*Chapter 82*

The day slogged along normally. Rancis left the castle shortly after the crossed stripe was planted, after which Ralph and Felix felt as if they could breathe easily again. Taffyta began to secretly prepare the ingredients for the s'mores and treats bon fire that was being planned for the night. Felix, Calhoun, Tammy and Candlehead left the castle to invite all the racers to the event at EZ Living for the night. Vanellope and Ralph, on the other hand, had moseyed their way into the castle's large, luxurious living room. A warm, cozy room with a large L couch, a few comfortable reclining chairs and a modern looking coffee table.

Vanellope heaved a long sigh and nuzzled her cheek into her future husband's chest. She gently gazed out the large windows of the living room, they opened out to the castle's large backyard; a luxurious swimming pool glistened in Sugar Rush's peeking winter sun. The patio furniture was covered and tucked away for the snowy winter, and the swimming pool was covered with a protective tarp. Very light flecks of snow fell to the ground, the silence of her kingdom hung in the air. Vanellope very softly pet Ralph's steadily heaving chest as he napped, she was rested in between him and the back rest of the couch. She tenderly averted her gaze to him and smiled a little bit, his sleeping form was innocent and calm, though he snored a silent, heaving snore. His arm was firmly tucked around her, and his other free arm was rested over his body and chest, his hand delicately rested over Vanellope's hip.

She gently kissed his chest, over his heart, and tucked her hand up to her face. She nuzzled into his body and tucked herself closer as her eyes caught with the gorgeous engagement ring on her finger. She smiled a wide smile and studied it; it was flawless, the colors of mint green and striking red swirled harmoniously, yet chaotically. She smiled and twisted it over her finger a few times as she could feel her heart begin to pound. She felt floored that she could finally have a partner to help her out with all of her important duties for her kingdom, she knew the two would make a wonderful team.

She suddenly frowned at the thought of Rancis not being allowed at the castle. She heaved a long, tired sigh and wondered what she would do if Ralph wasn't a part of the decision making. She knew she'd let Rancis in a lot sooner than Ralph would want to allow. She bit her lip and wondered if that was her innocent, childish naive self thinking for her. Before she could beat herself up some more, she gently began to worm her way out of Ralph's arm. She finally stood next to the couch and gazed down at Ralph's slumbering form. He stirred just barely as she leaned down to place a few loving kisses on his cheeks and forehead. After a few minutes of studying and adoring Ralph's figure, she purposefully began to make her way for her bedroom; the Loft was calling her name.

Vanellope slowly wormed her way into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She pushed towards the far end of her room, towards her balcony doors. On the same wall as her bedroom door was a beautiful drapery on the wall, a historical and beautiful imagery that boasted one Sugar Rush's mountains. She gently slid her hand down the soft, large drapery before she slowly pushed into it. She slipped into a large secret hole in the wall, behind the large curtain, and vanished from her room silently. She quickly climbed the dark, spiral staircase that swirled for many floors. Small windows in the narrow tower peered out over Sugar Rush as she climbed higher and higher. She finally came to a large, round wooden door on the final landing. After a few long moments of fiddling with the ominous, digital lock pad on the door, she finally and eagerly stepped inside.

The Loft was still and silent yet cozy and warm, it was a large, dome like round room with a high, pointed ceiling; it was the tip of Sugar Rush's castle. Vanellope exhaled a sigh of relief and gazed around her gorgeous Loft, to her right was a large, glorious round window that boasted the most breath taking view of Sugar Rush one could ask for. The cozy medium colored cherry wood of the loft was enveloped with bookcases full of books, scrolls and gorgeous antiques and trinkets. Near the window was a golden telescope which had a small, hologram like screen floating above it; everything in the room was loved with age, yet crowned with futuristic specs. In the center of the room was a small, round ball on the ground. As soon as Vanellope approached it, it beamed a stream of an electric purple laser to the ceiling before a large, holographic sphere emerged from it. It lit up and flickered a few times before showing all the tiny details of Sugar Rush's stats and the well-being of each of her racers, as well as her game cabinet.

Vanellope smiled a small smile and waved her hand over the top of the medium sized holographic sphere; it softly lulled to the motion of her hand as small strings of information spread from it. She opened up the category of her racers and hovered a nervous finger over Rancis' revived name. She bit her lip with worry as she peered hard down at Rancis' name; she wondered if she even wanted to look at his brain activity or stats in fear of finding out something negative. Before she could convince herself to step away, she gently pushed on his name, which expanded a vaguely detailed profile of his head, as well as a proper scan of his brain. The hologram brought up a whole list of stats and information, none of which went into way too much detail. She breathed a long sigh of relief as the hologram gently flashed a slow, lull of a calm green, signaling to her that he wasn't corrupted anymore. She let her eyes wander the hologram and made sure there were no signs of any red coloring, which signaled corruption or viruses.

Vanellope swiped her hand a few times, causing the sphere to gently lull and go back to the menu of her miniature code room. It hummed a small electronic noise before settling to its usual, round mysterious self. Vanellope smiled a little and gently moved over to the massive window to her right. She softly lulled her hand on the large telescope, which was pointed upwards towards Sugar Rush's seamlessly endless sky. She gazed out upon her snowy land with a knowing smile, she felt relieved that she could fully trust Rancis, though she wished she could convince Ralph. She knew merely showing him a brain scan wouldn't be enough to budge her stubborn wrecker. She felt irritated at that fact, but she figured she should be grateful to have a cautious future King in her midst.

"This is a nice little room to secretly spy on people, don't you think?" Taffyta suddenly and softly said, hoping not to startle Vanellope; she whirled around in surprise and bursted out of her massive train of thought.

"Taff," Vanellope barked as she clutched her chest, "You scared the sprinkles out of me…and, I'm not spying on anyone, cut me some slack," Vanellope hissed as she turned and resumed her position near the large window.

"I'm just pulling your leg," Taffyta said softly as she made her way past the code sphere and to her sister, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," Vanellope said to her sister honestly with a smile.

"You only come up here if there's a lot of thinking you have to do," Taffyta chuckled as she nudged her sister, she stood next to Vanellope and gave her a loving, concerned look, "What's up?"

"It's nothing, Taff," Vanellope whispered through a sigh as she kept her gaze locked on the birds-eye view of Sugar Rush; the window fogged from her warm breath on the frozen glass.

"It's Rancis, huh," Taffyta said gently with a knowing smile; Vanellope slumped her shoulders and closed her eyes slowly.

"I'm already feeling as if this future decision making, with my new future husband, is going to be a chore," Vanellope chuckled as she crossed her arms, her hands vanished into her hoodie, "I knew what I was getting myself into, but I'm definitely not used to sharing the responsibility."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, Rancis and I aren't offended," Taffyta said honestly, "I think it's safe for me to assume that you haven't found a single corrupted file in Rancis's code, just now, correct?"

"Not a single one," Vanellope agreed as she kept her gaze forever on her kingdom, "His code is as green as Westwind Acres."

"I'm starting to think he caught a brain virus, before he got swept into Vanilla Lake," Taffyta said gently as she too crossed her arms and gazed across Sugar Rush, "His hologram was corrupted to the point of no return, but when he regenerated, everything was wiped clean."

"What worries me more is, where did that virus go after he was regenerated?" Vanellope breathed as she gently caught eyes with her sister; they both gazed at each other with uncertainty.

"You mean, it wasn't just deleted? Swallowed by Rancis's good code?" Taffyta suddenly worried, Vanellope shrugged.

"I'm just playing devil's advocate," Vanellope said through a long, tired sigh, "I'm sure everything is fine…in fact, I KNOW everything is fine. The struggle here is just getting Ralph to believe that same thing."

"Vin," Taffyta chuckled as she shoved her hands into her hoodie's front pocket, "Rancis' corrupted file almost killed Ralph's brother…I know Rancis is all back to normal and everything is fine, but you can't expect Ralph to just quickly get over something like that. Put yourself in his shoes."

Vanellope nervously slid her eyes to her beautiful sister with a frown; Taffyta's piercing, light blue eyes gazed into hers with wisdom and knowing. Her white hair was as perfect as silk, yet it still held a little bit of a knowing mess from the night prior. She blinked a long, understanding blink and tilted her head just barely with a small shrug. She let a small, almost saddened smile spread across her face as she gazed at Vanellope in a loving way.

"Imagine if Felix's code became corrupted and he tried to kill me," Taffyta finished softly, Vanellope exhaled a hard sigh and looked down nervously.

"I'd feel the exact same way Ralph is feeling," Vanellope said in a monotone voice as she gazed down to the wood flooring underneath the two girl's bare feet.

"Give Ralph time," Taffyta said gently, "Rancis is obviously in no hurry to get in to the castle. However long it takes for Ralph to come around is no concern to Rancis."

"But what about you?" Vanellope worried, "Surely now that you've code swapped, you guys will…Well, you know."

"Get married?" Taffyta beamed with a wide, playful smile as her cheeks turned red, "We're in no rush for that, Vin. We're kind of biding our time, and just letting our relationship unfold. No one is getting married or proposing or anything until the King and Queen are crowned."

"Geez," Vanellope hissed as she shook her head with a wide smile, "That sounds so weird to hear you say."

"Never thought you'd be the Queen of Sugar Rush, didja," Taffyta chuckled as she nudged Vanellope's elbow.

"No, never," Vanellope giggled as she peered out the large window again.

"Well," Taffyta heaved a soft sigh and peered out the window as well, "Just know that Rancis is patient. You remember how he used to be. I wouldn't worry about trying to hurry Ralph into making a decision. Rancis goes with the flow, if you recall how he used to be before he went Turbo."

"Goes with the flow," Vanellope repeated before she eyed her sister playfully, "Is that how last night came to be?"

"Alright, I knew it was a terrible idea to come up here," Taffyta barked as she began to head for the Loft's door, Vanellope laughed and grabbed her arm.

"Come onnn," Vanellope pleaded, "We're in the Loft, away from anyone else, it's just me! Please spill!"

"Vanellope," Taffyta scoffed with a wide, sheepish smile; Vanellope could practically see the orange code want to burst out of her.

"Was it everything you ever dreamed? You can't sit here and act like it wasn't absolutely magical. I could hardly feel my spine the day after Ralph and I code swapped."

"Vanellope, the reason you could hardly feel your spine is because Ralph is, probably quite literally, a beast," Taffyta laughed as Vanellope pulled her sister to the three comfortable lounging chairs on the other side of the Loft. Vanellope quickly plopped down on one chair and expectantly pat the chair across from her.

"I keep forgetting that Ralph isn't your average guy, when it comes to that," Vanellope laughed as Taffyta rolled her eyes and sat down.

"Rancis may not be a wrecker, but he still made my head spin," Taffyta beamed a sheepish smile, her face was practically on fire. Vanellope laughed and tucked her knees to her chest in a girly way.

"Welcome to the code swapping club," Vanellope beamed with a wide smile, "Did your guys' arms crawl with your new code?"

"What?" Taffyta looked confused, "No, what do you mean?"

"Oh," Vanellope frowned, "W-well, usually when Ralph and I swap codes, his skin sort of does this cool creepy crawly thing of glitching code. A whole slew of circuitry."

"Really?" Taffyta furrowed her eyebrows and looked away, "That never happened to Rancis and I."

"Maybe it's just because I'm a glitch," Vanellope said sheepishly with a shrug, Taffyta looked intrigued.

"You mean you guys actually come alive with your own code?" Taffyta inquired curiously, her face was flushed.

"Yeah, I thought that was normal," Vanellope chuckled as she gave Taffyta a confused look.

"So if you guys were in a pitch black room, your code would still shine and show up on your guys' skin?" Taffyta asked, she still looked confused, Vanellope shrugged and nodded with a small laugh.

"Yeah," She breathed as she looked up wistfully, "It's so magical."

"The joys of being a glitch," Taffyta laughed as she crossed her arms.

"I thought that happened to everyone," Vanellope pondered as she looked to the side, "Well, did some things happen to you guys that maybe don't happen to Ralph and I?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened," Taffyta said gently, though her face practically turned beet red.

"Oh my User Taffyta, will you just spill the beans? How did it all unfold? You have to tell me, I'm so intrigued!" Vanellope squealed happily as she hugged her knees to her chest with a wide smile, "Rancis is so bashful and quiet, I would never expect him to be so daring. The one who tamed the vicious Taffyta."

"Oh, come off of it, I'm not vicious," Taffyta barked as she sat cross legged and slouched into the chair more so, "And I'm not going to give you a play by play, Vanellope, that's so weird!"

"I'll tell you how mine and Ralph's first time went," Vanellope teased as she smiled a wide, sly smile, "I know you, Candlehead and Calhoun always gossip to each other about it. You may think I don't hear your whisperings when you think I'm distracted."

"I think what we're all most curious about is if he actually wrecks things or not," Taffyta laughed with a wide smile.

"I know that's not what you guys are most curious about," Vanellope scoffed and rolled her eyes, "And, no, he's never wrecked anything…yet, anyways."

"I'm shocked, actually," Taffyta laughed as she relaxed more so.

"I am too," Vanellope giggled as she shook her head, "Sometimes I worry that the bed might collapse. I'm waiting for the day."

"How awkward would it be to bring Felix or Tammy up to your room and have them fix it," Taffyta threw her head back and laughed a girly laugh.

"I'm kind of hoping to avoid that," Vanellope said through a long, wistful sigh as her cheeks rapidly grew red.

"I'm glad Rancis doesn't have wrecking tendencies, then," Taffyta said as she shyly avoided eye contact.

"I honestly want to know just exactly what he had to do in order to get you to do something as drastic as code swapping," Vanellope urged, "Were you drunk?"

"Vanellope!" Taffyta shrieked with an incredulous smile, "User, no I wasn't drunk, you think I'm not capable of love?"

"Well, it's hard to pry it out of you," Vanellope sighed.

"He had to work for it, but I'm not closed off to things like that," Taffyta mumbled as she looked away, "Especially when we're alone."

"Were you scared?" Vanellope asked softly.

"Not as scared as you probably were before your's and Ralph's first time," Taffyta laughed, "Ralph is like three times your size. I can't imagine being underneath that…how terrifying. It was already pretty nerve wracking as it was, and Rancis is practically my size!"

"It's not as terrifying as you might think," Vanellope laughed as her face got hot, "What were you scared over?"

"I wasn't technically scared," Taffyta said through a gentle sigh, "I guess…I was just eager to try and keep my feelings for him at bay. You know me, I don't like getting myself stuck in situations I can't get out of. Code swapping is eternal. That's something I'll never be able to take back."

"Do you regret it?" Vanellope ventured curiously.

"…Not one bit," Taffyta said with a knowing smile as she fingered the soft fabric on the arm rest of the chair, her eyes fixed down to her hand.

"That's great," Vanellope said cheerfully as she hugged her knees tighter, her smile grew wider.

"He's really sweet," Taffyta said softly, her eyes continued to stay glued to her hand, "He's kind of mysterious, the way it all unfolded. It was like we were solving a problem. After all the grief and struggle we've been through, it was kind of nice to watch all of our troubles sort of hit the floor."

"Nice pun," Vanellope stifled a small laugh, though her eyes were filled with loving sincerity and eagerness.

"Yeah," Taffyta scoffed with a bashful smile as her eyes gently met with the outside world, her dark pupils immediately tightened as the soft sunshine kissed her face; her blue eyes were wondrous, "After the ball, we just sort of wound up at his house, 'cause he's not allowed near the castle."

"So then he just decided, 'Hey! lets try code swapping'?" Vanellope asked through a curious laugh and a furrowed expression.

"It wasn't his idea," Taffyta muttered as she continued to avoid eye contact; Vanellope gaped slightly and leaned forward.

"It was YOUR idea?" Vanellope asked loudly before she roared with laughter. Taffyta slumped her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, shocker, I get," Taffyta grumbled, though she couldn't help but smile, "I practically stunned the pants off of him."

"No pun intended?" Vanellope asked curiously with a wide, teasing smile.

"Nope, pun definitely intended," Taffyta said through a long, annoyed sigh. Vanellope continued to laugh as Taffyta's face was nearing a dark shade of purple from blushing so hard. She playfully glared at her sister before she inhaled to continue, "What, you've never come onto Ralph? I'm sure your guys' first time was a little confusing as well."

"Yeah, well," Vanellope sighed with a wide smile as she wiped tears from her eyes, "We both sort of came onto each other. Though I'll admit, I think I instigated it."

"I'm surprised," Taffyta giggled, "The way he looks at you sometimes makes me wonder if he's about ready to drag you away, all his for the taking."

"I've seen those looks," Vanellope rolled her eyes, though her smile led to suggest she secretly enjoyed it, "I think those thirty years of loneliness is catching up to him…and fast."

"Well, you guys should probably be careful now," Taffyta said gently, "You guys have been in the code swapping realm for almost a whole year now, correct? Shouldn't be too long here that your codes are strong enough to program new life."

"How do you go about coding a baby?" Vanellope asked curiously and honestly.

"Are you seriously asking that right now?" Taffyta asked in a dull tone.

"Oh come on, you know what I mean!" Vanellope squealed as her face turned hot red, "I-I know the act, obviously, but how do you know just when a baby is being programmed? Is it just at random?"

"I can't tell you for sure," Taffyta said as she looked down in thought, "I-I think, from what I've heard, it's pretty intense. Suddenly your guys' code goes to work and the loading bar appears on your lower stomach."

"It's intense?" Vanellope worried, "Is it painful?"

"I think this would be a conversation to have with Calhoun," Taffyta laughed with a wide smile, "I obviously would have no idea."

"Do you know where she, Felix and Tammy laid off to?" Vanellope asked curiously.

"Oh, I-I think they went to EZ Living," Taffyta said as casually as she could, "They asked us to meet up with them in a little bit because I guess they're having a bon fire tonight on the beach."

"Oh, what's the occasion?" Vanellope asked as she furrowed her eyebrows, Taffyta shrugged.

"No occasion," Taffyta fibbed as she avoided eye contact with Vanellope, "I guess they're just in the mood for s'mores and bonfires."

"I guess maybe then we can worm some information out of Calhoun," Vanellope giggled, "I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into."