Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 30: Reversed Roles

"You all cozy? Need a blanket? Pillows? Ruddiger?" Soul asked, holding up the raccoon in front of Varian's face, chittering.

"No, I'm fine. But I'll take Ruddiger, though." He answered as he took the raccoon off the girl's hands. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to baby me."

"Yeah, but the least I can do is to keep you comfortable." The girl said as she took some pillows from her own couch, placing them on the bed Kiera and Catalina claimed, next to the alchemist. The two girls graciously offered their bed to the alchemist for the meantime, until he recovers. "There! Now, you're more cozier."

"You're not gonna stop until I say 'I'm satisfied with my care', huh? "

She grinned at him, "Nope!"

"Well, then. I'm satisfied with my care."

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily. So now, want me to read you a story?" She offered, beaming as she sat next to him with a book in hand.

"...sure." He replied, his cheeks flushing at the closeness of the girl, her voice filling up his thoughts as he listened to her reading.

--

That was a few hours after they left Toru's cave and Stone Underpass. Currently, the group is set to head to Yellowridge Plains, where Sagittarius' temple is located.

"So, the archer's peak is on September 18, which means we have a whole month and a half before the orb appears." Soul mumbled as she looked over her map. Her eyes darted around the map, tapping the tip of her pen on her chin as she thought.

"Hey, Soul. What'cha doing?" Rapunzel questioned, starting a conversation with the girl as she sat next to her.

"Oh! Um, hi, your highness. I was just checking the map. It seems that there's a town in Yellowridge Plains. We can stop there for the time being if we arrive too early. " Soul answered, slightly fidgeting as her cheeks heated up. Even after the five months she's been traveling with the princess, Soul was still not used to having a conversation with her idol.

"That's a great idea! Anyways, I'm curious about something." Rapunzel began as she fully seated herself on the couch, scooting closer to the lavender-haired girl.

"What is it?" Soul asked, putting the map away, and focusing her attention on the princess.

Rapunzel was about to say something when they heard shouting from the people who were once playing at the back of the vehicle.

"You cheated!" Lance yelled, pointing an accusing finger at his adopted daughter.

"Nu-uh! I'm playing clean here. You're just mad you lost to a child." Kiera defended, crossing her arms as she shot a teasing smirk at the burly man.

Varian was about to say something when the black-haired child whispered something in his ear, making the alchemist's eyes go wide in shock as he glared at her.

"What, what did she say?" Lance cautiously asked, his eyes darting back and forth towards his daughter and friend.

"Nothing. And, yeah, Kiera did no such thing. " Varian flatly answered as Kiera smirked victoriously.

"Alright, guys, Varian needs more rest so he can recover faster." Soul instructed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Eh? I want to play more, and besides, I'm feeling great!" Varian smugly stated as he shuffled the deck.

Soul stared at the alchemist with an unamused expression. Carefully, she sneaked up behind him as she poked a certain spot on his back that caused him to yelp both in surprise and pain. "Ow!!! What was that for?" He shouted, glaring at her.