Moonflower

Dear diary,

do you have any idea of what dating must feel like?

Well, I absolutely love romance! I've read many, many romance books, and even used to dream about finding my special someone. Do you believe in that? Just a few months in Corona made me realize that it's not hard in such a lovely and happy town, with all sorts of people! I didn't have time to even think about it, of course, since my princess duties always came first on the checklist. Fortunately, a lady-in-waiting was quickly assigned to help me with my endless list, since, well, it's a long list, and I guess I do need help! Dad said it was for the greater good, but I don't get what that means. I never complained, though! It would only mean I'd make a new friend, and I love making friends.

Her name was Cassandra! She wasn't always excited like me - quite the contrary, but that was one of the many things I loved on her, first sight! Grumpy side aside, Cassandra is a kind, empathetic and selfless person, out of many of her other good traits. And what could I ever say about her looks? Just as beautiful as her personality. The pitch black messy short hair with that curl on the middle of her pretty grey-ish green eyes that just seemed right on her. I love her lady-in-waiting outfit – even though that's not saying much, since I like every outfit of hers – but I like it best when she's just with her casual clothes. I can really see how she is outside the castle. Not to mention her royal guard outfit, which was just like the other guards', but, for some reason, it looked prettier on her. 

I'm 100% sure Eugene would deny all those things! They have some sort of beef, you know? I tried fixing it many times before because they're my best friends, but it's harder than it looks, that's for sure! Although, lately, I've been feeling weird. When I'm around her, I have this strange feeling on the stomach. I asked mom about it, fearing it would be something serious, but she said that's called butterflies? I don't get it, though. How can I have butterflies on my stomach? I don't recall eating any. Anyhow, it's not a bad feeling. I feel very, very good when we're together. So I suppose it's a good thing? I need to know what that is. 

Oh! Maybe Eugene knows something about this feeling! Lance told me he has been engaged once, so who knows? He must've felt it!

I think that's it for now. I need to find Eugene!! :D

And with the smiling face drawn, which meant to portray her own smile, Rapunzel closed her journal, knowing what she had to do next. She jumped out of bed, which was unusual for her, since it was earlier than normal. That's because she didn't sleep at all in the night. She's used to being awoken (by Cassandra) at 6 AM strictly, but today she stayed up all night thinking about the lady-in-waiting. She couldn't help but write and doodle about it.

Pascal opened his eyes and, with a squeaky yawn, he stretched his paws and tail. He intended to keep Rapunzel company, but fell asleep mid-way through on a pink pillow, which was next to Rapunzel's own. He had been awoken as he noticed the bed got lighter, which meant his best friend was already up. He looked at her, who had been pacing back and forth with one hand on her chin since she got up from bed. Pascal knew she only did that when she was curious or anxious. He gave her a squeak, which successfully caught her attention and made her stop on her tracks to glare at him. A grin appeared on her face while she walked towards her bed and sat in front of the lizard, caressing his head with her finger. 

"Morning, Pascal! I'm sorry for not waking you up when you fell asleep, you looked so cute all curled up!", she said, as excited as usual. But the chameleon noticed her expression was a bit odd, followed by the light bags below her eyes. He crossed his little arms, which caused a puzzled expression to appear on Rapunzel's face. "What's that face for?", she asked, but quickly realized by the look on his eyes. She sighed as she smiled, reassuringly. "No, I'm not anxious." She answered briefly, but knew that wasn't enough, since he kept staring at her. "...okay, maybe a bit. But I'm mostly curious to know what those 'butterflies' mean!" The blonde stated, making her point. She noticed how her little friend's expression softened and was replaced with a smile.

"Do you have any idea of what this feeling could mean?", she asked, her prior soft and excited expression being replaced with worry. He thought about it for a second, looking around the room they shared. His gaze fell upon her journal, which had been resting on Rapunzel's pillow ever since she stopped writing minutes ago. He stuck out his tongue to grab it, knowing that it would take too long if he walked there, and almost fell out of bed at the dangerous action when the journal met his face (what wouldn't happen, since Rapunzel had her hand behind his tiny body, preventing the tragedy). 

He went through a few pages just to stop at the one that was filled with words, followed by a drawing of Cassandra on the next page. He noticed the faded heart right next to her head and raised an eyebrown with a mocking smile when his gaze shifted to his best friend, who couldn't help but be a bit puzzled at the sight, since she couldn't quite connect his point, which meant to clarify the feeling she felt when she was around the woman. "What about it?"

Pascal's answer was a series of squeaks, while he pointed to Rapunzel, then to the drawing of Cassandra, and, finally, used his front paws to gesture a heart. Unfortunately (for her), the blonde girl understood immediately what he meant. Her cheeks went red with the thought as she scoffed. "W- What? No, that's not it, Pascal! I'm not in love with Cass!", she stuttered, leading both of her hands to straight out her hair on the neck area, even if they were finely brushed out – something she was used to do when she was nervous. He squeaked in annoyance, knowing that she was blocking away an obvious thought.

Perhaps she was seeing things with the wrong eyes. But she wouldn't acknowledge it yet.

"She's my best friend, remember? It couldn't- I'm not- It's just- I- Cass is-", Rapunzel tried to drag words out of her mouth, but was unable to do it, for how flustered she was at that point. Pascal shrugged and climbed her arm, resting on her shoulder. She caressed his head and sighed. "I just need to think things through. I'm heading out to see Eugene now, before Cass gets here and we have to start my day. I think he's going to help me with- Whatever this is that I'm feeling. Don'tcha think?", Rapunzel said, and the chameleon gesticuled a so-so sign on one of his front paws while closing one of his eyes. She chuckled at the sight.

And for a mere coincidence – or, at least, that's what Rapunzel thought, since she knew she should be woken up right now –, as soon as Rapunzel stepped out of her bed, Cassandra opened the door with her lady-in-waiting outfit and a thick scroll on her hand, which meant she had many princess duties for today. And suddently, those so-called butterflies were back. Pascal hid inside the blonde hair, leaving the two be.

"Oh, Cass! Good morning," Rapunzel said in her usual excited manner, noticing the very confused look on the black-haired's face and deciding to trail her off before she could even say anything, since she was in a rush. She needed to get to Eugene.

"You're awake? Well, that's better. We need to start your duties right away or else you'll fall behind on it," Cassandra stated, opening the scroll and letting the bottom edge fall to the ground. It was a long list. Rapunzel sighed at the sight and scratched the back of her neck.

"You see, Cass, I really need to get to Eugene, so if we can start a liiittle later today that would be aweso-"

"Nope, Fitzherbert will only slow you down and we have a lot to do," Cassandra said abruptly, cutting Rapunzel off mid-sentence. 

"I know, I know, but it's like, super early and I'm sure it will only take a few minutes, we won't even notice that we started my duties a teeny bit later than usual!" She interfered on Cassandra's statement, causing her to cross her arms and raise an eyebrown. Soon, her mouth curled up into a smile. 

"Alright, then. But be here in ten, max. We really got a handful of-" This time, it was Cassandra who was suddently cut off by a hug coming from the blonde. As usual, she didn't hug back, but Rapunzel knew she had been smiling through it. When she let her go, she held into her shoulders and looked right into her eyes, just to notice that their faces were closer than she expected. Cassandra took a step back and turned her face away. She felt those 'butterflies' doing their thing once again and she smiled awkwardly, shifting her gaze from the other woman in the room to the door.

"I better get going then! Ten it is," She finished, waving goodbye to a very flustered Cassandra. She found that cute and was going to point that out, but figured she didn't have time for that, knowing she had only ten minutes. It should be enough, anyway!, she thought while heading to her best friend's room.

---------☀️---🌑---------

"Eugene!" Rapunzel slammed the door open with an accidental brutality, waking Eugene up instantly. "Oops, sorry!" 

"Huh? Blondie? What's going on? Did the frog run away again?", he procceeded to ask, sitting up on his bed sleepily. He barely could sit up as the tiredness dragged him back to the bed like a magnet.

"No, Pascal is fine," she answered, and the subject quickly showed up from her hair with a squeak. She sat at the bottom of the bed and led her knees close to her chest, using them to lay her head. Eugene must have noticed the unusual look she had on her face, because the next thing he did was groggily drag himself towards Rapunzel and sit next to her. He shook his head, wanting the sleep to be gone just for this conversation, because it seemed important.

"What happened?" 

"It's just- I need your thoughts on something," she started, catching Eugene's attention almost immediately. "I've been feeling... Weird, to say the least, when I'm around Cass." She turned around to face her best friend, who had a puzzled expression on his face. "It's something in my stomach, it kinda hurts? But it's not unpleasant, it's good! It's a warm feeling. A-And it's not just that! Now, when we hug, I often feel my face warming up and my heart beating faster. It's becoming more frequent, andIhave noideaofwhatitcouldbe," she finished, speaking gradually faster and brought her hands to her eyes. 

Eugene stared at her for a couple of seconds, just for a smirk to appear on his face – which, thankfully, Rapunzel couldn't see, since her eyes were blocked. "I might have a strong opinion about that." 

Her hands left her eyes to stare back at him. "What do you mean?" 

"You're in love, sunshine!", he said, but Rapunzel's expression wasn't what he expected. She looked worried and with her mind full, as if she can't stop thinking since the time she opened the door. She even took a long time to answer, shifting her gaze away from him. "To be honest, I would be concerned too. Like, how can you be in love with someone like the Ice Queen herself? Someone as cold and as mean and as- Oh, yeah, okay, I should stop, got it," he said, noticing the death glare she gave him when he started to talk trash about Cassandra. 

"Don't get me wrong, Eugene. Cass is perfect. Everything about her is," she sighed, looking away once again. "but do you really think it's love? I mean, we are pretty close, but we're best friends, and as best friends, this feeling should be normal, right?" 

"Do you feel that way when you're around me?", he raised an eyebrown.

"...no." She shook her head and smiled, which made Eugene smile as well. Seeing her that worried was almost making him sick. "You know what? You're right! Maybe I do love her! Oh, but that's kinda scary. I've never loved someone before. Not like this, at least. What if she doesn't feel the same?"

"Blondie, Cass is mean to everyone – and I mean it, everyone, but you. That gotta mean something!", he exclaimed with a grin, making Rapunzel smile as well. "I still won't be able to understand how you fell for her, but eh, who am I to judge? I got engaged to a crazy thief once!" She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, who did the same.

"Thanks, Eugene, really. You're the best of friends," she said, but was interrupted by the lizard that rested on her shoulder, who gave her a disapproving look. "after Pascal, of course."

---------☀️---🌑---------

Rapunzel rushed like never before back to her room. She didn't notice how quickly time had passed, and now it's 6:30 AM. She was 20 minutes late, and she knew Cassandra would scold her for it. She promised 10 minutes, after all. 

She opened the door of her room faster than usual and ran inside. "I'm so, so sorry, Cass! Me and Eugene were talking and I lost track on time and- Cass?", she started speaking in a rush, but was surprised when she didn't find Cassandra there. She looked around, but still couldn't see her. Pascal noticed it too, and climbed down her arm to her hand, which Rapunzel lifted up to her face so she could talk to him. "That's weird. She would be here, waiting. Well, we can start the day by ourselves! Can you help with my hair? Gotta say, it's a tough job.", she said, and the lizard nodded with a squeak and a thumbs up.

After changing and brushing her hair, she was ready to start the day. The brushing part took a lot more time than it should, since Pascal was in charge of brushing half of her hair, while Rapunzel brushed the other. She finished braiding her hair like she usually does and placed a white flower followed by four little ones below on her bang. She smiled to her reflection in the mirror and, as she did that, her gaze shifted to a small doodle of her and Cassandra. She grabbed the paper and stared at it, feeling her cheeks getting warmer as her grin grew wide.

She was startled on the next couple of seconds, when she heard her bedroom door being open. With a gasp, she almost fell out of the chair in front of the dressing table and stood up, putting the paper back in it's place. Cassandra stood in front of the door, but not for long, as she approached Rapunzel in a fast pace.

"Rapunzel! I went to Fitzherbert's room, but you weren't there, then I looked for you everywhere, and I started to worry! If only that jerk had told me you were going back to your room...", she snapped, only to stop in front of the princess, who looked flustered. "Are you okay? Your cheeks are pink, do you have a fever?", she asked, placing the back of her hand on the blonde's forehead.

"Oh, don't worry! It's nothing. I'm just... Hot! I need fresh air," she reassured, shaking her head and walking towards the window. Cassandra followed her.

"Do you have any idea of how late we are? We'll have to rush everything if we want to finish these duties on time! You'll have to double the effort," she scolded, giving the scroll to Rapunzel, who accepted it with a smile. 

"I'm sure we can do it! First thing is... 'Meeting with the seven kingdoms at 7:30 AM – IMPORTANT'. It must be really important, because it's bolded on top of the list!"

"...Raps, you're 10 minutes late."

"WHAT?", she screeched, shoving the scroll back to Cassandra, getting up from where she was sitting and running to the door, but not before making an abrupt quick stop. "Wait, where is it again?"

"It's happening on the throne room," she chuckled.

"Alright! Thank you, I'll uh, be right back!", she added before running off to the room where she had to be 10 minutes before.

Rapunzel only left the throne room 3 hours and a half later, looking bored like she just watched paint dry. Considering the situation, even watching paint dry would be more fun. She loved hearing more about the seven kingdoms at first, but then, she had to deal with business and royal matters that didn't interest her in any way. Her mind was preoccupied with a certain black-haired girl the whole time who just happened to be waiting for her outside the door. 

"Fun gathering, I see?", Cassandra mocked, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. 

"You have no idea," she sighed, grinning after a few seconds, since she could never keep a straight face for a long amout of time. She noticed when Cassandra grabbed the scroll on her pocket. "so, next task? I hope it's something fun..."

"It says here you have... Oh, another meeting! This time, with your subjects. I heard it was highly requested, and they want your opinions on some matters," she said, smirking when she read the word 'meeting'. Rapunzel slid her hands down her face with a grunt and recomposed herself with a somewhat forced smile.

"Alright, sure, yeah, it's fine! Another hours-long meeting where I'll actually have to pay attention and give opinions! What wouldn't I do for my people, right?", she remarked, walking away with her hands on her waist. As she walked, she sighed, but grinned instantly as she noticed her new squeaky company. 

"Pascal! Sorry for having to leave you behind, it seems like I can't bring animals into royal meetings. What a dud, right?". He squeaked in response, laying on her shoulder and closing his eyes dramatically. She chuckled at the adorable sight. "Alright, pal, I guess you must be tired from waking up too soon. I could leave you with Eugene, if you want. I'm guessing he's back to sleeping," she added, but he gave a negative squeak. As usual, he hid inside her hair and curled up to take a nap. "Oookay, but things might get noisy! You've been warned, little bud."

---------☀️---🌑---------

The day was almost ending when Rapunzel opened her bedroom door with a long sigh. She walked to her room with Eugene, who she had been talking to since they bumped into eachother on the kitchen, where Rapunzel tried to escape everything her long day had to offer. Finally, she was done with all her duties. She didn't have a minute to herself nor to think, other than the time she was up, sleepless. Now, she pays the price for it, as she's way more tired than she should be. She dragged herself through the room and threw herself on her bed.

"Sunshine, you gotta get your mind straight on this. You plan on asking her out or something?", Eugene asked, sitting next to her.

"I don't know, Eugene! I didn't get to think about- Anything, really. Today was a heck of a day." She let her hair go and threw it to the bottom side of the bed as she laid on the top. 

"Usually, you ain't that tired at the end of the day. Did you get any sleep last night?", he inquired, raising an eyebrown as he stared at the blonde woman in front of him.

"Of course I- No, I didn't. I couldn't.", she muttered, shaking her head slightly while closing her eyes with her forearm on top of it. She felt a big hand on hers, which conforted her. She took her arm away from her eyes and sat up, smiling to her best friend.

"It's okay, blondie. I've been through this before, I can help you! Maybe not exactly your situation, 'cuz I've never been in love for long until I broke up, but still, you get the point," he assured, nodding slightly. Somehow, it made Rapunzel feel better. She threw her arms in his direction and gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks, Eugene. I'm sure I can count on you for everything. What would I ever be without you?", she chimed, grinning.

"I'm flattered," he smiled, pulling away from the long hug and standing up. "I'll leave you to it, then. I need my beauty sleep, after all. All of this is hard earned, you know?", he spoke while pointing to many areas of his face. "And you get some rest, too. A good night's sleep always solves everything," he added, making his way to the door and stopping at the entrance.

"I guess you're right. Good night, Eugene." 

"Sleep tight, sunshine."

And with that, it took less than a minute for the princess to fall into a deep slumber.