Chapter One: Rapunzel
"Pleased to meet you, Queen Elsa. I'm Rapunzel," Rapunzel rehearsed in the mirror and then shook her head. "I mean, I am Princess Rapunzel of Corona, and I'm pleased to meet you?"
Rapunzel's shoulders slumped. "I am so bad at this."
"You're going to do great," Flynn "Eugene" told her as he spun her towards him and kissed her on the forehead. "You were amazing at the wedding for what's-his-name of the Seven Isles."
Rapunzel had to admit that she could never quite remember any of the princes' names. There were just so many of them. Thankfully, Elsa only had one sibling, Anna. That was easy enough to remember…she hoped.
She had only been a princess for a few months, and already she had spent more time away from her home than in it, which she preferred. She loved her new family, but her father and mother still seemed so lost in their guilt that they had missed her growing up. Rapunzel didn't know what to do with their emotions or hers if she were being honest with herself.
Because you miss Gothel, Rapunzel thought even though she could never speak the words out loud. No one would understand. Gothel had been a monster who had caused everyone pain and misery, a kidnapper whose only desire had been to live forever. Trying to remind herself of everything Gothel had done couldn't erase the grief or the guilt of how her actions had led to the death of the woman who she'd always thought was her mother.
Rapunzel stared out from her window at the town celebrating in the streets, reminding her of how the citizens of Corona had celebrated her return for a whole week by sending up floating lanterns every night into the starry sky.
"They haven't opened the gates since the late king and queen's deaths," the inn keeper had told them conspiratorially. "No one I know has seen either of the princesses for three years!"
She'd heard another man, a Duke from Wesleton, complaining that so many of the aristocracy had been forced to stay on their ships, or as in Rapunzel's case, a nearby inn. The accommodations hadn't bothered Rapunzel or Eugene.
"Is it just me, or is that guy down there talking to his reindeer?" Eugene pointed out a sandy haired young man standing next to a sled full of blocks of ice.
Rapunzel smiled at the way he did seem to be talking to his animal friend just like she had conversations with her chameleon and favorite horse, Maximus.
"I think it's time," Rapunzel said with a grin. She'd never been to a coronation before, and as they headed outside, she basked in the sunlight and marveled at the beautiful colors around the maypole and the flowers that the townspeople had placed everywhere from the windows to the light poles.
"Why do I have to wear this?" a young boy whined at his mother as he tugged at his uncomfortable clothing.
The mother explained how the princess was being crowned, and the little boy made Rapunzel laugh when he replied, "That's not my fault!"
Rapunzel slipped him a candied apple, which put a huge grin on his face.
"You don't have to do that," the mother said.
"It's my pleasure," Rapunzel said, paying the cart merchant and then winked at the boy. "It's because you look so dashing."
The little boy's cheeks turned pink and then he took an impossibly big bite out of the apple. "Thanks," he said with his mouthful.
"Where's my apple?" Eugene asked her, pretending to be jealous.
Rapunzel rolled her eyes as they entered the throng of people entering the gates for the first time. She nearly collided with a red headed girl who burst out of the castle gates in a long green gown. The sheer joy on her face reminded Rapunzel of the moment she'd left her tower for the first time.
As they entered the courtyards, Rapunzel stopped in her tracks when she made eye contact with the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. The woman stepped backwards from the window she'd been spying at the crowd from, gone from Rapunzel's view as quickly as came, leaving her to wonder if she'd imagined the young woman with pure white hair.