Prologue
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
They only hesitated for a moment before Rapunzel flung herself at Eugene, kissing him.
The entire room burst into applause. The princess now had her prince, and it was time for the festivities to begin.
Cassandra, who was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the century (or, at least within Corona), clapped politely and smiled. Her best friend was now married to the love of her life, a man whom Cassandra despised.
But Cass knew how much Eugene meant to Rapunzel, so she tried not to bring it up.
After all, she wouldn't like it if her best friend judged her choices, so why should she?
-----
In the meanwhile, a young man stood opposite of Cassandra.
The young man, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, had jet-black hair and wide, blue eyes. He clapped and whistled in earnest, excited to see two of his closest friends-- one of whom was the other half of "Team Awesome"-- at the happiest point in their lives.
This young man was Varian, a boy who Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra had met three years ago, when he was fifteen. The young alchemist and science nerd was genuinely excited for his friends.
After all, their happily-ever-after was finally unfolding, and it was so exciting to see and witness his first friends getting what they deserved- and wanted.
His happily-ever-after had yet to come, but he was not about to lose hope. Not yet.
-----
After the ceremony, the newlyweds and their throng of wedding guests gathered inside the castle's ballroom to celebrate with food, dancing, and socializing.
Varian spotted a familiar face across the room and made his way towards it. Towards her.
Cassandra sighed as she saw Varian dodging people to get to her. She ducked her head and turned away, but there was nothing she could do, nothing that could stop him from heading her way.
"Hey, Cassie," he said once he got close enough, "how have you been lately?"
She sighed again, rolling her eyes and turning around to face him.
"I've actually been good, Varian. How about you?"
"I've been great," he replied, "things have finally started to get interesting for me... I just got my first job!"
"Oh?" she asked, hoping to keep him on that track, "and what job might that be?"
What he said next shocked her so much, she dropped her glass. It shattered into a million little fragments, almost symbolic of how she felt at his news.
"I'm officially the royal alchemist."
Chapter One
"Oh... Oh, no!"
Varian dropped right to the floor to scoop up as much glass as he possibly could. Pulling on his heavy lab gloves, he picked up handfuls of what remained of Cassandra's glass cup and threw them into the wastebasket, immediately going back for more.
Cassandra leaned down to help him-- after all, it was her mess, not his. But there he was, cleaning it up for her.
"Here, let me help..." she said softly, reaching to grab some, too.
