Tangled: The Series
Alternative Series, Story #4: Dancing in the Moonlight
Sup every body! Enjoying the quarantine? Because I'm on week 3! (cabin fever is starting to set in, I think). It is giving me a lot more time to write and read, but still.
Any who, here we go with the 4th story! The title of this story was inspired by the Grace VanderWaal song of the same name. I enjoy her very much and the song title just felt right for my story (but unlike my last story, I'm not sampling the actual song in this one).
I hope this brightens your quarantined day!
A gentle autumn breeze blew through the kingdom of Corona, carrying a cluster of orange and red leaves up the sides of the walls outside the castle until blowing into one of the guest bedrooms, currently occupied by a young alchemist.
Varian hardly noticed the leaves land on the floor in front of his open window as he was busy dressing himself in clothes that were far fancier than he was used to.
The summer was ending and fall had just begun. With the harvest just around the corner, the castle was throwing a big party for all the farmers of Old Corona before their hard work started, procuring the bountiful fruits of their labor that would feed the kingdom. As the village leader, Quirin was of course invited, and his son was too.
As Varian combed his hair in the dresser mirror, he was trying to be careful but his hand shook a few time—both from exhilaration and nervousness.
He wasn't just attending the party with his father. His true companion for the evening was going to be his best friend. They had already made plans to go together… as friends of course—but Varian was planning to do something that was going to change that before the night was over.
This party was Varian's big chance. He and Ophelia were gonna have a great time, then later on, he will take her outside to a balcony or patio, away from the big crowds, and he was finally gonna tell her the truth.
He heard her performance at the showcase a few weeks ago, he loved the song…and he loved her.
He loved her more than anything. He valued their friendship but his affection for her was deeper than that now. Even before the showcase—before he knew her feelings for him were reciprocated, he was contemplating just how deep his affection for her went and how to go forward with their relationship. Then when he found out she loved him back after hearing that song she wrote for him, he was over the moon. He wanted to tell her so bad, but at the same time, he knew he needed to take a bit of time to think and process everything. And that's just what he did. After thinking hard for a few weeks about how he felt, what he should do and why he shouldn't hide his true feelings for her any longer, he was finally ready to tell her.
And what better time to tell her? A palace ball; complete with fine music, delicious food, beautiful atmosphere. He couldn't think of a more romantic setting for such an occasion.
The one worry he had was fairly small, but it bothered him still.
A knock at his door redirected his attention from the mirror. Varian put the comb down and went over to the door. Upon opening it, he was welcomed with the friendly faces of the princess and her boyfriend.
"Hey guys," the young genius greeted them, gesturing for them to come inside.
Rapunzel and Eugene, both dressed up in finer clothes for the evening at well, walked into his fancy but modest guest bedroom.
"Look at you, all dressed up for your big night," Eugene told the lad. Neither of them had seem Varian in anything except his usual attire for science; which included a shirt with a patch on one sleeve. So it was different for them to see him so nicely dressed.
"Heh, yeah," Varian said, swiftly brushing down the front of his coat, trying to get rid of some dirt that wasn't really there. "Do I-um…do I look okay?"
Varian didn't own many fancy clothes, but luckily Rapunzel knew a lot of people in the castle who had hand-me-downs to spare, and were more than generous to give them to the lad.
His new formal attire included a light blue long sleeved dress shirt, a vest that was a darker blue, a teal waistcoat with silver cufflinks, and dark slacks with a matching pair of dress shoes. Sadly, he was forced to relinquish his work apron, gloves, and goggles for the evening. Ophelia loved them on him of course, but they were not proper royal ball attire. So she was keeping them in her room until it was over.
Rapunzel looked him over with a big smile on her face before reaching out and quickly brushing down the shoulders of his coat, smoothing them out. "You look absolutely dashing," she told him honestly.
"Really?" he asked bashfully.
"Really," Eugene said encouragingly. "You're gonna sweep Ophelia right off her feet."
Eugene and Rapunzel of course knew about Varian's intentions for the night, and couldn't be happier. Although, there were one or two things that required the princess's help in order for his plan to happen. Originally, Ophelia was supposed to work during the ball, like most of the other palace servants. But, after she learned Varian wanted to use the night to confess to his best friend, Rapunzel had generously pardoned her so she could attend as a guest—of course leaving out the part about Varian's plan. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.
Of course, Ophelia still had to help cook a lot of the food and help set up the ballroom. But she had finished that up by now and was back in her room getting herself ready.
Varian was flattered, but he still looked uncertain. "I don't know. I'm still nervous I'll screw something up," he said, fixing his coat sleeve cuff while looking down at the floor.
"Oh come on. What can there be for you to screw up?" Eugene asked.
It was a rhetorical question, but the young alchemist already had an answer.
Varian ran over to the desk in his room and grabbed a small book that was sitting on top. "I've been calculating possible catastrophes, their percentage of likelihood, and how badly they could factor into Ophelia's response to my confession since I heard about the ball," he said frantically as her flipped through the pages of notes and calculations. "Most of them are ridiculous, unlikely, and even more unlikely to make Ophelia hate me, but the one I'm the most concerned about is…" Varian stopped on a certain page and looked at it more closely before shutting the book. "Right before I want to bring her outside so I can tell her, I wanted to dance with her."
"That sounds great. So what is there to be concerned about?"
Varian tossed the book back onto the desk and rubbed his hands over his face. "Rapunzel, I can't dance!" Varian said, exasperated. "I mean, I'm not terrible but if I'm there in the ballroom with her, surrounded by all those other people, I just know I'm gonna loose it and do something so embarrassing and stupid she'll never love me back the way I love her," he rambled, panic rising in his voice. As he finished, he stepped up to one of the tall bed posts that stood at the foot of his guest bed and thunked his forehead against the mahogany in despair.
Rapunzel didn't like seeing her young friend so troubled. Varian was a thinker. Which meant he had a tendency to over-think. So it was her job as a good friend to pull him out of his own head and restore his confidence. Rapunzel walked over to the bed post and placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder, redirecting his attention back to her. "Varian, I doubt there is anything in this world that could make Ophelia love you any less than she already does," she said to him before pulling him in closer and placing both her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to be at eye-level with him. "And you know she does. Don't focus on that part for now. Just focus on having fun with her and everyone else. I'm sure by then you'll feel much more relaxed and comfortable when the time does come."
Varian thought about her words for a moment. He was still nervous but he still had to try. For Ophelia. "Okay. I'll try," he said, a bit more determined.
"That's the spirit," Eugene said before glancing at the clock in the room. Half passed five. Almost time for the ball. "Ooo, look at the time. We should be heading down there." The former thief and his princess started making their way to the door but Eugene stopped to turn back to the younger boy. "But first, you need to go get your date," he said over his shoulder, a playful smirk on his face.
"She's not my date," Varian said, rolling his eyes but with a small smile. "…at least not yet," he added before they heard another knock at the door. "Yes?"
The guest room door opened to reveal the boy's father, Quirin, who was also dressed nicely for the ball. "Varian-" he addressed his son but quickly noticed he was also in the company of the princess. "Oh…your highness," the old Village Leader said to the blonde young lady with a short bow.
"Quirin. Nice to see you again," Rapunzel replied with a small curtsy.
After exchanging greetings, Quirin turned his focus back to his son. "Son. We should be heading down stairs. Remember, we're entering the ballroom with the Old Corona farmers from the courtyard."
"Yeah dad. I just need to go get Ophelia and we'll meet you there," Varian replied. Ophelia was still a citizen of Old Corona, so it was only right she gets to enter the party with her family and everyone else.
"Okay, son. But don't dottle." The old farmer knew his son was brilliant but tended to get easily distracted and tended to find trouble even when he wasn't looking for it.
Eugene swung his arm over the younger boy's shoulders. "We'll make sure he doesn't, sir," he promised the kind man, squeezing the boy to his side.
Varian smiled, glad to have other good friends looking out for him; other than Ophelia, his dad, and a raccoon.
Quirin smiled too, bid them all goodbye, and left to join the rest of the Old Corona citizens in the courtyard. Not long after, Varian also left his room to go get Ophelia, Rapunzel and Eugene accompanying him from behind.
Ophelia was seated at her small table, a little mirror stood in front of her as she carefully applied her make up. She never liked wearing too much, just a bit for tonight; a little blush, some mascara, and a nice pale pink lip stick to compliment her brand new dress.
She was very proud of her dress. She had bought an old ballgown from a thrift store in town, then asked one of the royal seamstresses to help her mend it and make a few alterations so it was just right for her. It was a beautiful tan-cream colored dress, the skirt was decorated with a lot of sparkly midnight blue floral shapes like flowers, leaves, and vines near the bottom. The blouse's short sleeves hung loosely off her shoulders like ribbons. Her dark auburn hair was in a neat braid draped over her left shoulder, and she also wore a pretty little headband with a fabric flower on it—the headband was the same color as her dress, and the flower was a mix of that color and the midnight blue. She also had a beautiful transparent shawl to wrap around herself that was the same color as her dress's midnight blue patterns.
Before she even put her new dress on, Ophelia was absolutely gitty. She couldn't wait to wear it, but most of all, she couldn't wait for Varian to see her in it. Her biggest hope was that when he saw her, he wouldn't be able to take his eyes off her. He would just look at her like a love-struck idiot.
That was her goal. Her other goal was a bit more important though.
Ophelia had been thinking since the day she and Varian made plans to go to the ball together, and she decided that tonight was the night.
She was finally going to do it. She was going to tell her best friend she was in love with him.
There were a lot of different ways she could do it. One she really wanted to do involved her finally playing the song her wrote for him that he didn't get to hear at the showcase. But she needed a piano for that. There was one in the ballroom for the band that was going to be playing during the party, but she would rather they have a bit more privacy.
Maybe they could sneak off to the music room later on in the night and she could play it there.
It would be just the two of them. Perfect.
Finally done with her make-up, Ophelia stepped away from her mirror and looked at herself from a distance.
She looked beautiful. She felt beautiful. And above all, she felt confident.
Truth be told, she was a little scared that Varian wouldn't return her feelings. After all, he did have a small crush on Cassandra. Maybe he still had it, or maybe he didn't and just liked her as a friend now. But, regardless of whatever feelings he had for the lady-in-waiting, there was still the possibility he didn't feel the same way about her.
All of this worried her deeply, but there was something even deeper in her gut—in her heart—that told her she should just go for it.
Fear wasn't going to hold her back.
Never again.
When she heard a knock at her door, the kitchen maid almost jumped out of her skin.
Ophelia looked at her door for a second.
That had to be him. Go time.
After quickly checking her appearance one more time in her mirror, she made her way over to her door. Taking a deep breath, Ophelia opened it. There Varian stood, dressed in his new party clothes, looking at her with his big curious eyes that made her feel like she was dreaming.
Varian was, in the simplest of terms—awestruck.
Ophelia was beautiful. It was a fact she was already beautiful. Even before he fell for her, he accepted this as a fact. He had seen her in several dresses over the years, but never before had he seen her in a gown so—worthy of her.
People might mistake her for a duchess, or a lady-of-the-court. Or even a princess. She had been constantly telling him how excited she was for the ball and hinting how unbelievably amazing her ball gown was going to be, and he had been anxious to actually see it. And now, he was at a loss for words.
There she was. Standing there. In her stunning gown. Looking at him. And what was he doing? Just standing there like a dead fish. He hadn't even said hi to her.
"Uh…O-Ophelia, hey," Varian finally managed to say while mentally kicking himself. He had to get his head together before he made a bigger fool of himself in front of her.
But he couldn't help it. Despite his greater intelligence, he was a fool for her already.
"Hey, Vary-Berry," Ophelia greeted him with a big smile.
Varian grinned back. "Wow. You look…g-great," he said enthusiastically, gesturing to her magnificent dress.
"Thanks. So do you," she replied, bashfully brushing hair over her ear as she looked over his dashing attire. Her cheeks went so red she thought she was having a heat stroke.
The kitchen maid willed herself to cool down and pull herself together. How could she confess to him and play him her song if she was a silly, nervous raspberry?
Lucky for them, Eugene came up from along the hall and pulled them back to Earth.
"Yes, we all look ravishing, now can we please get a move on?" he said, both hands on Varian's shoulders from behind him.
"He's right. You two need to get to the courtyard and we need to be in the ballroom to greet you and the rest of Old Corona," Rapunzel said, still watching them from a respectful distance a bit further down the hall.
Ophelia nodded in agreement before slipping back into her room to grab her shawl from off her bed post. She wrapped it over her arms and went back into the hallways.
When she closed her door behind her and turned around, Varian was right there, offering her his hand with a charming smile.
"Shall we, milady?"
Ophelia smiled back, holding out her hand delicately for him to take. "We shall, my good sir." Both young teens were proud of themselves for keeping their cool enough to joke with each other again.
Varian and Ophelia walked down the hall together, arm-in-arm. Rapunzel and Eugene did the same right behind them, silently giggling to themselves how cute they looked and excited for what the night would bring for the two of them.
Did u guys enjoy the series final? I enjoyed it but I feel like it still left a few holes in the history with Demanitus and his three apprentices that betrayed him. I really wanted to hear more backstory about those guys.
And come on guys, Varian is basically Demanitus reincarnated. That story point is golden but they didn't do anything with it.
Just wanted to share my thoughts.
See u all next chapter ;) Stay healthy. Stay at home (for now).