A/N:

Issue #3: June 2020

Theme: "Rainbow"

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The princess of Corona sat on the tiled floor, measuring out a large piece of board with her thumb. She had been tasked with painting a mural on a sign for an upcoming rainbow-themed bake sale that would take place in town in a week.

The thing was, that week had passed with no progress on her assignment, and now there were only twenty-four hours until her deadline.

It wasn't like she had artist's block—oh, no, she almost never did—but quite the opposite. She had so many ideas crowding her head that she found it impossible to choose just one. She wanted to paint everything she'd seen and done, her friends, her family, her life story—everything. She just couldn't stick to one idea when there were so many swirling around her mind with no outlet, like water in a fishbowl.

Rapunzel's creativity had always flown freely. She had always been able to just let her hands do what they wanted and be satisfied with whatever they created on their own. But here, she had to paint something specific and relevant to the theme. It felt almost stifling, in a way. It was...well, frustrating. What was she supposed to do?

She pondered her predicament with great care, tapping a finger to her chin in thought as she brought herself to her feet, still staring at the blank canvas as if it were the most difficult puzzle in the world. And it was, for the moment, the most perplexing thought in her 'creative zone,' as she often referred to the space in her head reserved for similar ideas and decisions.

Presently it occurred to her that she had to make a decision soon. She sighed loudly to herself, pushing a few strands of hair out of her face which had fallen away from the golden braid cascading down her back. The surprisingly defeated-sounding noise instantly caught the attention of the chameleon seated on the nearby bedspread, causing him to inquisitively open one eye and give her a worried look.

Rapunzel blinked a few times, taking a deep breath to collect herself. "Sorry, buddy," she told Pascal, sitting back down on the floor. She rested her head on one fist, elbow on her knee, scrutinizing the piece of board on the floor under her gaze.

The chameleon in question padded over to her, staring at the board for a moment before letting out a soft sound akin to a sort of chirp. Then it dawned on her—if she couldn't decide on something to paint, why not paint all of it? It was perfect; she'd make a miniature mural of her favorite people enjoying various desserts for the bake sale.

"You're a genius, Pascal!" she exclaimed. She then grabbed the set of paints that had been cast aside and left on the floor in a messy arrangement of suppressed creativity. The colors seemed to flow through her veins and into her hands, and before she knew it, the sign had been coated with a layer of almost every color she had in her set.

She soon realized that she was painting into the late hours of the night. It was probably midnight before she started to become tired and sluggish, and her hands slowed their movements. Pascal had long been asleep, which made her feel more weary by the minute. At some point her eyes became heavy and she decided to rest them for a moment, which led to her falling asleep on the floor, right next to her unfinished project.

. . .

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, lighting up the room. Rapunzel blinked slowly, sitting up to stretch her arms before noticing that they were still covered in paint. It took her a moment to realize that she was wearing her gown from the day before. Her hands flew to her face as she recalled her assignment. She probably only had an hour or two before she was supposed to bring the sign back to the bakery.

She heard a knock on the door, then a familiar voice. "Rapunzel?"

It was Cassandra. And she was coming to get her ready for the day. And she wasn't finished.

The princess scrambled to her feet. The door opened and her lady-in-waiting stepped into the bedroom.

"Um, what's all this…?" asked the handmaiden, staring directly at the sign on the floor.

"Uh, well...it's a long story," Rapunzel answered, smiling awkwardly. She rubbed her arm with one hand in an anxious gesture.

Cassandra seemed to put two and two together. She crossed her arms, looking up at the other female with a single raised eyebrow. "You're not finished. Got it."

She rolled her eyes, unsurprised by her friend's lack of organization, the corners of her lips curving upward in an amused smile. "Need some help?" she offered, closing the door behind her. She was careful not to step on Pascal as she moved closer to the scene.

The blonde nodded. Soon both girls were seated on the floor, paintbrushes in hand. Eventually, at around mid-morning, they were finished. Cassandra scrambled to get Rapunzel ready, meanwhile Pascal continued sleeping peacefully on the floor until they were about to leave the room. The princess scooped him up and then they were off to show her masterpiece to the world.

. . .

That afternoon was one to remember. The bake sale went off without a hitch; the pastries were as delightful to Rapunzel as seeing the smiles of her people enjoying them as they were meant to. So much love had been poured into the project, and it couldn't have had a better payoff.

What made her heart swell with pride the most was the simple fact that her mural was right at the center of it all. She admired her half of the painting—small yet detailed doodles of her parents, Pascal, Eugene, the Corona flag, et cetera. Cassandra's side contained a simplistic drawing of Owl underneath a starry sky. She may not have been great at painting, but it was clear that she'd put forth her best effort for the mural. A large strand of individual rainbow-colored lines wrapped around each of their pieces, connecting them into one beautiful collaborative effort.

Rapunzel felt a tug on her arm, and suddenly Cassandra was pulling her into the dance circle that had gathered in the middle of town. Both girls smiled and laughed together as they soaked up the warmth of the sun on the kingdom, and for the moment, their own art seemed to be smiling down upon them, too.