It was getting cold in Corona and from the sky fell white, cold-
"Snow..." Rapunzel reached her hand out of the window, feeling the icy snow melt in her palm.
In Old Corona the snow was starting to fall too, but-
"The wind is quite powerful today, huh dad?" Varian said, brows furrowed in worry as he looked out over their field. The snow was coming way too early this year. Not a good sign.
"Yeah, there should be a snowstorm on it's way. We better warn the others and check up on them. Then get the most important stuff inside as quick as possible. The wind seems to be getting more intense for each moment that goes by." His dad continued talking about what they had to do to prepare for the storm, but Varian barely heard anything else than the word snowstorm, and he felt as if the wind had gone and sucked all the air out of his lungs.
"Your majesty, a snowstorm is on it's way. We've got to prepare." Rapunzel froze, as if she'd been bathed in snow. The word snowstorm ringing loudly in her mind, making her unable to think of anything else
Varian felt like he couldn't breathe, no, scratch that. He wasn't breathing. He had simply stopped breathing and was now somehow held in existence by the sheer force of panic. He thought about it for a moment, but couldn't really figure out if it made any sense. His usually clear and quick thinking brain was blurry and slow and if his brain was a person, it would be screaming rn. Just one long, high pitched scream.
Now, he would've usually tried to calm himself down by doing something to keep his brain occupied, but that something would usually be alchemy and... even thinking of doing that during a snowstorm, after last time, made him feel like he was about to throw up.
After trying to help prepare for the snowstorm and fumbling around and panicking over the smallest of things, Rapunzel had been sent to her room to rest by not only her parents, but a rather worried Eugene, who quickly joined her with a cup of tea and some cupcakes. After a while of talking and hugging, she finally fell asleep the only place, she always felt safe. Eugene's arms.
Varian really wished sometimes that his dad wasn't so not selfish... especially during a snowstorm when all he really wanted was for his dad to be close, but putting himself first just wasn't in his father's nature and, if he was being honest, Varian really admired him for that and he really wished that he could be more like his dad sometimes, but like he'd done last time there was a snowstorm, he usually ended up putting himself first over everyone else... He was working on it though.
Rapunzel woke up panting heavily, but quickly calmed down as she felt Eugene's secure hands giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, as he whispered comforting words to her and she quickly relaxed in his arms once again. She didn't even get to tell him about the nightmare she'd had before she fell back asleep, not noticing the snow swirling by the window outside.
Varian woke up with a scream, his whole body shaking as if he'd been outside in the snowstorm for hours, but he wasn't freezing. His dad had lit up in the fireplace and made the fire big and warm- his dad! Varian jumped out of bed, almost falling over his blanket as he rushed towards his father's room, stumbling in as if his life depended on it. He gave out a relieved sigh. His dad was still there. He was okay.
He turned around, ready to go back to his room when he heard his dad's voice from behind him.
"Varian? Everything alright, son?" He quickly spun around, putting on what he hoped was a casual expression or at least fitting for the situation. "Yeah, dad, I'm fine. Don't worry. I just... thought I... I thought I heard something, but... it must've been the wind. Sorry I woke you up."
"It's the snowstorm, isn't it?" His dad asked, and Varian had to wonder when he'd become so obvious. His dad lifted up in his blanket, making space for Varian to crawl in. Varian jumped right into his dad's arms, clinging onto him way too tight for someone who had just claimed to be okay, but he honestly didn't care. In his dad's arms, he barely noticed the wind howling outside their home.
Morning came and the snowstorm was over. Rapunzel thanked whatever forces might be at play that it hadn't been like last time, but she still felt like she had something to do. Something she should've done last time, but only did way too late. As soon as she could, she was on her way to old Corona. She had a friend to check up on.
When she arrived, she saw Varian and his dad outside their house in the middle of fixing whatever damage the snowstorm might've caused, and while Rapunzel would have to think about that kind of stuff too later, all she could think about right now was that Varian was right there and he was okay, and so was his dad. No amber, no evil plans. Everything was okay. When he saw her, he lit up and it looked as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and Rapunzel would be lying if she said she didn't feel the same. She pulled him into a tight embrace, both of them rambling off way too late apologies, but it didn't matter because they were okay and the snowstorm was over.