*Chapter 81*
Vanellope heaved a long, dreadful sigh as the four quickly piled into the castle, Ralph and tree first. Ralph exhaled a long, annoyed groan and shivered. He twitched his hand and shoulder nervously as the three racers peered at him curiously and apologetically. Vanellope was the first to step over to him; Taffyta and Rancis hung back to let Vanellope tame the beast. They eagerly peered at the two, as if they were getting a good lesson in looking.
"Ralph," Vanellope eased as she confidently stepped up to him; he shot her a look and furrowed his eyebrows angrily, though Vanellope knew he was just scared for his well-being, "It's okay, don't worry."
"I can't feel my arm," Ralph worried loudly as Vanellope eased her gentle hands onto his chest, she pushed down on him softly to signal him to kneel so she can attend to his situation.
"Easy, easy," Vanellope cooed as Ralph stubbornly refused to follow her movement. Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows and put her hands firmly on the tops of Ralph's shoulders to push down on him harder, "Ralph, please kneel down, I just want to help."
Ralph exhaled a nervous, yet annoyed, breath and finally knelt down on one knee before Vanellope. He gazed up at her apologetically and nervously as Vanellope gently kept her hands on his shoulders, her face blushed a cold pink as memories from last night came flooding back. The image of Ralph on bended knee, before her, made her heart flutter; she could feel Rancis's and Taffyta's eager gaze practically glue to the two, as if Vanellope's courage, to approach Ralph while he was angry, was astounding.
"You're going to accomplish nothing by being stubborn and grumpy, stink-brain," Vanellope muttered to him as she gently began to swipe more snow off of his hand and the tree surrounding his skin. She noticed Ralph largely roll his eyes at her in her peripheral; she immediately shot her attention to him and firmly tucked a few fingers under his chin to make him look at her, she inhaled sharply and glared down at him, "Ralph, I'm here to help you, now knock it off."
Ralph raised his eyebrows and gazed up at her almost nervously; if there was one person to immediately tame his fiery, angry tendencies, it was the dirty haired brat in front of him. He exhaled a nervous breath and softened his facial expression, his whole body un-tensed as he found her courageous words and actions towards him to be quite attractive. His cheeks blushed with whatever ounce of color he had left in his cold skin.
"I'm sorry," Ralph said softly, though his voice was still laced with a grumpy tone. Vanellope lovingly swept her warm hand across his cold cheek and smirked an annoyed smile.
"It's okay, Ralph," Vanellope breathed as she furrowed her eyebrows and focused on his hand. She cupped her hands over his frozen one and leaned her head down; she began to breath her hot breath onto his hand, hoping life would come back to it. Ralph fluttered his eyes and lulled his head against the large tree he still had clutched over his shoulder. He wriggled his fingers a little and closed his eyes.
"I've never wanted to go to EZ Living so badly in my life," Ralph mumbled to Vanellope as he watched her help him, she continued to breath her hot breath onto his frozen skin.
"Your hand will be okay," Vanellope soothed as she continued to breathe her hot breath onto it, she noticed his skin color begin to slowly go back normal.
"What the sugar plum?" Candlehead suddenly said loudly as she, Felix, Calhoun and Tammy came rushing into the castle's great hall from the kitchen, everyone's eyes glued to Ralph and the large tree he was holding.
"Is this your idea of a late Christmas or something?" Tammy laughed as she put her hands on her hips, Ralph heaved an annoyed sigh and tried his hardest to remain calm, Vanellope eyed him as if to silently tell him to behave.
"Ralph and Vanellope want to plant their crossed stripe tree on the castle grounds," Taffyta said with a happy smile, though she nervously eyed Ralph and Vanellope, "It'll be safer here."
"That's a good idea," Candlehead smiled before she furrowed her eyebrows, everyone's gaze suddenly fell on Rancis.
"What is Rancis doing here?" Calhoun barked as she put her hands on her hips, she suddenly realized how strong she came across and opened her mouth to apologize, though Ralph quickly cut her off.
"He's here to help us plant this tree, because the rest of us don't know how," Ralph barked as he quickly stood, the tree nearly caught Vanellope upwards in the jaw. She took a step back and flinched before she gaped and gazed up at Ralph in annoyed shock, "It was my stupid idea to bring this thing to the castle, it was my stupid idea to let Rancis in just this once, does anyone else have any more questions they'd like to ask while I freeze my behind off?!"
Everyone was frozen with slight fear as Ralph's free hand began to tremble, his loud voice echoed throughout his soon to be castle. Everyone quickly looked to Vanellope for help in keeping their lives from the wrecker in their midsts. Vanellope kept her angry gaze glued to Ralph and figured everything she wanted to say to Ralph, in this moment, should be kept in private, though she could feel the wrecking binary in her code sky rocket. She inhaled a calming breath and long blinked a few times as her fists began to clench too. Ralph finally caught eyes with her and the two latched into an angry staring match.
"Calm down, before you seriously hurt someone," Vanellope said deeply up to him, her eyes and whole demeanor was laced with the most dangerous types of anger possible; the quiet kind. She kept her smoldering, tamed glare up at Ralph, "You nearly hit me in the head with this tree just now. Will you stop and think about somebody other than yourself for a moment, please?"
Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and gazed down at Vanellope angrily, though his eyes quickly began to overflow with guilt. He finally exhaled a nervous sigh and avoided looking to each of his friends, which were suspended in stunned silence. He relaxed his clenched fist and kept his eyes trained to Vanellope's, though he glanced at the beautiful tree in his hand. He felt his heart wrench at the fact that he almost let the very symbol of their love hurt Vanellope. He bit his lower lip and frowned as his face finally sloped to that of apologetic sadness.
"I-I'm sorry," Ralph uttered nervously after a long, few painful moments of silence between his seven friends, "I'm trying my hardest to stay calm…"
"It's okay, Ralph," Taffyta said; Vanellope quickly looked to her sister and was slightly shocked to see her brush his anger off so easily; Rancis shrugged a little bit and breathed a small chuckle.
"It IS pretty cold out there," Rancis added, "I'm sure frost bite is the last thing Ralph wants in this situation."
"Maybe you should set it down for a second and unwind, warm up maybe?" Candlehead suggested innocently as her, Calhoun, Felix and Tammy began to approach the group.
"I can't let go of it until it's planted," Ralph said humbly and softly, Vanellope's eyes continued to glare up at him, as if to keep his anger on a tight leash.
"Well, quickly then," Candlehead said with a small laugh as she motioned towards the direction of their kitchen; the patio off of the kitchen led to a large, sprawling field.
Ralph very nervously, and slowly, began to worm his way past Vanellope, their eyes caught in an intense string of a million different conversations. He knew he was in trouble, and he knew that once they were alone, Vanellope was going to have some choice words with him. He exhaled a nervous sigh as the whole group began to follow Ralph to the kitchen. Vanellope stayed put in the castle's great hall and watched everyone disappear. She furrowed her eyebrows and glared down the hall, though she was surprised to see everyone eagerly and happily follow their future King as if they weren't afraid of him. She eased up a bit and let an inquisitive, curious look prowl across her face; she felt her heart unwillingly swell at the fact that they were so trusting of Ralph, even in his mild angry bouts of spats. Vanellope slumped her shoulders and figured she should probably ease up a bit; it was obvious he wasn't intentionally trying to harm anyone. She inhaled a small, reviving breath and quickly began to follow her seven friends towards the kitchen.
Vanellope slowly stepped across the kitchen and peered outside to Sugar Rush's vast scenery, past the gorgeous patio. She crossed her arms and heaved a long sigh as she gazed at each one of her friends, who were situated a couple dozen feet away from the patio across the field. Sugar Rush's massive, beautiful castle walls could be seen in the far distance. She scanned her gorgeous, snowy land with a small smile, she knew her heart was full of blessings and fortunes. She gazed long and hard at Ralph as he stood and patiently waited for Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead and Calhoun to dig a large enough hole for the tree; they each had a shovel in hand. She felt thrilled at how quickly and eagerly her friends were willing to help out with any venture they found themselves in. She was surprised that everyone took to Ralph's angry antics easier than she thought, but she knew he could learn to control it when it isn't necessary. After a few long moments of thoughtful silence, she eagerly began to step outside to join her family. They all chattered and laughed eagerly to one another, Rancis included.
"Rancis, you're shoveling dirt into the hole!" Taffyta cried with a wide smile and a small laugh, Candlehead threw her head back and laughed.
"I-I'm not trying to, the snow is slippery!" Rancis complained as the group began to grow with laughter.
"Are you trying to prolong this longer than necessary?" Ralph barked playfully with a wide smile, he tried his hardest to remain calm and happy for everyone's sake; everyone continued to laugh.
"Secretly," Rancis said in a teasing, mischievous voice as he rubbed his hands together, "Okay okay, I think the hole is deep enough."
Everyone quickly stepped away from the hole as Ralph eagerly stepped closer. He easily lowered the trunk and roots of the tree into the ground and steadied it firmly. Rancis quickly bent down, underneath the roots, and situated them neatly so they could grow properly into the ground. His hands moved and worked faster than anyone had ever seen, his experience with the subject matter was far beyond each person in the group combined. Everyone, with a shovel, quickly came back to the tree to shovel dirt around it to plant it firmly in its place. Before too long, the dirt had settled, and the tree remained solid. Everyone but Ralph backed away from the tree as Vanellope approached the group. Ralph kept both his hands nervously on the tree, his eyes gazed hard into it. He bit his lower lip and inhaled a nervous breath.
"Ralph, you can let go of it now," Rancis called gently, Ralph glanced over his shoulder before peering back at the tree.
"I-I'm too scared to let it go," Ralph said with a frown. He stared long and hard at the beautiful tree, he felt his heart tug at the thought of losing the precious symbol of his and Vanellope's love. Just as he was about to let his mind wander to worst case scenarios, a gentle hand slid onto his arm firmly, his dark red hoodie wrinkled under his fiancée's eager and warm touch. He glanced down and caught eyes with Vanellope in a wary way.
"Ralph, it's okay," Vanellope said softly, the air fogged before her. Ralph breathed a hard exhale and stubbornly shook his head.
"Wh-what if it vanishes?" Ralph worried as he gazed deep into Vanellope's warm, hazel eyes, "What if we never see it again?"
"Rancis said it's okay to let go of it now," Vanellope eased as she rubbed his arm, "He's the expert here, if he says it's okay, I'm going to assume it's safe to let it go now."
"I-It would kill me to lose it, and I-" Ralph was cut off by Vanellope as she gently ducked and wormed her way in between Ralph's arms, both of his hands were still glued to the tree. Ralph flinched as her face came within inches of his; his face turned red gently as he softened his facial expression. Vanellope giggled and put both of her hands on the sides of his face, her cold engagement ring against his cheek made his face blush a deeper shade of red. She cocked an eyebrow and gave him a teasing smile.
"You know what will happen if you do let go and the tree disappears?" Vanellope inquired with a wide, playful smile. Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and gazed at her curiously and nervously. She inhaled to continue, "I'll still love you. I would've said yes to you even if you found a plastic ring in the garbage, Ralph. It's time to let go. No matter what happens, none of us are going anywhere."
Ralph eased his shoulders a little bit and breathed a small breath of relief; he kept his eyes trained to the beautiful woman before him, her warm hands softly slid to the sides of Ralph's jaws. He let a small smile prowl across his face as she leaned in a planted a small, longing kiss on his lips. She tenderly slid her arms up Ralph's shoulders, she kissed him lightly and hoped she wasn't weirding out her friends, who were eagerly watching the show unfold. Vanellope gently pushed on him, as if to silently tell him to move away from the tree. Ralph breathed a small, satisfied yet sheepish noise onto her face as he shut his eyes tight; he almost unwillingly let go of the tree and gently placed his hands on Vanellope's wide hips. Vanellope kissed him for a moment or two longer before she broke the kiss and peered up at Ralph. He gazed down at her with a renewed and grateful smile, his eyes were warm with love appreciation for her. He furrowed his eyebrows and gazed upwards, his heart jolted at the sight of the beautiful crossed striped tree behind Vanellope. He exhaled a loud sigh of relief and beamed a wide smile as each of his friends began to chatter and laugh in a knowing way towards the two.
"Told you so," Rancis laughed as he crossed his arms, Taffyta threw her arms up in the air in an excited way and squealed a noise of surprise; Tammy joined her as Calhoun put her hands on her hips with a knowing smile.
"You were so worried, Ralph," Felix laughed as he pulled the hood of his dark blue hoodie over his head.
"Vanellope is right, though," Rancis said gently as the five surrounded Vanellope, Ralph and the tree, "Even if it did disappear, it doesn't mean you'd lose Vanellope, or any of us."
"Thanks for putting up with me, guys," Ralph breathed with a hint of embarrassment. He glanced down at Vanellope nervously; she smirked and looked down.
"Go easy on him, Vin," Taffyta chuckled as she pat Ralph's large arm.
The six of their friends slowly began to wander back towards the castle; the doors that led from the kitchen to the patio were hung wide open. Ralph eagerly watched his friends leave, he felt nervous to give his attention back to Vanellope; he slid his eyes from his friends, to the ground, and back up to Vanellope again. She had a look of a knowing, teasing and playful glare. Her cheeks were blushed because of the cold winter air, her piercing hazel eyes gazed up at him sternly, yet with all the love in the world. Ralph heaved a hard, raspy sigh, which caused the air between them to fog intensely. Vanellope closed her eyes for a few moments before gently tilting her head to the ground with a small smile.
"Please forgive me," Ralph said humbly and gently down to Vanellope. She very gently tilted her head and peered up at him lovingly.
"Always," Vanellope breathed, her facial expression still held question, "I know your anger is hard to quell, and being stuck in sticky situations that concern your wellbeing sometimes calls for being a little selfish, but you need to pick and choose your battles wisely, Ralph. You nearly hit me, twice, with the very thing you didn't want to vanish from your life," Vanellope said tenderly as she placed a loving hand on the glorious cross striped tree next to her.
"I know," Ralph sighed as he looked down, Vanellope gently eased her way into his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle as best as she could, "I-I'm sorry. Part of it is Rancis being here. I didn't think I'd be okay with letting him into the castle, but now I'm having mixed feelings."
"How so?" Vanellope asked softly as her eyes curiously gave him her undivided attention; she felt safe and warm as Ralph wrapped his large arms around Vanellope's upper back.
"He's obviously not a threat to the castle," Ralph started softly, "But part of me wants to keep him away from it for as long as we possibly can…I'm not exactly sure why."
"He tried to kill Felix," Vanellope stated seriously, "I'm sure, subconsciously, you can't really let that go. I remember that dreadful train ride, Ralph…I've never seen you get so emotional before."
"Believe me, if it was you who was in trouble, you wouldn't even recognize me," Ralph chuckled as he squeezed his love closer to his warm, broad chest.
"Nonetheless," Vanellope said with a small giggle, "Let's just see about keeping Rancis away from the castle… Maybe until the wedding. It's obviously putting strain on you. You're the one that needs the most time to get used to him being around, anyways. It's you who almost lost your entire game because of him. It's understandable that you're wary."
"Thanks for understanding," Ralph said gently as he could feel a cold, hard shiver of pixels go up Vanellope's back. She shook gently before she plowed her whole face into Ralph's chest slowly. She groaned an annoyed noise and gripped her arms around Ralph's middle harder.
"Can we go inside? I'm so cold," Vanellope mumbled in his chest.
Ralph beamed a small laugh and gently began to lead her back to their castle; he stole a small, longing gaze back at their beautiful, cross striped tree. It glistened against the grey sky, it stood tall and proud, Ralph knew it would grow to be a glorious, sprawling tree someday. He beamed a satisfied smile and hugged Vanellope closer to him.
"It's kind of refreshing having you at the castle, to be honest," Candlehead said kindly to Rancis as the six friends slowly moseyed into the kitchen. Taffyta felt her face get hot as she gently situated herself in her domain, she resided on the stove side of the kitchen island, Rancis nervously stayed close to her while Candlehead, Felix, Tammy and Calhoun plopped down at available stools across from them.
"Really?" Rancis asked in shock as he gazed out to the four gamers across the island, Felix looked the least pleased at Candlehead's statement, though he kept a joyous air about himself.
"Yeah," Candlehead breathed as she slumped her jaws into her fists, her elbows slouched on the marble counter, "I don't know how much longer Ralph will allow you to stay, though."
"Probably not much longer," Rancis said sadly as he gazed around at the familiar kitchen where he and Taffyta used to hang out.
"We were thinking of having a big bone fire party tonight down at EZ Living to celebrate Ralph's proposal," Candlehead inquired, Tammy's eyes lit up as she remembered the plan.
"That sounds fun," Taffyta beamed as she put her hands on her hips, "We should make it a surprise party. Are all the racers going to be there?"
"Yep," Candlehead beamed, "I'll inform everyone."
"Make sure to bring s'mores," Calhoun said before Tammy's eye lit up even more so.
"I can't wait!" Tammy beamed.
"Me neither," Taffyta smiled as she turned to Rancis, "You're coming, right?"
"O-oh, I… If, I'm allowed," Rancis smiled sheepishly.
"Why wouldn't you be allowed?" Felix asked calmly, "It's just EZ Living."
"Yeah," Candlehead scoffed with a smile, "You may not be racing right now, but you ARE still apart of this sugary equation."
"Thanks guys," Rancis smiled as he looked down to the countertop bashfully.
"We have to keep it a surprise from Vanellope and Ralph," Taffyta said softly as the six stole glances past the kitchen's patio doors; Ralph and Vanellope were slowly on their way back to the castle.
"How are we going to do that?" Candlehead asked nervously, "Vanellope is hard to trick."
"We can just say that us six are going to hang out at the beach to escape the cold, and that they should come?" Taffyta inquired as she shrugged, everyone nodded a little.
"Sounds harmless," Calhoun chuckled.
