Ivory sat atop a pole watching Cassandra as she hung a sign up. At the moment, the shapeshifter had taken the form of a wolf, balancing her paws on the flat top of the pole beside her friend as Cassandra tied a rope to keep a large sign up.

"I don't see why the lady-in-waiting has to help set up for this thing." Cass grumbled, making the wolf shoot her a sympathetic glance, her white fur gleaming in the sunlight.

As two guards walked beneath the sign towards their post, Cass looked down at them, a look of envy and sadness in her eyes. Ivory let out a whimper to her friend, who gave her a small smile before returning to the task at hand. "Dumb science expo's for dorks, anyway." Cass frowned, sighed heavily as she struggled to knot the rope around the pole.

Ivory's ear flicked at the sound of a squeaky wheel, and she froze when a familiar voice piped up. "Who's ready for the expo?" The person shouted, excitement in his tone. Ivory gulped slightly, her orange gaze turning to the young teen on the ground below her. Cass groaned and rolled her eyes at the sight of Varian next to something hidden under a tarp.

"Hey Cassie! Hey, you wanna see my new invention? Rumor has it, it is a shoo-in for the first prize in the contest." Varian grinned, running his hands over the hidden invention. Varian glanced back and forth for a moment before placing the back of his hand next to his mouth, "I started the rumor." He revealed, a small smile on his face. Ivory's eyes swirled in amber at the adorable antics of the young teen.

"Oh. Hey, Varian. First off, it's Cass, not Cassie. Secondly, I'm slammed, so--" Varian interrupted her, his light blue eyes catching sight of the white wolf attempting to hide behind Cassandra. "H-Hi, Ivory!" Varian stuttered, a blush rising to his cheeks. "H-Hey, Ivory. Did I tell you my invention can create an entirely new element?" Varian asked, leaning in his cart, his hand pressed against his cheek as he gazed up at the wolf with puppy-dog eyes. "I call it--" Before the teen could finish, a guard walked in front of him, yelling up to Cass, "Cassandra, I thought you should know, the Captain is short on guards for the expo. This could be your big chance!" The man grinned.

Ivory watched as Cass grinned and slid down the ladder, grabbing the guard by his arm and rushing off, excited. As the shapeshifter balanced her paws on the top of the pole, her ears flicked at the sound of the rope sliding off the metal. With a gasp, she dove for it, grabbing the rope with her teeth, but falling from the pole in the process. She held onto the top of the pole with her front two paws, growling as her back paws swung wildly in the air as she panicked.

Varian's light blue eyes widened as he turned his gaze to the flailing wolf. Without another thought, the teen rushed up the ladder, grabbing the rope from Ivory's maw, and tying it around the pole. Catching her breath, Ivory sent a thankful glance to Varian, who looked at her with a grin on his face.

Just as Ivory was about to greet the alchemist, a guard called out from below them. "Ivory! The Captain needs you!" The wolf let her ears fall against her head as her eyes shifted to brown from annoyance. Turning to Varian, Ivory gently nudged his cheek with her nose, before hopping off the pole and running to the Captain.

Varian watched the girl go, a small frown on his face.

"Cassandra! Lookin' good!" The voice of the princess made Varian look down the ladder to see Rapunzel wearing some strange helmet as she ran up to him, Eugene in tow. "You should see some of the inventions on display! Look at these crazy goggles!" Rapunzel grinned, adjusting the sight of the helmet to better focus on the form of her friend. "Oh. Hi Varian!" She giggled, laughing at her mistake.

Rapunzel took off the helmet to better see the young boy, smiling greatly at the sight of him. "I haven't seen you in awhile." Varian grinned, sliding down from the ladder and walking over to the couple. "Please! I wouldn't miss the chance to promote the merits of alchemy. And wait until you see my invention. I think, uh, everyone at the expo will be impressed." Varian chuckled, his gaze darting back to where his friend had recently run off to. "Ivory's gonna be here, right?" He asked, biting his lip and blushing lightly, before he froze and backed away, waving his hands in the air. "N-Not that I'm doing this for Ivory." He stuttered, chuckling nervously into his glove. "But, yes, she's gonna be there, right?"

Rapunzel and Eugene shared a glance as the teen looked at them in question.

*****

In a flash of white light, Ivory shifted into her normal form and pushed open the door to the guard's office. Walking in, the young teen furrowed her brows at the sight of Cassandra and her father talking amongst themselves.

"You called?" Ivory asked slowly, closing the door behind her. The Captain and Cass both turned to face the shapeshifter, a large grin on the latter's face. "Ah. Ivory. Perfect timing." The Captain states, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I need more guards for the expo. So, Cass here is going on guard duty." Ivory's ears perked up and she smiled at her friend, her golden eyes shimmering. "That's great, Cass!" She cheered, clasping her hands with a laugh. "But..." Ivory's ears swiveled around at the sound of the Captain's voice once again. "I need you to do the job of lady-in-waiting today while she helps us out." Ivory's bright yellow eyes widen in shock before looking down at the ground, nodding slightly.

With a 'thank you' from the Captain and Cass, Ivory grabbed the chore list and made her way to the area of the kingdom where they had set up all the tables for the expo. "First thing's first." The shapeshifter started, looking down at the list. "Setting up the tables?" She read off, raising her brow before grabbing the iron from the table beside her and getting to work.

Ivory bounced between each table, ironing the tablecloth to perfection, before making sure the flowers looked amazing. Just as she began to pour grape juice into the cups on each of the tables, a voice sounded from behind her, making her ears perk up.

"There you are, Ivory!" Varian's voice made Ivory turn around to face her friend, only to find him leaning against one of the tables. "We, uh, we didn't finish our conversation from earlier." He chuckled, a small smile on his face. "I suppose not." Ivory hummed, giving a smile to the boy before returning to fixing up the table. "I, um, I'm getting ready for the expo, and I think you'll be pretty impressed with my invention, yeah." Varian smirked, rocking back and forth on his heels. Ivory giggled at his behavior, her amber eyes watching him from the corner of her vision. "Your inventions are always impressive, Varian."

Varian blushed at her words, twiddling his thumbs as he clasped his hands behind his back. "The only thing is, when I present it to Master Dr. St. Croix, it's gonna take two people to operate it." The alchemist revealed, watching as one of Ivory's ears turned to face him, yet she continued on her duty of fixing up the table.

"Hey! Wanna be the assistant for my demonstration?" Varian asked, bouncing in place. Ivory looked up at the teen in alarm as she poured a glass of juice. "A-Assistant? What? Assis-- N-- No. Look." She started, her ears flopping against the side of her head as she tipped the pitcher of juice once again, this time, making the juice overflow onto the tablecloth. With a gasp, Ivory put down the pitcher and walked away to another table a few feet away to grab a rag. "I can't catch a break today." She whimpered, looking for the small white rag.

Varian glanced at the girl worriedly, before he walked over to the table and pulled out a test tube, pouring a solid substance on the stain before grabbing the flowers and letting a drop of water fall onto the cloth, making the stain completely disappear. "Varian, thanks for stopping by, but I wha--?" Ivory's jaw dropped, her pink eyes staring in confusion at the clean tablecloth. "The stain. It's gone! But how?" She muttered, making the teen beside her smirk.

"Oh, simple. Grapes are acidic, by combining the alkalinity from the flowers' barley grass with rock salt, I was able to stop the stain's adhesion. Alchemy!" Varian said simply, placing the fingers of his right hand on his chest as he gave a smug look to the shapeshifter.

Ivory smiled fondly at the teen, her amber gaze shining as she chuckled softly. "You know, you really have a knack or this, don't you?" She asked, pouring juice into the other cup before walking off to another table. Varian smiled, following after her like a lost puppy.

"H-Hey. What if I helped you with your chores, and in return, you be my assistant?" Varian's proposal made Ivory's heart jump into her throat, but she gave him a sad look. "Varian, you don't have to do this, it isn't your job. You should be setting up your invention for the judge." She said, pulling a tablecloth out straight. The alchemist frowned slightly. "But..." He started, looking at the chore list that Ivory was holding with her tail as she walked from table to table. "This isn't your job either." He said, plucking the list from her tail and reading it. Ivory's ears perked up and she spun around to face the boy. "I know it isn't but--" Varian interrupted her before she could continue. "Why are you doing Cassandra's job?" He asked, frowning.

Ivory shook her head, and gently pulled the list from the alchemist before brushing off his question. "Varian, nothing would make me happier than to be your assistant when you show off you amazing invention--"

"Great! What's the first thing on the list?" Varian grinned.

"But. I don't know a thing about alchemy. I don't want it to turn out like what happened last time I saw you." She reminisced, grimacing at the memory of accidentally destroying the village.

"Hey." Varian said softly, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders as her blue eyes looked down towards the ground. "That wasn't your fault." He said soothingly, gently brushing her white hair from her face. "Besides, you won't even have to be near the machine, alright? All you have to do, is a couple things for the presentation, okay?" He tried, his light blue eyes staring down at the girl softly.

Ivory let out a soft sigh, before relenting and smiling up at her friend. "Alright. I'll be your assistant." Varian grinned widely at her words, and moved to grab the list from the girl, only to frown when she pulled it away.

"But." She started, catching the boy's attention. "I can finish the chores by myself. You need to go and set up for the expo." She said, her terracotta eyes shining in determination. "But--" Varian tried, only to silence when Ivory raised her hand to quiet him. "No buts. Promise me that you won't help me with my chores." She stipulated, her arms crossed. Varian sighed in defeat, his shoulders slumping. "Alright. I promise I won't help you with your chores." He said, his eyes looking down at the ground between them. Ivory gently patted his arm with a thankful smile before she walked away to polish silverware.

As she left, Varian smirked, his light blue eyes filled with mischief.

*****

A large pile of silverware was laying in front of Ivory on a table. She grabbed a handful of them and spread them out along the tablecloth before she began to rub them each until they shined beautifully. After finishing the few she grabbed, she reached over to grab some more, only to find nothing there. Blinking in confusion, the teen looked over to see all the silverware was pushed a bit further down, and that they were all sparkling after having been just polished. Her gray eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she didn't notice a head of black hair with brown and blue highlights duck behind a pillar.

*****

Ivory sighed softly as she looked down at the muddy hallway of the castle. Shrugging her shoulders, she picked up the mop from beside her and began to wash away the mess.

Her ears perked up as she heard what seemed to be the sound of marbles rolling on the ground, before a large gust of wind blew against her back. Standing up straight, she whipped around just in time to see a boot turn the corner down the hall.

The shapeshifter's eyes widened as she saw the entire hallway was sparkling clean. Upon feeling a small thump against her boot, Ivory glanced down to see a small blue ball sitting there innocently. Her gray eyes once again narrowed in suspicion as she bent down and gently picked the ball up, making a mental note to return it to its rightful owner.

*****

Ivory's ears flopped against her head as she saw that some of the vases of flowers that had been set on each of the tables were dead. Going up to one bouquet, Ivory glanced back and forth to make sure the coast was clear, before taking in a deep breath and slowly breathing out, letting her frosty breath coat the flowers. With a small grin, she watched as the flowers magically came back to life.

As she turned to do the same thing to the other dead flowers, her eyes widened when she saw all the flowers were alive once again.

*****

Ivory was holding a small white cloth as she polished the hundreds of paintings lining the halls. She flapped her wings, keeping herself in the air to get to the ones higher up, while she used her tail at the same time, to get to the ones below her.

Turning the corner into one of the many hallways, Ivory's eyes widened at the sight before her, before narrowing into an emerald glare, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Well, well, well." She tsked, watching as Varian stiffened at his spot on the ladder, the hand that was dusting the picture freezing in place. "What do we have here?" She asked, her arms crossed as she gently flapped her wings to keep herself in the air, directly behind the alchemist.

"I thought you promised not to help me do my chores." Ivory asked, frowning as she watched Varian climb down the ladder. She quickly landed beside him as she looked up at him, her blue eyes looking at him sadly. "I-I did promise not to do your chores-- And I haven't!" The alchemist said hurriedly, before she could interrupt him. Ivory's pink eyes glimmered in confusion as she tilted her head, her ears flopping to the side. "Your chores are as follows: Watch over the princess, and the throne. So, I'm not helping you do your chores, I'm helping you do Cass' chores." Varian grinned, crossing his arms over his puffed out chest.

Ivory rolled her gray-blue eyes in amusement. "Alright, Mr. Alchemist. You found a loophole." She chuckled, watching as Varian's grin got wider. "But, the expo is about to start. I just have one more chore to do. So, go set up, I'll meet you down there, alright?" She smiled, watching as Varian's shoulders dropped a bit, before he began to walk away, looking down steadily.

"Oh! And Varian?" Ivory called, making the teen stop in his tracks as she walked up beside him. He looked down at her, curiosity shining in his light blue eyes as she softly smiled up at him.

"Thanks for your help." She said softly, quickly leaning up and kissing him on his freckled cheek, before rushing down the hall to complete her last chore, leaving behind a beet-red alchemist staring wide-eyed ahead of him.

*****

Ivory wiped her brow, letting out a sigh as she did. "All done." She grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. The shapeshifter glanced out to window to see the stage set for the expo, one of the inventors was currently presenting his invention. Squinting her eyes, Ivory could see Varian behind the curtain, pacing nervously and biting his lip. His head shot up as the man on stage shouted something, and the alchemist gave one last glance around before wheeling his cart up to the stage, a sad look on his face.

"Oh no." Ivory whispered.

*****

Varian peeked out from the curtain, staring at the judge as the man waited for the young teen to show off his invention. His shoulders slumped when he realized Ivory was a no-show. Taking a deep breath, Varian stepped out from the curtain and stared down the audience.

"Behold!" He started, raising his voice to enrapture the crowd. "The power of alchemy!" the scientist shouted, holding out his hands towards the curtain.

Before Varian could continue, A great flurry of white slammed into the stage, rocking the ground with the sound of it's impact. The audience gasped, staring at the newcomer who stood proudly next to the alchemist, a large grin on her face. "Behold, the power of Varian, expert in all things alchemy!" Ivory's voice boomed throughout the audience, catching their attention.

The alchemist stared at the shapeshifter in disbelief. He didn't think she'd make it. But, here she was, standing before him wearing a coat and a headband to cover her ears and wings.

With a wink to her friend, Ivory pulled back the curtain slowly, allowing the audience to see the small contraption Varian had created. "I give you, the Elemental Remogrifier." The alchemist grinned, watching as the crowd gasped and awed at the machine. He gave a small bow as the judge looked at him, slightly impressed.

"Assistant." Varian smiled, gazing fondly at the white haired teen. With a giggle, Ivory grabbed a bag of sand from beside her and poured it into the canon-like structure of the Remogrifier. Varian stepped up beside her and put his hands on the valve, whispering to himself. "Here we go."

Pushing the lever, Varian's heart began to race as the invention spun around speedily, emitting a loud noise as it did so. "The rotation causes friction, which heats the sand while the counter-centrifugal force promotes particle compression. The end result? Fifty pounds of sand turns into..." Varian paused for effect after turning off the machine, reaching his hand into the large opening to grab whatever the sand had become. "This." The scientist said, pulling out a small, purple gemstone from the base of the invention. As the crowd exclaimed, Ivory gave a bow, closing her eyes as she did so.

Varian smiles softly and walks over to the young teen, pulling out a small, silver chain from the pocket of his apron. "I call this new element..." He started, attaching the glimmering purple gem to the chain before lifting it over the shapeshifter's head. "Ivondrium." He revealed, placing the necklace holding the gem on Ivory's neck. The shapeshifter's eyes widened as she stood up, looking to her friend in shock. Varian merely grinned as he took her hand and pulled her into another bow as the crowd applauded.

Suddenly, a ruckus from backstage caused a goat to flip out and kick another contestant in the side, making the utensil switcher he had fly out of his hands, the knife in it flying directly towards Ivory. The girl gasped and ducked it, making the knife tear off her headband before getting stuck in the wall behind her. The audience gasped in horror as her wolf ears were revealed, making the young teen gulp and back away.

"Despite your extreme lack of flair and panache, even if your assistant had an interesting entrance, I was almost inclined to give you device a mediocre assessment." The judge stated, confusion Varian with his words. "Flair? What does that have to do with--" He started to ask, before Master Croix interrupted him. "However, considering your 'assistant' is in no way human, I have no choice but to disqualify you. Next!" Ivory's jaw dropped at the unfair judge before she turned to the disheartened alchemist. With a sigh, Ivory lifted her hand to the back of the necklace, her ears pinned to her head as her blue eyes looked down at the ground. She easily pulled off the gemstone and placed it in the palm of Varian's hand, watching with sad eyes as the alchemist looked up at her, befuddled.

"Perhaps you should stay away from me, Varian. I seem to bring you nothing but trouble." She whimpered, giving a sad smile to the alchemist, who stared at her, wide-eyed, as she began to walk away.

Ivory sat on the edge of a nearby fountain, her blue eyes staring into her lap as she thought of what just occurred. Her eyes flickered into a dull red as her anger simmered. "This curse ruins everything for everyone." She whispered, red swirling with blue in her eyes.

Ivory didn't notice when Varian sat down beside her, his light blue eyes looking down at her in concern.

"It wasn't your fault." He said, watching as the girl's ears flicked towards him. "Yes it was. You should've won. But, because of a freakshow, you didn't." She said, growling out the word 'freakshow'.

"It... It doesn't matter anyway." Varian sighed, gently playing with the chain of the necklace she had handed back to him. "Truth is, I was only trying to impress you." He revealed, making the shapeshifter look up at him, her now pink eyes swirling in confusion. "I thought if I showed you what I was capable of, you might see something in me. Something...special." Ivory's eyes swam with blue and violet, reflecting her sympathy and regret. "I was just being dumb." The alchemist berated himself, looking away from the white haired girl.

"Varian..." The girl started, sitting up straight as she scooted closer to her friend, pulling her legs up into a criss-cross position as she made her entire person face him. "You're already special in my eyes." She smiled, watching as the boy looked up at her, his bangs falling in front of his face. "What you have in here," Ivory gently placed her palm atop Varian's chest, feeling his heart beating faster at her touch. "Is what impresses me." She revealed, grabbing his gloved hands. "Varian. You're smart. You're compassionate. You're sweet. And most importantly, you're unique. With that combination, you can do anything you set your beautiful mind to." Varian's cheeks heated up, as she spoke. A soft smile grew on the boy's face at her words.

Ivory squinted her eyes as she caught sight of something on the stage. "What's St. Croix doing?" She asked, her gray eyes narrowing in suspicion. Varian turned to follow her line of sight, only to freeze upon seeing what the judge was doing.

"Master St. Croix! No! No! Don't!" The alchemist cried, rushing over to the judge, Ivory hot on his heels.

"You're-- You're building too much pressure!" Varian shouted, trying to pull back the valve from where St. Croix had fiddled with it. Annoyed, St. Croix shoved Varian away, right into Ivory's chest. The white haired girl stumbled back as she caught the boy, before quickly righting him back on his feet. "Back off, boy! I'm a scientist." Was all the man said before moving again to push the lever. "Don't!" Varian cried helplessly.

With a snarl, Ivory jumped towards the idiotic judge, shifting into her wolf form as she landed beside him. Red eyes gleaming, she opened her furry maw and bit down on St. Croix's sleeve, pulling him away from the machine. The judge gasped and waved his arm around, attempting to use the momentum to throw the wolf off him. "I-Ivory!" Varian shouted, worry for his friend building up.

St. Croix gave a shout of victory as he finally threw the wolf off of his sleeve, and directly into the lever he was trying to push. Ivory let out a small yelp as her back smacked against the metal, the force of her body forcing the lever back, turning the machine on.

"Oh no." Ivory whimpered, watching as the body of the invention spun wildly around, before it flew off its stand and into the castle wall, bouncing throughout the courtyard.

Varian's and St. Croix's eyes widened as the invention flew towards them at high speed. "Somebody do something!" St. Croix gasped, standing stock-still beside the terrified inventor.

Ivory let out a snarl as she shifted back to her normal form, before she launched herself at Varian. As her body slammed into his, the shapeshifter's wings flew out from her coat, easily tearing through the thin fabric, before the feathery appendages wrapped themselves around the two teens, breaking their fall as they hit the ground. The invention soared over their heads before hitting the judge, making him fly off to the side of the courtyard.

"You-- You chose me..." Varian whispered out, shocked at what his friend did. Ivory giggled, sitting up as her wings folded back behind her body. "There wasn't much of a choice." She stated, smiling softly at the boy, who blushed and looked away from her shyly.

Ivory spotted Varian's invention sitting atop the pedestal of another invention, still spinning wildly between two magnetic rocks. "Now come on, we have a job to do." She said, getting up and running towards the invention.

"Oh, this is bad." Varian muttered, making Ivory's ear turn towards him. "How bad?" The shapeshifter gulped. "Introducing counter-centrifugation to the magnetism could result in... well, that!" Varian explained, gesturing towards a rapidly forming twister above the invention.

"It's angular momentum is rapidly approaching critical velocity. Once that happens, it'll suck up everything in sight. Us! The castle! Everything!" The alchemist cried, watching as the invention began to rise into the air, causing cloth to fly into the storm brewing above it.

"Ok, so, very bad. How do we stop it?" Ivory asked, holding her ground as the wind began pulling her towards the twister. "There's only one way to stop it. I gotta get close enough to pull the handbrake!" Varian revealed, making his way towards the floating invention. "V-Varian! Wait!" Ivory tried, reaching for her friend. I won't let you do this alone! She thought to herself, her terracotta eyes shimmering with determination.

That determination was quickly diminished when a powerful gust of wind snapped her wings forwards, yanking her off her feet. A shriek escaped her lips as she flew past the alchemist, and up towards the storm.

"Ivory!"

A hand clamped down on her boot, and the shapeshifter looked down to see Varian holding her boot with one hand, while the other was grasping onto a nearby vendor stand. With a slight breath of relief, Ivory glanced up to find herself somewhat close to the handbrake that her friend spoke of. Her white hair flying up around her, Ivory reached up as far as she could, but only managed to get a few feet away from the handbrake. "I-- I can't reach it!" The young girl cried.

"We need an equally powerful wind source to counteract it!" Varian shouted, looking back to Rapunzel and Eugene as an idea hit the former. "The Mega Dry!" She declared, her emerald eyes widening.

Soon enough, Rapunzel, Eugene, and some other inventors pulled the Mega Dry up towards the vortex.

"He needs to create a counterpole to the vortex's critical velocity!" Varian shouted back towards the group. "Max, he means you have to run backwards!" Rapunzel translated, watching as the horse nodded and followed through with the order.

As the Mega Dry blew its wind, the invention slowly began to descend towards Ivory's awaiting hand. As her fingers grasped the handbrake, Ivory grinned and pulled it down, turning off the machine.

Rapunzel cheered loudly as the machine fell to the ground, and Varian caught Ivory in his arms as she fell towards him. Max stopped running, panting heavily as he sat down, tired out.

Varian chuckled nervously and gently set Ivory on her feet, before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The young girl smiled softly, and looked down at the ground. Her amber eyes lit up as she bent down and picked up a small, blue, and slightly tattered, ribbon. "I believe this was meant for you." She said, pinning the prize to Varian's apron.

The alchemist widened his eyes, before a soft smile spread across his face. "And, um, this was meant for you." He said, blushing as he walked around behind Ivory and placed the necklace around her neck once again. Ivory blushed lightly as she looked down at the necklace. "Thank you, Varian." She said, leaning up and giving the alchemist a kiss on the cheek, before walking away to clean up the mess.

For the second time that day, Varian was left blushing as he stared wide-eyed ahead of him, his heart racing as he slowly brought up a hand to touch the spot where Ivory's lips touched his cheek. Varian then looked to the girl before a large grin spread across his face, giving him a dopey, love-struck look.