race, I'll have my goggles on and my hoodie will be up. It's the perfect cover. Like I said before back at the tower, he's never seen me in this outfit so he'll already have a hard time recognizing me."
"If you say so."
Ralph pushed the kart out of the junkyard and rolled it all the way over to Sugar Rush. Seeing as Vanellope really wanted to do this, Felix had been generous enough to give them the money to register her in the tournament. At the Speedway, Vanellope used her alias that she used to pass Surge and even added a last name so it wouldn't look weird. She registered herself under 'Sarah Vanilla'.
^Sugar Rush Practice Course^
"This is so cool!" Vanellope screamed as she shot down the practice track. The Likkity Split was working like a charm.
Ralph cheered as she cruised around turns and landed the little practice course jumps. It took a little practice for Vanellope to get the hang of steering and speeding but to his surprise she picked it up quickly. "Way to go, kid! You're nailing it!"
Vanellope slammed on the brakes as she stopped by Ralph. "This is going to win the tournament, easy. I can't wait for tonight." Just the thought of racing towards her goal of becoming an official racer made her squeal.
"Let's go back to the junkyard so you can make any adjustments." They took the kart and rolled off for the junkyard.
As they left, they had no idea that someone else was watching them. Watching as they left was Taffyta Muttonfudge and her friends and fellow racers, Candlehead and Rancis Fluggerbutter.
"What a piece of junk that kart is." Taffyta sneered.
"I know, it looked like something that someone would throw away. I know I would." Candlehead agreed.
Rancis nodded. "With how that kart handled the practice course, it would be no match for us on the real track."
Taffyta smirked. "Those losers say they're taking it back to the junkyard to tune it up. I say we make sure that after they take it back to the junkyard that it doesn't leave the junkyard again. After all, it would hurt our reputations as the best racers to race against that junk pile."
"What are we going to do?" Rancis asked.
In response, Taffyta pointed at Candlehead. "Candlehead, go get the others and tell them to meet up with us at the junkyard in twenty minutes." Candlehead nodded and hopped in her kart. "Rancis, let's keep an eye on that newbie." The three split up in their assigned directions.
^Niceland Junkyard^
Back at the junkyard, as Vanellope and Ralph tweaked some things, they heard their stomachs growl.
Chuckling at how time passed, Ralph looked at Vanellope. "I guess that's our cue to break for lunch. How about I go get something for us to eat and you can stay here and work on the kart. When I come back, then we'll really stop for a break." He suggested.
The stomach growls didn't faze Vanellope, she just continued to work. "Yeah, yeah, just go and hurry up. I want to get back into driving mode as soon as I can." She waved him away while loosening the steering wheel a slight bit.
"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." Ralph walked away towards the junkyard exit.
For the next few minutes, Vanellope worked on the steering wheel and checked over the engine. It was coming along nicely and it would be in the perfect condition to race when she was done with it. Her work in peace was interrupted when the sound of kart engines approaching made her look up. Somebody was coming her way and it wasn't Ralph. Quickly, she pulled her goggles over her eyes and pulled her hood up over her head. When Vanellope turned around, karts entered her work area and circled her and the Likkity Split.
"What's up guys? I know you're all the racers from Sugar Rush. What are you up to? Personally introducing yourselves to the tournament competitors?"
Nonchalantly, Taffyta licked her lollipop. "Not exactly, we're eliminating competition we don't think is even worthy of entering that tournament."
"Oh and you don't think I have what it takes to be a racer? I think I have what it takes and you guys are just afraid that the Likkity Split will race circles around you."
At first, Vanellope thought these racers were cool kids but now she was second guessing her opinion. If they were trying to sabotage her then they aren't very good sports.
Taffyta chuckled. "How cute of you to think that bit of trash can race with us. You see us racers have worked hard to get to where we are today and your kart will do nothing but make us look like silly little kids. They won't take us seriously and that will end Sugar Rush."
"You don't know that, Taffyta. Who knows, maybe everyone watching the race will like my kart when they see how well it does."
"Cute, newbie but sadly, no one will see your precious 'Likkity Split' race on the Sugar Rush track."
"And why would that be?" Vanellope challenged.
"This is why, Minty now!" Vanellope and the others watched as Minty Zaki ran up to the kart and flipped in the air, landing on the kart which now had a dent in it from Minty's impact.
"Hey!"
"Now everyone!" Taffyta commanded. Before Vanellope could do anything to try and stop the racers, they all gathered around her kart. The racers grabbed, pulled, kicked, and punched at the Likkity Split.
Vanellope regained movement and rushed over to prevent her kart's destruction. "No! Stop! You can't do that!" She circled around the mass of racers and couldn't get in the clutter. "Stop that! I worked hard on this! Please!" She cried out. The others brushed her off and laughed as they caused damage to the kart.
With food in hand, Ralph returned with his and Vanellope's lunch. His happy vibe disappeared as he entered the junkyard and saw Vanellope frantically running around the group of racing kids. He was definitely tall enough to see Minty jumping and exactly what she was jumping on.
"Hey! Get out of here!" The kids froze as they heard the grown up voice. Once they saw him, they screamed and scrambled away to their karts. Ralph set the food off to the side and charged over. "That's right, leave her alone. Scram!" When the last kart left the zone, Ralph calmed down and checked on Vanellope. "Kid? Vanellope? Are you okay?" Her silence was enough to answer. He watched as Vanellope pulled her hood down and took off her goggles and stared at what she was staring at.
What once was the Likkity Split was now a giant pile of broken pieces. Wheels were torn apart, axles were bent, the steering wheel was in two, and everything was just rubble.
They looked in silence for minutes until Vanellope got her voice back. "Tha- that was my only shot… my only shot at racing… now it's destroyed. There's no way we can find all new parts and build another one in time." Vanellope muttered.
He knew she was right. They had spent a lot of time on this. They had woken early in the morning just so they would have a head start and enough time to practice. Finding no words that could comfort her right now, Ralph retrieved their lunch and they sat, eating in silence.
After what seemed like an entire day passing by when really only an hour, the two sat there in sad silence until Felix showed up.
"Ralph, Vanellope, there you two are. I was wondering how things are going with Miss Vanellope's kart." Their expressions were his answer. "What's the matter?" Then he noticed the pile of destroyed kart parts. "Oh my lands, what happened here?"
Ralph's anger was shown in his tone. "Those little maniac racers came here while I was getting lunch and wrecked Vanellope's kart. Can Calhoun count this as destruction of property because I think they all earned a good lock up in a cell?"
Felix was taken aback by this news. "What? They did that? That's terrible."
"No duh, Hammer Head. And now because of them I can't enter the race."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't have a kart, Genius. There isn't enough time to build another one from scratch."
"Who says you have to build it from scratch, why don't you use the Kart Bakery? It can have a kart built for you in a matter of minutes."
Ralph blinked. "It can?"
"Sure," Felix shrugged. "All of the racers have used it and I've seen a lot of children that are probably entering the tournament, using it." He reasoned.
"Great," Ralph commented. "Just one problem, we don't have the money to get into the bakery." He countered.
Vanellope nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we used all the money you gave us for the parts we couldn't find here and for entering the tournament and for lunch."
Felix dug into his pocket and brought out a couple of bills. "Here, use this. It's enough to get you in."
Taking the money, Ralph looked at it, it was the same amount as the admission price. "This is enough! Felix, you're a life saver. Thanks!"
The handyman waved off the praise. "No problem, I have more walking around money than I know what to do with anyhow."
"Just one problem, how are we going to convince Beard Papa to let us in? He probably doesn't want people like Vanellope and I in his factory."
Felix thought for a moment. "Jiminy jaminy, I think I have an idea that will get you two into the factory."
^Minutes Later^
"You're kidding me, right?" Calhoun grumbled. Felix's bright idea was to have Calhoun convince Beard Papa to let them in.
Felix respectfully took his cap off for a serious moment. "Sorry, Ma'am but I'm afraid that I'm not kidding you. You know how everyone is around Ralph. Some refuse to give service to Ralph and Beard Papa is one of them unfortunately." He explained.
"We wouldn't need your help if those little brats hadn't demolished Vanellope's kart." Ralph argued.
Calhoun blinked as she processed Ralph's comment. "You're telling me that some little kids destroyed whatever thing you built?" She asked, not sure if she understood correctly.
"It was sabotage, Sarge! They only wrecked my kart because they thought it looked like a piece of crud!" Vanellope protested.
"Really?" Vanellope nodded at Calhoun's question. Why did she decide to get sucked into this the other day when Felix asked her? "…Fine I'll help. Come on!" Calhoun motioned for the other three to follow her to the Kart Bakery.
^Kart Bakery^
Beard Papa yawned. He really got some business today thanks to King Candy making that fuss about having fifteen racers. A lot of kids had come in so they could enter the race to become the new fifteenth racer in the Speedway. Just as he was about to get some shut eye, he was approached by Ralph and Vanellope.
"Hi, Beard Papa!" Ralph waved.
"Ralph?" The factory security closed off the entrance. "Sorry Ralph but I can't let you get in there."
"Aw, Beard Papa, come on. Let me in, I just want to help my friend here build a kart." He gestured to Vanellope.
"We have a kart emergency! We need to make one and fast. The race is tonight and some jerks tore apart my first one." Vanellope added.
Beard Papa trembled a little. He really didn't want to face Ralph's wrath but he couldn't let him in if a mess was going to occur. "I'm sorry but I can't let a child in unsupervised and I can't let an irresponsible adult in either."
Calhoun then appeared from behind Ralph. "Then I guess it's plan B." She walked up to Beard Papa. "Listen, you owe me a favor and I'm taking it now! You are letting these two in to do what they need to."
He hesitated. "I, but I can't. Ralph is going to make a mess in there if I let him in."
"Beard Papa, I'm giving you an order and you can't refuse an officer like myself. If you really want to stay at your job then you'll let my pals here in."
Trembling, Beard Papa thought over his options. After some inner debate, he reluctantly let them in. "If they do make a mess, they're cleaning it up." Beard Papa warned as he opened the entrance.
Ralph nodded in agreement. "That sounds fair, come on, let's get in there." He and Vanellope marched forward. "Thanks Felix, thanks Calhoun!" He called back to the other two.
"That went well. I can't wait until tonight. Can you?" Felix asked Calhoun.
"Oh this is going to be an interesting night alright. I know for a fact that my men are going to be gambling on those entrants." Calhoun replied as she and Felix left the factory.
^Kart Bakery^
Vanellope grinned as she saw the inside of the factory. This would definitely work for her. "It's perfect! Everything we need is just a button away." She glanced around the factory and saw the various machines that would help her put together her new kart, one that the racers can't possibly break as easily as they could with the Likkity Split.
On the other hand, Ralph was uneasy once he saw the many machines they would need to use. "Vanellope, we've never used this stuff before. How are we supposed to build something good in one shot?"
"Simple, I'm a racer and I know that much so maybe once I get started, it'll be as easy as pie."
"You're really confident in your ability, aren't you?" Ralph deadpanned.
She smiled at him with a playful shine in her eyes. "If I'm not then who would be?" Ralph sighed. "Relax, I'll take care of everything. You just standby and help if I need it. That way, you won't have much of a chance to royally screw everything up like Beard Papa says you will."
"For a kid who's never met anybody in nine years, you have a really sharp tongue. You do realize that right?"
Ignoring his blunt comment, Vanellope moved ahead. "Let's find a kart to build. All we have to do is pick a kart model and control the machines while they do the work." Shortly after beginning her search for a model to select, Vanellope found the one she wanted. "Found it! Let's build!" After making the selection, Vanellope and Ralph moved to the first machine.
This machine was to organize the available parts and mix them up. From the beginning of the job, Vanellope did a poor job. "Vanellope, you're doing it wrong! Those parts don't go in the mix!" Ralph noted beside her.
"I'm doing the best I can. How do the kids here do this?" Vanellope snapped back.
Ralph pulled Vanellope away from the controls. "Let me!" He quickly made correct moves to make up for Vanellope's poor job and the mix was stirred up and moved to the next machine.
The next machine would heat up the mix to solidify it into its shape.
"Are you kidding me? We have to pump this thing to get the temperature right? Ralph!" Vanellope screeched as she saw the large pump.
"Got it!" Ralph, aware of his own strength, carefully pumped the temperature correctly and the mix moved onto the third and final machine. Looking at the machine, Ralph knew he would have to do this one as well. "Alright, four wheels coming up!" Ralph announced as he pounded the button that launched projectiles at the tubes.
"Add frosting too!"
Obeying his friend's command, Ralph launched the projectiles at another tube. His force was much more than needed because one of the projectiles busted the tube and activated a domino effect on the other tubes. "Uh…oh…" He winced as the mix got drenched in frosting and the other various decorations. "This way!" The wrecker and his friend ran to the end product stage.
When they arrived, the curtain pulled away and a mess emerged from the stage; a kart rolling out from it.
"Vanellope, I'm sorry. I really tried not to make a mess of things. I didn't think the tubes would bust like that." He apologized as Vanellope looked over the kart.
For a mess, it definitely was a step up from the Likkity Split. Perhaps the racers had a point, it would have been mocked by everyone and so would she. They had actually saved her from embarrassing herself. Sure it didn't look very clean but it still looked amazing in its own way. "Forget about that… this thing looks neat! I mean look at this!" She exclaimed to Ralph. "Look at the wheels, and that spoiler! The sprinkles are an awesome touch too! This kart is perfect!"
Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Seriously…"
Vanellope nodded. "Seriously… Ralph, we made a masterpiece! Ooh, wait here!" Dashing over to a shelf off to the side, Vanellope brought over bags of icing. "This needs one last touch: our names! When I race this, then everybody will know what a great thing you helped build." She handed him the red icing.
"Vanellope, one problem with that idea."
"What?"
"If we write our names on this then King Candy will know you're racing."
In an instant, Vanellope's smile grimaced. "Sour sauce!" She pouted.
Ralph shrugged. "Sorry!" Setting the icing on a nearby table, Ralph retrieved a broom. "Come on, we promised Beard Papa that the place would be clean by the time we left." Intent on keeping his word, Ralph began to sweep away the debris on the floor to a trash can.
It took twenty minutes to clean up the extra clutter around the stage and clean up the tubes. As they cleaned, Vanellope realized something about her new kart: she didn't know how to drive it. Its model was different from the Likkity Split and that was a problem.
"Hey, Ralph, what are we going to do? The new kart doesn't look like it drives the same way as the Likkity Split and I don't want to practice on the practice track again. The racers would want to see if they can ruin this one too." Vanellope wondered.
"Don't worry, I've got something to fix that." They finished cleaning up and took the kart outside. "Follow me, I know the perfect place for you to test this out." Ralph pushed the kart down the path as Vanellope rode inside it.
^Secret Forest Area^
Vanellope once again was speechless. The place Ralph had taken her was a little valley area hidden deep in the forest. It looked like a loop, the perfect place to learn how to drive. "Wow… I never knew there was a place like this in the forest. Sweet! What do we do first?" Vanellope asked Ralph.
Ralph didn't really know anything about karts besides what he learned this morning when they had crafted the Likkity Split. "Well, let's see…" He peered inside the kart. "I guess that starts it up." His gaze was on a green button on the dashboard that was connected to the steering wheel. Experimenting with Ralph's suggestion, Vanellope pressed the button and the kart's engine revved up.
"Nice!" Vanellope complimented the engine's sound. Then she looked down at her feet. "Okay, we know the right pedal is the gas and the middle one is the brake so what's the left one?" She observed the most left pedal.
Asking Ralph about the pedal wasn't really helping, he knew less than Vanellope did. "How should I know? I don't really build karts on a daily basis, kid." Ralph answered. "Let me take a look anyway, it doesn't seem to do anything." Ralph proceeded to prod the pedal.
While Ralph tried to figure out the purpose of the pedal, Vanellope's attention was grabbed by another part of the kart. "What the heck is this thing?" She grabbed it and pushed it forward.
"Woah!" Ralph yelped as he stumbled forward.
"Yeow!" Vanellope squeaked as the kart shot a few feet forward from where it started. Pressing the brake, Vanellope looked back at Ralph. "Hey, Ralphie! You alright back there?"
Ralph got back up onto his feet. "I'm fine, little bruising but I'm okay." He walked over to Vanellope's kart. "What happened anyway? It just zipped away."
"I don't know," Vanellope shrugged. "While you were fiddling with the pedal, I tried to see what this does." She pointed to the lever.
"Hm, try pressing that pedal and pushing the lever at the same time, maybe they're connected somehow."
Vanellope nodded and did as Ralph suggested. Just like they thought, the kart launched another few feet away. "It worked. Stinkbrain, you were right!"
"Great!" Ralph cheered. "Keep going! You need as much practice as you can with this new kart if you're going to win that fifteenth spot tonight."
For the rest of the afternoon, Vanellope worked on coordinating her shifting and making turns and increasing her speed. It didn't take long for Vanellope to become a pro at it and Ralph considered her a natural at racing. When the time came, the duo left for the Speedway. Tonight, Vanellope would be an official racer in Sugar Rush.
^Sugar Rush Speedway^
"Hoo hoo, tonight's an exciting night my subjects! For those of you just joining us, one of our racers, Minty Sakura, was recently in an accident and is not able to participate in Sugar Rush for the rest of this year's circuit. This complicated things but it also made the event of Sugar Rush more interestingly intense. Tonight, children from in and out of the kingdom of Niceland will participate in an elimination competition to determine which one of them will fulfill Minty Sakura's place. The racing will begin shortly so get settled in and enjoy!" King Candy announced at his circuit podium.
Everyone in the audience at the track was talking among themselves, opinionating on the night's competitors and some were even making bets. In the audience was Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun.
Felix, having not seen Ralph or Vanellope since they entered the kart factory, was ecstatic to learn that Vanellope was still competing. "She must be so excited. I know I would be if I got to take my dream a step further than what I intended." He said to his fellow race watchers.
"Believe me, she was eager to get set up when we got here." Ralph replied.
Calhoun was the only one that wasn't on board with the idea. "This is stupid. The circuit can go on with fifteen racers, this whole thing is just a waste of time."
Felix frowned. "Now, Miss Calhoun, Vanellope's waited all her life for this. If she could talk to us right now, I'm sure she would want us to be supportive." He patted her shoulder calmly.
"Whatever, this beats doing those rounds with the new recruits." Calhoun retorted. "Where is the little candy maniac at?" She asked, looking around for Vanellope.
Ralph pointed down to the track entrance. "She's with the rest of the competitors, getting her kart ready. It started out looking like a mess but I think it could really contend."
"Oh, that's nice to know. I can't wait to see it." Felix chimed.
Down in the kart garage, Vanellope finished shining up her kart and checking its sturdiness. In a matter of minutes, she'll prove to everyone that she's the racer they've been looking for. There were numerous children in the kart garage. From what she could estimate, there had to be at least sixty children in the garage, each with a kart they've entered. Only a few stood out to her of the bunch. There was a boy that liked to pick his nose a lot or most of the time from when she's seen him, he was racing a donut and éclair themed kart. There was a girl that with poufy pink hair that was driving a kart that looked like a cupcake and balloons were attached to it, she was a weird girl. When Vanellope talked to her, the girl had somehow guessed completely correct that she was hiding from someone and that she was helping someone prove that they were nice, not to mention the girl said something else about laughing at fears. Along with the weird girl in pink was a boy in brown that seemed to like to smash things and was driving a pound cake themed kart and the pound cake boy was with a girl in orange that liked to chew on stuff and was apparently driving a pumpkin cake themed kart. Then there were a set of sisters, three of them, the oldest had brown hair, the middle girl had blond hair, and the youngest had black hair. The youngest was driving a kart themed after cotton candy, the middle was driving a candy cane kart, and the oldest sister was driving a kart modeled after brownies. Those seven faces, Vanellope could remember vividly. Whether they were going to be her competition for the racing spot was going to be determined shortly.
"Attention racers!" King Candy boomed in the room. "The first group, out to the track, please! Thank you!"
That meant it was Vanellope's time to prove her worth. She was in the first group. Vanellope, along with the rest of the first group were ushered out onto the race course. This course was not the Sugar Rush course, this was one of the secondary courses. The king didn't want first time racers on the main track so tonight's competition would be hosted on one of the others. The karts were lined up and the contestants started up their karts.
King Candy emerged back on the podium and proudly spoke into the microphone. "Welcome everyone to the second night of Sugar Rush! This is a really special event tonight, with the potential racer we're looking for here tonight, it's only a matter of time before they're revealed. Now here is how it will work: each set of fifteen drivers will do three laps around the course and the top three rankings will move onto the next leg of the elimination competition. In the final race, the racer to cross the finish line first will become the fifteenth racer in the Sugar Rush circuit!" The explanation was met by loud cheers of approval. "Glad everyone agrees to the terms with me. Let's get started! On your mark…"
The drivers focused on the track ahead of them.
"Get set…"
Vanellope looked around her and saw the donut and éclair themed kid among the other racers. She would beat him easily. Turning back to the course, Vanellope concentrated on the race.
"Go!"
Twelve karts, Vanellope's included, zoomed down the track. The karts that didn't immediately go gradually disappeared down the track as well. At first, Vanellope found it slightly difficult to drive with several other kids alongside her but she grew comfortable as they entered the second lap. Remembering what King Candy said, she worked her way around her competition and slowly advanced up the ranks. In the third lap, she was in fourth place and the racers ahead of her weren't that far away. The finish line would be coming up and when it did, she had to be in the top three. Just when she didn't think she could get in there, her opening came when the third place spun out on the side of the course. Shifting gears, Vanellope rocketed towards the other racers and crossed the finish line. When it was over, Vanellope looked to the race standings and there she was: second place. In her crazy burst of speed, she had managed to cut past the third and second place racers. She was moving on to the next level of the competition.
"Yeah! She did it!" Ralph roared victoriously. "She's still in it!"
Calhoun snorted. "Well, that was slightly impressive. I didn't think she would actually do it."
Felix nodded. "I believed she could do it. Now she's one more race closer to being in Sugar Rush." He said.
The race results showed that the donut boy was seventh and eliminated along with the others. Twelve opponents down, forty-seven to go. From the kart garage, Vanellope watched as the other three races played out and the final race roster was verified. Then the final race came and the poufy pink-haired girl along with the pound cake boy and the little girl with the cotton candy kart were part of her competition. Taking three racers from each race, the outcome had twelve racers in the final race. Upon the race's start, Vanellope quickly found herself faced against the toughest opponents she's had today. She should have known that the best racers from each race were going to be tougher to beat than her first race. By the time the third lap came, Vanellope was having trouble gaining the lead and the others were giving her a run for her money. Finally, Vanellope gained air off a ramp and landed back on the track. The finish line was crossed and Vanellope looked to the standings: first place.
"The race is over! We have our fifteenth racer for the circuit, Sarah Vanilla!"
Vanellope couldn't breath a word, she was too shocked that she had actually won. Around her, the audience cheered in support. For a moment, Vanellope wanted to remove her hood and her goggles to reveal to everyone who she was but she knew that King Candy would have an even better chance of recognizing her. Forgetting about getting rid of the disguise, Vanellope approached the awaiting publicists and media to absorb every bit of her victory.
"Today's reading is done!" Rapunzel declared as she closed the book.
"What?" A little boy, roughly aged nine exclaimed. "But we have to find out what's next."
"Yeah, we need to hear how Vanellope performs in the next race. She'll beat those racers into the dirt." Another boy cried out.
"Now, now, we've done enough reading today. I'm glad you're really interested in the story but I have other duties to do." She ushered the children out to the awaiting guards that would take them home. "Just wait until tomorrow, it's going to be really good and Eugene will be joining us for story time tomorrow as well."
"Yay! The princess's boyfriend is coming to our story reading!" A girl squealed.
"I've seen him, he's cool but Eugene isn't a cool name, he should try 'Flynn Rider' out sometime." A boy replied.
Rapunzel and Pascal chuckled, the children had no idea that Eugene already had.
Note: There's chapter four for the patient readers. Sorry for the wait, life's been busy and my brain keeps coming up with new ideas. Just so you're aware, the chapters might get shorter.