this was requested by ZombiePanda_OnCrack, who did this art and asked me to write an imagine for it! reminder that you can send me your art through instagram, email, or tumblr, and i will share it here and write an imagine for it <3

it's April 3rd, and that means it's Onward release day on Disney+ :-) all stories may contain spoilers now! i will try to put a warning for that before each imagine though. 

This one contains SLIGHT spoilers. nothing major at all. 

also this has a slight frozen 2 crossover, but only a little crossover (Bruni). jk i wanted the entire enchanted forest in there. and this is super long. but i got really into it so.

/ / /

"Alright, it's our first quest in a month. We've got a bunch of snacks in the back of the van, and the weather is warm. Where are we going?"

You glanced over at the driver, your best friend, Barley. You smiled and shrugged. "Well, I don't know. This was your idea."

"Right," he said. He leaned over and smacked the bottom of the glove compartment. Parking violations and tickets fell around your feet. You shook your head. He shuffled around them and pulled out a map. "Here you go. You get to read the map, my dear faithful partner."

"Alright then," you said, taking it from him. You unfolded it. "Jeez, Bar --- you've marked so much on here."

"Yes I did." He pulled out of the driveway and glanced behind him at the last second to check for oncoming cars. 

"How are we even supposed to complete this quest?" you mumbled.

"We're going beyond Raven's Point and we're gonna see what we can find."

"Beyond Raven's Point?" you asked. "But Ian isn't even here. This'll take a good day to get there, and who knows what we'll run into."

"When on a quest, you use what you've got," Barley said, a look of determination on his face. "And I happen to know that you are very capable."

"Well, thank you," you said, "but I'm not a wizard. And neither are you."

"You don't have to be a wizard to complete a quest," he said. "You can be whatever you want to be."

You caught his eye and smiled. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. Besides, we're gonna have to work with what we've got if you wanna make it to The," he sang out, "Enchanted Forest..."

Your eyes shot open. "The Enchanted Forest?!"

"Yes!" He laughed. You were merging onto the highway. "Didn't you read the map?"

"Yes, well," you said, clearing your throat. "I'm not the greatest at reading maps."

He laughed again. "Well then maybe we should trade places, huh?"

"Maybe." You grinned and shook your head, eyes glancing over the map in front of you. Now you could see it; circled in purple ink was a cluster of trees way down one of the paths of Raven's Point. Your destination; your dream. You'd wanted to explore it since you were young and heard the stories. You didn't even know if it was real, but Barley reassured you that it was. "I cannot believe you are taking me to The Enchanted Forest."

"Promised you I would one day, didn't I?" he asked. 

"Yeah," you said, "but I figured it would be when Ian was here, and when we were better prepared."

"I think we're pretty prepared now," he said, nodding. The van sputtered. "We're about out of gas, though. We can switch spots when we pull over if you want."

For the next six hours, you drove, listening to Barley's directions as he read from the map. He told you when to get off of the highway, and what "secret" path was the right one. When you were on the lengthy, curvy, bumpy road, he yawned. 

"Don't go to sleep on me," you said. "This road is freaking scary."

"I won't," he said, but he was yawning again. "You just gotta keep going straight. It'll smooth out in a few miles."

Your hands were tight against the wheel. "How do you know that?"

"I don't," he admitted. "But it's gotta smooth out at some point, right?"

You rolled your eyes. "Barley..."

"What?" he asked. "You'll see, I'm right."

You laughed. "Can you grab me one of my sodas from the back?"

"Certainly, milady," he said, unbuckling his seat belt and squeezing between the seats. You hit a bump and he hit his head. "Ow!"

"I'm sorry!" you said, pressing on the brakes to slow it down. "Please be careful, Barley. I am so sorry---"

"It's okay," he laughed. He grabbed two cans and came back and sat down. "Don't go that slow. Ease off of the brake a little bit. Come on, you got this."

You sucked in a deep breath through your teeth and did as he said. The car sped up a little. All you could see through the flood of headlights were tall, thick trees and a dirt road that was impossible to drive over without the van tilting one way and another, dipping towards the ground, or making you jump in your seat over a bump. 

"I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate this," you said. 

"I know you do," he said. 

You hit another bump. You leaned close to the wheel. It felt like you had lost all control over it.

"I can't do this," you said. "I feel like I'm about to hit a tree or fall off a cliff or something. I mean --- we're going through the mountains, aren't we? Aren't we close? I can't deal with the van having to go up---"

"No mountains yet," he assured you. "Relax."

"How am I supposed to relax?" you hissed.

"___." Barley cracked open the soda for you and handed it to you. Your hand shook as you took it from him. "You gotta take it easy, kid. Deep breath. It's like I always tell Ian, you've got to speak from your heart's fire. Of course, that applies to wizardry, so in your case, you have to drive from it."

"I can't tell if that's good advice or not," you said, shaking your head.

"Of course it's good advice," he said. "Your best friend gave it to you!"

You looked at him for a split second and smiled at him. 

"Hey, in all seriousness, you're doing a great job," he said. "But if you need to pull over and let me take over, we can do that, too. But I know that you can do this."

You nodded, eyes on the road. You let go of the wheel with your right hand for just a moment to reach over and grab Barley's hand. You gave it a quick squeeze and then put it back on the wheel.

"Thank you," you whispered.

"You're welcome. How about some music?"

/ /

Barley ended up dozing off just as you pulled onto a smoother road. He yawned, stretched, and told you to keep on heading in that direction, and not to stop or make a turn. You had plenty of road left to drive, and it was a straight path from now on.

He slept for a few hours, and you listened to music the entire way. Some songs you knew, some you didn't, but they were all on the tapes that Barley kept in the van. You must've gone through a dozen tapes before Barley stopped snoring and eventually woke up.

"Morning," you said, glancing at him as he wiped drool from his face. 

"Uh, mornin' --- oh, did I sleep all night?" He sat up. 

"Yes you did," you said. "I drank your soda, by the way."

"You could've woken me up." He rubbed his eyes. 

You shrugged. "I was okay driving."

"Where are we?" he asked, unfolding the map.

You glanced away from the road and pointed at a spot along the road. "About right here."

He nodded. "We've got about two hours left. Here, pull over. I'll drive."

You didn't have the energy left to argue with him. "Okay." 

You did. Barley got out of his seat and stretched. You got out, too, leaving your door open as you walked around the front of the van. You rubbed your forehead. You were so tired.

As you walked around the front of the van, Barley put his hands on your shoulders and stopped you. You smiled up at him and then wrapped your arms around his middle, leaning your head against his chest.

"Thank you," you said. 

"For what?" he asked. 

"For believing in me," you said. "For being my best friend. For doing all of this just so I can see The Enchanted Forest."

He smiled, his arms tightening around you. He leaned his head against yours. "You're welcome."

You pulled away and he walked to the driver's side, watching you the entire time with a soft smile stuck on his face. You got in the passenger side and rubbed your eyes before putting your seat belt on. 

"Get some sleep, kid," he said. "I'll wake you up when we're there."

You turned in your seat. "Thank you."

/ / 

You were dreaming about walking through the freaky forest in the middle of the night when Barley shook you awake. You lifted your head, glancing from him and his goofy grin to straight ahead, where you saw a cave. 

"We gotta walk the rest of the way," he said. 

"Oh." You sat up straight and undid your seat belt. You opened your door and hopped out, blinking the sleepiness out of your eyes. You walked to the back of the van, where Barley had taken out a lantern and a sword. "How long of a walk?"

"No telling," he said. He lit the lantern and handed you the matches. "Let's get going! The Enchanted Forest awaits us, my friend!"

You nodded. You were finally waking up, and you were excited to see what was in front of you. You imagined what all you would see. Would it really be like how you dreamed? You didn't know, but you were excited to explore nonetheless. 

"You should tell me about the Enchanted Forest," he said as you stepped into the dark cave. 

"I've told you about it a million times."

"You can tell me about it again!" he said. "You know it's a great story when you hear it at least five times without getting bored. I know you have that book of yours memorized."

You laughed. "Okay, I guess you have a point. Um. The Enchanted Forest is a forest that is filled with magic. It is controlled by spirits: earth, water, fire, wind, and snow. Legend has it that it was once under a curse where a thick fog was settled over the trees, trapping everything inside of it and dooming them to a life of battling the spirits, who had turned against humans. This was true until a queen of an ancient nearby kingdom broke the curse with the help of the princess of the same kingdom. The queen supposedly had the control of the snow element. I'm not sure if she is still around --- or if the story is true, obviously. But that's what I grew up learning."

Barley shook his head. "So cool."

"Right?"

"And beautifully told, might I add." 

You shook your head and elbowed him lightly, right in the ribs.

As the two of you walked, you spoke only in soft whispers. It didn't take long for you both to grow so cold that you trembled and shook with every further step. 

"I-I guess we aren't too far from that forest, huh?" you asked, wrapping your arms around you. 

"It's really cold, huh?" You nodded, and Barley put one arm around you, a look of concern on his face. "We should be there soon." 

You nodded again. Your teeth started to chatter.

Something scurried by you. It brushed against the back of your ankle and you let out a scream, turning around. 

"What?" Barley asked, alarmed. "What is it!?"

"Something just touched me!" you said. You grabbed onto his arm and waited in complete stillness---

It ran by again. "Did you see that?!" 

"I-I think I did, but I don't know what that is."

It scurried by again and ran right over Barley's foot. He gasped and jumped a foot away from you; his arm with the lantern swung. The fire inside of it blew out and you were suddenly enveloped in darkness. 

You swallowed hard. "Barley!?"

"It's okay! I'm here." He held out his arms. "Do you hear my voice?"

"I'm a foot away from you," you said, rolling your eyes. You walked forward with your arms out, searching for him. "I think so."

"Just checking," he said. He took a step forward and you did, too. Your fingers brushed his arm and you locked hands with him. "Okay, I gave you the matches."

"Right, right," you said. You swallowed hard. "Okay." 

"Just get them out and light one and we will be good to go," he said. "Right back on track!"

"Okay." You sucked in a deep breath and checked your jacket pockets, then the pockets of your pants. Your heart dropped. "Barley, I don't feel them."

"What?"

Your voice rose, "I don't feel them! There's no way I dropped them---"

"Maybe you dropped them when you got scared," he said calmly. "Let's check---"

You got down on your knees, your hands moving in front of you. Your palms met the cold rocky surface and you moved your hands all around you. 

"Calm down, take a deep breath!" Barley was saying. "We'll find them."

"We won't," you said, on the verge of tears. "I can't believe I did this."

"You didn't mean to."

But it didn't matter, you still lost them. The only things you felt were Barley's hands, searching with you, and something unfamiliar running across your palm. 

You yelped and fell backwards, hitting the ground with your elbows. You winced in pain. 

"___?"

You heard it scurrying towards you again. You backed up, on the verge of tears--- 

Until the thing that was crawling towards you lit up with purple flames, and you saw that it was just a small salamander. Its held tilted towards you. You winced against the brightness of the fire around him before your eyes widened. He walked around you. 

Barley, now able to see you, walked over and put his hands under your elbows. He helped you stand up on your feet and you grabbed his hand tight. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"I-I don't know." You shook your head. 

He let go of you and walked towards it. You reached for his shoulder and grabbed him, your eyes wide. You shook your head. He held up a hand. 

"It's okay," he said. He smiled. "It looks harmless."

"He's on fire, Barley!" you whispered loudly.

"Cool, right?" he laughed. He got down on his knees and reached his hand out.

"Barley!"

"What?" he asked. He reached out to touch the salamander and jerked his hand back with a shout. "Ow!"

"I told you! He's---" Suddenly, you paused in realization. "He's... he's the fire element."

"He's the what?" 

"He's the fire elemental!" you said again. "From The Enchanted Forest!"

"No way! That is so cool." He looked at him. "Look at how cute he is, too. Hard to believe this little guy just gave me a second-degree burn on my hand. It's too cute."

The salamander trotted around both you and Barley, his wide eyes glancing around. You and Barley laughed at him; his tongue hung from his mouth. 

"He is really cute," you said. 

Barley stood up. As the salamander walked on, he waved you forward. "C'mon, we need to follow him. I bet he'll lead us there!" 

You grabbed the lantern and followed Barley and the salamander. You had to walk fast to keep up with the fast creature. He scurried along the rocky ground and onto the sides of the cave walls. He wasn't hard to see; he was a flash of blue and pink against the darkness.

You laughed with Barley, your fingers locked with his, your feet moving quickly through the cavern that you were going deeper and deeper into. You finally rounded a corner, seeing the salamander launch forward in a burst of magenta flames---

And you stopped. 

"Whoa..."

A smile was plastered on your face. You held your breath.

You saw the forest floor through the mouth of the cave; you saw the floor made of red and orange leaves, and you felt the swell of cool wind as you stepped outside. It rushed up, the leaves catching in your hair and swirling it around your face. 

"The wind spirit," you breathed, turning around. It circled around your arms, raising them up. You turned and looked at Barley, laughing as he held his hat down as the wind surrounded him before disappearing above you. "It's really the wind spirit!"

"Wow," he whispered. 

"I can't believe we made it." You looked at him. 

"I told you we would," he said. "And you got us here."

"Well," you said, glancing down at the small salamander burying himself in the leaves between yours and Barley's feet. "Not just me."

"Come on," Barley said. "We have lots to explore!"

Despite how tired you were from the night of driving straight through, you walked on, your feet shuffling across the leaf covered ground. You wanted to take pictures of what you were seeing, but at the same time, you didn't want to ruin anything, or destroy the moment of perfect peace that you were in. The trees were tall, not covered in a mist --- which made you wonder if the legend was true. Especially since the leaves and trunks of the tree were glossed over with a slick, glittering layer of ice crystals. 

"Hey, look at that," Barley said. He pointed to the left and walked ahead. 

You followed him, straining your neck to look around him as he hopped up on a stone. He moved to the side and grabbed your hand to help you step up carefully. The stone hung over a cliff's edge. Below was a wild, rushing river --- and a family of sleeping giants made of stone.

"Earth giants?" he asked.

"Yeah," you said. "I'm thinking we shouldn't wake those up." 

"I'm thinking I agree with you. But also that it'd be really cool to see them walk around."

"Yeah, until they crush us," you said, looking at him.

Barley nodded thoughtfully. "Eh. It might be worth it."

You rolled your eyes. "Oh, Bar---"

"What! It'd be cool." He jumped off of the stone and onto the ground. 

"Sure it would be," you said. "You'd say that until I get completely---"

The tops of the trees rustled, and you felt the rush of the wind spirit go by again. You closed your eyes and raised your hand in front of your face, blocking the swirl of leaves and twigs that rushed up with it. The wind literally took your breath away, and as it got closer, your foot slipped off the edge of the rock and you felt yourself slipping down. 

You screamed, and Barley turned around, his eyes widening. "___!" He launched forward to grab you, but did it a second too late. He caught nothing but air and fell on his knees, peering down to see you hanging onto the edge, looking at him.

"Barley!" you screamed. "Holy tooth of Zadar --- how did I not die?"

"Hang on!"

"You're lucky I grabbed on, Lightfoot," you said, voice shaking. "Or I would've been killed and you... you would've really regretted taking me here, huh?"

He reached down and you let go to grab onto his hand.

"Don't drop me," you pleaded. 

"I'm not going to drop you," he told you. He started to pull you up. You kicked your legs so that you could get a grip on the stone and crawl the rest of the way up. "I wouldn't ever drop you."

Finally on the surface, you crawled back to the leaves and laid down. You let out a sigh of relief. Your arms and legs were shaking with the adrenaline rushing through your veins.

"That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me," you whispered, your hands pressing against your face. "I mean --- wow. That beats driving last night, I gotta tell you."

"Uh... ___?" 

You looked up at him. He pointed down the cliff, and as you peeked over, you gasped. The Earth Giants were awake, and they knew exactly who had made all of the noise and screamed and disturbed their sleep. 

"Uh-oh." You looked at Barley. They climbed the cliff with ease.

"Greetings!" Barley shouted, forcing his voice lower. "We mean you no harm, Earth Giants! We are simply two teenagers on a quest to see The Enchanted Forest!"

They still climbed, eyes locked on you. 

"Yeah, Bar... I don't think that they care." You grabbed his hand. "Run!"

The two of you turned and broke out into a full out sprint, weaving in between trees and bushes and fallen trunks, zig-zagging your way through them all so that you might lose the giants. But they remained right on your heels, and it wasn't long until you made it to the edge of a hill and skidded to a stop. 

"Do we run down there?" you asked Barley, breathless from the run. 

"I-I don't think we have a choice!" A shadow blocked out the sun, and you glanced up to see that one was about to step on you and crush you. He pushed you down the hill, and at the same time, with a spreading sparkle of ice, the surface beneath you was coated. You slipped all of the way down to the bottom. Barley was right behind you. 

You got up on your feet and looked up. The giants were trying to follow you, but a wall of spiked ice formed between them and the slope of the hill. You watched, eyes wide. Barley grabbed your hand and pulled you along. 

"Come on!" he shouted. "Let's go, let's go!" 

Before you turned to run, you saw the flash of a crystallized horse and a woman on top, right between the trees. The wall of ice grew, and you had to look away to watch where you and Barley were going. 

After a few minutes of running, Barley laughed. "Ha! We lost 'em. We really lost 'em."

"I think the snow spirit saved us," you said. "Did you see that?" 

"No way, I was too busy saving your life!" he said.

You laughed. "I think we can stop running now. Come on, I'm exhausted."

He nodded and, gently pulling on your hand, he turned and pressed himself against the underside of a rock formation. "I think... I think the cave we came in from is up there."

You nodded. Your shoulder was pressed against his. You looked up at him and smiled. Your face was cold, your heart was beating out of your chest, and it was hard to breathe, but you'd never felt more alive.

"Thank you," you said. "This was my favorite quest we've been on."

"Yeah?"

You nodded. "It really was. I'm... I don't know. I'm just happy." 

"I'm glad you're happy," he said. 

"Are you?" you asked, wiping the hair off of your forehead. "Are you happy?"

"Are you kidding? I just went on a quest through The Enchanted Forest with my best friend, saved her life several times, might I add, and met a lizard thing that can burst into flames." His body shook with laughter. "I think I am pretty content."

"You're really not gonna let go of the saving my life thing, huh?" you asked. 

"It's pretty important to me," he said, nodding.

You shook your head at him and squeezed his hand. "Should we go home? I'm sure your mom is getting worried, and I don't think there is cell service in this forest." 

"Yeah, we should get going," he said. "Oh, wait." 

You watched him as he reached up, and from the trunk of a tree that had grown into the side of the cliff, he plucked a small, skinny twig that had two bright red leaves on it. He held it between the two of you. 

"A souvenir for my lady," he said, and he added, "if I may."

You smiled. "You may." 

He pushed the hair behind your ear and tucked the soft twig between your ear and the side of your head. He dropped his hand and showed you a smile that undoubtedly mirrored yours.

A rusting was in the bushes behind him. You gasped and immediately grabbed Barley's sword from him. You turned and swung it, pointing it at whatever was in front of you---

It was the swirl of wind. 

Barley laughed. "Look at this mighty warrior trying to save her knight in distress by slaying the wind."

You turned and gave him a look. "Oh, leave me alone, Lightfoot."

He shook his head. "Come on, let's go home."

/ /

Barley drove the whole way back home. You sat in the passenger seat, your back against the door, your legs tucked up. You were sound asleep in minutes, with one hand holding onto the twig Barley had given you, and the other hand still holding onto his between the two seats.

He knew that something had changed overnight, and that whatever you two were, it was different than just best friends. He knew without a doubt that he cared about you more than a best friend cared about someone, but he would talk to you about that when you weren't snoring at his side. He just held your hand tight.

Both you and Barley knew you wouldn't be letting go of one another's hands anytime soon.

/ / /

4300 words. i can't be stopped. send help i love barley