AN: Alrighty gang thank you for the replies! The song in this chapter will be a parody of "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. As always, I'll let you know when it appears! Do enjoy!
A lone squirrel stands outside of a cave, overlooking the snowy landscape of Mount Everest.
The squirrel is dressed in a long white cloak flowing to the tops of her feet that looks like a patchwork quilt; it's made of the coats of people who died on their way up the treacherous mountain. The two braids framing her face are wrapped almost as tightly as the scowl on her face.
She jerks her head to the side at the sound of a loud bleating.
There are mountain goats standing on the sides of a cliff holding cameras. They try to take selfies with their hooves, but lose their balance, plummeting to their deaths. The squirrel rolls her eyes and shakes her head.
She then springs into action, scaling the mountain with unrivaled grace and proficiency despite the howling winds and snow scraping past her ivory face. Finally, she reaches the cliff where the goats are gathered and says:
"The scenic viewing area is two miles up and there's a photographer there to take your picture. Please refrain from taking selfies because the tour guides of Mount Everest are not responsible for the effects of gravity; the scientific force, not the Sandra Bullock movie," she rattled off, inspecting her black fingernails.
The goats bleated their thanks and made their way to safety. She looks out at the view, taking the natural rich beauty of the great mountain. The camera zooms into the side of her face as snowflakes get tangled into her white fur.
"Tourists, am I right?" she asked, glancing at the camera with a smirk.
"CUT! That was great, Ellie!"
"That wasn't great, that was terrible!" France whispered loudly to Yakko. The two were hidden in a dress rack near the prop table, peeking through the many costumes to watch the scene unfold on the director's monitor. "Are you sure this is my competition?"
"All I know is was what I was told, and Dot told me that the squirrel playing Vanilla Ice-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," she said, holding up her hand. "You're telling me that the main character of the movie that Warner Bros is releasing on the same day as my Disney movie is named Vanilla Ice?"
"I know, right? And I thought they had enough vintage musical relics in this movie," Yakko whispered back with a laugh, eliciting Frances to raise an eyebrow.
"What else is there?"
"The title."
"Which is…"
"Coming to a theater near you," Yakko began with a serious announcer voice," is the untold tale of a tour guide and her love of a certain traveler who will risk it all to reach it to the top of Mount Everest. Warner Bros presents: Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
"You are such a little liar!"
"Do you think I could make something like that up?"
"No, because if you were in charge of naming the movie you'd probably name it something ridiculous like Frozen 2; Elsa's back and she's about to get burned," she said, mimicking his announcer voice poorly.
"Snow Fight and the Seven Morons that keep Climbing this Mountain,"
"Mount Evernescent with a soundtrack by the late nineties band Evanescence," she said, giggling so hard she was barely keeping her voice down. Yakko clapped a hand to her mouth.
"At least they'd get their fill of nineties relics and the first rule of sneaking is to be vewy vewy quiet," Yakko said, glancing around.
"Ironic coming from a guy named Yakko-"
"What are you two doing here?"
Yakko kicked the rack away from the wall, sending them flying towards the assistant. They knocked him down and Yakko grabbed Frances' wrist as they leapt out of the mess of clothes; unfortunately they had costume pieces stuck on them so it made it harder to run.
The hood of Yakko's Eskimo coat flopped down on his ears as he sprinted out the doors of the studio with his companion in tow. He jerked his head around when he heard the siren of the studio security behind them, the red and blue flashing lights glowing off their white coats.
"What do we do now?" she asked, struggling to keep up since her coat was long enough to catch beneath her bare feet.
"Run."
They rounded another corner, sliding beneath a table of donuts two caterers were carrying. Frances frowned at his simple answer
"Where are we going to go from here?"
"Don't know, any suggestions?" Yakko asked, grinning goofily despite the burning in his lungs.
The two skidded to a stop when they were confronted with a large terra cotta wall, towering nine feet over them. "You don't have a backup plan?!"
"Ehhh….no, I've got nothing, toots; it's been a while since I've been chased off a closed set," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yakko!-"
"Warner!" Yakko turned to face the swarm of security, interns, and managers; he stopped Frances from looking by placing a hand on her shoulder. He also didn't want to show her that they were surrounded.
"Good afternoon, yourselves! How kind of you to greet me…all at once," he replied, flourishing his hand as he bowed.
"What's the big idea, crashing my set?" The director screeched, a short panda being held back by his assistants.
"Well as you know Burbank can get awfully hot and so I decided to cool off by checking your Mount Everest set since you have so many industrial fans going, great effect by the way, and-"
"Who's with you?" Ralph asked, breathing heavily as he finally caught up with the rest of security.
"Um, this is Frank," Yakko said, twirling Frances around and pulling the hood in front of her face. He threw an arm around her shoulders, his grip unusually tight. "He's new in town so I've been showing him around. He's originally from Norway and moved here since it's so cold and so when we left he thought he grabbed his coat, but, turns out, it was one of your costumes. Funny, right-"
"Frances! What are you doing here and why are you with this ruffian?!" Yakko felt Frances flinch beneath him and both felt their guts harden as Skeems came rushing toward them, the angry look on his face not obscured by his sunglasses.
"Frances? As in Frances Foxwood?" Eleanor's nasally voice pierced through the air as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. "She really felt threatened enough by my success that she's taken to spying on me? How pathetic."
"That's not true, Eagleton!" Frances said, her hood falling off her head as she marched forward to meet her rival, shaking off Yakko's arm. She stabbed a finger in the other girl's muzzle as she continued," I have no reason to be afraid of your crummy Disney knock off when I'm in the real deal!"
"Um, Frances…" Yakko said, reaching forward to pull her away from Eleanor. She swatted his hand away.
"I've worked just as hard as you and with the same amount of connections and training; why can't you just accept I'm a better actress than you?" she asked, their faces getting closer as Frances' tone became more heated.
"Better than me? That's big talk coming from someone from Kansas," Eleanor sneered, her nose pressing against Frances'.
"Alright, Ms. "Phil Collin's dog walker is my neighbor", why didn't you get the part if you have so many 'Hollywood connections' at your disposal? Why is it that I've beaten you out for every part we've competed for?"
Eleanor leaned back from Frances, plucking invisible specks off of her costume. "The only reason Disney picked you for this movie is because your mom was-"
"That's it!" Frances cut off Eleanor before she could continue to berate her, tackling the squirrel into the ground. The two rolled around on the concrete ground, pulling hair and scratching each other for a while before security broke them up.
Eleanor was held back by a bunch of assistants, screaming profanities as she was being lead away.
The security guard holding Frances asked her," Do you need help finding the exit?"
"We got in here all right; I'm sure we can find our way out," Yakko said, taking her arm and leading her away only to be stopped by Skeems.
"Oh no you don't!" he said, taking Frances' free arm. "I think you've done enough today, Mr. Warner!"
He turned to a sheepish Frances and asked," What were you thinking?! I asked you to do one thing, ONE THING, and you couldn't do it! How are your future employers going to react when they hear about this?"
"Hey, pal," Yakko said, unable to keep quiet. "This isn't that big of a deal-"
"I've heard enough out of you! You haven't had a high stakes role in your entire life, how would you know what good PR is and what isn't?"
"Guys!" Frances said, yanking out of both of their grips. She rubbed her sore arms as she said," This is embarrassing enough and I just want to forget about it. Skeems, let's just go back to my trailer and rest; Yakko, I'll call you later-"
"You will do no such thing!" Skeems said, glaring at the other toon. "In fact, I want to make sure you two don't see each other again!"
"But, Skeems-"
"No buts, young lady. Now march!" he said, pointing toward the opposite direction. France sighed, waving at Yakko before trudging away.
Yakko waved back, but stopped after seeing the fierce glare on Skeems face.
"No, I'm tired of all this monkey business you keep causing-"
"Ehhh…" Yakko began, trailing off as he watched the primate peel a banana with his tail.
"Silence!" he said, throwing the peel a ways away. "To ensure you stay clear away from Franny, I've moved her out of her trailer and into a place where you'll never find her!"
"So welcome to the Disney Princess Castle!" Rapunzel chirped, pulling Frances by the hand through the large white doors of the grand palace. It was actually Cinderella's palace from the 1950s movie, but since the white surface could be dyed with projectors to change the color and texture, Disney had been using it for all of their films ever since.
"I didn't know all the princesses lived together," France said, watching as the brooms from Fantasia took her luggage upstairs to her new room.
"Of course we do! We're our own separate line of merchandising so it makes sense that we should all get along enough to live together!" she said, flipping her short brown hair over her shoulder.
"Yeah…about that, why is it you're always seen with long hair even though it's short now?" the fox asked, running into her back because she had stopped.
"Oh this?" she asked, holding a piece of her hair. "It's the whole idea that my short hair is a spoiler for the movie and my name's Rapunzel so I have to have long hair. I just wear a wig for photo shoots, it's really no big deal."
"I stopped because I wanted to show you our lounge," she said, sweeping her hand across the large living space. A large, stain glass window depicting the princesses was centered on the fifty foot white wall, bathing the room in an array of the colors. There was an indoor/outdoor pool area where Ariel was currently swimming in, crossing beneath the wall to talk to Aurora who was sipping a coffee on a red couch. "This is where we hang out usually if you need anything or want to chat."
"Wow," France said a little breathlessly. "The only stain glass I've seen was in my church back home."
Rapunzel ushered her past the kitchen where Tiana gave Frances a hearty welcome with a picnic basket filled with snacks, then cutting through the immaculate library with Belle showering Frances in all the princess handbooks she needed to get her footing. Finally, after trudging up the staircase to the top floor, Rapunzel stopped outside a door marked "Frances".
"Well, this is your room! Sorry about the stairs; we don't have an elevator on this wing of the castle because your room was Cinderella's in the movie. When they tried to shoot the scene where her step mother locked her in, the elevator kept peeking into the shot so they just got rid of it," Rapunzel said, her rapid fire speech nearly making Frances as dizzy as the stairs had.
"Why is my room so far away from everyone else's?" she asked, her arms aching at all the gifts in her hands.
Rapunzel shrugged and said," Who knows? It's kind of a pain, but I think you'll really like it."
She threw open the door and Frances dropped her books and picnic basket carelessly, her jaw as slack as her arms. The room the spacious with a coral four poster bed and white wooden furniture to match the white wooden panel walls. Her luggage was placed neatly in the corner and her makeup was spread out over the counter of the white vanity. The wood of the floor was painted a dark brown to offset the light colors and the long white rug led to the doors of the balcony.
"Do you love it?" Rapunzel asked, picking up the books off the floor to stack them on the bookshelf.
Frances merely nodded, taking in everything. She noticed a golden framed, blank canvas on the wall over her bed. "Rapunzel, what's with the canvas?"
Her green eyes followed the fox's gaze and suddenly Rapunzel's smile widened.
"I was going to do a portrait of you to put in your room; we could do it now if you like-"
"Eh hem."
The girls turned to see Skeems stepping out of the master bathroom, wearing a white terry cloth robe bearing the name "Frances" embrodered in the breast pocket.
"While Franny does need her head shots updated," he said, earning a glare from his client," she also needs to be updated on some new ground rules. So if you would excuse us?"
"Oh, sure," Rapunzel said, shifting her eyes between the two uneasily. "I'll see you later, Frances!"
After closing the door behind her, Frances eyed Skeems as he combed his short hair in her vanity mirror. "Making yourself home I see."
"As you should be doing, missy," he said, not looking at her. "I hope you find everything to your satisfaction."
"I do," she replied breathlessly, opening the door leading out to the balcony to look at the view down below. The cars zooming past Burbank twinkled like dimes on a sidewalk while the trees of the forest surrounding the castle stood tall and lush in stark comparison.
"Good, 'cause you'll be spending every waking moment in here when you're not on set," he called from her room. She turned around to face him, leaning on the white iron cast balcony.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"That means exactly what I said; there's no way out of this room besides the door which locks from the inside."
"WHAT?!" Skeems cringed at his client's shrill screech.
Frances stormed back in and asked with her arms folded tightly across her chest," I am not to be a prisoner of my own home, Skeems!"
"Temporary home," he said, stepping away from the vanity and motioning for her to sit down on the puffy stool. "Everything is temporary, Franny, and if you keep messing up like you did today-"
"I know! I know," she said, sitting down reluctantly, swiveling around to look at herself in the mirror. Her blonde hair still had white fur from the Eskimo outfit still mixed in; it took hours to pluck it from her bushy tail. "I still don't think it's fair."
(AN: Frances' lyrics are in bold, Skeems in italics)
"It doesn't matter if it's fair; all that matters is if you're safe," he replied, laying a hand on her shoulder.
This town is rough
This town is ugly
It's I alone who got you a job at Disney
I am your agent
Frances gulped as he began to pace around the room, only his reflection in the mirror giving away that his gaze was fixated on her.
I who book you, prep you, pay you, help you
I who knows all the right names
How can I make you a star unless you
Always let me have your career's reigns
"Remember what I taught you, Franny," he said solemnly. Frances repeats him just as seriously.
You are young
I am young
And you are naïve
And I am naïve
Skeems whirred her around to face him, inches from her face.
And these are things
For which this town
Loves to feed on
You do not understand
She faced away, fingering the lamp on her vanity.
Your wish is my command, sir
He released her shoulders to check his phone.
Out there they'll eat you
Like a McRib
I am a sandwich
Out there they will gossip
slander or cheer
Frances clutched her stomach as she growled.
I am hungry
Why look at Warner Brothers when you
stay at
Disney
He tucked his phone back in his pocket, throwing an arm around his client's shoulders.
Baby, work with me
I'm working
Be thankful
I'm thankful
Skeems rose and made his way toward the door. He looked over his shoulder at Frances who was checking herself in the mirror again.
Do as I say
Okay
And stay
At Disney
Frances flinched as the door locked behind him and sang to herself in the mirror, desperation clawing at the edges of her voice.
Safe within this castlefrom the press lurking outside
Security every actress gets
To say I have power is a flat out lie
I'm already a foxy marionette
All my life I've watched the big shots
Following their careers ever closely
All my life I've wondered what an Oscar party would be like
Not on TV
But with celebrities
She swiveled around in the poof, standing up to prance around her room.
Acting
Living on the stage
Give me an Emmy
And more than minimum wage
Lord knows, I need it
Acting
Where they have scandalous flings
What I'd do
To be in the wings
Just to live my life acting
Frances dashed outside to the balcony to look down below at Burbank.
Acting among the Hemsworths, Kutcher, and his ex wife
At the parties and award showsI'd greet them
Ev'ry day they smoke, drink, and act like they don't care
Even claim their thrills are beneath them
If I was in their manufactured skin
I'd be reborn like Barbie's infant
A smile had taken over her face, her passion making her forget her imprisonment.
Acting
Star on the Walk of Fame
Go to my movie premier
Fans screaming my name
Loud and clear
Just glad to be here
I'm already content
With my part
I'd call it smart
To have lent
my heart
to have spent
my whole life
Acting!
