A/N:

Hey! Heidi here! So I'm a part of the magazine's journaling team on Tangled The Series Amino, and I figured I'd post the stories I've written for each issue on here so that you can read them!

Issue #2: May 2020

Theme: "Spring to Summer"

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A groan of irritation filled the silence of the castle's living area. Catalina stood in the corner fanning herself, while Rapunzel and Lance sat in cushioned chairs. Eugene and Kiera were splayed across the floor in heaps of misery, moving every few minutes toward a colder spot on the tiled floor as they were desperate for any sort of escape from the troubling early-Coronan-summer heat.

Rapunzel tried to keep their spirits up, as always. "Hey, maybe this isn't so bad," she tried. "We could be stuck inside because of a blizzard."

Lance sank into his chair, unconvinced. Eugene sat up and tried to smile, but couldn't force it to come.

"Yeah, uh, I'd rather face another blizzard than one-thousand-degree heat, thank you," he said, sitting up from his spot on the floor.

Kiera groaned again. "Me too. This is unbearable!"

"I second that," came Lance's voice. "At least blizzards scare away the spiders." (Eugene smiled at that.)

"I wish we had some sort of machine that could make it not so hot," Catalina said, sitting down next to Lance. "It probably doesn't exist, though."

As if on cue, the large doors were thrown open and Varian made his entrance, wheeling a large piece of equipment with a sheet thrown over it into the room. Eugene and Kiera scurried off of the floor to give him space, everyone in the room's expectant eyes now on the alchemist.

"This is the machine that'll solve all the world's problems!" Varian exclaimed, a dorky and proud grin on his face. It seemed that he was only ever this excited when showing off his inventions.

"Behold!" With a flick of his wrists, he pulled the sheet off of the foreign object to reveal a circular machine with parts that stuck out like petals of a flower.

Rapunzel clasped her hands in front of her in a display of equal excitement. "Oh, like the Megadry! That's great, Varian! Um, but what does it do, exactly?"

"Ah, good question, Your Majesty. The fan is a state-of-the-art piece of machinery that will blow air onto all of you and, hopefully, make the room less hot. Care to give it a try?"

Eugene cut in before she could answer. "Are you sure it's safe?"

Varian nodded confidently, patting his handiwork with a gloved hand. "'Course it does. Well, I haven't tested it yet, but I'm sure it's fine." He shrugged, then wrapped his fingers around a lever on the side. "You guys could be my test subjects!"

"Anything to be out of the heat," Catalina replied.

"As if we have a choice," Kiera added begrudgingly. It was true—she was often dragged into testing the boy's crazy contraptions without much of a say in doing so.

"I guess it'd be awkward if I just sat here," Lance said, then proceeded to chuckle loudly like he'd just said the funniest thing in the world.

The entire group was now standing in front of the machine, awaiting their fate. Varian pulled the lever, and immediately his invention began blasting a massive gust of air hurtling towards everyone.

"Um, Varian! I think you've got it on a setting that's too high!" Rapunzel called through gritted teeth, having to pick up Pascal and cup him in her hands as he was only barely able to hold onto her shoulder. She suddenly felt extremely grateful to no longer have seventy feet of golden hair to blow everywhere. "Aside from that, it works great!" She gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

Nobody else looked as amused as she was, however. Except possibly Lance, who had successfully cooled down thanks to Varian's machine. Kiera and Catalina stood close to him, desperately trying to grip his clothing so as not to blow away.

"I've about had enough," Eugene grumbled, fighting the strong force of air and moving towards the lever. He pulled it backwards, and everyone breathed a large, collective sigh of relief as the machine stopped. "You have got to start testing these before you bring them to us!" he exclaimed to the alchemist, making a large gesture towards the contraption.

"I might need to make some...minor adjustments," Varian admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But, aside from that, how was it?"

"Well, I'm not hot anymore," said Catalina, to which Kiera folded her arms, although her sister didn't disagree.

"You should get back to work as soon as you can and perfect it. That'll be perfect to have in town during the summer when it gets hotter!" Rapunzel smiled at the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder.

This inspired collective outrage. "IT'S GOING TO GET HOTTER?!"