Finally, here's a new chapter to Starlight.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Tangled movie or television series. I only own my original characters and any concepts I add to the story.
The next day, after having breakfast with their parents, Rapunzel and Derek went to the courtyard to meet the guards who would escort them. Pascal and Sapphire came along, too, perched on their humans' shoulders. When they reached the gate, Derek's brow furrowed in annoyance at the number of guards. He should've known their father would do this.
"Before we go, we have one more person joining us," Rapunzel said with a smile at her brother.
"Who?"
Sapphire noticed someone approaching and chirped excitedly. Looking the same way, Derek's eyes brightened when he saw Varian in casual attire walking toward them. "Varian!"
"Morning, Derek!" Varian smiled, greeting the other boy with a hug before turning to Rapunzel. "Thank you for inviting me along, Princess."
"It was actually our mother's idea," the princess admitted sheepishly. "But I thought getting to know my brother's friend would be fun. Also, you can just call me Rapunzel."
Varian smiled at her, and it was almost enough to make Derek forget about the guards. "Well then, let's get going!"
"Yay!" Rapunzel cheered as the boys walked with her.
The guards suddenly surrounded them in a close circle. The prince glanced around them in annoyance. "Uh, guys? Six more feet, please." They exchanged glances and sighed before giving them a little more space. Derek groaned slightly. "This might be more trouble than it's worth…" he muttered.
"Thanks, Derek," Varian said, smiling sympathetically at his friend before noticing Pascal looking at him, which directed his attention to Rapunzel. "You have a chameleon on your shoulder again."
"Oh, would you like to see him?" She took Pascal off her shoulder and handed him to the teenager. "This is Pascal. He's my best friend. We were in the tower together."
"Nice to meet you, Pascal," he said fondly, gently stroking the lizard. Pascal chirped happily, enjoying the attention.
"You like animals?" Rapunzel asked.
"I do," he nodded, returning Pascal to the princess. "Dad won't let me have a pet, though. He says I'm messy enough without one."
"Yeah. My... kidnapper didn't approve of pets either."
Derek didn't have the heart to tell her that their dad was judging it, too. Still, he couldn't help but smile at the sight of his sister and Varian getting along.
Soon, they reached the center of town, where the festival was taking place. Upon their arrival, a trumpet sounded, prompting everyone to turn to their prince and princess. A man called out, "The Princess, Rapunzel, and the Prince, Derek, will spend their day about town!"
Rapunzel took the boys' hands, stepping eagerly forward, only to be squeezed between two guards. The prince cleared his throat to gain their attention, giving them a look before nodding at the ground. Disgruntled, they backed up a little as they walked through town.
Rapunzel waved cheerfully to the townspeople, who either bowed or curtsied. The local butcher mistakenly waved his cleaver, resulting in him being tackled by a guard. The three cringed as Rapunzel leaned toward Derek. "Are they always like this?"
"No, this is worse." Derek shook his head, a brief, dark expression crossing his face as they walked along. It happened so quickly that the other teens missed it, though Pascal looked at him curiously. That kind of expression did not belong to a fifteen-year-old.
People began reaching out, hoping to shake hands with the royal siblings. Varian let out a warning cough when a guard moved forward, making the guard back up. Rapunzel and Derek smiled and happily took each person's hand as they passed by, with Varian positioning himself as a shield between them and the guards.
The next event was watching a group of street performers. One of the acts featured a fire eater juggling torches and breathing flames right in front of the royal siblings and their friend. They were so engrossed in the performance that they overlooked one of the guards reaching for a bucket. Sapphire, however, noticed. She whispered something softly to Pascal. The chameleon saluted her before turning invisible. Moments later, the guard tripped on his own feet and fell, the bucket splashing onto his head just as he was about to throw it at the performer.
"Wow, that was an amazing performance!" Rapunzel said in awe, having not noticed what had occurred.
"I'll say!" Derek agreed, clapping wholeheartedly.
Then Rapunzel looked to the side, shocked when she saw the downed guard. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?! What happened?!" Derek and Varian also turned in surprise, wondering what was going on.
The prince was startled again when Pascal reappeared on his shoulder. Sapphire held out her clenched paw, which Pascal knocked his claw against. Seeing the display, it wasn't hard for Derek to put two and two together. He smiled appreciatively at the pets before glaring at the drenched guard as another guard assisted him.
Then, music began to play as the next performer stepped forward. She was a teenager around Derek and Varian's age with pale skin, powder blue eyes, long black hair with bangs falling to the right side of her face, and lavender tips that was tied in a ponytail. She wore an aubergine and turquoise Celtic-style dress with mid-length sleeves that flowed at the ends, nice black flat shoes, and a touch of silver jewelry in the form of a necklace and matching bracelet with purple stones.
"Hey, it's Shay," Varian said in surprise, and Derek smiled slightly.
"Guess she's performing today."
"You know her?" Rapunzel asked.
"She's a friend of ours," Derek explained. "She street performs to help her family, and I sneak out of the castle sometimes to watch her perform."
Drums, a guitar, and a flute played a brief introduction before the girl began to sing.
Starlight, midnight, it comes to find me
Shades low, eyes tight, but still it surprised me
Drifts into these halls, tugs at all the shadows on the walls
Speaks in my dreams
And it comes from miles around
And I sink into the sound
Running like a river when the spring storm's coming
Floating like a feather in the autumn sky
Anything I'm dreaming could be mine tomorrow
Filling up my mind with something wilder
Something wilder (whoa)
The audience watched in delight as the young girl sang. Some passers-by even stopped to listen to the dark-haired angel.
Maps drawn, path's worn, but something's peculiar
Rain scent, bird song floats unfamiliar
Timeless in refrain, still it knows me by my own name, I
Can't stop my feet
And it comes from miles around
And I sink into the sound
Running like a river when the spring storm's coming
Floating like a feather in the autumn sky
Anything I'm dreaming could be mine tomorrow
Filling up my mind with something wilder
Whoa
Something wilder (whoa)
As Rapunzel listened to Shay sing, she couldn't help but ponder the words. The song appeared to be about being called to the unknown and the allure of adventure- a sentiment she resonated with deeply.
Close your eyes, come let me find you now
Close your eyes, don't look behind you now
Close your eyes, come let me find you now
Close your eyes, don't look behind you now
And it comes from miles around
And I sink into the sound
Running like a river when the spring storm's coming
Floating like a feather in the autumn sky
Anything I'm dreaming could be mine tomorrow
Filling up my mind with something wilder
Something Wilder
Oh, it's running like a river when the spring storm's coming
Floating like a feather in the autumn sky
Anything I'm dreaming could be mine tomorrow
Filling up my mind with something wilder
The song came to a close as the instruments fell silent. There wasn't even a pause, a crescendo of wild applause erupted from the audience. Shay smiled shyly as she curtsied. When she spotted her friends in the crowd, she quickly made her way over to them.
"Hi, guys," Shay greeted them, and the boys hugged her.
"That was great, Shay!" Varian praised her.
"Thank you."
"Shay, this is my sister, Rapunzel," Derek introduced the two girls. "Rapunzel, this is Shay Rivers."
"It is a pleasure, Your Highness," Shay said, bowing to her.
"Oh, thank you, Shay, and the pleasure's all mine," Rapunzel responded. "That was a beautiful song."
"Thank you."
"Hey, we're exploring the festival. Would you like to come with us?" Rapunzel asked.
"If you've got the time," Derek added.
"Well…" Shay hesitated, glancing at the other performers taking a break. "I suppose I have some time."
"Great!" Rapunzel cheered.
"The more, the merrier," Varian said.
With that, the friends and Rapunzel continued to explore the festival. They spotted four little girls forming a braid train by the fountain at one point. One of them waved to Rapunzel, who recognized her as one of the red-headed sisters who had braided her hair during her first visit to the kingdom. The princess was overjoyed to see the four sisters again and excitedly ran over. When a guard attempted to intervene, Derek "accidentally" bumped into him, causing him to trip.
"Whoops. My bad," he said innocently, though the slight smirk he concealed suggested otherwise. Varian and Shay stifled their laughter by covering their mouths.
Unaware of this, Rapunzel beckoned Shay to join the braid train. After a moment's hesitation and some gentle coaxing from Varian, she agreed. The girl at the front pulled her hair from its ponytail and began to weave it into a braid.
Derek smiled along with Sapphire and Varian as they watched the girls. Then, he noticed some boys playing tug of war. Smiling mischievously, he sneaked up behind one of the teams and gave the rope a firm yank. The boys tumbled over, bursting into joyful laughter when they realized the prince had joined their game.
Once the redheaded sisters finished, Shay's hair was transformed into a beautiful single braid, which Rapunzel insisted on decorating with white flowers. After saying goodbye, the girls searched for the boys, finding them playing kickball with the local children. Upon spotting the girls, Derek surmised they were moving on, so he and Varian waved goodbye to the boys before joining them.
After a few too many incidents, the guards allowed Rapunzel to greet her subjects more freely compared to what was happening earlier. Still, they remained vigilant for any signs of danger as she eagerly shook hands and hugged people. Derek also greeted their subjects, returning bows and curtsies when appropriate.
While the girls cooed over a baby, Derek and Varian accepted a couple of cupcakes offered by a local woman. "Don't think we don't see what you've been up to, boys," she remarked, smiling as Varian took a bite of his cupcake.
"We have no idea what you're talking about," Derek said bluntly, winking at the woman. The boys rejoined the girls and handed each a treat, Derek casting a pointed look at the guards as Rapunzel happily took a bite of her cupcake.
(Later that day)
After their time at the festival, the siblings and Varian returned to the castle while Shay returned to the performance area. Rapunzel headed to her room to unwind with some tea before the banquet, while Derek and Varian went to join their friends at the prince's.
As she sat on the chaise at the end of her bed, Rapunzel felt conflicted about the day. Although she had fun, some things were nagging at her. She was reasonably sure that if she had been alone, the guards would not have been so... well, the day would likely have been worse than it was. Plus, the sheer number of guards was annoying. Then, there was the guard with the bucket who tripped during the fire-eater performance. She tried to convince herself that perhaps the bucket was a precautionary measure, but why did that guard have it? And what did he trip on? Clearly, Derek had intervened, and the fact that he felt the need to do so was troubling her.
"Let me guess? Big day on the town wasn't all you hoped it'd be?" Cass asked, setting the teacups on the vanity as she pulled Rapunzel from her thoughts.
"No, no, it was great! We had fun!" Rapunzel reassured her. "I even met a friend of Derek's named Shay."
"Shay Rivers?"
"How'd you know?"
"Her dad is Craig Rivers, the Head Librarian and Royal Archivist, and her older brother is on the Royal Guard. She often comes over to visit them."
"Oh, I see. Anyway, everything was great today," Rapunzel continued before sighing. "It's just the legion of guards that had to come with us." Pascal blew a raspberry with a thumbs down at the reminder.
"Uh-huh, I get it," Cass placed a hand on her hip.
"I just wish my dad would let me get out and see the real world," Rapunzel huffed as she got up to pace the room.
"You know, if you really wanted, I could get you in and out of here before anyone even knew we were gone," Cassandra said, opening the balcony window before turning to her. Pascal chirped in excitement, agreeing with the idea.
"Uh, you mean sneak me out?" Rapunzel asked, a bit uncertain despite her grin.
"Exactly. What you do when no one's looking is your business." Cassandra responded, playfully poking her.
Rapunzel appeared thoughtful until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. "The Royal Banquet is ready to receive the Princess now!" a maid called from outside.
"Cheer up, Raps. Hey, maybe your dad got someone to chew your food for ya," Cass said teasingly as she left to get her fancy dress.
Rapunzel frowned, giving a 'really' look, clearly not appreciating the joke.
(Meanwhile)
Derek and Varian were in Derek's room with Katherine and Alexander. The prince sat on the chaise with Sapphire while Varian lounged on the bed, joined by Katherine and Ash beside him.
"So, how was your day at the festival?" Alexander asked, placing the prince's tea cup on the vanity.
"It was good. We had a great time," Derek replied before muttering, "Though the battalion of guards was unnecessary." Sapphire rolled her eyes at the memory.
"Yup, I had a feeling."
"I know you've said they've been pushy, but tackling the butcher was a bit much," Varian commented.
"Tell me about it," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "And remind me to compensate the butcher for being wrongly tackled." Katherine couldn't help but cackle while Alexander slapped a hand over his face.
"Anyway, back to business," the prince said, turning to the ex-thief. "I know Varian got pulled away from you, but how's the investigation going?"
"Unfortunately, Faith wasn't able to search her room," Katherine explained. "The Duchess asked not to be disturbed and stayed in her room all day."
"What about her background? Did you find anything about her kingdom?"
"Mr. Rivers and I looked through the maps in the library, but we couldn't find any mention of Quintonia."
"Either Quintonia was established within the last month, or it doesn't exist," Varian concluded.
Derek sighed heavily, resting his chin on his fingers. "Okay, let's say this woman is a fraud. How was she able to get in?"
"The problem is that while the event is by invitation only, there's no formal guest list," Alexander explained. "So, there's no way to track who's attending."
"Security issue, much?" Kathy raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me about it," Alexander rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"So, what's the plan from here?" Varian asked the prince. Before Derek could respond, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"The Royal Banquet is ready to receive the Prince now," a maid called from outside.
"Well, we can't do anything else right now," Derek said, standing up. "We'll discuss this more after the banquet."
"Agreed," Alexander concurred.
"In that case, I better get ready," Kathy said, heading for the door with her cat. "See you guys downstairs."
"I should go, too," Varian said, climbing off the bed to follow her.
"See you guys in a minute," Derek replied as Alexander retrieved his suit.
(The Royal Banquet)
The throne room had been transformed into a dining hall for the occasion. The ceiling was adorned with the sun symbol, standing alone or accompanied by a shield design. Six tables were arranged around the room, dressed in gold tablecloths and purple bows.
Rapunzel and Derek were seated between their parents near the front. Rapunzel was next to their mom, while Derek was next to their father, though he would prefer to be elsewhere now. The other guests occupied various tables around the room. Varian (Back in his fancy clothes) and Katherine (not wearing any makeup this time, were seated with the noble children. Meanwhile, Quirin sat with the other nobles, and Alexander worked as a server alongside Cassandra.
Eugene thoughtfully examined the engagement ring before closing the box and putting it in his jacket. Suddenly, he was splattered with food remains and glared crossly at the little boy beside him. For some reason, he was seated at the kids' table. His teenage sister-figure and her friend sat next to him, giggling a bit, and he turned to them with a frown. "Oh, laugh it up. You wanna swap places?"
"No thanks, I'm good," Katherine declined with a grin.
"What she said," Varian agreed with a matching expression.
"Why am I even sitting here?"
"I'm in charge of the seating charts," Cass said shamelessly as she walked past him. "One of the perks of the job."
Annoyed, Eugene leaned on his hand before looking at the royal family. Judging by the looks on their faces, a conversation was taking place that wasn't a happy one. Katherine followed his gaze and fought to suppress a grimace. Varian also turned with a frown to watch Derek. Like Alexander, the two were aware of the tension between Derek and the king. Hopefully, they could keep it from becoming a shouting match if it came to blows.
"I don't understand why you're so upset, sweethearts," King Frederic said calmly, noticing their silence as he forked some food. "I said you could do whatever you wanted. That's exactly what you did."
"Only because I ran interference with the Guard half the day," Derek stated bluntly, poking at his steak.
"Yeah, you didn't say anything about a battalion tagging along," Rapunzel replied, glancing at him with a stiff smile.
"Why would I need to? You're royalty, making a public appearance," Frederic reasoned with an equally stiff tone. "Derek, you've done this plenty of times."
"Doesn't mean I liked it," Derek responded, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
"Derek–"
"Dad, the guards freaked out when we got near a baby. A baby! There's being cautious, and then there's just being ridiculous!"
From where he was standing, Alexander glanced at their table with Sapphire perched on his shoulder since she wasn't allowed at the table. He could feel the tension from his position near Cass and Pascal. "Told you," he whispered to his co-worker, who looked worried as she turned her attention to the royal family.
"And Dad–"
Rapunzel started to speak but was interrupted by Eugene, who suddenly cleared his throat, catching their attention. At some point during their conversation, he had made his way to the center of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, Dukes and Duchesses, Barons and Baronesses, Marquis and, you know, the female version of those, may I share a moment of history with you?" he said, gesturing around as he approached the head table in a zig-zag pattern.
"What is he doing?" Derek whispered to Rapunzel, who shrugged cluelessly.
Eugene then turned to Rapunzel, reaching out a hand to her. "Princess Rapunzel, would you join me up here?" She glanced between him and his hand. Smiling sheepishly, she stood up, knowing she'd embarrass herself if she didn't. Frederic watched with a raised eyebrow as she walked around the table, taking Eugene's hand at the center of the room. "Tonight, we celebrate our love for the royal siblings."
Rapunzel leaned back to look at Cassandra for any hint of what he was doing. Cass could only shrug and shake her head, equally confused as everyone else. Derek and Alex exchanged glances, both unsure of what was happening. They turned to Katherine, who appeared to be hiding an excited smile behind her hands, while Varian looked just as puzzled as they were.
"I, for one, can think of no better way to celebrate the love I have for this woman…" Rapunzel straightened up as Eugene pulled her in front of him. "Than this." Eugene dropped to one knee, taking her hand in his. Alexander, Varian, and Frederic's eyes widened as their jaws dropped. Cassandra, Pascal, and Sapphire looked shocked, and everyone else seemed as bemused as Rapunzel felt.
"Oh no," Derek muttered, bringing his hand to his face. He definitely would have talked him out of this if he had known! The prince turned back to Kathy with wide eyes. The ex-thief met his gaze and lost her smile when she saw how panicked he looked. He began making gestures with his hand across his throat, trying to convey that this was not a good time.
"Eugene!" Rapunzel looked at him in confusion, then down at the floor. "Wait, did you drop something?"
"No," he assured her, letting go of her hands to reach into his jacket. He pulled out a hinged box, earning gasps from everyone. Realizing what this was, Rapunzel beamed at the sight of the ring. Her father quickly stood up with a loud scrape of his chair. "Rapunzel, from the moment I first met you and you knocked me out with that frying pan, I knew it was love. You're my light, you're my best friend, and I want to be your partner in all things." Rapunzel smiled brightly at the heartfelt words as he continued. "I can't wait to laugh with you and share with you. I see us raising our children here and our children's children, maybe even our nieces and nephews."
Derek choked on his steak, coughing it up into a napkin in utter shock while Alex and Varian looked at him with concern. "And celebrating banquets of our own here in this very hall for many, many, many, many years to come. I wanna ride our horses to the Corona Wall together, each and every morning, until we're both very, very old and gray."
Her smile had grown, and she was on the verge of saying "yes," but as the reality of his words hit her, dread washed over her. Here in the castle… with guards watching her daily, leaving her almost no freedom?
"I love you, Rapunzel," he finished, holding up the ring box. She jolted slightly in alarm, her eyes widening as she looked at it. "And I want to spend the rest of our lives here, together." Rapunzel glanced at her brother, whose eyes were covered, unwilling to watch.
Eugene wanted to live here for the rest of their lives under strict rules, regulations, expectations, and… responsibilities… "Here…" she asked slowly, finally finding her voice. "In this… castle… forever?"
"I mean, unless you wanna rent," he said jokingly. "But I hardly see how we're gonna top this."
Her eyes widened as she replayed earlier conversations with him in her mind.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you here."
"It doesn't get any better than this, this castle."
She wasn't ready. There was so much out there that she had yet to discover. It was too soon to settle down, especially with everything that had happened lately.
She stared at his smiling face before glancing at her father. His voice cut through her thoughts, reminding her why she must be closely guarded. "Princesses need to be protected at all times."
She looked around at all the guards and eyes watching her, then back at her brother. She couldn't do this.
"Rapunzel?" Eugene prompted, his voice sounding distant yet snapping her out of her thoughts. "Rapunzel?"
She shook herself back to reality, leaning back a little. She sighed, feeling hesitant. "Ah… I've… wow." She reached out slightly, then clasped her hands together, chuckling awkwardly. "I… love you, Eugene, but… I-I can't. Just… not-not now." She stepped back and let her hands fall to her sides. "Uhm, I need some air!"
To the shock of the other guests, she ran out of the room. Cass glared at Eugene as he closed the box in confusion. Derek stood up and ran after his sister, with Alex and Varian right behind him. As they rushed off, Eugene looked at Katherine, who followed the example of the other teens and chased after the princess.
And with that, we're all caught up on Starlight. Up next is The Light Guard.