LIPGLOSS -H.H

vi. floating lanterns

flowers lined the streets and hung from clotheslines all over Corona. it was the queens birthday, and everyone knew it. tonight the lanterns that were lit everyone on her birthday since she was kidnapped would float once more.

dahlia loved the lantern ceremony, but she loved it with a heavy heart. she knew that as the lanterns floated up into the sky, lighting up the sky in a beautiful manner once more, she would watch alone, once more.

she couldn't help but let her mind drift to harry hook. she let herself imagine watching the floating lanterns with harry by her side, she imagined it was him holding her hand, and it was him who whispered an short and sweet 'i love you' in her ear as they let their lantern join the rest in the sky.

but he wasn't there with her, and he wouldn't be watching the floating lanterns with her anytime soon. besides this was just a silly crush that had to much time to fester. she was letting herself overthink because she finally met a boy who payed attention to her. especially since she decided to only watch the lanterns with a boy she loved.

so she brushed her silly fantasy aside and tugged on a light blue sundress that had flowers on it and decided to leave her hair down for the moment. she slipped into a pair of worn down white converse which were definitely not very princess-like.

it's not like her family wasn't rich, dahlia just didn't spend a ton of money on shoes. she did, however, spend a ton of money on clothes. dahlia absolutely adored shopping. that's exactly why she needed two wardrobes in auradon.

she usually went shopping in auradon seeing as they had a huge mall, but during summertime in Corona there were mini shops setup along the road all day long that she loved to buy from.

before dahlia left her room, she grabbed a large purple scrunchie off of her vanity and put it on her wrist. she almost always had her hair down in auradon, but she didn't want to be left without something to put her hair up with.

once she had everything she would need, including a small gift she had gotten for her mother, she raced out of her room and down and out onto the palaces balcony where rapunzel and her mother first met.

"mom! happy birthday!" dahlia ran forward to embrace her mother.

"thank you dear." rapunzel smiled at her daughter.

dahlia brought out the gift she had and presented it to her mother with a shy smile. it was a plain black box, about the size of a book with purple ribbon tying it together.

rapunzel smiled and untied the ribbon, gasping softly when she saw what was inside.

there lay a white book, and on the inside were hundreds of photos of her family as well as the kingdom from over the years.

"oh my gosh, dahlia i love this!" her mother smiled widely at her daughter and clutched the book tight. "this is wonderful."

"i'm glad you like it mom, i've been using the polaroid you bought me!" dahlia rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"well, i'm going out around the kingdom. i want to visit the market before it closes!" dahlia smiled.

"yes, you have fun. and be safe!"

"always am, mom!"

-

dahlia had already bought three new dresses, 4 sweaters, 3 pairs of shorts, 5 pairs of jeans, 7 shirts and 2 pairs of shoes by the time the market closed.

dahlia hummed quietly as she skipped back to the castle with her bags in hand and hair trailing behind her.

it was nearing time for the lanterns festival so dahlia dragged all her bags upstairs to her room and then raced back downstairs to meet up with her parents.

"hey dad, hey mom!" dahlia grinned and blew a piece of hair out of her face.

"hello dear, how did shopping go?" her mother wrapper an arm around dahlia.

"it was good, lots of stuff!"

the sun was beginning to set and two guards each brought out a lantern with a lighter. per tradition, the royal family would initiate the ceremony by lighting the first lanterns into the sky.

"ready?" her father asked his family.

"always." the girls replied in sync.

so they lit their lanterns and watched as they floated into the sky, then watching as the kingdoms folk in the waters released theirs. soon the sky was filled with floating lanterns.

and dahlia smiled as she did each year, and each year she wished she had someone to smile with.

——
def kind of a filler, but it's very important to understand the ceremony!!!!! i honestly love the family's dynamic and i just know they fit each other like puzzle pieces.