𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕖𝕥 {𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣}

-Chapter Two- Fall Away

/i'm dying, and i'm trying/ but believe me, i'm fine/ but i'm lying/ i'm so very far from fine/

-fall away, twenty one pilots

Y/n slowed her horse down, waiting for Rapunzel and Cassandra to catch up. She was glad she had worn pants today- Rapunzel's riding style in her dress looked absolutely miserable. Y/n was wearing long black trousers, a white off-the-shoulder blouse and a (f/c) corset, with knee-high boots- far more comfortable than whatever Rapunzel was wearing. At least Cassandra had enough intelligence to wear pants.

Y/n's horse paused, letting the one Cassandra and Rapunzel were riding take the lead as they rode past the Snuggly Duckling. She fiddled with her hair as she waited. Y/n had (h/l) (h/c) hair with a single golden streak, which was often the target of her constant fidgeting. She suspected it had some connection to the flower that saved Rapunzel- but of course, Y/n was not nearly lucky enough to inherit its powers. No, that honor was reserved for her older sister. The special one. The one her parents would never be able to stop comparing her to.

"Are you alright, Y/n?" Rapunzel asked as she and Cassandra passed her.

"I'm fine." Y/n replied, snapping out of her spiraling thoughts. I'm lying, aren't I? I'm so, so very far from fine. She could feel the pull beginning in her brain, begging her to spend hours thinking of every reason why she'd never be good enough, but she resisted the urge and turned back to Cassandra and Rapunzel.

The two women were staring straight ahead, with seemingly no observance of their surroundings, but Y/n turned her head towards the tavern. She was about to look away when her gaze caught on a familiar shape in the tavern window- Eugene. He definitely recognized the three of them, and Y/n could guess that his idiotic bravado would lead him to follow them wherever they went. Regardless, Y/n decided that this information was unimportant, and kept riding.

The trio stopped and dismounted their horses when they came within view of a run-down mansion. Rapunzel and Cassandra glanced at each other nervously, like they were silently wishing the other would go first. With a hidden roll of her eyes that was quickly replaced by an expression of "bravery", Y/n led the way to the door.

"So, this is where Varian lives?" asked Rapunzel. No, we're just stopping here for fun. "It seems cozy," she continued as they ascended the stairs, "in an 'I wish I had said goodbye to my loved ones before I left' sort of way." Y/n resisted the urge to scoff- her sister was supposed to be the courageous one, yet here they were.

The door creaked open ominously, revealing a dark hallway. Cassandra took a deep breath and stepped forwards, beckoning Rapunzel and Y/n behind her. Y/n bristled at the thought of listening to Cassandra, the handmaiden who had stuck to Rapunzel like glue since the day she had returned, but swallowed her pride and followed.

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

After navigating the front portion of the house, the three encountered a heavy wooden door with purple smoke curling from the edges.

"Raps, (N/n), just watch your step." murmured Cassandra as she pushed the door open.

If the hallway had been tinged with smoke, the room inside was brimming with it. Y/n could barely see a foot in front of her face. She hesitated for a moment, nervously glancing about the space.

"It's just fog. I'm sure it's okay." Rapunzel said, looking around fearfully. "Uh huh. Sure." commented Y/n, not fully paying attention- she was more focused on the small string that Cassandra had just tripped on. A tripwire?

Y/n's attention was instantly grabbed by the series of mechanisms that had just begun to trigger, which formed a seemingly random string of reactions. She didn't quite realize what was happening until the reactions had triggered a catapult-like mechanism, firing a glass orb at the three of them. In less than a second, their feet were trapped in some sort of purple solution.