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Chapter 4
Gifter, Chosen, Champion

Murky... Abyssal... Eerie…

These were ways to describe the tunnel stairways underneath the one peculiar town of magical beings in Esonctuaire. If one would descend these stairs, they could only barely see steps and the rare impractically weak torches. One could stare at the path and see nothing but black, seemingly bottomless. And if one would go deep enough, the same could be said when they would look behind. Falling down these stairs guaranteed death.

At the end of the seemingly endless tunnel, laid an empty chamber. The only thing that could be seen was a massive gateway with a stone frame that glowed strange shades of turquoise and violet. It held a pair of doors made of wood, the doors had carvings of strange characters and runes. It was slightly open.

The gateway would lead to an immensely vast and hollow cavern. Considerably, it was darker than the tunnel. The walls could not be seen, as if shrouded by a cloud made of darkness. The only thing visible were a sizable area in the middle and five colossal pillars, which were all remarkably far apart from each other. They also glowed the same strange shade as the gateway did.

Getting closer to the middle area, echoes of murmurs and talking could be heard. Figures of people could be seen just outside the light. Silhouettes of the figures could only be seen if one would squint enough. The murmurs were overpowered by the enunciating voice of a pompous man.

"Utterly ridiculous. If what you are talking about were to be true, I would have known it by now. A disruption in the realm of magic? Please."

"When were you last active as a Gifter? And who was your last Chosen?" a soothing motherly voice rebutted, a hint of irritation present.

The owner of the pompous voice, a masked man garbed in a robe with broad shoulder pads, cringed with vexation. He did not want that conversation with other Gifters, especially Lenore. He was still bitter at the fact that she was now more connected to magic than he was. She must have had a strong connection to her current Chosen.

"You may be the most clairvoyant here, Spiegel," Lenore continued. "But given your inactivity, you could not have sensed this anomaly deep within the realm of magic. The presence of magic is leaking exponentially in this world. If anyone would notice, every magical beings' connection to magic had grown stronger as of recently."

Another voice imposed, "My sudden return may be an effect of this disruption. Though I am now only in this form, I am feeling my power returning to me, slowly but surely."

"A monkey, claiming to have some sort of power? This must be some kind of joke," Spiegel mocked.

"I may not appear as it, now, but I am once the Lord Demanitus, protector of Corona," the monkey stated.

Murmurs and gasps can now be heard across the chamber. They must have heard of the supposed legend from the distant land. Spiegel, on the other hand, just huffed.

"I am supposed to be gone from this world, leaving this witless shell of a monkey; yet somehow, I returned… feeling a stronger presence of magic from within. This, in my mind, is already an anomaly on its own," Demanitus continued.

"It was fortunate that he and his fortune teller friend had stumbled upon the festival. I felt powerful ancient magic within him, and I believed it is related to what is happening to the magic of this world," Lenore explained. "He may not be the only one to return. There will be stronger and more dangerous beings of magic that may appear in this world, given that there is no sign for this disruption stopping."

"How can you be sure that he is not one of those things you mentioned?" the masked man doubted.

Lenore's annoyance threatened to be obvious. She didn't want to waste her time arguing with this man, because he clearly was full of it.

"If that really is the legendary Demanitus, does that mean that our old enemies could also return?" Fauna asked.

"I could only hope that it isn't the case," the purple fairy answered. "But, the best we could do is prepare; while the disruption is still faint. There will be battles to be fought. One's land could suddenly be in danger. We cannot predict what will happen next. So, we must do our best to not let that happen." she concluded.

And with that note, the gathering dispersed. The attendants left the chamber in different ways: some becoming balls of light flying in different directions, some portals were summoned, some just disappeared into thin air. A peculiar one used a door which seemed to come out of nowhere, only to disappear once she entered it. Only Lenore, Demanitus, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather remained, slowly heading back to the long stairs..

"Everything about this gathering is giving me a headache, I need some sleep," the blue fairy exclaimed as she sped up her pace. "Wait for me," the red fairy said following suit. Fauna gave Lenore an apologetic look, before catching up to her companions. The purple fairy suddenly halted, making the monkey do so as well.

Demanitus eyed the purple fairy, as she seemed to wait for the trio to leave the vicinity. The fairy was hiding something. "You can come out now," she conveyed.

From behind one of the huge pillars, Cinderella revealed herself. She had been listening in on the discussion. Lenore wore a knowing look.

"I see that you have followed my little signal," the godmother said.

"After the conversation we had the night before, I felt the need to. I had a feeling that the little ball of light and the trail of sleeping people was your doing."

"Who is this young lady?" Demanitus asked. The young lady got caught off-guard at the fact that the deep, powerful voice she had heard came from the monkey. She had leant behind the pillar while listening in, she couldn't have seen his face.

"This is Princess Cinderella," Lenore answered. "She is the person responsible for the return of magic in the kingdom. The reason we celebrate the festival. And acting North-Eastern Duchess of this kingdom," she boasted, flattering her godchild.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness. I am Demanitus, ancient protector of Corona," he introduced himself, curtsying out of respect.

Cinderella didn't expect to meet someone ancient, let alone someone who had had surmountable power. She had thought that the magics in this world were limited to wish-granting, cantrips, and harmless anomalies, such as talking animals. The discussion she had heard earlier gave her some clue of what her godmother had hinted on. There was something coming, and they had to prepare.

But… What was her part in all of this?

"It is an honor meeting an ancient magic-user," the princess curtsied back. "Why did you bring me here, godmother?"

"It was to show you a part of this mess I've put you in. Magical beings have gatherings where they discuss things that are amidst. And now, those things may cause chaos in this world," Lenore explained.

"And what's my part in all of this?" Cinderella questioned.

"You will become my Champion, a means to use my power to directly affect the material world. Gifters, such as myself, can channel their magic to their Chosen, granting them their abilities to use magic. The process has rarely been done, and it requires a great connection between Gifter and Chosen," the godmother elaborated. This was information that she needed to tell Cinderella. She saw the lack of reaction in Cinderella's face, maybe she was contemplating.

Lenore continued, "That fateful night during the ball, I came to you in your time of need out of good faith. The gifts that I have given you sealed our relationship as Gifter and Chosen. I didn't expect our connection to be this strong. Even if my job to change your life for the better was done, you still kept on seeing me. Not to ask for more, but just to spend time. I haven't had someone like that for a while." She felt nostalgic at the five years of memories with her godchild.

Demanitus got intrigued by the story of the two. Cinderella reminded him of someone he knew.

"This is an unfortunate circumstance that I fear would happen. There's the need for your help in matters greater than a whole kingdom. You have given me too much for me to ask for more. And I don't want you to be involved in something against your will. I ask of you… Do you still want to be a part of this?"

Cinderella nodded with the same determined look she had given the night before.

That, alone, was enough to answer Lenore's question. Her precious godchild had really changed. She really had grown into a strong determined woman. With bittersweet pride, she approached Cinderella. And once she reached her godchild, she said, "I'm proud and grateful for you still doing this for my sake. Yet, I still worry for you with the dangers you will be facing."

"Like what I said: I'll do anything to return the favor you've given me," Cinderella reminded her godmother, wearing an assuring smile.

Giving in to Cinderella's resolve, Lenore took her wand from the pocket of her cloak, then took a deep breath. She started, "Our pact as Gifter and Chosen began the moment I showered you with gifts that fateful night. And with this pact," she gave her godchild her wand, "I, Lenore, fairy godmother, channel my magic unto you, for you to wield and use in the time of need."

Cinderella felt a sudden invigoration in her body seconds after Lenore's herald. The wand glowed intensely, yet she did not feel the need to shield her eyes. She panicked a little when her skin started to glow. But, that panic disappeared once she saw an assuring look from her godmother. The princess felt a tingling sensation as the glow started to slowly diminish.

It had been hundreds of years since the last time Lenore had done this. The process of bestowing her powers to her Champion was really just channeling her powers through giving her Chosen her wand. Her grand speech earlier was just for formality, as filler to avoid the awkwardness of just simply handing and waiting. It impressed her how Cinderella was taking everything so far. There would be a drastic change in the princess' life. She would have to dedicate her life for this duty. But Lenore had faith that her godchild would brave through it.

As the glow from Cinderella's body died down, she started to feel like the wand she held was an extension of herself. She stared at the wand, wondering what she was now capable of doing. After years of fighting for the people with the affinity to magic, she didn't imagine she would become one. Perhaps, this was destined to happen; after all her involvements with regards to magic. "What happens now, godmother?" the princess asked.

"You rest for the night. You still have acting-duchess duties for the time being," the fairy answered safely. She felt the need to ease Cinderella into being her Champion. Lenore still had to make some arrangements with the royalty to borrow their princess. The next steps will be complicated.

The three emerged from the long stairway-tunnel to the surface of the town square. The pavement concealed the passage once they were completely out. Cinderella bid her farewell to her godmother, letting out a yawn as she walked away. It had been a long, eventful night. There was no concern for her safety on the trip back to the castle, for the sleeping spell would still be active for a long time.

As Lenore watched her godchild walk away, she heard Demanitus speak.

"I see why you chose her. You have a strong familial bond with her. She will be one strong Champion."

"She had become strong after all the hardships and struggles she experienced. Yet good still prevails in her heart. She fills me with pride."

"She reminds me of someone I met. She is coincidentally a princess also."

"Will you be returning to Corona concerning the disruptions?"

"Yes. There are forces and people that I fear might return there. I'll see to it that the Madame will take me there. I still don't know how longer I will keep this body. But for now," a yawn escaped the monkey's mouth. "This monkey needs some sleep. Farewell."

The monkey scurried away returning to his Madame's tent. It was time for Lenore to head back, too. She would need to plan her next course of action.

Author's Notes:

Greetings. Sorry, it took a while to write this chapter. I blame Aghanim's Labyrinth, Animal Crossing, and work.

So, the Tangled world is now merged with this story. The story begins 2 years after Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (I recommend the watch).

Also, I got an idea of people who are involved with magical beings (i.e. fairy grandmothers) can receive magical abilities through their pact. Like how warlocks would have their magic in D&D. There will be more examples of those in later chapters.

Gifters are magical beings who grants people's wishes or gifts or curses them. Once that happens there will be a pact between them. This pact is a requirement for a Chosen to become Champions. That's how the system works. An example maybe is Prince Phillip's gift of the Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue.

So there are 2 methods for a person to gain access to magic in this world (so far): Studying it, or Championism

Also there are hints on who else from other Disney Movies appeared in this chapter. Ain't tagging them yet.

Again, feedback and constructive criticisms welcome.