Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 19: Shadows Lurking

The four children were currently facing the wall as to Rapunzel's orders. The brunette didn't want to punish them, but, for the sake of Samuel not knowing what really happened, Rapunzel was forced to give the children punishment for 'going to another place without permission'.

"This sucks." Kiera commented.

"Bear with it, guys. It's only...." Varian glanced at the clock, "30 minutes left." Choruses of groans echoed when the alchemist stated the time left before they are free from their punishment.

"Sucks to be you, kids, right now. Why did you leave the marketplace anyway?" Samuel asked as he passed by the four kids staring at the blank wall.

"We chased a cat." Soul answered, folding her arms on her chest. Varian mentally facepalmed at the girl's poor excuse of a lie.

"Uh-huh." The Aradian man hummed, still looking at the girl suspiciously before turning to the other three. "Anyone wanna try harder?"

"Well, if that's what Soul calls a handsome citizen, then yes. We chased a cat." Kiera replied, giving the older girl a teasing glance, as Soul let out a sharp gasp.

"That's a lie!" She growled, making the girls giggle.

"Don't hide it, Soul. You were so smitten with that man." Catalina teased.

"Oh?" Samuel amusedly looked at the fuming lavender-haired girl as the two younger girls continued to tease her. "Well, if you need help in love, I'm the right guy to ask." He smugly stated as he fixed his collar.

"Yeah, no, I'd rather ask the princess." Soul deadpanned. The older man chuckled as he ruffled the girl's hair before letting out a yawn. "I'll be turning in for the night. You four still have 22 minutes left before you can go to sleep. Goodnight!"

"Good night, Sam!" Eugene greeted as he watched his old friend disappear into his room. Once the coast was clear, Eugene ushered the children to follow him to the living room for them to tell the real story.

"I'm so sorry for making you guys stand and face the wall for an hour." Rapunzel apologized.

"It's fine. It was for the secret's safety, after all." Soul replied, brushing the princess' apology. "We were also at fault that's why the incident happened. "

"So, can you guys tell us what really happened now?" Eugene interrogated, sitting down next to Rapunzel.

"Well, where to start?" Varian trailed off before proceeding to explain what happened.

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"So, the fake Soul turned out to be a shadow of a human-goat hybrid, and it tried to kill you?" Lance exclaimed, shocked at what he heard.

"SSSSSSSHHHHH!" They shushed him.

"Sorry." He squeaked.

"But, yeah. I only realized it wasn't Soul when I looked into its eyes. I noticed its eyes were pink instead of Soul's blue eyes. That's where I noticed something was wrong." Varian clarified, running his fingers through his hair.

"What were those shadows and why was it trying to kill you?" Rapunzel queried, concerned, and conflicted about how to feel about their newfound situation.

"I believe this is my fault again." Soul spoke up, raising her hand. "I only told you guys to bring weapons, but I never fully explained why I told you to bring them. You see, those shadows are Zhan Tiri's henchman, and it looks like Zhan Tiri has already regained a small portion of her powers." She explained with an apologetic look.