Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Table of Contents WITH Prologue now!
Chapter 2: Mutterseelenallein
-Summary: A look into Arianna and Frederic when Rapunzel was born...and kidnapped
Chapter 3: Les Dorés (Golden Ones) Part 1- Cassandra's Tale
-Summary: Rather than returning with Rapunzel, the Captain of Corona comes home with...someone else. A brief look into the palace life of Cassandra.
Chapter 4: Les Dorés (Golden Ones) Part 2 - Eugene's Tale
-Summary: A brief look into the palace life of Eugene.
Chapter 5: Ombres et Fumée (Shadows and Smoke)
-Summary: The last criminal-from the first week of crackdown on crime-walks into Frederic's court. The case sets a precedent for many more to come.
Chapter 6: Plus Dans La Vie (More in Life)
-Summary: Arianna has a few talks with Varian; at different stages of his life...and with a different person in his life.
Chapter 7: Nulle Part Ailleurs (Nowhere Else)
-Summary: In the present day, Arianna comes across something-or rather, someone-that will change the way things have been and will be.
...
Varian stands at the entrance, facing the king.
Arianna stands at the entrance, facing the king.
His legs were never meant to walk so fast. They were not set to carry his sagging weight even as his flesh hung from his malnourished form and the frame of his heavy bones. Stumbling, set to continue this pattern that would never be understood, not even by himself. His steps were just…steps. Pointed, cautious, quick steps, meant to be silenced and swallowed by the looming empty chasm crated by the arch above the courtroom.
Her legs were never meant to dance.
They were not set to a routine, not synchronized to a rhythmic beat that could be followed or understood or repeated. Their steps were just…steps. Pointed, cautious, quick steps, not meant to be studied or silenced.
His arms, secured by the hold of two towering soldiers flanking his sides as he steps forward, one by one, so jarring and different to his rhythm, a discordant yet resonant beat pulsating with every heavy echo against the pristine marble floor.
Her arms, secured, holding onto the one who had promised to learn her rhythm, watch her beats, sway along with the melody droning in her ears and weaving wistfully into the prim atmosphere, and she quietly goes along. The harmonious symphonies bouncing off of the walls of the throne room.
Varian watches them as they watch him - no, they had not always watched him, they had no seen him until now, hunkered and humble before their feet, with a simmering glare blustering behind his tightened face.
However much he had discovered, he had heard the king’s silence, witnessed a king be a tyrant.
She watches Frederic as he watches her - no, she had not always watched him, but she had seen of him what she could, for the moments they had spent together.
However little she had known, she would hear a king speak, witness a king become a tyrant.
He can no longer move his arms about as he did before. They are locked, in grey and cold metal, as he clasps his palms together, squeezes them tightly as he intakes a shuddering breath.
She can no longer move her arms about as she did before. They are locked in gold and warm skin, as she clasps her palms with Frederic’s, squeezes them tightly.
His eyes, blue, astute and vivid and intuitive as they find her own, strangely clashing with the blind of the bright room.
His eyes, blue, accusing and vivid and yet strangely interwoven with the dreary fade of the dimmed room.
A stiff, composed advisor stands by the side, silent as needed, dutiful as expected as he holds up and unravels the scroll before him, looking past it as he knows the lines by heart.
“Their Majesties Presiding…King Frederic of Corona and Queen Arianna of Corona!”
In the distant future, a few other pairs of feet join the dance, and a few others their doom.
Varian scowls, lifting his eyes as the judgment begins.
Arianna squints, lifting her eyes as the recount begins.