*Chapter 80*

Candlehead nervously slumped into the kitchen and peered around, hoping her two sisters and their future King weren't around. She heaved a long sigh with a smile, once she noticed she was alone, and traipsed into the warmly lit kitchen. She began to fashion herself breakfast; there was a certain twinkle in her eye, a skip in her step and a song on her heart. She figured being her shy self today was going to be near impossible. She sighed a long, thoughtful sigh as she took her winter hoodie off, revealing a comfortable orange tank top. She slipped her clunky snow boots off and got comfortable as she peered into the fridge. After a few long moments of daydreaming and making herself food, she was quickly jolted out of her trance.

"Candlehead, I'm surprised to see you in here alone," Felix suddenly said as him, Calhoun and Tammy slowly moseyed into the castle's kitchen.

"O-oh!" Candlehead stammered as she accidentally dropped a piece of fruit she was holding, she beamed sheepishly and fumbled to pick it up, "I-I didn't hear you guys come in!"

"I hope that's alright?" Felix worried as Tammy and Calhoun cautiously worked their way over to the kitchen's island, "We figured everyone would be over for Taffyta's usual delicious breakfast."

"I certainly thought that'd be the case, too," Candlehead said as she looked around eagerly and furrowed her eyebrows. She placed her hands on her hips as Felix and his family calmly sat at the kitchen island stools, "I have no idea where my sisters, or Ralph, are."

"That's weird," Calhoun said as she shifted to get comfortable; everyone was dressed down in comfortable clothes, including Tammy. Plain shirts, comfortable pants and lack of proper shoes was the code for the week off. Calhoun fixed her short, blond hair a little and peered outside, "I wonder where everyone could be? Maybe they're still sleeping?"

"I doubt it," Candlehead worried as she stood across from the three, "Usually Taffyta is down here making her usual breakfast treats, and I don't know about Ralph and Vanellope…"

"They're probably still in your game, let's be honest," Calhoun laughed as she nudged Felix, "He DID propose to her, last night, after all."

"Golly, I nearly forgot," Felix smiled sheepishly, "They make such a good pair, I often forget they're not already married.

"Ralph is going to be King," Tammy stated softly with a smile, "It's weird knowing I'll be the niece of a King."

"Everyone is really excited about it," Candlehead smiled before she took a bite of the peach she was holding, "We should all have a small celebration for the two, don't you think?"

"We should have a bonfire!" Tammy said eagerly, her young eyes lit up, "I love winter and all, but EZ Living's summer never ends."

"That sounds like a good idea," Candlehead smiled, "We can't do it at the castle, because then Rancis couldn't join."

"I still don't know how I feel about him," Felix stated with a twinge of nervousness in his voice; he rubbed the back of his head, his light brown hair was neat and tidy, "We made nice a week or two ago, at that barbecue at Westwind Acres, but I still fear for my life whenever he's around."

"It's not like he's suddenly lashed out at any of us or anything," Calhoun laughed, "If it'll make you feel better, I can bring my gun."

"I think, at this point, that'd probably just offend him more," Felix said sheepishly.

"I like him," Tammy said confidently. Felix, Calhoun and Candlehead peered at her curiously, "I think he's nice. I know he's probably done some horrible things, but he seems to be coming around. He's pretty funny, too. Dontcha think?"

"I guess you're right," Felix said gently towards his daughter, "I'll feel safer in a large group."

"I know Ralph wouldn't let anything happen, to any of us," Candlehead said softly, "He saved your life once, Felix… I know he'd do it again."

"He's a great guy, that's for sure," Felix sighed as Calhoun lovingly rubbed his back.

"How was the New Year's ball?" Tammy asked Candlehead eagerly before she shot her parents a rather annoyed, yet playful look, "I wasn't allowed to go…"

"It's code, that once you are a full grown gamer, THEN you can go to the events," Calhoun said, as if she had said it a million times now, Felix eyed her with the same fervor, "We would have loved to take you Tams, you know that. Knock off the sass."

"Late February can't come fast enough," Tammy muttered before she averted her attention to Candlehead.

"I'm sorry I wasn't really around…b-but, it was fun, don't you guys think?" Candlehead beamed, though her cheeks grew suspiciously pink.

"It was," Calhoun laughed as she nudged Felix, "Taffyta and Rancis shared a memorable New Year's kiss."

"They WHAT?" Candlehead and Tammy both barked at the same time.

"You guys can't tell me you didn't see it coming," Calhoun said in an annoyed way with a smile.

"Wow," Candlehead breathed with a chuckle, "Looks like it was memorable for everyone, then."

"Did you have a New Year's kiss?" Tammy asked Candlehead eagerly; her whole face grew beet red at the question asked to her.

"I-I, may have," Candlehead said sheepishly as Calhoun's whole face lit up in a teasing way.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Calhoun laughed.

"I-I'd rather not say," Candlehead said in a shy, girly way.

"Oh come on, spill!" Tammy beamed, Candlehead began to look flustered.

"Girls, if she doesn't want to spill, she doesn't have to," Felix chuckled as he rolled his eyes, "We bombard the castle and attack with personal questions, how else did you want to spend your first day of the New Year?"

"It's okay, Felix," Candlehead giggled with a smile, her cheeks were permanently pink, "I-I'm sure it'll come spilling out eventually knowing Taffyta and Vanellope."

The four eagerly pushed past a few more large trunks of the candy trees that loomed over them. Vanellope excitedly peered around the trunks as her eyes caught with the little tree of love that Ralph had planted himself. The four slowly approached it with wonder; Vanellope's eyes practically lit up under Sugar Rush's soft noon sun that was hidden behind the snow clouds. The tree was glorious, strong and true. Its beautiful swirls of reds and creams glistened with all its might, it boasted the sweetest sugar in all of Sugar Rush. Vanellope's eyes followed the tree all the way up to the top. The very tip of the new tree looked as if it had large, shy buds at the top, as if spring couldn't come fast enough. It had begun to sprawl and grow new branches towards the top, it was growing into a proper, beautiful tree. Vanellope caught herself beaming wider than she ever thought was possible before she felt a warm, gentle arm come around her middle. She peered up at Ralph with all the love in the world.

"It's beautiful, Ralph," Vanellope breathed up to him. Rancis and Taffyta made their way over to the tree to give the new royal pair their moment of privacy. They began chattering about how to uproot it.

"It's all yours," Ralph said softly down to her as he leaned down a little. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. His hot breath practically fogged her vision from Sugar Rush's freezing, winter air.

"It's ours," Vanellope corrected with a smile as she tilted her head up to catch Ralph in a few warm, longing pecks on the mouth. His large arm and hand tenderly pulled her closer to him as he smiled a few more kisses onto her lips. She gently gripped the chest of his dark red zip up hoodie and relished in his warm skin; the relief from the cold made her heart flutter with a warm, renewed glitch of pixels. Vanellope softly leaned her face into the nook of Ralph's shoulder and neck as she pushed closer to his warm body. He wrapped both his arms firmly around her and rubbed her back, she shivered from the cold. He fogged a warm breath onto her shoulder and smiled a knowing smile; he still couldn't fully wrap his mind around the fact that deep in his arms was the future Queen of Sugar Rush, the future mother of their children, and a wonderful, dirty haired brat he could fully rely on.

Vanellope gently leaned her head away and smiled into Ralph's warm eyes for a few moments before the two gently averted their gaze to the beautiful tree before them; the very tree that marked the starting point of their new life. Vanellope exhaled a long, happy sigh of joy and smiled at the strong and young tree before them. The delicate swirls of mint green danced in a chaotic manner up the tree, the beautiful colors mixed perfectly. Vanellope plopped her head against Ralph's lower shoulder and smiled a joyous smile, she nuzzled her cheek and nose into his warm, exposed neck.

"I'm impressed, Ralph," Rancis chimed to the two as he knelt to the trunk of the crossed stripe tree, "You managed to plant it properly."

"To be honest, I didn't even totally know what I was doing. Somehow, I think instinct just took over," Ralph breathed a chuckle as he and Vanellope unwound from each other's arms and stepped over to their two friends, "As I broke it off of the tree it was on, I had this sweep of an idea come over me, and I just plunged it into the ground and hoped for the best."

"Is there an improper way to go about this sort of thing?" Taffyta wrinkled her nose with a curious smile as she put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah," Rancis said as he stood and inspected a higher point of the trunk, "My first few attempts resulted in half the branches stripes disappearing, all because I planted it a hair too crooked into the ground. These trees are really sensitive."

"Odd," Taffyta chuckled as she gazed up to the towering tree, "Geez, I'm impressed too, Ralph. This was your first attempt and you managed to get it right."

"Lucky break," Ralph beamed as he rubbed the back of his head, Vanellope shot him a proud smile.

"So, how do we go about uprooting it without it disappearing?" Taffyta asked curiously.

"Well," Rancis sighed as he pat the trunk of the tree in an adoring way, "It's a lot bigger than I expected, but I guess I should've known, what with Ralph's strength."

"That, and it's had about two months to grow," Ralph pointed out, "It was a few feet shorter when I got it."

"Still," Rancis breathed with a wide smile, "This tree has to be over 10 feet tall. Even a five foot long branch is hard to handle for some, though I guess no one in Sugar Rush has massive wrecking hands."

"I'm not here to upstage anyone, I promise," Ralph chuckled nervously as he glanced at Vanellope with a worried smile.

"It's fine, Ralph," Taffyta laughed as she kept her hands on her hips, "It's Ralph sized!"

"Anything Ralph sized is a rarity," Ralph beamed his usual gapped tooth smile.

"Alright, in order to uproot this thing without it vanishing, we're going to need to make sure no roots are left behind," Rancis explained as he gently began to loosen the chocolatey dirt around the base of the tree, "Also, since Ralph is the one that planted it, once this thing is out of the ground, it can't leave your hands, or else it will vanish."

"I was planning on carrying it back anyways," Ralph shrugged, "Shouldn't be too hard."

"You sure Ralph?" Taffyta asked in a worried voice a everyone gazed up at the tree, "It might be a lot heavier than you expect."

"Do you even see me right now?" Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and stepped closer to the tree, he lifted his large hands and arms up to his usual wrecking form and clenched his fists, "I managed to get this thing into the ground with not much problem."

"Let's see what you got, then, Incredible Hulk," Taffyta teased as the four stepped closer to the tree.

Taffyta, Vanellope and Rancis knelt down to the ground and began digging around the base of the tree to expose the deep roots. After a handful of minutes of digging, Rancis finally stood and wiped sweat from his brow. He exhaled a sharp breath, causing the freezing air to suddenly fog before him. Vanellope glanced up at him before curiously peering up at Ralph. He looked deep in thought as his large hand gently swept over his pride and joy, the tree to mark the start of his new life. He looked mildy upset, however, which caused Vanellope to slowly stand and glue all of her attention to him.

"Ralph, what's wrong?" Vanellope worried, causing Rancis and Taffyta to avert their full attention to him as well. Ralph shot each racer a sheepish, almost annoyed look.

"I'm just frustrated that I don't know more about this stuff," Ralph sighed before he gazed hard at the candy tree his hand was firmly on, "There was nothing about crossed stripe branches or anything like that in your code book."

"Ralph," Rancis started, he figured this was his shining opportunity to comfort his new friend, "If you haven't noticed, code swapping and baby programing isn't in the code book, either."

"I, guess I never thought about that," Ralph said softly as he glanced at Vanellope, his face got hot.

"The only reason I know so much about these trees is because they fascinate me, I've spent a lot of time figuring them out," Rancis said softly, "Not every single aspect of Sugar Rush is going to be in that code book. I've never read the code book myself, but I do know for a fact that we weren't programmed to just automatically know certain things."

"Sugar Rush probably still holds more secrets than we know," Vanellope said with a smile up at Ralph, Sugar Rush's soft sky began to sprinkle small flecks of powdery snow.

"Why do you think my sour actions and poor decisions led to a year-long banishment as a hologram?" Rancis asked with a dissatisfied chuckle as he shrugged his arms, he shot a glance at Taffyta, "Because none of us Sugar Rush gamers are properly programmed to fall in love, let alone handle the proper feelings that come with it if and when we do defy the system."

"I think Rancis is living proof that all bets are off when it comes to pushing Sugar Rush's limits," Taffyta beamed up at Ralph.

"You're never going to know everything about Sugar Rush," Rancis stated humbly as he glanced to his three friends, "None of us will…But, I know we can always try."

"Our first venture was the dreaded code swap," Vanellope laughed, all four friends chuckled and beamed with the knowing air that hung over them.

"It stinks, because I think we're one of the only games out there that wasn't properly coded for deeper feelings like such," Taffyta rolled her eyes, "Everyone else is off having a grand 'ol time, sending their pride and joy off to Game Central Station Academy, and here Sugar Rush is, and all of us are scrambling around and wondering what to do with these sappy feelings."

"At least we caught on," Vanellope, Rancis and Ralph shared a laugh, "Better late than never, I suppose."

"Too true," Rancis said softly as he gave Taffyta a knowing, loving look. Taffyta rolled her eyes and shoved Rancis's arm with a wide, blushed smile; he chuckled and wobbled to the side, his face rapidly turned beet red as well.

"If you guys learn anything else, please fill me in, because I'm tired of feeling like a deer in headlights," Vanellope laughed as she knelt back down to the ground to continue digging, Taffyta joined her.

"I'd love to learn more about these trees, Rancis," Ralph said softly and humbly, though he tried to keep his firm stance in the situation, "Whenever we have time…Taffyta tells me you know just about everything there is to know about the flora in Sugar Rush."

"I'd be happy to teach you," Rancis said with a grateful smile up at Ralph, he knew if he played his cards right, he could potentially end up being the King's brother. Rancis heaved a nervous sigh and averted his humble gaze down to the two girls below him.

"I think we've done enough digging," Taffyta barked in annoyance as she rolled her sleeves up, Rancis knelt next to the two and inspected their work.

"I think you're right," Rancis breathed as the three stood back up, "Okay Ralph, you ready?"

Ralph nodded once and gripped both his hands on the beautiful tree, though he gazed a nervous gaze into it. Vanellope and Taffyta quickly stepped away as Rancis bent over and put both his hands on the tree. He loudly instructed for Ralph to begin to pull up on it; the tree nervously shook as Ralph very slowly began to lift it out of the ground. It put up a great struggle, but Ralph managed to gently pry it from the ground. Rancis bent down underneath the tree to free some of the stubborn roots from the ground. Taffyta and Vanellope stood back and watched in awe before Ralph gently swung the tree over his shoulder, the smile on his face was filled with pride and accomplishment. Rancis stood and brushed his hands free of dirt.

"It worked!" Taffyta beamed with a wide smile.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Rancis chuckled before he shot Ralph an inquisitive smile, "No pun intended."

"Whatever you do, Ralph, don't let go of it," Vanellope worried as the three grew closer to Ralph. The large tree rested firmly on his left shoulder, his arm and hand wrapped around it in a secure way.

"It's not going anywhere, don't worry, I got it," Ralph assured as he slowly looked back in the direction from which they all came, "You guys ready?"

All three racers nodded before the group began to set trail back to the castle. Vanellope bit her lip nervously and gazed up at the back of Ralph's head as he led the way. She wondered if Rancis was needed to help replant the crossed striped tree. She avoided bringing it up for fear of making things tense. She figured if it was mentioned, she'd quell Ralph's worries. She pondered if it was too naive of her to let herself trust Rancis around the castle so quickly.

"A layer of snow is collecting on this thing," Ralph chuckled as the four slowly moseyed out of the candy tree forest, it had been about a half an hour trek. Taffyta smiled up at Ralph and wrinkled her nose.

"Not much we can do about it right now, Ralph," Taffyta sneered, Ralph scoffed and twitched his fingers as the snow made his skin crawl.

"My hand is so cold," Ralph complained as he adjusted the branch on his shoulder. Taffyta flinched and ducked a little as the large tree loomed over her and her two friends. She peered up at Ralph in an inquisitive way and shoved her hands into the pocket of her hot pink hoodie.

"Almost there," Vanellope soothed as she reached up and pat the middle of his back.

The four began to quicken their pace as Ralph's facial expression became more and more worried for his exposed hand. Snow began to layer the tree and his large hand that held it secure. He exhaled a nervous, foggy breath before he quickly knelt down and turned, causing the branch to suddenly swipe to the side, nearly catching Vanellope in the head. She squealed and ducked before she shot Ralph a surprised, annoyed look.

"Ralph!" Vanellope complained in an upset way before she softened her angry facial expression, Ralph looked nervous.

"I-I'm sorry, can you please get the snow off of my hand?" Ralph worried as he gazed at Vanellope through unsure eyes. She quickly stepped over to him and began brushing the white, frozen snow off of his large hand. Upon doing so, she quickly noticed the skin of Ralph's hand had begun to lose its normal blushed skin coloring. Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows in saddened surprise and quickly averted her gaze to Ralph.

"Your hand is nearly blue, Ralph," Vanellope worried aloud, Ralph nodded in an almost annoyed way before peering off into the distance where the castle could be seen.

"Thank you," Ralph breathed before he stood back up, everyone bounced and flinched as the tree whirled around; Ralph steadied himself and continued walking. Vanellope quickly skipped to catch up with him, she began to worry about his well-being.

"A-are you going to be okay Ralph?" Vanellope said nervously as she caught up to him.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, I just need to get inside," Ralph worried as he began to quicken his pace. The three racers eagerly followed him, each one had a worried facial expression plastered to their faces.

The four began to nearly jog up towards the looming castle's pathway, it looked as if it were miles long. Ralph heaved an annoyed sigh and began to push closer to the castle. Sugar Rush's sweet sky was a gentle, looming grey. Snow graced the land silently for the first time in the winter season. Vanellope knew it was time to bring out her old snow clothes. She shivered hard and tugged her hood up over her head, though she kept her nervous gaze on Ralph. She knew there wasn't much anyone could do for his hand; only thing they could do was get to the castle as fast as they could. They were half way to the castle before Vanellope noticed that Rancis began to nervously fall behind.

"Rancis, you coming?" Vanellope called as he slowed to a stop. Taffyta widened her eyes and turned around, Ralph kept walking.

"I-I completely forgot about your agreement," Taffyta worried as she quickly shot a nervous look to Ralph, though he kept walking.

"Bring him with," Ralph barked; both girls jumped and gazed at his back in confusion as he continued to walk away.

"R-Ralph, you sure?" Taffyta inquired as she hugged her hoodie closer to herself, Rancis nervously approached the two girls.

"Just this once," Ralph yelled over his shoulder, "He's the only one who knows how to get this thing back into the ground safely. I don't want to sit around and find out if I can game over via frost bite, now come on."

Taffyta, Rancis and Vanellope quickly began to catch up to Ralph up the castle's pathway. Rancis smiled a small smile and gazed up at the gleaming castle; it was beautifully pearly against Sugar Rush's sweet, grey sky. He inhaled a shaky breath and knew he'd have to remain close to the gang if it meant being trusted for the first time in the castle. He almost wished he didn't have to go in; he knew this would be his only chance to enter the castle for a while. He figured he'd better make the most of it.