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4. TheRoyalStaff.exe has stopped working

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There was an uncomfortable silence. Everyone stared at you like you were completely insane. (which you couldn't really argue with.) And you just stood there, as if the 3 terms were totally normal when offering a: Hey-let's-forget-we're-enemies-and-save-the-world-together deal.

All four of them stood there, with wide eyes and their mouth hanging open, processing what you had just said. Come on, was it really that bad? The first term wasn't even that hard to fulfill. The castle had plenty of rooms, you could easily just borrow on of them. And the food and clothes were just a nice little touch.

Then there was the one with not being guarded, when you were out on a mission (the third term being, that this mission would be with Varian). But come on, what did they expect? The first step to saving the world from Argo's evil plans was to get to his layer - of course, you hadn't told Rapunzel that yet, but would she really think that the plan would work out if you had five guards following you?

Let me give you a hint: No. The key to all of your work was to not be seen. Having guards follow you around all the time would make that slightly difficult.

You could understand that they were a little bit skeptical about the third one, though. They needed to trust you in order to entrust you with their little, sweet, valuable engineer. And of course, you were going to work on that. But it had to be Varian. It simply had to be, due to a promise you had made ages ago...

You had just begun, humming your favorite song, when they regained their ability to talk.

"Wait, me?" - Varian pointed to himself, not believing what he had just heard. His dark brows were furrowed in confusion.

"WHAT!?" - Eugene yelled.

"Me?!"

"HOW ABOUT NO!" Lance shouted, making some very entertaining hand movements.

"ME?!" - Varian yelled again bewildered.

"I'm afraid we will not accept those terms!" Rapunzel replied firmly.

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME-"

"Under NO circumstances will we allow that!" Eugene yelled, agreeing with the others. "You're not going to be alone with him! Or anyone else for that matter! You are going to be guarded 24/7, and you are not coming out of that cell of yours, EVER again!"

Rapunzel put a hand on Eugene's shoulder, with an anxious expression. "That last statement was an overreaction, but he's right, (Y/n). We can't accept those terms." The Queen made a hand movement, signaling for the guards to take you out of the room.

You felt them grab each of your arms, as they began dragging you (who was rather comfy) towards the door. You had expected they would react like this. You couldn't blame them for not trusting a villain. But they would soon.

"You can't do this without me, Rapunzel. It's more than necessary to have a man on the inside. I know things that you don't." You assured them, with your most convincing voice. Not because you were desperate, but because you simply were impatient.

"Tomorrow morning." You spoke loudly, getting further and further away from the four, who looked suspiciously at you. "It's a really nice crown you got there. If I were you, I'd keep it close for the next 24 hours."

"BYE, (Y/n)!" Eugene and Lance yelled in unison.

"You need me!" You repeated, shouting back, now being out of the throne room. "Come visit me, when you realize that!"

The doors were shut.

You chuckled darkly, looking at your good buds', Pete and Stan. "Soo, guys? The jewelry room, or what?"

-With Rapunzel-

She and the three males just stood in silence, eying the closed door where (Y/n) had been just a moment ago. None of them could believe what had just happened. Two hours ago, her and Eugene were just planning the upcoming Love Festival in Corona, enjoying the peaceful day. Varian and Lance had even worked on a new invention. But then all of this happened. (Y/n) (L/n), a highly wanted criminal, had just shown up out of nowhere, warning her about the end of the world. She really needed to process this.

She looked at Varian directly in his eyes, putting a hand on each of his shoulders. "Varian... You have to be completely honest here. Do you know (Y/n)?"

"What?" Varian glipped his eyes, running a hand through his dark hair. "N-No, I don't. We've never met before, I swear!"

His lost expression told Rapunzel that he was as confused as she was. Apparently her boyfriend wasn't as easy to convince.

"THEN WHY, Varian, did she so specifically mention you.?" Eugene crossed his arms, raising his brows at the boy.

"I don't know!" His gaze shifted between the three of them. "Guys please, I'm as confused as you are! you have to believe me!"

Lance put his hands on his sides. "We do kid, it's just... Really strange."

Eugene sighed. "Well, she is known for being unpredictable. She probably just wants to mess with us. And get us to agree with her terms. As if."

"But maybe..." Rapunzel's head was a mess right now. She had a really hard time putting two and two together. "Maybe we should? She said that we're in danger, that the world is in danger. And Varian heard about Argo's plans too. What if she's speaking the truth, and she's actually trying to help us? If we can stop Argo from doing... Whatever he's planning, then we should. For Corona's safety."

Lance slowly shook his head. "No, I agree with Eugene on this one. There must be something behind this. She wants us to grant her a room, to be unguarded, and to work alone with Varian, for some unknown reason."

Everyone thought about what (Y/n) secrete plans were, when Lance gasped loudly. "OH MY GOD, VARIAN, SHE'S INTO YOU!!"

Varian nearly lost his balance. "Pardon me, she's what?"

Lance shrugged teasingly. "That's the only thing that would explain why she wants to only work with you! HA! Point Lance!"

Varian's cheeks had grown red. "What, no, Lance! She's a criminal!"

Lance stopped. "Yeah, you're right. I don't approve."

"Criminals can fall in love too, you know." Eugene laughed, winking at Rapunzel. Then he turned serious again. "But I don't think that's the case here. We need to take this very seriously, guys. We have just received a huge warning... BY A CRIMINAL!"

"Yeah, and I was just getting used to a peaceful life. After all that with Cassandra and Zhan Tiri, I just need a BREAK. WHY can't life be normal!?" Lance cried out, and the two males started discussing the world's unfairness.

Rapunzel had many things to say in that discussion, but she kept quiet, placing her hair on her chin. Something kept nagging her. (Y/n)'s words, right before the guards dragged her away.

"Tomorrow morning. It's a really nice crown you got there. If I were you, I'd keep it close for the next 24 hours."

What did she mean by that? What would happen tomorrow morning? And why would she want to keep her crown close the next 24 hours? Would someone attempt to steal it, again? Would she try to steal it? Or was it another warning? Was it about Argo?

She shook her head, letting it go. She couldn't keep track of anything at the moment

"Why don't we just wait a little. To, you know, think things through - and hopefully, she'll do the same." Varian suggested. "Then we can talk with her again, this time without any guards, and make her tell us Argo's plan. It's hard deciding what to do, when we don't even know what Argo's plans are."

Rapunzel stared at Varian in amazement for a few seconds. Sometimes she completely forgot how clever and well-prevailing he was for his age.

"And then maybe she tells me about her lighter afterward," Varian added under his breath.

Rapunzel glipped her eyes. "What was that?". But Varian just let out a goofy chuckle, muttering; Oh, nothing!

"That is a very good Idea kid, but I think she made it very clear, that she wouldn't say anything further about Argo's plans unless we agreed on her terms, that sneaky little-" Eugene begun, but Rapunzel interrupted him.

"I agree with Varian." She clapped her hands, smiling. " We need some time to think, so we can reflect on this properly and make the right decision. Varian, I understand if you think this is too much. I'm sure you can stay at Xavier's or-"

"Nu-uh! This is my kingdom too! And I'm officially a member of the royal staff, remember? I'm staying." Varian crossed his arms.

The brunette sighed but smiled. She was glad Varian felt that way. They needed him. "Okay. I'm heading out for a walk to think. We'll meet for dinner, okay?"

Eugene nodded, kissing her on the lips. "I'm going down to talk with the guards. I am the captain after all, and it's my duty to make sure (Y/n) doesn't escape. Se you later, sunshine."

Eugene made a fist-bomb with Lance, and Rapunzel gave Varian a squeeze on the shoulder, before leaving the two males alone.

Varian sighed, closing his eyes. "What a day, huh?" He turned around, to see Lance was already heading over to the two's working table, where they had been working on an invention. "So Lance, do you want to keep working on- NO, DON'T TOUCH THAT-"

KA-BOOM.

Don't worry guys, the story will get more exciting soon! ):

The action is coming, I PROMISE!