Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rapunzel doesn’t even wait for Maximus to come to a full stop before hopping off of him. The ground in Old Corona is still cold and wet from the storm and a small part of her wishes she had kept her boots on.

She runs up to the house in front of her and knocks, drawing back when the door swings open under her fist.

“Varian?” She calls out for the young alchemist and steps inside. “Varian are you here?”

Pascal burrows in closer to her neck as she ventures inside the house, letting out a frightened squeak when something runs towards them and hides in her hair.

“Ruddiger!” Rapunzel kneels down and opens her arms, lifting the raccoon up as she stands. “Ruddiger, where’s Varian?”

The raccoon chitters at her and hops out of her arms, scurrying towards the cellar and she follows him. She stops on the third to last step, eyes turning wide and her hands fly up to her mouth as she stares in horror at what’s before her.

“Quirin--” she skips the last two steps and walks up to the man, hesitantly placing a hand on his amber prison. Her chest becomes tight with guilt as she gazes at him.

“How nice of you to grace us with your presence, Princess.” Rapunzel jumps, turning to Varian. He’s slumped over his desk and his voice hoarse.

“Varian, I--” her mouth is dry as she struggles to find the right words. An apology is worth nothing right now, she knows it. She takes a breath. “What can I do to help?”

“Oh,” Varian laughs. “Now you want to help? Where was this helpful attitude earlier? Where was it when he needed you?” he turns to her and she can see the tears in the corners of his eyes. “When I needed you?!”

“Varian, I know you’re angry and you have every right to be, but you have to understand, I was needed at the castle then. You know I would have come back with you if I could.” She says, watching as he wipes his face on his sleeve. “But I’m here now, and I’m not leaving until we free your father.”

“Your promises don’t mean anything anymore, princess,” Varian mumbles as he stands up. “But… Thank you.”

Rapunzel offers him a smile. “What do you need me to do?”

“Rapunzel?” Rapunzel looks up, turning to Cassandra and Eugene. They stand at the bottom of the stairs, staring past her. She follows their gaze to the amber and frowns.

Eugene is the first of them to speak and break the silence. “What… Happened?”

“It’s my fault,” Varian says. “It’s all my fault. I should have listened to him!” he hides his face in one hand, leaning on his desk with the other shoulders trembling.

Rapunzel fiddles with her hair, ignoring the dull throb from having it tugged and pulled on all day. “What else can we try?”

“We’ve tried everything…” he sits down, Ruddiger hopping onto his shoulder and curling his tail around his neck. “I don’t know what else to do.”

Rapunzel frowns. He sounds completely and utterly defeated. Pascal climbs on the desk and leans on the boy’s hand in an attempt to comfort him.

“Rapunzel…” Cassandra puts her hand on her shoulder. “We need to head back.”

“No,” Rapunzel pulls away from her. “I told Varian I wouldn’t leave until we freed Quirin and I meant it.”

“Just go, Princess,” Varian says tiredly, resting his head in his arms. “I don’t know what else to do right now anyway and it’s not fair to ask you to just sit around and wait for a breakthrough.”

Rapunzel goes to protest but is silenced by Eugene pulling Varian to his feet. “You’re coming too, kid,” he says. “You can’t stay here.”

Varian stares at him. He doesn’t have the energy to argue, so he simply nods his head. “Just let me gather my notes, okay?”

Varian holds his breath as he stands in front of the amber. It’s been a few weeks since he had been back in the cellar, it’s cold, and it’s damp, and a small part of him wants to leave and never come back.

But he can’t. Not yet. Not until his father is free. He glances down at his open palm, the withered petal of the Sunflower that Rapunzel had somehow convinced the king to let him take felt heavy in his hand.

’There’s bound to still be some magic left in it.’ Is what she had told him. ’It’s worth a try, isn’t it?’

Varian exhales and gently closes his fingers around it as not to crush it. He closes his eyes, recalling the day he and the Princess first met and he had hurt himself.

Flower gleam and glow

He presses both hands to the amber, trapping the petal between his gloved hand and his father’s prison.

Let your powers shine.
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine

He opens his eyes, studying the amber for any signs of change as he sings the incantation.

Heal what has been hurt
Change the fate’s design

He pleads with the gods, or whatever powers that be as his eyes scan the amber for a crack or any indication that it could be melting. Something, anything that could help him.

Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine

Tears well up in his eyes as his hands begin to slip away, and the petal gently drifts to the floor as he sinks to his knees.

He chokes on a sob and puts his head in his hands. “What once was mine…”

The weeks turn into months and Varian’s made no progress on finding a way to free his father. He’s been working nonstop since he’s taken up residency at the castle, only stopping to sleep or eat when either Eugune or Lance physically make him leave his work desk to do so.

There’s a knock at the door. “Come in,” he says and the door opens.

“Hi, Varian,”

He glances away from his notebook when the princess calls his name. He had expected it to be either Lance or Eugene with something to eat. He looks at her tiredly before turning back to his desk.

Rapunzel glances around the room and her lips press into a frown. Papers were scattered about, all of them crumpled and the wastebasket was overflowing with them. She’s been there before. “You’ve hit a roadblock, huh?”

“No, roadblocks are something people can get around,” Varian pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Something they can work around, but I can’t even figure out how to do that.”

The princess hums and opens a window, causing the boy to blink until his eyes adjust to something other than candlelight. “You know what I do when I have a painters block?” she asks.

“You’re almost tricked into summoning an ancient demon?”

“That only happened once,” she points out, cheeks pink with embarrassment. “But, no. I take a break and do something else.”

“No offense, Princess, but alchemy’s a bit different from painting.”

“Maybe, but it might do you some good to take a break.” she smiles when Varian tilts his head back to look at her. “We’re having a picnic and I would love it if you came too.” to tempt him, she tells him: “I even made those cookies you like so much.”

“Some fresh air might actually do me some good.” Ruddiger, who had woken up at the mere mention of a picnic, hops onto his shoulders as he stands up, and Rapnzuel’s smile brightens. “Besides, who am I to say ‘no’ to cookies made by a princess?”

Their picnic was cut short when the black rocks decided they were done waiting for the Sundrop to find them and that they would find her themselves. They destroyed everything in their path, emerging from the ground at such fast rates; they brought destruction to everything around them.

With people hurt and homes in shambles, Rapunzel had no other choice but to attempt to take control of the rocks. They stopped when she touched them, glowing brightly before sinking back into the earth and lining a path leading far beyond Corona’s walls.

That was a week ago and now Rapunzel’s standing on the path, the rocks smooth and cool beneath her bare feet. She’s nervous, to say the least. But she’s even more excited.

There’s no telling where they’ll lead her, but she’s ready to find out and to learn the truth behind the rocks and her destiny.

She looks at Eugene and smiles when he links their fingers together. “Are you ready, Sunshine?”

“I’m ready.”

“Rapunzel!” The couple turns to Varian as he runs up to them. He doubles over with his hands on his knees when he reaches them. “Rapunzel--” he wheezes. “Please, let me come with you!”

“But didn’t you want to stay and work on freeing your dad?” Eugene asks him.

“I did--I do,” Varian straightens up. “But I’m not making any progress with my research. I can’t find any answers and something’s telling me that the answer is out there.” he looks past them and out into the world. “I also can’t shake the feeling that it’s connected to the black rocks. All of this is connected somehow, I just know it.”

He turns back to the couple with pleading eyes. “Please, princess, let me come with you.”

Rapunzel smiles at him. “Of course, you can come with us, Varian.” Ruddiger chitters from Varian’s shoulder, looking at her. “You can come too, Ruddiger.” she pokes his nose and the raccoon purrs. “Are you ready?”

Varian grips the straps of his backpack tightly and smiles. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter Text

“One-week on the road,” Cassandra says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “And… We’re out of food.”

All eyes are on Shorty as he drunkenly stands up. “He ate everything!” Lance calls from the food trunk. Ruddiger crawls over his shoulder and hops into the trunk, sniffing around for anything left behind. “Every single crumb!”

“And it was all very delicious.” Shorty slurs, swaying with each word.

“How far are we from the next town?” Rapunzel asks, turning to Varian as he consults the map.

“If we keep going without stopping we’ll reach Vardaros by noon,” he answers.

“Ah, Vardaros,” Lance sighs with a hint of nostalgia. “The City of Fun and Games.”

“Our first big city since Corona!” Rapunzel’s eyes sparkled. “What’s it like?”

“Vardaros is amazing!” Eugene tells her. “You’re going to love it, and you’ll have a lot of fun.” he grins and looks at Cassandra. “Which, I’m guessing will be a first for you.”

Cassandra ignores him and returns to her place at the head of the caravan. “Let’s just get a move on.”

“Lance, Varian, come here.” Eugene gestures for the two to join him. When they do he pulls them in close. “Alright, boys, tonight is the night!”

“For what, exactly?” Varian asks, blinking as Eugene pulls out a small box.

“To get this proposal right!” he opens the box and shows off the engagement ring, earning a whistle from Varian. “Vardaros is the perfect place to do it! It’s beautiful, especially at night with all the lights, Rapunzel will love it!”

“Didn’t she say ‘no’ last time?” Lance asks. “I mean, you thought it was a perfect time then too. What if she says no again?”

“Thank you for that, Lance.” Eugene grumbles “But she won’t say no. I mean, it’s Vardaros, one of the only places that could rival our first date!”

“Now, hang on Lance, Eugene’s right,” Varian says and Eugene smiles smugly. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to hurry up and make a lifelong commitment right after they’ve been given their first taste of freedom after being locked in a tower for the first eighteen years of their life?”

Eugene scowls and snaps the box closed. “Oh, what do you know? You’re like… Ten.”

“I’m fourteen.”

“Same difference,” Eugene puts the box back in his pocket. “The fact of the matter is, we are in love and I’m positive she’ll say yes this time.”

Eugene turns away from them and Lance nudges the boy with his elbow. “How much you wanna bet she’ll turn him down again?”

“You do know I can hear you, right?” Eugene asks before Varian could respond. “I swear, this is the last time I confide anything in either of you.”

“We’re kidding, Eugene,” Lance reassures him. “The princess is head over heels in love with you, she’s bound to say yes.”

“Yeah,” Varian agrees with a smile. “I may only be ten years old, but even I can tell how much you two love each other.”

Rapunzel watches the road as she bounces in her seat with excitement. Eugene’s told her all about Vardaros before, about how beautiful it is, especially at night.

“Oh, I can’t wait until we get there,” she says. “Take in the sights, have some fun, maybe find a souvenir for my mom and dad. It’ll be great!”

“While there’s nothing wrong with having fun when you can, you need to take at least some caution,” Cassandra tells her.

“Aren’t you excited though Cassandra? This is just as much as your first big city outside of Corona as it is mine.”

“I don’t really trust the recommendation of two ex-convicts.” the young woman sighs. “Look, Raps, just… Trust me too, okay?”

“I do trust you, Cass.” Rapunzel squeezes her arm. “I promise to be careful.”

Cassandra gives her a smile. “That’s all I ask.”

“Ladies, gentlemen, and gentle creatures... Welcome to Vardaros!” Lance announces as he gestures to the city. He opens his eyes when he doesn’t get the reaction he had been expecting.

The party stands at the entrance of the town, and it’s not at all what any of them had expected. The town looked like it was in shambles, with boarded-up windows, broken carts and ships, oddly enough, lining the dusty streets.

A faded old sign that once welcomed travelers falls to their feet and a tumbleweed blows by.

“Wow,” Cassandra crosses her arms with an amused smile. “You were right, Fitzherbert, this place is amazing.”

“It’s uh… Not quite the way I remember it.” Eugene admits, rubbing the back of his head.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Varian mumbles, inching closer to Rapunzel.

“Come on you guys, I’m sure it’s not as bad as it looks,” Rapunzel says optimistically. “After all, you can’t judge a book by its cover!”

They follow her into town, all on their guard. Cassandra’s hand never leaves the hilt of her sword as Pascal sits on her shoulder. Eugene looks around, unnerved by how quiet the town square was. Lance made himself look bigger than he already is walking at the back of the group, while Varian stuck close to Rapunzel.

The princess smiles when she finally sees someone wandering about town and she approaches them with Varian close behind.

“Hi, there!”

“Piss off.”

Rapunzel blinks as the townie walks away. “Okay then.” she takes Varian by the hand and leads him back to the rest of the party.

“Huh,” Cassandra blinks in surprise, mildly amused by what she just saw. “Not the nicest place, is it?”

Eugene reaches for Rapunzel and pulls her to him. “Yeah, this place has definitely changed since our last visit.”

“Let’s just restock and get out of here,” Cassandra says. “The sooner we leave the better.”

“It’s such a shame about Vardaros,” Rapunzel mumbles as flips through the pages of her journal.

The further into Vardaros the party had ventured, the worse it became. Everywhere they went they were met by unfriendly glares and words neither Rapunzel or Varian had heard before-but based on the reactions of Eugene, Lance, and Cassandra, they weren’t favorable-, and certain hand gestures that would make Lance cover Varian’s eyes and Eugene cover Rapunzels.

“Don’t worry princess, I’m sure there are other, friendlier towns on our path,” Cassandra tells her as she sharpens her sword.

“I know, but… Eugene seemed so excited about coming here.” the blonde frowns. “I wonder what happened…”

Cassandra shrugs. “Some towns just go downhill over the years, so it’s likely that everyone just moved on to some other town somewhere.”

“It's, or at least it was a tourist town, right?” Rapunzel asks. “Maybe all these black rocks cut into their businesses and livelihood so they’re mad about it?”

“If that were the case, everyone would be chomping at the bit to take you for every penny you have.”

The two young women still at the unfamiliar voice, looking between one another and even the animals before they see a woman leaning on the caravan eating one of their apples. She waves at them.

“Greetings.”

“Alright, boys, time for Plan B.” Eugene turns to Lance and Varian, arms full of firewood.

“What’s Plan B?”

“I’m glad you asked my small, goggled friend.” Varian rolls his eyes with amusement as he goes to pick up more firewood. “Plan B is simple; since Vardaros is a sad, mean, and kind of scary shadow of its former self, I’ve decided to plan us a dinner date!” he says proudly.

“Picture it; we’re in an open field, the stars are out and shining bright in the sky, we’re eating by lantern light and just as we reach dessert, I ask her to marry me. It’s foolproof!”

Lance smiles, wiping his eye. “That’s so romantic, Eugene! I tell you, if I were the princess there’d be no way I could say no to that!”

Eugene goes to respond but a yelp from Varian stops him. He whirls around, finding the alchemist on the ground with a sword lodged in the ground in front of him. He drops the firewood in his arms and helps the boy to his feet. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but that sword… It just fell right out of the sky!”

Brown eyes narrow as Eugene examines the sword. They turn wide. “That’s Cassandra's sword!”

“Look, I just want to talk--” the strange woman ducks as Rapunzel whips at her with her hair. “--Honestly, you’d get some more answers if you would listen.”

“You attacked my friend!” Rapunzel accuses her.

“Because she touched me. Even after I told her I don’t like being touched.” the woman reminds her. “I--”

She quickly draws her sword and simultaneously disarms Eugene when they cross blades and knocks the wind out of Lance with a swift kick to his stomach. “You’re not even trying, are you?”

From the corner of her eye, she sees Varian pick up the discarded sword. “And you,” she flips, landing behind him and seizing him. “Have no idea how to wield a sword.”

She forces him to drop the blade and pins his wrist between his shoulder blades, earning a pained cry from him.“I thought Quirin would have started your training by now.”

Varian’s eyes widen at his father’s name, but before he could say anything Rapunzel’s hair tightly wraps around the woman’s wrist.

“Let him go!” she demands.

“How many times do I have to say it,” the woman shoves Varian to the side and pulls her sword. “I don’t like being touched!”

Her blade makes contact with Rapunzel’s hair, but it doesn’t cut, and the blade doesn’t break. Her eyes widened.

“It didn’t cut.”

While the woman is distracted, Rapunzel quickly uses her hair as a lasso and ties her up in it. She pulls and manages to finally get her off her feet. Frying pan in one hand, and her hair in the other, Rapunzel approaches her with caution as the others collect themselves.

“Who are you?” she demands.

The woman looks at her and smiles. She’s impressed. “Princess Rapunzel, my name is Adira, and I have something for you.”

Rapunzel’s grip on the frying pan tightens as Adira stands. “What is it?”

“If you would untie me, I’ll show you.”

The princess hesitates, looking to her group of friends. Cassandra gives her a disapproving look while the others simply watch on in curiosity. She sighs and loosens her grip on her hair, allowing it to pool around Adira.

“Thank you,” she pulls out a rolled-up piece of paper and holds it out to the princess. “I promise you, I am a friend. I’ve been following these rocks for quite some time, and now I know that they were looking for you.”

Rapunzel takes the paper from her and unrolls it. “This is…”

“Now that they’ve found you, you must follow them, princess. To the Dark Kingdom.” Adira tells her. She sheathes her sword and bows her head to the Princess. “Now that I’ve delivered the piece of the scroll to you, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“W-wait!” Varian runs after her as she walks away. He grabs onto her wrist when he catches up with her and she turns her head to look at him. “How do you know my dad?”

“... Quirin is one of my brothers,” she answers and pulls herself free. “That’s all I can tell you for now. Farewell.”

“So,” Cassandra begins, taking hold of Varian’s arm. “Were you ever going to tell us about your weird aunt Adira?”

“I would have, but I-- Ow!” he yelps when Cassandra moves his shoulder in a certain way. She offers him a quick apology and starts making a sling from some spare cloth. “I didn’t even know I had an aunt. I don’t really know anything about my dad… Is it normal? To not know about your parents?”

“I don’t remember my parents,” Cassandra says. “Not my biological ones anyway. But, I think it’s normal for parents, dads mostly, to not tell us everything. Ut's not always right, but they think they're protecting us.” she smiles at him as she ties the sling into place. “You’re lucky it’s just a sprain. If it had been dislocated then you’d be in trouble. But, as long as you keep it in a sling for a few days, you’ll be good as new in no time.” she tells him and stands up.

“Once we’re sure it’s healed, we’ll start your training.”

“My, uh, my what now?”

“Your weird aunt Adira was right, you have no idea how to wield a sword.” Cassandra smiles at him from over her shoulder. “And I’m going to fix that.”

“Oh, Adira,” Lance sighs dreamily, staring up at the sky as the sunsets. “My tall, angelic enchantress, how you take my breath away.”

“Because she kicked you in the stomach,” Eugene reminds him, ignoring the dull ache in his side from where he landed hard on the ground.

“It’ll be a funny story to tell the grandkids one day.”

Eugene rolls his eyes and leaves Lance to daydream to find Rapunzel. She’s standing by a group of black rocks, staring at them intently.

“Blondie? Are you alright?”

“Hm?” she looks away. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Rapunzel smiles, leaning back when Eugene hugs from behind. “It’s what Aidra said about the rocks… They were looking for me, and now they’ve found me.” she hesitantly reaches out to one of the rocks but stops herself before she touches it. “Before all I had to do was be next to one for some sort of a reaction, but ever since we left Corona…”

Eugene holds his breath as Rapunzel touches the rock, holding Rapunzel tightly while bracing himself for the blast of magical energy that never comes.

“Nothing.” Rapunzel’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I guess that’s a good thing?”

She wiggles her way out of Eugene’s hold and reaches into her satchel, pulling out both pieces of the scroll. She looks away from the parchment and out into the direction the black rocks were pointing her to go.

“The Dark Kingdom… That’s where they’re taking me.” she turns to Eugene. “Eugene, you traveled a lot, right? Have you ever been there?”

Eugene hums and looks at the picture on the scroll piece Adira had given them. “I would remember seeing a castle like that,” he answers. “But,” he takes her hand, lacing their fingers together. “We get to find it together.”

Rapunzel smiles and brings Eugene’s hand up to her face and kisses his palm. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Chapter Text

Cassandra yawns into her hand and leans back in her seat, looking up to watch the clouds roll overhead. Ruddiger was curled up in her lap, purring like a cat as he slept and she absentmindedly stroked his fur.

She closes her eyes just enjoys the peace and quiet.

Her peace and quiet are cut short when an explosion from inside the caravan makes her jump and pull the breaks, forcing Maximus and Fidella to a stop and Rudigger’s tiny claws to dig into her leg from the shock. She turns around and opens one of the windows.

“What are you doing?!” she demands, waving away the smoke.

She glares at the others, all of them wearing goggles, Pascal included by hiding behind one of the lenses, covered in soot and their hair, or in Shorty’s case his beard, blown back.

Varian coughs, a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth when he does and Rapunzel smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, Cass. Varian was teaching us some of the basics of alchemy.”

“But somebody,” Varian snatches a vial from Shorty. “Decided to mix sodium and hydrogen peroxide.” he pushes up his goggles and carefully corks the vial and stows it in his pocket.

They exit the caravan, leaving the door and windows open so it can air out as Cassandra drives it to a clearing up ahead on the side of the road. When she joins the rest of the party Rapunzel’s checking everyone for injuries.

“Nobody’s hurt?” she asks, tilting Varian’s head every which way to be sure. She then moves to Eugene.

“I’m alright, Blondie, not a scratch on me.”

“Hm, that’s too bad.” Cassandra teases as Ruddiger hops from her shoulder to Varians. She looks at the caravan, watching the smoke roll out of the door and windows. “So… What’s the damage?”

“Just some minor smoke damage to anything white,” Varian answers as he pushes up his goggles. “We’re lucky it was only a drop, any more than that and things would be way worse.”

“Okay, new rule,” Eugene begins and cleans his face with a cloth. “Shorty’s not allowed anywhere near explosive chemicals… Why do you have explosive chemicals anyway?”

“Hydrogen peroxide mixed with lemon juice and water makes an all-purpose cleaner. While sodium, combined with chlorine makes sodium chloride. Otherwise known as ‘salt’.” Varian explains, smearing the soot on his face when he wipes his face with his sleeve. “Both of which are nice to have on the road.”

“How long will it take to air out?” Rapunzel asks while Pascal uses her handkerchief to clean his face.

He looks back at the Caravan and hums. “Last time I had a hydrogen peroxide sodium explosion it took about a day for the cellar to air out. But that was an even bigger explosion and a bigger space so… I’d say about three or four hours.”

“It’s about lunchtime anyway,” Lance adds. “I’ll get started on that.”

“Good, and while you do that...” Cassandra claps a hand on Varian’s shoulder.

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes.”

Rapunzel flips through her journal, pleased to find it wasn’t damaged in the explosion and sighs in content as Eugene brushes her hair. Shorty snores loudly under a tree while Lance sings a random tune as he prepares lunch for everyone.

Cassandra and Varian are a few yards away, the young woman instructing the alchemist on how to properly hold a sword and move his feet as they circle each other.

“Keep your eyes on your enemy at all times,” she instructs, taking a step forward and forcing him to take a step backward. Despite this, he glances at his feet and she takes the opportunity and knocks his feet out from under him with a sweeping kick.

He lands hard on his back with a grunt, the sword falling from his grip. Cassandra kicks it away before he can grab it. “Especially when you’re moving backwards.”

He goes to sit up, but freezes when the tip of her sword is pointing at his neck. Cassandra grins. “And now, you’re dead.”

“I’m an alchemist,” Varian lets his arms go slack and lies flat on his back. “Not a swordsman.” he suddenly pulls out a small bottle and tosses it at Cassandra’s feet. A puff of smoke billows around her and before she can do anything.

When the smoke clears, Cassandra finds pink goo up to her ankles that keeps her place like glue. She blinks in surprise when the tip of Varian’s sword is pointed at her neck.

“And now, you’re dead.” he smiles brightly and she scoffs and rolls her eyes.

“Only because you cheated. Now get me out of this stuff.”

“Fine, fine.”

The alchemist does as he’s told and pours something over the goo. It quickly dissolves and Cassandra steps out of it. “Okay now give me the rest. I know you have more, and I want a fair fight.”

With an annoyed groan, Varian gives her three more of his goo bombs. “Thank you.” The swordswoman then gives him a mischievous grin and lets out a sharp whistle.

“Hey Max!” she tosses her sword to the horse. “Come put this cheater in his place.”

“Wait, what?”

“I never said you’d be going up against me, next.” she pats his hair. “Good luck.”

Maximus, with the hilt of a sword clenched between his teeth, points the sword at Cassandra’s trainee and raises an eyebrow to challenge him.

Varian looks to Cassandra, but she’s already walking back to camp, so he gets into the position she had taught him. “This is the strangest thing I have ever done.”

“What’s wrong, Cass?” Rapunzel asks when she approaches. Eugene looks around the swordswoman, watching in amusement as Varian spars with Maximus.

“Nothing, I just want to see him fight the horse.”

Eugene puts his hands around his mouth. “Use a frying pan! I promise it’s not as weird as it sounds!”

“Lunch is ready!” Lance announces just as Varian lands flat on his back and Maximus trots around him like a show pony.

The broncho suddenly stops his showboating and faces the woods, ears twitching. Varian sits up and follows the horse's gaze to the trees, ignoring Rapunzel calling him to come and eat. Both he and Maximus stare ahead, their eyes narrowing as they do.

The sunlight reflects on something in the shadows and Varian springs to his feet while Maximus lets out a neigh to alert the others. Just as they turn to see what the fuss was about a hooded figure lunges from the shadows, sword in hand.

Cassandra drops her plate and runs forward, only to be forced to a stop when another hooded figure jumps out in front of her with twin daggers. She reaches for her sword, eyes widening and quickly darting to Varian and Max when she grabs air instead.

She takes the knife on her hip and gets into a fighting stance as three more hooded figures appear.

Maximus charges at one of the bandits only for another to mount him.

“Fancy horse,” the bandit says in a feminine voice. “You’ll look good pulling my--” the woman lets out a yelp and clings to Maximus’ neck as he begins bucking wildly. “W-Woah! Easy! Nice horsey!”

She screams when he throws her off his back and lands a thorny berry bush nearby. “Ow…” she tries to get up, but one of the other hooded figures suddenly lands on top of her.

Maximus turns in the direction the other had flown from, finding the princess looking rather pleased with herself.

Cassandra ducks and dodges everything the woman with the daggers throws at her. She grabs one of her wrists and twists it until she hears the bones crack and the woman drops her knife.

The woman wrenches herself free and Cassandra braces herself for her to attack with the other knife, but instead, she’s taken off guard when she uses her injured hand to deliver a swift punch to the face.

She stumbles back and touches her lip, and when she pulls her hand away she sees blood on her fingertips.

“What’s wrong, little girl?” the woman taunts, gritting her teeth in pain as she pulls her injured hand to her chest. “Having trouble playing with the grown-ups?”

“Oh please, I know children who fight better than you.”

Cassandra finds herself reaching for her sword again, but stops herself when she feels something rolling around in her pocket.

The woman sees her reach into her pocket, but before she can stop her; she’s blinded by smoke. She coughs and waves it away, snarling at Cassandra when she sees her simply standing there with a smug smile on her face.

With a cry the woman lunges forward, only to discover she can’t move. Confused, she looks down at the goo around her feet. “What on earth--”

“Never take your eye off your enemy,” Cassandra says. She grabs the woman’s shoulder and punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground and leaving her dazed.

“Especially when you’re trapped in goo.”

Varian struggles against the swordsman, their blades clashing against one another with such force it felt as if his knees would buckle at any moment.

“Hah,” the swordsman, or rather swordswoman, laughs. “You call yourself a swordsman?” she sneers at him from under her hood. “Don’t make me laugh.”

Varian ducks when she suddenly swings her sword at his head, just barely missing the tips of his bangs. “I don’t know who taught you how to fight,” she swings again and this time manages to cut his vest “But they’re doing a pretty lousy job of it.”

“My teacher happens to be doing a pretty good job,” Varian argues. A startled cry can be heard behind him as the third hooded figure goes flying via Rapunzel’s hair, landing in the same bush as the other two.

The swordswoman he’s facing turns to the bushes for just a moment, but it’s just enough time for Varian to knock her feet out from under her with a sweeping kick.

“And no,” The swordswoman lets out a sharp gasp as she falls hard on her back. Her sword slips from her hand, but before she can grab it, Varian kicks it away. “I don’t consider myself a swordsman.”

She goes to get up but freezes when the tip of his sword is pointed at her. She gazes up at him with wide eyes.

“I’m an alchemist.”

The woman trapped in the goo comes out of her daze and grits her teeth. She unties the laces of her boots and slips out of them, freeing herself from the trap. She rises to her feet and Cassandra readies another goo bomb.

“Save it, I know when I’m defeated.” the woman snarls. She marches away, shoving Varian to the side when she reaches him and grabs the swordswoman by the arm and pulls her up. “Let’s go.”

She drags her away as the others pull themselves free from the thorn bushes. The woman stops and pulls down her hood, revealing black hair with streaks of grey. Turning back to the party she glares daggers at them.

“You better hope we don’t meet again,” she says. “Because next time you’ll have more than a busted lip.”

“Funny,” Cassandra puts her hands on her hips. “I was about to say the same to you.”

The woman snarls and retreats into the woods, her companions limping after her.

Once they’re finally back on the road, Cassandra once again attempts to get some peace and quiet. She leans back with her arms behind her head, simply listening to the birds singing in the trees.

Besides her, Varian looks at his calloused hands. He’s always had some calluses on his fingers, and his palms from working with tools, but never quite this bad. Maybe it’s he’s not using his gloves when training with Cassandra that’s made them worse.

He flexes his fingers and hisses in pain.

“Soak your hands in warm water,” Cassandra says, breaking the silence. “It helps.”

“Thanks.”

Varian reaches up to stroke Ruddiger's tail as the raccoon sleeps on his shoulder and pulls one of his legs up to his chest. He goes to speak, but when he sees the young woman's eyes are closed he stops himself, so instead he focuses on the road ahead.

“Just so you know,” Cassandra begins a few minutes later, once again breaking the silence between them. “Those little goo bombs of yours came in handy… And I want you to teach me how to make them.”

Varian snorts. “Sure thing, Cass.”

Chapter Text

It’s well past midnight and most of the party was asleep inside the caravan. Varian is the only one awake, having volunteered to keep watch despite Lance’s object of ‘A growing boy needs his rest’.

He stokes the campfire while Ruddiger eats some berries from the bushes nearby. The alchemist yawns into his hand, rubbing his eyes tiredly before slapping his own face to keep himself awake.

“Come on, Varian, you stay up for four days almost every other week, you can handle one night,” he tells himself.

“I guess that explains why you’re so small,”

Varian lets out a startled cry and jumps in his seat. He fumbles with the sword Cassandra had given him as he falls backward off the log. He tilts his head back and everything’s upside down from where he lay on the ground.

Adira leans against the caravan and smiles at him with amusement. “You grow in your sleep, you know.”

“Adira--” he picks himself up. “What, uh, what are you-- Mph!”

Adira claps a hand over his mouth and puts a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Come with me.”

Adira leads Varian away from camp but still keeps it in her sight. She removes her hand from his mouth and begins circling him. “I’m… Surprised, Quirin would let you anywhere near these rocks, let alone follow them.”

Varian reaches up and rubs the back of his neck. “He, uh… He doesn’t know I’m here.”

“You ran away from home?”

“N-no, I… There was an accident in my lab and…” Varian trails off, staring at the black rocks as amber begins to grow and encase them. He sees his father reaching out for him as the amber crawls up his skin. The vision vanishes just as quickly as it came when a hand squeezes his shoulder.

“Calm yourself, Goggles,” Adira tells him, making him realize just how heavy he was breathing. “Tell me what happened.”

“I see,” Adira hums as Varian finishes telling her of his father's current condition. “So you’re out here to find a way to free him then.”

“Yeah…”

“While I can’t say for sure if the answer you seek is in the Dark Kingdom or not, I can tell you that it may lie within the scroll.”

“The scroll? You mean the one the princess only has two pieces of, that’s written in a dead language and no one can translate?”

“The very same.” Adira points to the mountain in the distance. “The third piece of the scroll is locked away in the Spire. Take the princess there, the keeper will guide you.”

“THe keeper will guide us… Right, okay.” Varian nods and Adira smiles and leads him back to the campsite.

“Good. In the meantime, I’ll do what I can to help Quirin.” she turns away from the fire. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Rapunzel asks as she stares at the structure before her.

“Well… No, but Adira seemed pretty sure so we’ll have to trust her judgment.” Varian answers.

“Yeah, well I don’t,” Cassandra says. There’s a loud howl from above them and Lance grabs onto her and cowers behind her back. She rolls her eyes but ignores him. “For all we know, she’s leading us right into a trap.”

“You don’t trust anyone,” Eugene points out. “But… And as much as I hate to admit it, I’m with Cass on this one.”

“Well… If it is, we can fight our way out of it.” Rapunzel assures them. She walks up the stairs to the building and knocks on the double doors.

The door opens under her fist and after a brief moment of hesitation, she pushes the doors open. “Hello?” she calls. “Is anyone home?”

The princess is pulled back by Cassandra when smoke pours from the doors. “Who goes there?” a booming voice demands and the party huddles together.

“Um… My name is Rapunzel, and I’m looking for the Keeper of the Spire.”

There’s silence followed by a crash, and then a figure appears in the smoke. “Well, look no further! It is I,” a short woman with large round glasses emerges from the smoke. “The Keeper of the Spire. But you may call me Calliope.”

They stare at the woman in stunned silence as she smiles up at them. Clearing her throat, the keeper swiftly turns on her heel. “Come, come, this way.”

“Anyone else expecting some scary old guy?” Lance asks quietly as she walks back inside, and the others all nod.

“So tell me,” Calliope begins as the group wanders around the room. “What can I, the great Keeper of the Spire, do for you?”

Rapunzel looks away from a curious black statue and turns to her. “We were told that you could help us--”

“As Keeper, it is my duty to watch over and protect ancient artifacts of the mythical and magical variety. Everything you see here in this room is priceless, and it’s my sworn duty to protect them from the outside world and keep them from falling into the wrong hands… And in some cases, protect the world from them.”

“So yeah, I’m pretty important.”

Rapunzel blinks and forces a smile. “That’s… Really amazing, Calliope, but… We’re looking for a scroll.”

“Which scroll? There are hundreds of them.

“This one,”

The princess shows the Keeper the two pieces of the scroll she has in her purse and the woman hums with recognition. “That one, huh? It’s the spire’s vault.”

“Great! How do we get to the spire’s vault?”

“Spire,”

“Hm?”

“It’s pronounced spire, it’s from the word spira, and its origin is Latin, which yes, is one of the many languages I speak.”

“Actually, it’s origin is Ancient Greek, not Latin.” Varian corrects her as he flips through a book.

“Uh, yeah,” Calliope snatches the book from him. “That’s what I said.”

Rapunzel clears her throat. “So, how do we get to the… Spire then?”

“Spire.” Calliope croccets again.

“Spire--”

“No, no, it’s spire. Repeat after me…”

Cassandra is steadily losing her patience as Calliope instructs Rapunzel on how to properly pronounce the word “spire”. Her eye twitches despite the deep breaths she takes in an attempt to calm herself down. She opens her mouth, ready to snap but Varian beats her to it.

“Can you please just tell us if you have the scroll or not?!”

“It’s rude to interrupt when the grown-ups are speaking,” Calliope scolds him before she turns to look at Cassandra. “You really should teach him some proper manners. What kind of mother are you?”

“What?” Cassandra gawks. “I’m not his mother! I’m only twenty-three and he’s a teenager!”

“With those crows feet? You could have fooled me.” the short woman turns away from them. “Now come on, this way you slowpokes.”

Varian flips through one of the many books in the Calliope’s library. He’s already gone through three of them, as he waited for her to finish her magic show that’s gone on for far too long.

“And now, for my next trick--”

“No! No more tricks!” Eugene shouts as he stands up He clears his throat. “Because you’ve blown my mind so much, that I need time to process everything before I see more!” he laughs. “Does anyone else need time to process?”

“Yes!” Cassandra springs to her feet. “Yes, I do. So bad.” she the princess to her feet. “Don’t you need to process everything, Rapunzel? Outside? Now?”

“Yes, now that you’ve had your fun, I can finally get back to work on finding that scroll,” Calliope says, pushing up her glasses.

Cassandra grinds her teeth together. “Let’s go outside.”

“Make her give us the scroll so we can get out of here.” Cassandra pleads with the princess. “Please, she’s the most annoying person I’ve ever met and you see who I hang out with!” she gestures to Lance and Eugene.

“She’s not annoying,” Rapunzel says with an obviously forced smile. “She’s just… Different.”

“I’m not that bad, am I?” Varian asks and Cassandra pats his shoulder reassuringly.

“You were a little in the beginning. But now, it’s kind of endearing, because when you do it; it comes from passion and excitement, not to prove you're better than everyone in the room.”

“Aw, thanks, mom. Ow, ow.”

Eugene looks away from them as Varian wrenches himself free from Cassandra’s vice grip. “Blondie, you have to admit she’s at least a little annoying.”

Rapunzel sucks in a breath. “She’s not annoying,” she repeats, mostly to herself than to the others.

“Good news!” Calliope calls from above. “I can get you that scroll!”

“Really?” Rapunzel’s eyes light up. “Great when can we--”

“Well, goodnight! I’ll see you all bright and early in the morning!”

“Wait, what?”

“The Spire is day’s climb up the mountain, and I for one want to be well-rested. So, again, goodnight!”

Rapunzel’s eye twitches and she turns away from the building. “Okay, this isn’t so bad… We’ll just camp out here tonight. With no caravan… Or a tent… Or gear. We got this.”

“Hustle, people! We want to get to the vault today, not next week!” Calliope calls from ahead.

“Hustle, I’ll show her a hustle,” Cassandra marches forward only to be held back by Rapunzel.

“Cass,” she squeezes the young woman’s arm and takes a calming breath. “No.”

“But--”

“Cassandra.”

“Ugh, fine.”

The party reaches the mountain trail where the Keeper waits for them with her hands on her hips.

“It’s about time. You're so slow.” she pushes her glasses up. “Do you want to get to the Spire or not?”

Rapunzel squeezes Eugene’s hand hard enough to make him wince. “Yes, please.”

“Then pick up the pace!” Calliope gestures for them to follow her. “Now if you notice, this path is made entirely out of an igneous rock known as tuff, a volcanic--”

“Actually, this is chert,” Varian says as he rolls a pebble between his finger and thumb. “A type of sedimentary rock, not igneous. Interesting fact, chert is composed of crystals and--”

Calliope scoffs and the boy falls silent. “You know, children really should be seen and not heard,” she turns away from him as he sputters. “Anyway, as I was saying, this path is made entirely of chert, a sedimentary rock, and…”

The party reluctantly follows her walking past Varian as he seethes and mutters to himself. He makes no protest when Lance simply picks him up and sits him on his shoulder before pressing on.

An hour later, Rapunzel ties up her hair after needing to use it as a rope for everyone to climb up a steep slope of the mountain. Varian passes a canteen to her and she takes a drink before offering it to Pascal.

“You’re being pretty quiet,” she says.

“I’m being seen and not heard,” he responds bitterly.

The princess places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a gentle squeeze, which quickly becomes harder when Calliope urges them to ‘stop dilly-dallying and hurry up’.

A loud roar is heard and the group freezes in place.

“What was that?” Lance asks, once again hiding behind Cassandra. “A wolf?”

“That didn’t sound like a wolf,” Cassandra says gripping the hilt of her sword.

“Please, if there were any wolves on this mountain, I would know it,” Calliope reassures them as she consults her map. She hums tilting it each and every way before her face turns pale. “Oh no.”

“What do you mean ‘oh no’?”

Clearing her throat the woman rolls the map up and stows it away in her robes. “It’s nothing, I assure you. Let’s keep going.”

The further Calliope leads them up the mountain, the more perilous it becomes. The path becomes narrower, and the rock crumbles and cracks as they walk. When Varian peaks over the edge, he reaches out for the closest person he can grab.

“Scared of heights?” Eugene asks, tightly gripping the alchemist’s hand.

“No. Just falling.”

“Are you sure this is the only way to the Spire?” Rapunzel questions as she carefully walks along the path.

“Spire,” the Keeper corrects her. “And yes, of course, I’m sure this leads to the Spire… It’s just… This particular path was considered too dangerous so we don’t exactly… Use it… Anymore.”

Calliope turns to face them with a sheepish grin and they just stare at her with disbelief.

“You mean to tell me you took us down a path you knew was dangerous?!” Cassandra hisses, careful not to raise her voice in the event it was to cause a rockfall.

“Well, yes, b-but only because it was faster than turning around and going back to the proper path!”

“Yeah, we’re turning around.” Eugene decides.

Before he could move to turn around there’s another loud roar, and a large rock falls and destroys the path behind them. He lets out a heavy sigh and they reluctantly continue down the perilous path.

“Finally,” Lance hugs the nearest tree when they, finally reach the summit of the mountain. “Solid ground!”

“Uh, Lance?” Varian calls and he turns to look at him. “That tree is covered in poison ivy.”

Lance cries out in a high pitched voice and jumps away from the tree, making Cassandra snort with laughter.

“There it is!” Rapunzel announces, sounding relieved. “The Spire!”

“Really?” Calliope gasps before quickly clearing her throat. “I mean,of course. I knew I’d get us here. And it’s Spire.”

Rapunzel takes a breath to calm herself down. “Please… The scroll.”

“Of course. Right this way.” the Keeper leads the party to the vault and stares at her collection of keys with uncertainty. She tries one key, then another, and another, and another.

Another roar is heard, and it’s much louder than before and the ground beneath them begins shaking. A large shadow is cast over them and slowly, they turn around to face a large, red, bear-like creature with the horns of a ram.

“W-What is that?”

“The kurloc…” Calliope drops her keyring. “It’s… It’s real?!”

The beast, the kurloc, lets out another roar before getting on all fours and gets ready to charge.

“Now would be a good time to unlock the vault!”

The Keeper picks up the keys and fumbles with them again. “I-I’m trying! I don’t know which one’s the right key!”

The kurloc charges at them, and they just barely avoid being impaled by its horns by jumping out of the way. It slams into the double doors, denting them slightly and leaving it stunned.

“You’re the Keeper of the Spire, how can you not know which is the right key?!” Rapunzel demands angrily.

“Because I’m not the real Keeper of the Spire!” Calliope admits. “I’m just the
Keeper’s apprentice!”

Before Rapunzel could properly process everything, the Kurlock lets out another roar and tears her attention away from the woman under her. She watches as the beast attacks her friends, Cassandra fending it off with her sword only to be knocked aside by one of its massive paws and renders her unconscious.

“Cassandra!” Rapunzel gets to her feet and unties her hair. She turns to Calliope. “Keeper of the Spire or--”

The kurloc roars again and when they turn to it, it has pink goo stuck to its fur and Varian under its paw.

The young alchemist cowers when the beast opens it’s maw and bears its teeth at him. Its jaws are forced shut when it's lassoed by long golden hair. Rapunzel pulls against the kurloc, making it rear up on its hind legs and giving Varian the chance to scramble away.

She pulls and pulls until it falls onto its back, creating a cloud of dust, and the group takes the chance to run into a nearby cave while it was confused.

“Cass?” Rapunzel shakes her friend's shoulder. “Cass, please wake up!”

“Hang on Sunshine, I got this.” Eugene steps forward. He removes one of his boots and holds it under the swords woman's nose, causing her to gag and come too.

“Oh, gross!” she shoves him away, gagging and he smiles.

“She’s fine.”

Rapunzel sighs in relief before turning back to Calliope. “Listen, I don’t know who you are,” she begins. “But, it doesn’t matter to me if you’re the real Keeper of the Spire or not.”

“What does matter is that I trusted you! We all trusted you! And all you did was insult us and put us in danger!”

“It’s pronounced spire--”

“I don’t care how it’s pronounced!” Rapunzel actually shouts, completely frustrated. “Cassandra got hurt because of you. Varian was almost eaten because of you. All because you lied to us and said you were the Keeper of the Spire!” the princess is red in the face and her chest heaves as she catches her breath. “I think you owe us an explanation.”

“I lied because I wanted to prove to that I could be the true Keeper of the Spire,” Calliope admits, fiddling with the keys. “My master, the real Keeper, even though he chose me to be his apprentice… He left me because he knows I'm not fit for it...”

“I thought that if I did this, that I could prove to him that I am ready to be the Keeper.”

Rapunzel’s eyebrows knit together. “Calliope… Why didn’t you just tell us the truth?”

“Would you have trusted an apprentice whose own master abandoned her?”

“... I don’t know. But what I do know is we probably wouldn’t be in this cave.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point… I’m sorry, Rapunzel. I really am.”

Rapunzel sighs. “If I’m being perfectly honest right now, I’m still pretty mad at you. Not so much for lying, but because of the danger that lie has put us in.”

“I wish I could figure out a way to distract him long enough to get by…” Calliope mumbles. “But I’m just a mediocre street performer unless it involves flash, panache, and sleight of hand, I’m pretty much…” she trails off, eyes turning wide under her glasses. “I have an idea. But, I’m going to need your guys’ help.”

The kurloc paces back and forth in front of the vault, sniffing the ground for those humans that were so desperate to get in. It freezes, ears pinning back when smoke starts pouring out from the woods.

“Oh mighty Kurloc!” a booming voice calls out. “I am Calliope, er, apprentice to the Keeper of the Spire!” the woman emerges from the smoke as Lance and Pascal fan the flames.

“Prepare yourself, Kurloc, for wonder!”

Rapunzel anxiously sits in a tree, waiting for her signal from Calliope. She can hear her performing her tricks in the distance, and then she hears the kurloc roar. It’s time.

The kurloc, tired of Calliope’s trickery chases her through the woods. It snaps at her, just narrowly missing the back of her robe. Suddenly, the woman is scooped up by one of the others, and the kurloc skids to a halt only to be tripped by 70 feet of golden hair.

It tumbles over the side of the cliff and Varian and Eugene rush over to see if the trap had worked. Peering over the edge, they watch as the kurloc stands, sniffing at a green smoke swirling around it. It sways a bit before collapsing and snoring loudly.

They bump their fists together. “Nice call on the sleep gas.”

“Thanks. I would have used it earlier, but then all of us would have been put to sleep.”

Cassandra joins them and looks down at the sleeping beast. “Great, let’s go get that scroll piece before it wakes up.”

The party holds their breath as Calliope unlocks the vault, following her inside when she pushes the double doors open. The apprentice suddenly stops and stares at the staircase, forcing them to stop as well and follow her gaze.

A man with a long white beard and long robes stands there, smiling with pride in his eyes. “Well done, Calliope!”

“Keeper!”

Calliope runs forward and the man embraces her, hugging her tightly. “I’m so very proud of you, my dear.”

“You are?”

“Of course,” the Keeper pulls away from his apprentice to look at her and smiles. “I’ve always been proud of you, Calliope. I never once doubted you or your abilities.”

“But then… Why did you leave me?”

“To make you remember why it is I chose you to be my apprentice in the first place. You never give up, Calliope, even when things get hard you always prevail. Just as you did with the kurloc, the mountain pass, and when you perform for a…” he trails off in search of the proper word. “Aggressively indifferent crowd.”

“Eh,” Calliope shrugs. “They were just too stunned by my greatness to clap.”

“Um,” Rapunzel raises a hand. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but, uh… Wasn’t there an easier way to do that? That beast almost killed us.”

“Hm? Oh, the kurloc is a loyal pet. I assure you, I wouldn’t have let it hurt any of you.”

“It gave me a concussion,”

“It tried to eat me,”

Cassandra and Varian mutter in unison. Rapunzel clears her throat. “That’s great, but… Can we please get the third piece of the scroll?”

“I’m afraid that isn’t up to me anymore,” the Keeper says. “For you see, I am no longer the keeper.” he looks down at Calliope. “Well? May they have what they seek?”

“W-what?” Calliope blinks, and her eyes widen in realization. “Oh! Yes, of course! This way, Rapunzel!”

It’s late at night by the time the party returns to the caravan. Exhausted, they all collapse around the firepit. No one moves for the longest time until Lance starts scratching at his rashes, and Varian vanishes into the caravan emerging a few moments later while mixing something in a jar.

Rapunzel pulls the piece of parchment from her purse. “We went through a lot to get this,” she says while Eugene lights a fire and Varian hands his concoction to Lance.

The others gather around her, Cassandra leaning on her shoulder, Eugene resting his head in her lap, Varian with his chin on her head while Lance hovers behind them, his rashes now covered in whatever the alchemist had made for him.

They patiently wait for her to unroll the parchment, and when she does they all stare at it in confusion.

“We almost got killed for that?” Cassandra asks, unimpressed.

“It’s just a guy in a hood!” Eugene groans and Pascal pats his temple with his claws.

“I dunno, he looks kind of important,” Lance muses.

“Who is he?” Varian asks with curiosity.

“I don’t know,” Rapunzel answers. “But… I have a feeling we’re going to find out.”

Chapter Text

Seagulls cry overhead and a salty sea breeze ruffles Rapunzel’s hair as she paints in her journal. The black rocks were leading her and her party across the sea, and after converting the caravan into a boat, they set sail down the path the rocks made for them.

“Is there anything better than this?” Rapunzel asks the group as she leans back. “The sun in your face, the wind blowing through your hair.” Pascal looks at her. “Or scales.”

“Trust me, princess, there are so many things that are better than this” Varian says, clutching a bucket and looking positively green. “Dryland, for starters.”

“Oh! I see an island!” Lance announces as he gazes through a telescope. “Looks like a tropical oasis.”

“Unless the rocks are pointing us there, we’re not going,” Cassandra says from the helm and they sail right past the island.

Eugene sits besides Rapunzel and lies back with his arms under his head. “You know, I had my doubts about converting the caravan into a boat, but now that we’re out here, with a nice breeze, and not a single cloud in the sky… I can finally work on my tan.”

Rapunzel smiles and lies down with him and he puts an arm around her. She sits up when there’s a splash and looks over the side of the caravan to see Maximus fishing Shorty out of the water by his beard and she lies back down.

After nearly a week of sailing, they finally reach dry land and quickly convert the caravan to its usual self.

“I’ve never been so excited to see dirt in my entire life,” Varian says as he collapses beside Rapunzel. “If I never go sailing again it’ll be too soon.”

“I hate to break it to you, but we’re going to have too when we go back to Corona.” Cassandra reminds him and he groans into the princess’ hair.

“Don’t worry, when we do we’ll be on an actual ship,” the princess assures him while rubbing his back.

“I’m just glad we got here in one piece,” Eugene says as he sits on Rapunzel’s other side. “For a while, I was worried there might be some storm that makes us crash land on a deserted island.”

“Like in Flynn Rider and the Lost Island of Gold?” Varian asks.

“Yeah. You know; for the longest time, my dream was to live on that very island. Tan, rested, alone, and surrounded by enormous piles of money… But then that all changed when I met Rapunzel.”

Eugene pulls her into a kiss and Cassandra makes a gagging noise. She gestures to Lance. “Not in front of the kid!”

Early that next morning, Rapunzel steps out of the caravan and yawns. She tiptoes around the horses and to the nearby stream so she can wash her face, but she finds Varian instead.

“Goodmorning, Varian.” Rapunzel greets him.

“Morning, princess,” he responds, stretching his arms over his head. “Going for a morning stroll?”

The princess dabs her face with some cool fresh water, and she feels refreshed in no time. “Care to join me?”

“And then he gives me the smolder, but I wasn’t falling for it, no sir. He was taking me to see those lanterns and that was that.” Rapunzel smiles fondly as she recounts the day she and Eugene met.

“It was the best day of my life.”

“So you really did knock him out with a frying pan? He didn’t just make that up?”

“Oh no, I totally knocked him out with my frying pan. Twice, actually.”

“Huh, remind me not to cross you, princess.”

As Rapunzel and Varian continue their morning stroll, a bush begins rustling in front of them. Rapunzel readies to untie her hair while Varian grabs a large stick, only for them both to freeze when something they least expected emerges from the shrubbery.

“Is that…”

“A monkey?”

The animal stares at them with crossed eyes for a moment before walking over to them and climbing onto Varian’s shoulder. The young alchemist simply stands there, unsure to do as the monkey sniffs at his hair.

Rapunzel giggles. “I think he likes you,” she says, offering her hand to the animal. “Maybe you remind him of his owner?”

“Maybe, but… Where did he come from? We’re not even close to the nearest town.”

“Hm,” Rapunzel examines the monkey, checking his turban for any form of identification. She lets out a sharp gasp. “You’re Vigor!”

The monkey grunts, bouncing on Varian’s shoulder. “Vigor?”

“Yes! Eugene and I went to see him the first time we went to Corona! He’s a fortune teller. What was his owner’s name… Oh! Madame Canardist!”

Varian scoffs. “I’m sorry princess, but you really expect me to believe that this monkey can predict the future? That’s scientifically impossible for a human, let alone a monkey.”

“We’re following magic black rocks that make my magic hair glow, and yet you don’t believe fortune-telling is real?”

“All fortune tellers are con artists. They just point out the obvious but say it in such a cryptic, showy way that makes people fall for it.”

“You know, you sound just like Eugene.”

“Let’s just find this Madam Carandist and get him home,” Varian tries to pull Vigor off of him, but the monkey wraps his arms around him tightly and he gives up. “Okay, fine, you can stay.”

Rapunzel, Varian, and Vigor travel further into the forest, going in the direction the monkey had come from in hopes of somehow retracing his steps. They eventually come to a clearing where they stop to take in their surroundings.

“Okay… Now what?” Varian pulls his goggles around his neck when the monkey starts to gnaw on them.

“Vigor,” Rapunzel snaps her fingers to get his attention. “Do you know where your home is?” She tries and Varian gives her a look. “What? Monkeys are highly intelligent animals.”

Vigor simply stares into the distance, blinking each eye individually before picking his ear.

“Let me try something,” Varian digs into his pocket and pulls out a silver piece and holds it before the monkey. “Hey, Vigor, where did you come from?”

The monkey stares at it for a moment before snatching it and jumping off Varian’s shoulders. He begins howling and barking and he produces some tarot cards. He shuffles them before laying them out and holding one out to them.

“... The sun?” Rapunzel reads, tilting her head. Her eyebrows furrow when the monkey eats the card.

“Well, the sun is the symbol of Corona, and you first met Vigor there so I guess he’s from Corona,” Varian concludes as Vigor holds his arms up to him. He picks the monkey up and puts him back on his shoulder.

“Well… We can’t just turn around and take him back to Corona… So maybe we should just take him along with us?”

“Hm, a raccoon, chameleon, a sword-fighting horse, and a quote-unquote psychic monkey... If we can train Fidella to dance, we could be a traveling circus.”

Rapunzel laughs. “Let’s just get back to camp. The others are probably starting to wonder where we are.”

“Vigor!” They whirl around to a teenage girl. She runs up to them, brown eyes widening slightly. She clears her throat. “Thank goodness you found him. I’ve been looking everywhere for him.”

“You’re Madame Canardist?” Varian questions, skeptical.

“Oh, no, I’m... Her assistant,” she answers. “Vigor wandered off and she sent me after him before he got lost. So… I’ll just take him back now.”

Vigor makes no move to leave Varian’s shoulder, cooing softly. Varian scratches behind the monkey’s ear. He shares a look with the princess.

“Can we go with you?” Rapunzel asks. “I wouldn’t mind having my fortune told.”

“Uh,” the girl hesitates, chewing on a lock of black hair. “Um, okay, yeah, sure you can,” she answers after a moment. “I’m sure Madame will be happy I not only found Vigor, but I brought customers as well.”

Rapunzel and Varian follow the girl deeper into the forest. Varian’s hand slips into his pocket and curses under his breath when he remembers he left all his chemicals back at the caravan. He walks a bit closer to the girl and eyes her again.

“Have we met before?” he asks, pulling Vigor’s hand away from his nose.

“Nope, I’ve never seen you before in my life,” she answers, she picks up the pace before he could ask her any more questions.

They soon come to a cave and the girl motions for them to stop. Three women are waiting for them there, looking similar to one another as if they were sisters. They stand up, weapons at the ready.

An older woman with black hair with streaks of grey emerges from the cave. She grins as the princess’s and alchemist’s eyes widen with recollection. “Well done, Lana.”

“You’re those bandits that attacked us,” Rapunzel says. It's been at least two months since that, but she'd recognize this woman anywhere.

“Good, you remember us. Now, we can do this one of two ways: the easy way; where you hand over the monkey and be on your merry way. Or, the hard way; where we take him from you. Which will it be, Blondie?”

“If you want him, you’re going to have to go through us first.”

The princess quickly unties her hair, and before any of the women could react, she uses it to grab a sword and pulls it back. Varian catches it as Vigor retreats up a nearby tree and gets into position.

The woman smiles wide. “I was hoping you’d pick the hard way.”

“You know, I was hoping for a rematch,” Lana says as she and Varian clash swords. “Gotta say, you’ve gotten better since last time, Mr. Alchemist.”

“I told you, I have a really good teacher.”

Rapunzel’s hair is suddenly around his middle and he’s pulled to the side just as one of the other women slams a battle ax into the earth. He quickly recollects himself as Lana charges at him, blocking every swing of her sword until he trips over a tree root.

Lana points her sword at him and they stare at each other, uncertainty swimming in her eyes. She’s shoved away by the woman with the battle ax who raises it above her head, only to drop it when Vigor suddenly drops down and blinds her with his hands.

Varian’s chest heaves as he watches the woman struggle to pry the monkey off of her head, but his attention is quickly drawn by Rapunzel as she struggles to fend off the three other women.

He and Lana share a glance before grabbing the sword he dropped and rushes to her aid, using the hilt to strike one woman in the stomach and knock the wind out of her.

Rapunzel whips her hair and it tightly wraps around another woman. She then, with all her might, swings her and knocks her into the woman struggling to pull Vigor off her face, knocking them both to the ground.

The princess pants tiredly with her head hung, only raising it when Varian steps between her and the woman with the daggers. She grabs him with one hand, uses her hair to lasso the monkey and pulls them both close to her just as the woman lunges at them, her hair cocooning around them and protecting them from her attacks.

The daggers shatter on impact, and the woman stumbles backward in shock.

“First goo, and now this?! Just what are you people?!”

Rapunzel’s hair unwraps itself and she shrugs. “Oh you know, just some members of a traveling circus.”

Varian snorts and the woman turns red in the face. She goes to grab the first weapon she can but Lana stops her.

“Mother. It’s over. We lost.” she tells her. “We can’t win this and you know it.”

The woman growls but lets her daughter lead her away. She shoots the two a look from over her shoulder. “This isn’t over!”

The bandits disappear deeper into the forest and Rapunzel sighs. “That… Was a close one.” she looks down at Varian as he squirms in her grip.

“Rapunzel… I can’t breath--”

“There you are!” Eugene runs over to Rapunzel and Varian when they finally return. “I’ve been worried sick about you two, where did-- Is that a monkey?” he points at the animal on Varian’s shoulder as he walks by.

“His name is Vigor and I’m keeping him,” Varian says plainly as Ruddiger climbs up onto his other shoulder. The raccoon sniffs at the monkey who simply stares off into space.

“Only until we get back to Corona,” Rapunzel corrects him as Pascal crawls from Eugene’s shoulder into her palms.

“Where did you even find a monkey?” Cassandra asks, watching as Vigor puts his finger in his ear before eating whatever it is he pulled out of it.

“Well, it’s more like… He found us.”

Windchimes can suddenly be heard and the monkey begins howling and jumps down from Varian’s shoulder. He takes the alchemist by the hand and pulls him along. The rest of the party follows them, and they soon come to an ornate caravan, a woman sobbing on its steps.

Vigor releases Varian’s hand and runs over to the woman and she instantly perks up. “Vigor!” She hugs the animal. “Oh, my precious Vigor thank goodness you have returned to me! I thought I lost you!”

Vigor barks, climbing onto her shoulder and coos at her. She turns her attention to the party. “You there, boy and blonde-haired girl!” she approaches them. “Vigor says that you were the ones to rescue him from those awful bandits.”

“Bandits?” Cassandra repeats. “Just what were you two doing?!”

“I’ll explain later, Cass,” Rapunzel tells her before turning back to Madame Canardist.

“As thanks, Vigor wishes to give a free fortune regarding your quest.”

Rapunzel’s eyes sparkle and Varian suppresses the urge to roll his eyes.

“The answer you seek lies within the great tree…” Varian reads aloud, staring at the piece of paper that was given to them.

“I wonder what it means?” Rapunzel wonders as they walk back to the campsite.

“Who knows,” Cassandra puts her arms around both of them and pulls them in close. “Now tell me about those bandits.”

Chapter Text

“The answer you seek lies within the great tree…” Varian mumbles to himself. He holds the fortune up, reading it by lantern light as the others sleep. His eyebrows furrow. “What does it mean?”

He feels silly, not being able to let go of the monkey’s fortune. Logically, he knows that there’s no way it could possibly mean anything, but it’s been driving him crazy for the past two weeks. Folding the fortune, he puts it in his vest and pulls out the map.

He skims it over, blue eyes falling on the depiction of a large tree. He sits up suddenly, rolling out of his cot and runs outside. He ignores Lance when he calls out to him, running to the cliff ahead.

Once there, he stops and holds out the map. He lowers it and in the distance, he can see the very same tree depicted on the map.

He knows where they have to go.

“So, you want to go sightseeing because a magic monkey told you too?” Eugene asks, raising an eyebrow. He looks out at the tree from where the party stands on the cliff. “I mean, it’s a really big tree, but I thought you didn’t believe in all that mumbo jumbo?”

“I don’t, but…” Varian looks away from the three. “But the rocks are going that way, so it’s not like we’ll be going out of the way.”

“It would do you some good, actually,” the party freezes and Adira casually joins them at the cliff. “That tree, it’s known as the Great Tree,” Varian sticks his tongue out at Eugene as Adira continues. “It’s completely hollow on the inside, and it’s your fastest way across the mountains.”

“And why should we trust your word?” Cassandra challenges. “The last time you sent us somewhere we were almost killed by a kurloc.”

“Well, if you’d rather spend weeks, perhaps months crossing the mountains, then I won’t stop you.” Adira shrugs. She folds her arms behind her back and walks towards the princess. “But a choice like that isn't really up to a lady in waiting, now is it?”

Cassandra glares at the back of the woman’s head before locking eyes with Rapunzel. Rapunzel bites her lower lip and looks at the rest of her party.

“We’re going to that tree,” she says through a sigh, before finally looking at Adira. “You’re going to guide us there, and through it.”

“Of course, Princess.”

“Adira,” Varian approaches her later that afternoon. He opens his mouth to say something but no words come out.

“You want to know if I’ve found a way to save your father,” Adira says for him. “I’m sorry to say, but I haven’t found anything just yet. I even tried to ask Hector but he wouldn’t hear what I had to say.”

“Who’s Hector?”

Adira goes to respond but the ground beneath them begins shaking. The rest of the party turn their attention to the road behind them. A rhinoceros appears behind them with a man on its back. On either side of the rhino are two wolverines, growling with their teeth bared.

“That’s Hector.”

Just as the rhino charges at them, Adira grabs Varian and leaps onto the top of the caravan as it takes off.

Varian struggles to find his footing on the roof, nearly falling if not for Adira grabbing the front of his shirt when the rhino rams into it. Hector jumps from the rhino’s back, slashing at Adira with the sword on his wrist.

Adira blocks the attack with her dark blade.

“Hector, stop and listen to me for a moment--”

“Why exactly should I listen to a lousy traitor?” Hector demands. “I told you, didn’t I? You ain’t my sister anymore!”

The rhino rams into the side of the caravan again, and Adira shoves Varian to the side so she can deal with Hector as one of the wolverine's leaps onto the roof. The animal lunges for him, but he’s quick to roll out of the way, causing it to fall off the caravan as it splits into two.

“Varian!”

His chest tightens as he watches Adira and half of the caravan vanish up a hill with the two wolverines on their tail. He rolls away again as Hector’s blade pierces the roof of the caravan and he hears Lance yelp from inside.

Varian gets to his feet, unsheathing his own sword, thankful that Cassandra had gotten him into the habit of always having one on him, as Hector pulls his free. The man turns to face him, his eyebrow arched in amusement.

“Now, just what is a runt like you going to do with that?”

“You’re Hector, right?” Varian asks, voice shaking ever so slightly. When the man makes no move towards him or goes to speak, Varian clears his throat. “My name his Varian, Quirin’s my father and--”

Hector charges at him, effectively knocking the sword out of the alchemist’s hand when he goes to block, sending it flying over the cliff, never to be seen again. He grabs the boy by the collar of his shirt and pulls him close.

“If you’re Quirin’s son, then that makes you one of us,” Hector tells him. “That means, it’s your duty to make sure no one enters the Dark Kingdom.”

“What--But, I-- Rapunzel’s the Sundrop! Adira says--”

“Listen to me, you can’t trust Adira. The only thing that waits for you in the Dark Kingdom is your doom. If you care about your friends, you’ll convince them to turn back and go home.”

Varian’s eyes go wide when Hector shoves him away before jumping off the caravan. Everything after that is a blur, and when he finally registers what’s happening, Varian finds himself hanging upside down above the ravine, Rapunzel’s hair tightly wrapped around his ankle.

“Heh,” Lance laughs nervously. “There has got to be an easier way to hang out together.”

“You know, I’m kind of glad we were chased by Crazy Rhino Man,” Eugene says. “Things were going a bit too smooth, if we’re not being chased by something, it just doesn’t feel right.”

Eugene laughs, quickly going silent when his joke falls flat. He clears his throat and Rapunzel walks up to Adira.

“Adira, who was that man?”

“And don’t give us any of your cryptic runaround shit,” Cassandra states.

“That was Hector,” Adira answers. “And I don’t think I like your tone.”

Cassandra puts her hands over her mouth. “Oh no! I am so sorry I gave you the impression that I care.”

Rapunzel steps between them. “Who is Hector?”

“He’s a member of the Brotherhood. A group of warriors sworn to keep any and all from entering the Dark Kingdom.”

The princess’s eyebrows furrow. “But, that’s where we’re going...”

“Just how many members of this ‘Brotherhood’ are there?”

“Not many, there’s me, Hector, and Quirin,”

“Dad? A warrior?” Varian questions her. “That can’t be, he’s… He’s a pumpkin farmer!”

“I’m not surprised Quirin didn’t tell you who he was before, but I assure you, if anyone can go toe to toe with Hector, it’s your father.” She turns away from Varian as his eyes go downcast.

Cassandra crosses her arms. “If your sworn duty is to keep people out of the Dark Kingdom, then why are you helping us get in?”

“Because it is Rapunzel’s destiny as the Sundrop,” Adira says plainly. “Now, we should hurry,” she continues. “This tree is Hector’s domain, and I assure you, he’s seen through your ruse already.”

“Woah, woah, wait a minute. Are you telling us in order to get where we need to go, we need to go through the house of the guy who’s willing to kill us to keep us from getting there?” Eugene demands.

“Yeah, I don’t like that,” Cassandra adds. “We barely escaped this guy with our lives, trusting her and going through this guy's home turf that he knows like the back of his hand? I wouldn’t call that ‘smart’.”

All eyes are on Rapunzel and the princess pushes a strand of hair from her face. She pulls out the piece of the scroll depicting her destination, the words of the fortune echoing in her head. Taking a breath, she rolls the parchment up and walks forward.

“Let’s go through that tree.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel’s eyes go wide as she and her party venture into the Great Tree. The sun shines brightly above them through the branches of the tree, giving light to the flowers, bushes, and even smaller trees growing within it. Birds flew about overhead, singing their songs as other wildlife eyed the group from a distance. There’s even a waterfall pouring into a stream running through the tree.

“It’s beautiful…” she says in amazement.

“Yeah, it’s great. But we need to hurry before Hector catches up with us.” Cassandra reminds her.

“I know, it’s just… When this is all over we have got to come back and-- Varian, watch out!”

Varian suddenly falls when he walks off a ledge. Cassandra grabs his wrist before he could fall into the abyss, swallowing hard as he stares down into the pit. Together with Eugene, Cassandra pulls him back onto solid ground. “Thanks.”

“Let’s hurry up and get out of here,” Cassandra reiterates. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“That’s probably because this tree was once known as the Tree of Zhan Tiri,” Adira says. She swiftly cuts down a tree and exposes a mural of the demon.

Rapunzel’s eyes go wide. “Zhan Tiri? You mean that… That sorcerer who’s magic caused a deadly snowstorm that nearly destroyed Corona?”

“You might have mentioned that before bringing us here,” Cassandra spats.

“Relax, Short Hair. This place is completely harmless now. You see, millennia ago, this tree was once a sentient being, a force of good. But it was corrupted by the dark magic of Zhan Tiri, who transformed it into his stronghold. It would destroy any and all who approached it.”

“But Lord Demanitus put an end to it, by striking the tree's heart with an enchanted spear of his own design. So really, you have nothing to worry about now. The dark magic within the three has long been gone. Plus, you have me.”

Varian crosses his arms. “Demanitus and Zhan Tiri are just urban legends,” he says. “This tree is just a normal tree that naturally became like this over the course of thousands, if not millions, of years. Sure, if Zhan Tiri was real, he could have made it his stronghold, but everything else can be scientifically explained. There’s no magic involved.”

Adira smiles and walks over him. She leans down, causing him to lean back. “You of all people should know that science is just magic that can be explained.”

“Now come along, we have quite the climb ahead of us.”

“Varian, buddy,” Lance puts his arm around the boy's shoulder. “Adira’s sort of your aunt, right?”

“Um… I guess?”

“Then you could put a good word in for me, can’t you?” he asks and Varian rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, no, I’m not going to do that.” Varian wiggles his way out of the man's hold, snickering to himself when he all but whines.

“Lance, buddy,” Eugene puts a hand on his back. “Adira’s just not interested in you.”

“Of course she’s interested! She’s just playing hard to get.” Lance grabs Varian again and pulls him close to his side. “Which is where her cute and adorable nephew comes in.”

“I am fifteen years old, I am not ‘cute’ or ‘adorable’!”

Maximus neighs before they could bicker anymore and they rejoin the group. Varian wrenches himself free of Lance’s hold and joins Rapunzel and Cassandra upfront. They follow Adira through a long corridor lined by suits of armor, rusted and covered in vines and ivy after centuries of neglect.

Adira slices through some thick vines, allowing the group to enter a circular room. Trees grow and stretch high above them, their branches intermingling with branches of the original Great Tree. Scrolls, long forgotten, are scattered around the ground while others remain on their shelves. Runes are carved into the walls all around them, and frogs chirp from the small pond in the center of the room.

Rapunzel gazes around the room, squeezing Eugene’s arm in excitement while Varian goes through the assortment of scrolls.

Rapunzel pulls Eugene to a halt when her eyes land on a very familiar carving. She pulls out the first scroll piece and holds it up for comparison. Eugene stares at it.

“What does it mean?”

“No one knows for sure,” Adira answers. “But many have given their lives to find out.”

“Well, someone got somewhere.” Cassandra says as she hands a scroll to Rapunzel.

“Flower gleam and glow… Let your powers shine--” the princess lets out a gasp. “That’s the healing incantation for the Sundrop!” She studies the scroll closer. She knows that handwriting. “This is where she got it…”

“Blondie?” Eugene calls out to her and she quickly recollects herself.

“Uh, Rapunzel?” Varian gains her attention. “I think I found another incantation.”

“For the Sundrop?” Cassandra asks as Varian hands the incantation to the princess.

Rapunzel’s green eyes scan the parchment. “No. This is for the Moonstone.”

“If the Sundrop heals…” Eugene begins.

“Then what does the Moonstone do?” Lance finishes.

Rapunzel walks back to the edge of the pond, staring at the mural above her before looking back to the scroll in her hands. She takes a breath.

“Wither and decay,” she recites. “End this destiny,” she closes her eyes. “Break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free.” She opens her eyes and pulls a strand of hair down to inspect it. Nothing’s happened. So, she repeats it.

Pascal squeaks nervously from Maximus’ head as the room becomes quiet and still. Max and Fidella look around the room, their ears twitching while Ruddiger curls tighter around Varian’s neck.

The grass under Rapunzel’s feet suddenly turns black as she repeats the incantation for a third time as if she were in a trance.

“Uh… Raps?” Cassandra calls to her as the darkness spreads and the flowers around them begin to wilt.

Rapunzel doesn’t answer and Eugene looks at her with worry. “Rapunzel? Rapunzel snap out of it!”

Varian grips his head in pain, breathing heavily as one by one everyone collapses around him and the princess.

“Rapunzel--” Eugene chokes out as he desperately reaches out for her with little strength.

The princess drops the scroll to the ground, her hair turning jet black as she stares blankly ahead with black eyes.

Wither and decay

The melody is haunting, and it fills Varian with what he could only describe as dread as it echoes in the back of his mind. He pulls his hands away from his face, eyes widening when he sees the others simply… Lying there, unmoving.

End this destiny

Rapunzel’s hair is free from its ties, spreading out across the room and Varian stills as it curls around him, and the feeling of dread becomes stronger as a soft, blue light flows through the princess’ hair.

Break these earthly chains
And set the spirit free

Varian tries to call out to the princess, but the hair wrapping around his arms and neck stops him. He looks to the others, watching as Rapunzel’s hair saps their lives away with each note she sings of the cursed incantation.

The spirit free

The walls begin to crumble as they decay, pieces of stone falling around them but they do nothing to break the trance Rapunzel’s under. Varian runs to her, pulling himself free from her hair as it tries to keep him in its grasp.

When he reaches the princess, she’s crying as she continues to recite the incantation, and that’s when he realizes; he’s crying too. She had stopped singing, but something tells the alchemist she hadn’t been singing at all.

“Princess?” he grabs her arms, recoiling when his gloves melt away. He blinks away the tears in his eyes, and touches her again, ignoring the way her hair wraps tightly around him. “Rapunzel? Rapunzel please--” he pleads with her. “You have to stop!”

Adira pushes herself up, watching the scene before her; Rapunzel's hair was starting to cacoon around them, and she swears she can see that odd stripe in Varian's hair glow the same soft blue that flows from the princess' scalp. Her arms give out and she's forced back to the ground, unable to move as the jet black engulfs the two.

Varian grits his teeth, his heart pounding in his chest as he musters up the strength to pull Rapunzel forward and forces her into the water. It’s all he can think to do, but it works, as her hair falls away from them and returns to its usual color as the princess falls unconscious. He collapses to his knees beside her, breathing heavily as the pain in his head and the feeling of dread fades away.

“Rapunzel!” Eugene runs to her, falling to his knees and ever so carefully cradles her head in his arms. “Rapunzel--” tears well in his eyes. “Rapunzel, please, you have to wake up.” he strokes her cheek with his knuckles, and that’s enough to make her stir.

Her eyes flutter open and she smiles at him. “That was… Unexpected,” she says with a smile.

Eugene smiles and kisses her forehead. “You know, Sunshine, black doesn’t suit you all that well.”

Rapunzel gives him a light laugh as she sits up. She looks at Varian and touches his shoulder. “Varian… Are you… Are you okay?”

“I--” He stares at her, unsure what to say to her. His mind races as he tries to reason why he was the only one unaffected by Moonstone’s incantation. Or at least why it didn’t leave him weak and breathless like the others.

Varian turns away from her, looking up at the mural of the two drops and she follows his gaze. She squeezes his shoulder and he lets out a shaky breath.

“I hate magic,”

Chapter Text

It had been a few hours since Rapunzel lost control of the Moonstone’s incantation, aptly named the ‘Decay Incantation’ by Lance. They had managed to get further up the Great Tree, and once the sun had set Rapunzel decided it was best to set up camp for the night despite Cassandra’s objections.

Rapunzel steps over to Varian, watching quietly as he tries to carefully pry Shorty’s arms away from Ruddiger as the old man sleeps, She hugs herself as he manages to free the raccoon and replace him with a small log, which Shorty simply rubs his cheek on while mumbling in his sleep.

Varian stands up, scratching under Ruddiger's chin before turning to the princess. She smiles awkwardly. He looks so tired, pale, even.

“So… That was… Something.”

“Yeah,” Varian runs a hand through his hair. “It was.”

“I’m sorry about your gloves. I’ll get you a new pair as soon as possible.”

Varian blinks and looks down at his hands. “Oh, it’s alright you don’t need to.” he flexes his fingers. “I mean, I feel a bit… Weird without them, but it’s fine, really.”

Rapunzel nods sympathetically. “I remember when Eugene cut my hair… I felt so… naked without 70 feet of hair following me. But now I kind of miss it, you know?”

Varian nods and they fall into an awkward silence. He nervously wrings his hands together until the princess suddenly pulls him into a warm hug. He hesitates for a few seconds before hugging her back, smiling when she squeezes him.

“Thank you,” she says. “For stopping me, Varian.”

“Just what game are you playing at, Adira?” Cassandra demands as she approaches the woman.

“I’m not playing any games, on the contrary, I’m being quite serious.”

Cassandra balls her hands into fists as Adira simply resumes sharpening her sword.

“You should rest, Short Hair. I’ll take the first watch.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“Fine, then you take the first watch.” Adira stands and returns her sword to its sheath. She walks past Cassandra, only to stop and turn around. “Look, I don’t really care if you don’t like me or not, and I know you don’t trust me, but I want you to know, I would never put any of you in a situation I thought you couldn’t handle.”

Cassandra crosses her arms, leaning against the trunk of a tree as Adira walks away. After a few moments, she feels someone touch her shoulder and she grabs their arm and flips them.

Eugene lands hard on his back and Cassandra stares down at him with wide eyes before bursting into laughter.

“Thanks, Fitzherbert, I really needed that one.”

“That is not why I came over here…” Eugene groans as he stands up. “What I came over here for… Is to see if you’re okay.”

Cassandra stops laughing and blinks at him. “You what?”

“Cass, I’m being serious. You’ve been angry, short-tempered, and broody, much more than usual, and… I am worried about you.”

“Ugh, I must be a wreck if you’re worried about me…” The swordswoman hugs herself and leans on the tree trunk again. “It’s Adira,” she admits. “She just shows up, acts all-wise and everyone just goes along with it… She’s the one that sent us to the Spire where we were attacked by the Kurloc, and now she’s brought us to the territory of someone trying to kill us, yet everyone seems a-okay with it because she’s cool, or mysterious… It pisses me off.”

“Look, I don’t trust Adira anymore than you do, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Rapunzel trusts her, and we have to support her on that.” Eugene puts his hand on her shoulder again. “And be there for her in case Adira does turn on us.”

“Can I be honest with you about something?” Cassandra asks quietly, and Eugene squeezes her shoulder. “I’m… A little scared… Of Adira. She took us all out without even trying… What is she capable of when she is giving it her all?”

“Well… There’s no way of telling. All we can really do is be ready for whatever she may, or hopefully, may not throw at us.”

“Yeah,”

Eugene gives Cassandra one more squeeze. “I’m heading back to camp,” he says and she hums.

“Hey, Eugene,” he stops and turns back to her. “If you tell anyone what I just said, I’ll see to it that you can never do the smolder again.”

Varian sits a good distance away from the camp, flipping through his pocket-sized journal. He gets to a blank page and starts writing down the words of the Decay Incantation, the effects it had on everyone else but Rapunzel and himself.

He hadn’t said anything to anyone, but he felt… Weak ever since Rapunzel snapped out of her trance, almost as if he was drained, but the logical part of his brain tells him it’s because he’s tired and needs rest. But the other part of his brain tells him that’s not quite the case and won’t let him sleep.

He looks up from his journal when Ruddiger begins hissing, fur bristled much like a startled cat. Before he can ask him what’s wrong; he sees exactly what has the raccoon upset.

“I thought I told you to turn back,” Varian gets to his feet as Hector and his wolverines close in on him. The moonlight reflects off Hector's blade. “Seem’s I’m gonna have to make you.”

Cassandra’s head bobs as she struggles to keep herself awake. She blinks the sleep from her eyes and stares out into nothingness as she listens to the nearby fire crackle. Light reflects in her eye and when she looks over she sees Varian fighting Hector.

“Varian!” She scrambles to her feet and runs to his aid as Adira joins in the fight.

Hector sees the girl from the corner of his eye and rushes towards her. She readies herself for combat, but instead, he slices through the trunk of a tree.

“Sorry kid, this is between family only.” The tree falls, blocking Cassandra’s path and waking the rest of the party with a start. Hector rolls his shoulders and turns back to Adira and Varian.

“Now, where were we?”

Adira shoves Varian to the side when Hector charges at them, and Varian watches as she dodges each of his thrusts and slashes with ease. They were evenly matched, and Adira hadn’t even drawn her sword yet.

When Adira does draw her sword, the battle between them intensifies tenfold. They’re fast, so much so that Varian can hardly keep up with them. He looks to the fallen tree, seeing the wolverines guarding it and keeping the others at bay.

“It breaks my heart,” Hector begins. “To see the once might Adira wasting her life on some fairytale!”

“If anyone’s wasted their lives it’s you and the brothers!” Adira argues, grabbing Hector by the wrist. “You’ve spent your entire life hiding something no one was looking for!”

Hector wrenches himself free. “The Moonstone has the power to destroy the world! Keeping it hidden from the world has been the duty of the Brotherhood for centuries! We were ordered by King Edmund to keep people away, and you leading your precious Sundrop to the Dark Kingdom is an act of treason!”

As swords clash and trees fall, Varian quickly mixes some chemicals together, praying for a quick reaction so he can help Adira and stop Hector somehow. He freezes when Adira’s dark blade punctures the ground next to him and when he looks back he sees her fighting him with her hands and feet again.

“I’ve seen the power of the Sundrop first hand! I promise you, it’s more than a fairytale!” Adira says as she manages to get Hector off his feet. “Please, brother, come to the Dark Kingdom with us. Help us put an end to all of this.”

Everything is silent as Adira extends her hand to him. Hector stares at her from his place on the ground and hesitantly he takes her hand, earning a warm smile from the woman as she pulls him to his feet. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

“Forgive me, sister.”

With a cry, Hector grabs Adira’s arm and roughly throws against a tree and she falls limp to the ground. Hector’s shoulders rise and fall with each breath he takes as he gazes at her, his cold expression cracking to show one of remorse, if only for a moment before he turns away from her.

“Now, for the so-called Sundrop.”

“Hector!”

The man stops dead in his tracks. “Oops, I forgot about you for a minute. Sorry kid,” he turns to Varian and laughs. “Now, isn’t that sword a bit too big for you?”

Varian glares at him, steadying his arms as they tremble from the weight of Adira’s sword alone. Hector smiles at him in delight.

“That look in your eye,” he says, excited. “You really are Quirin’s boy!”

“We have to get on the other side of that tree,” Rapunzel says.

“Cass, you’re a dangerous, rabid, wolf-thing with razor-sharp claws and fangs, how do we get past these guys? Eugene asks.

“And here I thought I was a cold-blooded bird of--” Cassandra goes silent and smirks. “We don’t get past them,” she looks at Rapunzel, the princess quickly catching on and smirking back. “We go over them.”

When Rapunzel and Cassandra land on the other side of the tree, they find Varian barely holding his own against Hector and Adira lying unconscious. They look at each other a nod before splitting up, Cassandra going to aid Varian and Rapunzel to aid Adira.

“Come on, is that the best you got?” Hector demands as Varian struggles to keep himself upright. “Did your father teach you nothing?”

Varian can hardly hear him over his own heartbeat. He’s out of breath and his headache is back, and his vision blurs. He has no more strength in his hands and he drops the sword at his feet. Hector takes one step towards him, and he takes one step back, only to find himself trapped at the edge of a cliff.

“I’ll give you this, kid,” he’s right in front of him, towering over him and making him feel smaller than ever before. “You’ve got balls.”

“Get away from him!”

Hector is able to block Cassandra’s attack with ease, and after a brief moment, he sends her flying a few feet back. She skids backward, supporting herself with one hand before charging at him again.

“Cassandra--” Varian stumbles backward, and the next thing he sees is both Cassandra and Hector reaching to grab him with matching expressions.

Rapunzel sighs with relief when Adira comes too, giving her a soft smile as she helps her to her feet. Her smile vanishes when she hears Cassandra scream.

She looks over, finding Cassandra on her knees, peering over the edge of the cliff while Hector stands beside her. Neither of them moves for what seems like ages until Cassandra suddenly takes up Adira’s dark blade and swings it at Hector with a cry of rage.

The most she’s able to do is slice through the strap of his cloak, making it fall off his shoulders. Her shoulders tremble with rage, but she makes no move to attack him further.

“Cassandra!” Rapunzel runs over to her as Adira calmly approaches the cliffside. “Cassandra, what happened? Where’s...” she trails off and looks around, face turning pale. She turns back to her best friend, mouth turning dry when she doesn’t look her in the eye.

“Cass, where’s Varian?”

Chapter Text

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel grabs her arms. “Cassandra, please, where is he?”

Cassandra avoids her gaze. “Raps, I…” her voice trails off, and she looks to Eugene and Lance when they join them, finding that Hector had recalled his wolverines and they were now at his side.

She and Eugene lock eyes, and his eyes dart around the area. Cassandra swallows hard when Rapunzel releases her and turns to the cliff. The princess takes hold of her hair and walks to the edge, peering down into the darkness below. She begins lowering her hair into the pit, stopping only when Eugene takes her by the wrist.

She looks at him, tears stinging the corner of her eyes as he pulls her into his arms.

Varian lands hard in a bundle of roots, and it gives him a moment to stare up from where he fell. He laughs, tears welling his eyes as he lies there.

“I’m alive… I’m alive!” he stops laughing when he feels himself sinking. “Oh, no...”

He’s falling again, but luckily, the fall wasn’t anywhere near as long as before. Something metal clattering on the ground beside him pulls him out of his daze, and despite the throbbing in his head; Varian pushes himself upright.

He finds himself at the very bottom of the Great Tree, surrounded by its thick roots and vines, and cast in a pale blue light. He searches for the source of the light, finding the spear that had fallen with him, vines and roots coiled around it.

Varian picks it up and uses it to help him stand as the uneven floor disrupts his balance.

“Okay,” he takes a breath. “Okay, let’s find…” his voice trails off and he freezes.

The roots around him begin glowing in an eerie green, spreading all the way up as far as he could see. He cries out when a root tightly wraps around his wrist, quickly stabbing at it with the spear, burning through the plant and freeing himself.

"A way out..."

Millennia ago, this tree was once a sentient being, a force of good. But it was corrupted by the dark magic of Zhan Tiri, who transformed it into his stronghold.

Adira’s tale echoes in his mind as he fights against the onslaught of roots. He cuts through them with the spear, burning them away as quickly as he can.

Within a matter of seconds, the Great Tree of Zhan Tiri has him within its grasp.

“We have to find him,” Rapunzel says, once again attempting to lower herself down into the pit.

“Rapunzel,” Eugene takes her hand again. “Rapunzel, I… Varian, he--” he searches for the right thing to say.

“No one can survive a fall like that, Sundrop,” Hector says plainly and Rapunzel stiffens. “If you don’t want to end up like the kid, you’ll head back where you came from.”

“... No!” The man turns back to face the princess. “I am not giving up on him.”

“Suit yourself.”

The tree begins shaking before Hector could attack the interlopers. From the depths of the tree, glowing green roots rise and crawl up the walls around them. Eugene grabs Rapunzel and pulls her away from the cliff before she’s crushed by a large root.

Rapunzel pulls away from him, eyes turning wide when she sees just who their attacker is. “Varian…?” she gets back to her feet. “Varian!”

Varian, held high above them by glowing vines, doesn’t respond to her. His head is hung low and there’s a sickly green tint to his skin as the tree controls him like some sick, twisted puppet.

“That’s not Varian anymore,” Hector says as everyone with a sword readies themself for combat.

Rapunzel’s chest tightens and she flinches back when the alchemist finally raises his head, his eyes completely blank.

“All who enter the Great Tree of Zhan Tiri will be destroyed.” He says in a voice not quite his own.

The roots attack, slamming into the wooden platform and breaking through it from the underside, quickly leaving them trapped.

Rapunzel lassos a group of three roots with her hair, pulling them taut so Cassandra can slice them in half with her sword. She looks back to Varian. “We have to get him away from that thing!”

“The only way to do that is to use the spear,” Hector says, slicing through one of the thicker roots. “But we need to get it away from the kid first.”

Adira cuts down a group of roots and adjusts her grip on her sword. She rushes forward, leaping from root to root and swings her sword at the vines around Varian’s arm.

His grip on the spear goes slack, allowing Adira to take it from him and toss it to the others while thick vines wrap around her and keep her suspended mid-air.

Eugene makes a grab for the spear, only for a root to wrap around his ankle and jerk him back. He’s suspended by his ankle, the root coiling tightly around him.

“Eugene!” Lance rushes to his friend's aid, the ground bursting open under him as a root tightly wraps around him and keeps him in place.

Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Hector work together to cut down the onslaught of vines and roots. Rapunzel would secure groups of them together and whoever was closest would slice through them. But, for every vine and every root, they cut down, more and more grow in their place.

“There’s just no end to them,” Cassandra pants.

Rapunzel wipes the sweat from her brow. “We have to get that spear!”

“And just how do you suppose we do that, Sundrop?” Hector demands. “This thing won’t let anyone near it!”

Cassandra has knocked away and hits the back of her head on one of the fallen trees, leaving her in a daze as Hector is jerked back by the vines, and despite his struggles, they secure him in place by his arms and neck.

Varian watches helplessly from where he’s bound to the tree upon the floating stone platform amongst floating ruins, forced to watch as it attacks his friends with the intent to kill. He struggles to pull his arms free, but the roots tighten around him.

“Varian!” he stills when he hears Rapunzel’s voice, watching as the roots and vines constrict around their captives. “Varian, please! You have to stop!”

He begins struggling again. If he can break free then he can take control, then all of this would stop. “I’m trying!” he cries despite knowing his voice won’t reach her.

Now why would you want to stop? he stills again at the sound of an unknown voice. This is what you wanted isn’t it?

“What I… N-No! I don’t want this!”

Oh, but you do. You want that girl to feel what you feel, remember? You want her to suffer. You want her to suffer just as you have, and to know how it feels to be helpless to save those you hold dear.

He screws his eyes shut and he shakes his head. “No! I don’t want that anymore!”

Don’t you? the voice croons and roots tighten around him. Varian’s eyes open when he feels himself being lifted up. He’s turned around to face the tree, now in the form of the demon from the mural.

You haven’t really forgiven her, have you? Aren’t you just using her for your own gain?

Rapunzel turns away from Varian when Eugene cries out in pain as he’s crushed by the root around him. Above her, Adira is forced to drop her sword as the vines around her become even tighter, and both Lance and Hector struggle for air as the vines coil around their necks.

She catches Cassandra as she’s once again knocked away from the spear as a group of the roots sprout and twist around it. Rapunzel holds her as she grips her ribcage, looking around her as the others begin going limp. Leaning Cassandra against a fallen tree, Rapunzel stands and approaches the edge of the cliff.

“Rapunzel--” Cassandra grunts as the princess throws sections of her hair around the mass of roots. Her eyes widened. “Rapunzel, you can’t use that incantation again!”

“I have too!” Rapunzel argues. She looks up at Varian and swallows the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry…”

“Wither and decay, end this destiny…” she closes her eyes as her hair turns black. “Break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free.”

Everything around them begins crumbling as the incantation takes its effect. The tree begins to split letting in the morning light as the vines begin to shrivel up and break. The roots begin turning grey and become weak, allowing the others to break free from their grip

Cassandra cuts through the roots around the spear and pulls it free as more of the tree begins to fall. The ground beneath her gives away, but before she can fall; Adira grabs her hand.

They say nothing as the older woman pulls her back onto solid ground, Cassandra simply giving her a nod before turning back to the princess.

“Rapunzel! I’ve got the spear! Let go!”

“I--” Rapunzel grits her teeth. “I can’t! Just… All of you, get out of here!”

“No! I’m not leaving you!” Eugene argues, pulling away from Lance when he takes his arm. “Lance, get Shorty and the animals out of here!”

“But the princess--”

“Go, now!”

Lance picks up Shorty and ushers the animals out of the tree while Eugene, Cassandra, Adira, and Hector watch the roots constricting Varian begin to decay and the boy goes limp.

“You’re killing him, Sundrop!” Hector snaps and Rapunzel looks at them in fear.

‘I can’t control it!”

Cassandra runs up to the princess. Varian was able to snap her out of it by forcing her into the water. But there’s no water here, but maybe if she can pull her away, or even knock her out if she has too then-- She touches Rapunzel’s arm and a searing burning pain shoots through her hand.

Cassandra screams in agony and Rapunzel stops reciting the spell, her hair returning to its golden blonde color as she turns to her friend. “Cassandra!”

Cassandra falls to her knees, cradling her arm to her chest as the platform they’re on begins to split apart. Adira and Hector have no other choice than to leap away when it crumbles under their feet. Eugene grabs her and pulls her away as it splits beneath her, and he and Rapunzel lock eyes for a brief moment before she turns back to Varian as the roots suspending him begin to break away.

“Rapunzel!” she looks back to him and he smiles. “Be careful.”

Lance watches from the outside as the tree collapses with wide eyes. He runs to the ledge with Maximus and the other animals on his heels and looks down, ignoring the way his stomach churns as the dust settles. He holds his breath as a large piece of bark moves, bursting into tears when he sees Eugene and Cassandra sit up.

Eugene coughs into his fist before frantically looking around for Rapunzel, seeing Adira and Hector pick themselves up from the rubble a few feet away. His attention turns back to Cassandra when she sobs in pain, and carefully he pulls her injured hand away from her chest.

He turns pale at the sight of it, charred and blistered all the way up to her wrist. “Cass… Are you--”

“I’m fine,” she hisses. She sees a discarded suit of armor from the corner of her eyes and she gets to her feet, Eugene standing with her. “Just find Rapunzel.”

Eugene wants to protest, because it’s clear as day that she is not fine, but now isn’t the time for arguing so he gives her shoulder a gentle squeeze before leaving her to find Rapunzel in the wreckage.

He begins turning over pieces of bark and digging through broken tree limbs in search of his princess, growing more and more frantic with each passing second. He freezes when he hears coughing and runs over to the pile of tree limbs it’s coming from. He digs through them as quickly as he can, tears filling his eyes when he sees familiar blonde hair.

“Rapunzel,” he brushes her hair from her face and she turns to look at him, giving him a tired smile. She holds Varian tightly in her arms, fingers curled tightly into his shirt.

Eugene smiles, pulling them both into his arms. He holds them close, kissing both of their heads before tightening his grip. Varian stirs and his eyes flutter open. Rapunzel and Eugene smile at him, the princess brushing some dirt from his cheek. He smiles weakly and finds himself leaning into her touch.

“Thank you, for stopping me.”

Chapter Text

The sun hangs low in the sky as a campfire burns away at pieces of wood from the Great Tree, giving light to the party as they tend to their wounds.

Cassandra stares at her hand before attempting to pull a glove over it, she cries out and doubles over in pain. Her new armor rattles as she trembles, raising her head when Rapunzel gently takes her hand and begins rubbing some sort of ointment Varian had made a few weeks ago after burning himself during an experiment. She studies the princess’s face; her eyebrows were knit tightly together, and her lower lip trembles as she fights back the tears in the corners of her green eyes.

She goes to speak but stops herself and looks away from her instead. Cassandra looks over to the campsite where Lance tends to the fire, watching as Varian pulls his shirt over his bandaged torso. He winces in pain, and then Eugene helps him pull it on the rest of the way. Her eyes narrow as those damned wolverines sniff at the alchemist, one of them licking his cheek while the other simply lies down next to him with Ruddiger on its back.

That means Hector is still nearby. Fantastic.

Cassandra tears her eyes away from the scene when Rapunzel begins to wrap some gauze loosely around her injured hand. Rapunzel holds her hand gently between her own trembling hands, unable to look her in the eye. Cassandra places her uninjured hand on the princess’s hand and gives her a light squeeze, smiling gently at her when she looks at her.

Varian looks over to where Rapunzel and Cassandra sit, watching them as the demon's words echo in his head.

He didn’t want to hurt anyone, least of all Rapunzel. Sure, maybe he did back then, but he was mad! People always overreact when they’re mad! They say things they don’t mean, think things they don’t mean and… His father comes to mind for a split second, and he rubs at his cheek. And they do things they don’t mean.

But… He’s not mad anymore! Rapunzel had come to help him, and she allowed him to join her on her trip outside of Corona to find a way to save his father. Of course he’s forgiven her…. Hasn’t he?

He looks away from the two young women, turning to stare at the fire while running his fingers through the thick, coarse fur of the wolverine lying in his lap.

“Lousy traitors…” Hector grumbles, watching as his wolverines nuzzle and rub against the alchemist as if they were nothing more than a pair of house cats.

He turns away from the sight, turning to face Aidra. She says nothing, simply giving him a hopeful smile. He looks away from her, eyes falling on the Sundrop and sighs.

Rapunzel and Cassandra look up when Hector approaches them, Cassandra instinctively going for her sword only for Rapunzel to place her hand on her shoulder. She lowers her hand and the princess stands up as everyone turns to them, watching warily as Hector takes another step toward her.

“You may pass into the Dark Kingdom, Sundrop.” he says, watching as the princess’ face lights up. “But don’t expect me to be like Adira and help you get there.” he turns away from her. “You’re on your own.”

“Thank you, Hector.”

Hector says nothing and walks away from her, Cassandra stands and puts a hand on her hip. “I guess using your hair to kill a demonic tree was enough to change his mind.”

“That, and Hector’s always had a soft spot for blondes,” Adira tells them and Rapunzel bursts into a fit of giggles while Cassandra nods in understanding.

The Demanitus Spear suddenly pierces the ground and Varian jumps, the two wolverines raising their heads and growling. He blinks at it before looking up to Hector and the two animals calm down.

“Take it. It’s not like the tree needs it anymore. It could be of use in saving Quirin.”

“O-oh… Um, right! Th-thank you.” he forces a smile, mentally cursing himself for stuttering. “I’ll… Tell him you said ‘hi’?”

“Do what you want, just work on your sword skills,” he turns away and clicks his tongue, the wolverines rising from the ground and following him. “Because next time, I’m not going easy on you.”

As Hector disappears from view, Adira turns back to the party, expression serious. “Keep following the path, princess. All of our destinies lie with you.”

Rapunzel grips the strap of her shoulder bag as Adira disappears in the same direction Hector had gone. The princess turns to the path laid out before her, the rocks pointing her to where she must go for as far as the eye could see.

She turns back to her party, all of them on their feet and waiting for her. She smiles and turns back to the mountain range before her.

“Well everyone, let’s go.”

Chapter Text

Varian runs as fast as his legs could carry him as the ground beneath him crumbles with each step. He’s trapped in that strange place again, leaping from broken stone platform to broken stone platform as he searches for an exit.

He glances up, the purple clouds above him swirling and making him dizzy. He cries out when his legs are suddenly pulled out from under him, turning his head to see thick roots coiling around him and dragging him back.

Panicking, Varian desperately tries to find purchase on the stone platform as the roots drag him to the edge. Before it could pull him over, he’s able to break himself free; and the roots recoil as he scrambles to his feet and breaks into another run.

Green fire suddenly blocks his path, burning hot and bright and giving a different color besides pinks and purples to this place. The fire surrounds him as roots grow from the ground and creep up his legs, forcing him in place.

He shrinks back as the demon rises from the flames, towering over him with a low growl bubbling in its chest. The sound of wood breaking and splintering echoes all around him as the beast opens its mouth.

It lunges at him.

Varian bolts upright, chest heaving up and down as he stares ahead of him. A dream. It was only a dream. A bad dream, one he’s had almost every night since they set off from the Great Tree, but a dream nonetheless. Ruddiger croons at him, placing his little paws on his trembling hand.

He looks around the campsite with wide eyes; Rapunzel and Cassandra are asleep, leaning against one another and using the princess’ hair as a blanket with Pascal curled up between their heads. Maximus was lying on his side, tail thumping against the ground, looking annoyed as Shorty snores loudly from where he sleeps on the stallion's side as Fidella attempts to sleep despite the noise.

Eugene and Lance sit at the campfire, quietly chatting so as to not disturb anyone’s slumber.

Taking a shaky breath, Varian pats his shoulder, inviting the raccoon to climb up before he stands up. He makes his way over to the campfire and the two men look at him, silently inviting him to join them. He sits down and stares at the fire.

“Can’t sleep?” Eugene asks him.

“Nightmares,” Varian answers, pulling his knees to his chest while the two men share a concerned look.

“You’ve been having a lot of those lately,” Lance says gently. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Varian shakes his head and Eugene pats his shoulder. “Well, if you ever change your mind, we’re listening, okay?”

Eugene stirs the cooking pot, listening as the birds sing in the trees while Rapunzel and Lance set up a place for everyone to eat, and Cassandra and Varian engage in a sparring match a few feet away.

Just as Eugene goes to taste the contents of the pot, Cassandra’s sword flies past him, missing the tip of his nose by half an inch before lodging itself in a tree and he cries out in surprise.

“Sorry, Fitzherbert, I was aiming for your stupid little goatee,” Cassandra says, motioning to Varian to take a quick break while she retrieves her sword. “But I guess I overshot it a little.”

“You know what, Cassandra? Now I’m never shaving again, just to spite you.”

Varian smiles as they begin their usual bickering, though he quickly tunes it out when he sees the way Cassandra recoils from her sword as if it had burned her. She holds her injured hand to her chest, and Eugene places a hand on her back before she uses her good hand to pull her sword from the tree.

Cassandra’s agonized scream echoes loudly in his head, drowning everything else around him out and he’s back in the tree. Back on that platform and he remembers it all vividly; the pained look on the princess’ face before she recites the incantation, the looks on everyone’s faces as their lives were crushed out of them by the tree.

By you. The voice of the demon taunts him.

How many people had been hurt in Old Corona because of him and his experiments? His father is encased in amber because of him. Cassandra was hurt because of him. Everyone almost died because of him.

He should have listened to his father and stayed away from the rocks. Then none of this would be happening. It was all his fault. All of this was his fault. Everything had been--

“Varian!” he snaps to reality when Rapunzel pulls his hands away from his hair and he recognizes the dull throbbing pain from having pulled on it. She studies his face, eyebrows furrowed with concern. Everyone’s looking at him with the same expression. “Hey, are you alright?”

You want her to suffer.

“I don’t--” his mouth turns dry and he doesn’t answer her, the concerned look everyone shares with one another not going unnoticed by the boy. He pulls away from her and takes a step back. “I-I’m going to go for a w-walk.” he stutters, running off before anyone could protest.

“Varian!” Rapunzel goes to follow him but Eugene stops her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Let me talk to him,”

When Eugene catches up with Varian, he’s wandering around an abandoned village that had been completely destroyed by the black rocks. The broken sign at Eugene's feet read Elderguard and not a single building was left standing. So many carts were left abandoned and what remained of the streets was littered with personal items long forgotten in a hasty evacuation.

“Looks like it’s been empty for a while,” Eugene comments as Varian rummages through an abandoned workshop. He sighs. “Kid, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Varian answers while examining a piece of old scrap metal. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you’ve gotten maybe four hours of sleep in five days.”

“I do that all the time,”

“I know, and while that’s not exactly healthy as it is… It’s different when it’s because of nightmares.” Eugene lets out another sigh. “Look, Varian… I know you’re still shaken up about what happened at the tree, we all are. But you went through something entirely different than we did, and… If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you, Varian. All of us are.”

“I almost killed you,” Varian’s voice is barely above a whisper as he wrings a rusty wrench in his hands. “All of you.”

“No, the evil magic tree tried to kill us. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes, it was!” Eugene flinches back when Varian whirls around to face him. “All of this is my fault! The tree, Cass’s hand, the amber! Everything’s been because of me!” Tears fill his eyes as he speaks.

“I tried to kill you, Eugene. And you know what’s worse? A part of me wanted too!”

If Eugene’s shocked or upset by this, he doesn’t show it and simply looks at him with an unreadable expression.

“A part of me is still so… So mad at the princess and hasn’t forgiven her, and now I can’t even look at her without that… Th-That voice in my head telling me I want her to suffer… To make her feel everything I felt when I found my dad trapped in the amber. B-B-But I don’t… I don’t want…” he trails off and puts his head in his hands. “I never should have messed with the rocks… Then none of this would be happening.”

Eugene flinches again when Varian turns suddenly and kicks a piece of scrap metal, the piece all but crumbling upon impact.

“All I ever do is make a mess of things! No matter how hard I try to make him proud, all I do is screw things up and get people hurt! I-I try so hard but I… I’m just a d-dis-disappointment.”

“Hey, hey,” Eugene takes him by the shoulders and turns him around. “Look at me, it’s okay Varian. Sometimes… Sometimes a friend does something that you can never really forgive, and that’s okay. There are tons of things I haven’t forgiven Lance for, but we’re still friends and I don’t want to hurt him, and I know you don’t want to hurt Rapunzel, right?”

“N-No! I… She’s l-like a big sister to me, I lo--” he trails off, cheeks turning pink and Eugene smiles. “I don’t want to hurt her…”

Eugene squeezes his shoulders. “And I know deep down you didn’t want to hurt any of us in the Great Tree. That was just some ancient dark magic playing tricks on you.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I guess so…”

“You know what else I know deep down?” Eugene asks after a moment and Varian looks up at him. “You’re anything but a disappointment, and I know that even though he may not say it out loud, your dad is incredibly proud of you. And if it’s worth anything… I’m proud of you too, Varian.”

Varian stares up at Eugene in stunned silence. His shoulders begin trembling as the tears in his eyes spillover, and Eugene pulls him into an embrace, allowing him to sob into his chest. He pulls off the boy's goggles and kisses the top of his head, resulting in Varian’s grip on the back of his jacket tightening.

After a while, Varian eventually pulls away from him and wipes his eyes. “Thank you, Eugene… I really needed to hear that.”

“Well, I meant it. Every word.” Eugene smiles and ruffles his hair before giving him back his goggles. He puts an arm around him and pulls him close. “Come on, let’s get back to camp.”

When they return to camp, the two are met with quite the sight. Both halves of the caravan, one standing upright while the other lay on its side, both covered in mud, full of holes and with broken windows. Rapunzel’s hair was around one of the halves, and with a tree branch for an anchor, she began pulling it up while Cassandra, Lance and the horses pushed.

“Is that the caravan?” Eugene asks and Rapunzel lets go of her hair, causing the caravan to crash to the ground and for Cassandra to groan, Lance to sit down, and for the horses to knicker in annoyance.

“There you are!” She runs up to them and pulls them both into a hug. “It’s getting late, and I was starting to worry.”

“It’s my fault,” Varian says, hugging the princess back. “I shouldn’t have run off like that, I’m sorry.”

Rapunzel glances up at Eugene who simply shrugs with a smile. She smiles at Varian when he pulls away. “Do you feel any better?”

“Yeah,” Varian smiles when Eugene nudges him gently with his elbow. “I feel a lot better.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel watches curiously as the caravan rocks in place, walking around it to find out why. She finds Ruddiger sitting beside it with a toolbox next to him, and she jumps when a hand shoots out from under the cart. Ruddiger digs out a wrench from the toolbox and passes it to the hand which then disappears back under the caravan.

The princess gets down on the ground and peers underneath it, watching as Varian works on tightening loose bolts with the wrench. He has his goggles on and his tongue out in concentration.

“And….” he gives the wrench another twist. “Done!”

Rapunzel backs away as Varian pulls himself out from under the caravan. He looks to the princess with a grin.

“I reinforced the hook mechanism as well as the breaks and the wheels, and with the scraps we got from Elderguard, I was able to patch in that hole in the floor.” He returns his wrench to the toolbox and closes it. “This baby isn’t going anywhere for a long time.”

“Thank you, Varian.” Rapunzel gets to her feet and offers him her hands and pulls him up. “So we’re all set until we get to Courmont to restock?”

“Courmont?” Lance’s head pokes out from one of the caravan’s windows. “As in… Courmont Courmont?”

“Um…” Varian pulls out the map with one hand and pulls his goggles around his neck with the other as Eugene and Cassandra join them. “Yeah, I think so? There’s no other Courmont on the map, so--”

Eugene snatches the map from him and Varian shoots him an annoyed look. “Are you sure that’s the only town nearby?” he asks, pulling the map close to his face as if he were having trouble reading it.

“What’s wrong? Is Flynn Rider still wanted in Courmont?” Cassandra snickers.

Eugene doesn't answer and the swordswoman’s eyebrows knit together in concern. She takes a look at Lance, the man’s usual calm and easy-going demeanor replaced with nervousness. Cassandra shares a look with Rapunzel as Eugene folds the map and hands it back to Varian.

Rapunzel gingerly touches his arm. “Eugene?”

He forces a smile as he looks at her. “I’m alright, Sunshine. Really, I am.”

Rapunzel, though unconvinced, gives him a warm smile. “Okay.”

They arrived at Courmont just a day later, and both Eugene and Lance were admittedly on edge as the city loomed over them in the distance. They were close enough to hear the clock tower bells ring, the sound echoing off the trees.

Eugene stares ahead, tuning out Varian and Cassandra as they make a list of everything that they would need to get from town. He swallows the growing lump in his throat.

“Blondie,” he takes Rapunzel’s hand. “Can I speak with you? Alone?”

“Of course,” Rapunzel smiles at him and he leads her inside the caravan. Eugene closes the door behind them, but he makes no move to turn to face her.

Eugene stays there for a few moments, his forehead pressed against the hardwood as he takes a deep breath and digs into his pocket.

“This isn’t how I wanted to do this, but…” he turns to the princess. “Rapunzel, I love you, with all my heart. Finding you in that tower was the best moment of my life.” he closes the distance between them and takes her hand. “You’re my new dream, Rapunzel, and you always will be.”

Rapunzel goes to respond but stops herself when Eugene places a small box in her hand. She looks at him with wide green eyes before opening it and exposing the ring inside. A simple gold band with a gemstone in the center. “Eugene, I--”

“You don’t have to give me your answer right now,” he tells her, cupping her cheek in his hand. “I just want you to know that whatever happens, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Rapunzel.”

Eugene kisses her forehead before leaving the caravan. Rapunzel’s gaze turns down to the ring, mind racing.

Eugene just proposed to her. But… He looked so… So scared. Proposals were supposed to be happy! Provided the proposer isn’t turned down by the proposee, that is. So why would he be afraid? Could it be the town? Both Eugene and Lance had been acting strange ever since they found out where they were headed. That has to be it.

She closes the box, stuffs it in her bag and runs outside. “Eugene!” she calls after him, but he’s already gone.

The city of Courmont is big, perhaps a little smaller than Corona’s capital island, but big nonetheless. Tall buildings lined cobblestone streets, fountains in the shape of lion heads pour water into multiple canals with gondolas that run through the city.

Courmont’s marketplace had almost everything imaginable, from merchants selling day old fish to traveling merchants selling exotic goods from unknown lands.

“This place seems nice,” Varian comments as he hoists a bag of food over one shoulder, forcing Ruddiger to the cobblestone street. “You know, if I were you, I’d consider proposing to Rapunzel here.”

“No offense kid, but I’m not taking love advice from someone with a crush on Cassandra,” Eugene says, feeling proud of himself when Varian’s cheeks turn red. His eyes dart up to the ceilings and his stomach twists into knots. “Besides, just like Cass, this place seems nice at first, but after a while… Not so much.”

“Trust me, little man, this place is nothing but a tourist trap.” Lance chimes in, balancing a sack of horse feed on his shoulder. “Worse than Vardaros back in its heyday.”

Varian hums, trying to imagine what Vardaros was like back in its heyday while Ruddiger sniffs at the air. The raccoon chitters happily and licks his lips before running down a nearby alleyway. “Ruddiger, get back here!” Varian sets the bag down and chases after him.

Eugene swallows the lump in his throat as he watches the alchemist disappear down the alley. Resisting the urge to follow, he turns to Lance. “Is that everything?”

“Hm,” he pulls out their shopping list, listing everything off before crumpling it and giving a nod. “That’s everything alright.”

“Great, so the sooner we get back to camp, the sooner we can leave.” Eugene sighs with relief. “Varian! Hurry up and get your weird cat so we can…” his voice trails off, turning pale when he sees an all too familiar face in the alleyway.

Anthony the Weasel stands before them with a smug smirk on his face. He had his left hand behind his back while his right held a burlap sack. A moving burlap sack.

Beside him is a much, much larger man with Varian, his arms bound behind his back and gagged with a cloth in his grip. Varian squirms and struggles to break free, and Eugene sees him wince when the man's vice grip on him becomes tighter.

His eyes dart back to Anthony, and the man sneers.

“Leaving so soon, Rider?”

“He proposed to you?”

“Kind of? I think?” Rapunzel stares at the ring box. It’s a simple blue box with yellow trim. She opens it again and shows the ring to Cassandra. “But he seemed… Worried? I mean… He didn’t even want an answer...”

Cassandra hums and crosses her arms looking towards the city. “He’s been acting weird ever since he found out we needed to go to Courmont… I’m starting to think it’s more than an old bounty on his head.”

Rapunzel puts the ring back in her bag and stands up. “I’m going to go find him.”

“I’ll go too,”

“I will accompany you,” Shorty slurs. “Two pretty young ladies like yourself need an escargot.”

Cassandra rolls her eyes and looks at Maximus. “Man the fort while we’re gone, got it?”

“Anthony!” Eugene forces a smile. He locks eyes with Varian, giving him a nod to tell him that everything was okay. “I see you haven’t changed a bit! Man, how long has it been?”

“Too long, Rider. Far too long.” the man tilts his head towards the alley. “Why don’t we go catch up?”

Eugene sucks in a breath, cursing under his breath as a pair of shadows loom over him and Lance. “Oh, sorry, but we’re on a bit of a time crunch, I’m afraid we have to be on our way.”

“Is that so?” Anthony hums and raises his left hand. “Surely there must be something I can do to change your mind?”

He snaps his fingers and the man holding Varian hesitantly pulls out a dagger and presses it to the boy's neck, putting an end to his struggling.

“Let him go, Anthony!” Eugene curses. “He has nothing to do with this!”

“Oh, don’t worry Rider. I’ll let him go, but only if the two of you come with me.”

Eugene and Lance share a look as more of Weasel’s men surround them, weapon in hand. They drop the supplies and raise their hands in defeat. “Fine.”

They’re seized by the man's goons arms, quickly pinned behind their backs and bound together by thick rope. Anthony drops the burlap sack to the ground and Ruddiger scurries out of it, fur bristled and hissing dangerously.

“Anthony.” Eugene hisses through gritted teeth and the man simply smiles at him.

“You told me to let him go,” he reminds him, nodding his head toward the man holding Varian. “Not him.”

Varian manages to free himself from the gag. “Ruddiger! It’s okay, buddy, just go back to camp!”

Ruddiger’s ears pin back, forced to jump out of the way when Eugene and Lance are pushed forward. He chitters, looking back at Varian one more time before turning and running off.

“Now then, let’s get going.” Anthony beckons his men to follow him. “The Baron’s waiting for you, Rider.”

The cobblestone is cool and smooth under Rapunzel’s feet as she, Cassandra, and Shorty search for Eugene, Lance, and Varian. She wrings her hands together nervously, chewing on her lower lip as her eyes dart around the town.

They would ask anyone they came across if they had seen them, and were met with the same answers of ‘no’ and ‘I’m afraid not’.

A crash can be heard from one of the alleyways and Cassandra puts an arm out to stop the princess from going any further with her other hand around the hilt of her sword. She visibly relaxes when Ruddiger emerges from the alley, crouching down and opening her arms as he frantically runs up to them.

The raccoon chitters at them wildly, quickly moving his paws around as if to act something out for them, quickly becoming frustrated when not even Pascal catches on.

“Woah, woah, slow down buddy,” Cassandra says, reaching to scratch behind his ear in an attempt to calm him. When it does nothing she turns back to Rapunzel. “Any clues?”

“I don’t speak raccoon…”

“Never fear princess,” Shorty speaks up and the two young women look down at him. “I happen to be fluent in Procyon.”

Ruddiger hops down from Cassandra’s arms and he and the old man begin chittering at one another. Ruddiger makes grabbing motions with his paws and Shorty nods, gesturing for him to continue.

Cassandra and Rapunzel watch with fascination as the two converse. How Shorty knew how to speak raccoon was beyond them, but that was a mystery for another day.

Ruddiger pants once he’s finished and Shorty nods in understanding. “It would appear as though they are taking a nap,” he says and the raccoon drags his claws down his face with frustration

Rapunzel and Cassandra look at one another, the swordswoman raising an eyebrow. “They’re taking…”

“A nap?” Rapunzel finishes.

Ruddiger begins chittering again, slower this time and drawing out the sounds as if to enunciate. “Ah,” Shorty nods again. “They were kidnapped. My mistake.”

“What do you mean they were kidnapped?!” Rapunzel demands, looking around in hopes that this was some sort of prank and they were just hiding.

“If you’re looking for those two men and the kid with the goggles, then he means they were tied up and dragged away.” Rapunzel and Cassandra whirl around to face a teenage girl with twin braids, twirling a dagger between her fingers. She raises an eyebrow when Rapunzel marches up to her.

“By who?”

Varian grunts as he’s dropped to the ground next to Lance. He does a quick scan of the area. They’re in a courtyard, decorated with ornate statues and well-tended flowerbeds, smaller canals run through the courtyard and are dotted with swans. But what stood out to him the most was the lion’s head shaped structure, a grand chair akin to a royal throne sitting within its open maw.

“Maybe he just wants to talk with us?” Lance tries hopefully, his tone higher than usual.

“Do you really think he would have us dragged off the streets if he just wanted to talk?” Eugene demands in a whisper.

Varian begins to struggle with the ropes around his wrists as Lance and Eugene whisper amongst themselves. He pauses when Lance says something about this Baron guy’s stallion. “Wait a minute,” he leans forward to look at Eugene. “This is about a horse?”

“I wish this was about a horse...” Eugene mutters.

Varian’s eyebrows pinch together, but before he could ask any more questions, a bear of a man with long blonde hair walks out in front of them, staring down at them from where he stood.

“Baron!” Eugene greets him, and the man tears his eyes away from the alchemist. “Long time no see! I have to say, Courmont is as lovely a place as ever. Did you do something different with your beard? Because, oh man, does it suit--”

“Do you know why you’re here, Rider?”

“For old times sake?” The Baron’s eyes narrow and Eugene coughs.

“I brought you here to pay for what you did to my Stalyan,” he says.

A shiver runs down Eugene’s spine when the sound of heels reaches his ears. A slender young woman with long brown hair walks up next to the Baron and smiles down at Eugene.

“Rider.”

“Stalyan!” Eugene’s voice cracks. “You uh… You look good!” he laughs nervously and clears his throat. “Man, when was the last time we were all in the same room together?”

“Oh, I don’t know, probably the day you left me at the altar.” Stalyan answers, narrowing her eyes at Eugene while Varian lets out a quiet ‘oh’.

“Oh right, that… I uh… Listen, Stalyan, I am so--”

“Save it.” She walks up to him and takes his face into her hand, making sure to dig her fingernails into his skin. “I told myself that if I ever saw you again I would be breaking bones.”

“That’s fair.”

“But,” she smiles at him. “I realized, I was just angry and hurt. You and I are meant to be together, Flynn. We were always meant to be partners in crime and life. You can’t change destiny, Rider.”

“What do you mean?”

The Baron’s shadow casts over him. “Keep your promise and marry my daughter,” he demands.

“... Or…?”

Stalyan releases Eugene as her father walks up to them. Even bent over, the man towers over them. “Or, you, Strongbow, and the kid won’t be leaving this city alive.”

“You can’t make me marry her, Baron.”

“Can’t I?”

Eugene flinches instinctively when the Baron extends his ring hand, blinking in confusion when he simply opens the locket on his ring. Lance stiffens beside him.

“E-Eugene--” Lance inhales. “Eugene-- It’s a spider, Eugene-- You know I--” he begins hyperventilating as the spider crawls along the Baron’s fingers.

“Oh, this isn’t just any spider.” The Baron tells him, a fondness in his voice as the creature moves about his hand. “This is a venomous Kai Spider.” His eyes lock onto Varian when he sucks in a breath. “Seems you know what it is.”

The Baron steps in front of him and bends down to look him in the eye. Varian shrinks back; he’s always felt small under his father’s hard gaze, and he felt even smaller under Hector's icy glare, but this man… This man made him feel miniscule.

“Why don’t you tell your friends about it, hm?”

“Y-yes sir,” Varian answers quietly. He sucks in another breath. “Th-The Kai spider is, um… It’s one of the most deadly spiders in the w-world.” he clears his throat. “All it takes is one bite to cause high fever and delirium, and within twelve hours your… Ah, your tongue and throat will swell before… Before you… You know…”

“Smart boy,”

The Baron leans away from him and holds his hand over Lance, allowing the spider’s thread to break and for the arachnid to gently fall onto the man's chest. He begins hyperventilating again.

“It’s on me, it’s on me, it’s on me, Eugene--” he tries blowing it off as it crawls under his shirt. “No, no, no, no, no, no--” his voice breaks off into a squeak, and he falls unconscious.

“Lance!” Eugene looks between his friend and the Baron. “Is he dead?!”

“Of course not, he just passed out from fear.” The Baron folds his hands behind his back. “But he will be without this,” he shows Eugene his pendant, a small vial of orange liquid. “Marry Stalyan and it’s yours.”

Eugene’s mouth turns dry as the Baron turns away from him, going still when Stalyan’s arms slip around his neck as she leans over him.

"Trust me, Rider,” she purrs in his ear. “It’s meant to be.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel paces back and forth. Eugene, Lance, and Varian had been kidnapped by ‘some scrawny rat looking guy and a bunch of goons’, according to the girl, Vex she said her name was. Information that cost them five silver pieces.

Rapunzel needs to find them. She has to find them. There’s no telling what ‘Scrawny Rat Looking Guy’ is planning to do with them. She doesn’t even know where to start looking for them. But it’s clear to her that this ‘Scrawny Rat Looking Guy’ has something to do with why Eugene and Lance were on edge about arriving at Courmont.

“We have to find them,” she mumbles. “Cass, we have to find them!”

“I know, and we will,” Cassandra puts her hands on Rapunzel’s shoulders. “But you need to stay calm--”

“Stay calm? Our friends are in danger! How can you be so calm?!”

“Because I have to be!” her grip on the princess tightens. “Now of all times it’s crucial to keep a level head. If you don’t then you risk running in blindly and putting the hostage at risk.”

Rapunzel studies Cassandra’s face; despite the calm look on her face, she can see the worry in her eyes. She sighs and goes to respond, but the sound of trumpets captures both of their attention. They share a glance before following the sound.

It leads them to the town square where a large crowd has gathered. A man steps out before the crowd and Ruddiger hisses from his place on Cassandra’s shoulder.

“Huh, he is a scrawny rat looking guy,” she says in a hushed tone as the man on the stage above them begins to speak.

“Alright, alright, all you shut up.” The man barks and the crowd falls into a hushed silence. “The Baron has something he wants to say.”

Rapunzel’s eyes narrow as things begin clicking into place. “The Baron?”

The man in question steps out onto the stage his arms folded neatly behind his back as he stares out into the crowd. He clears his throat and a smile spreads across his face.

“Good people of Courmont…’

Eugene tunes out the Baron’s speech, turning instead to focus on Lance. His chest tightens at the sight of the sickly green blotches forming on Lance’s skin, at the way his breathing is heavy.

Eugene gets down on his knees, placing a comforting hand to his friend's shoulder. “I’m going to get you out of this,” he says. “I promise.”

“Wow,” Stalyan says in amusement as she gazes through the curtains. “The entire city showed up for this. I guess they have nothing better to do, huh?”

The woman laughs as she turns to Eugene, rolling her eyes at his glare. “Oh, don’t give me that look, Flynn.”

“Eugene.” he corrects her. “Stalyan, you know how stupid this is, right?”

“Of course I do, Flynn. I told my dad that the spider was necessary, but you know how theatrical he gets.” she waves her hand around nonchalantly.

“You know that’s not what I meant. Stalyan, I am so sorry for hurting you, but I can’t do this, I’m in love with someone else!”

“I know.”

“You… You know?”

“Everybody knows the story by now. About the thief who saved the long lost princess from her tower.” Stalyan explains while fixing Eugene’s collar. It’s strangely domestic. “Now, and this is just my opinion, but I don’t think it’s really fair of someone like you to ask a girl who's spent the first eighteen years of her life in prison to give up her freedom for a life long relationship.”

Eugene’s drift away from Stalyan and lock onto the floor. He can’t bring himself to respond to her because she’s right. She’s right and it makes his stomach turn. He looks back to her when she cups his face with unusual tenderness.

“If you really love this girl, you’ll let her go.”

“I am proud to announce the re-engagement of my daughter, Stalyan,” the Baron announces, stepping aside for the pair to walk onto the stage. Rapunzel’s breath hitches. “And her fiancé, Flynn Rider.”

Rapunzel stares at the pair on stage, the ringing in her ears drowning out the cheers of the crowd. Cassandra touches her shoulder but it doesn’t register with her as she weaves her way through the crowd and up to the stage. Tears sting her eyes when Eugene doesn’t even look at her.

“Eugene…?”

“Rapunzel… I…”

Stalyan hugs his arm and leans against him, smiling down at her. “Sorry, princess, but he’s with us now.”

Rapunzel stares at the woman for a beat before blinking away her tears and looking back to Eugene with pleading eyes. “Eugene, please tell me this is some kind of joke.”

Eugene goes to answer, but his attention is drawn to behind the curtain. He focuses on Lance and swallows the lump in his throat before finally looking at Rapunzel. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel... I’ve made my choice.”

“Eugene--” her throat tightens as Stalyan leads him away. “Eugene…!” Rapunzel chokes on a sob as Cassandra pulls her into her arms, and she cries into her chest.

Varian sticks his tongue out as he quickly mixes something in one of his vials. Thankfully, no one bothered to search him before tossing him in the dungeon, and the big guy that grabbed him in the alley was nice enough to cut the ropes from his wrists.

He holds the vial up to the light provided by the small barred window, humming as it turns from clear to a pale yellow.

“Okay, now I need to heat it…” he looks around. There's nothing he can use to make a fire, obviously, but there is a torch on the wall near the cell door.

Getting to his feet, Varian approaches the bars, reaching through them as far as he can, straining himself as he holds the vial to the flames.

The door to the dungeon opens with a loud groan and he nearly drops his concoction when he jumps away from the bars. He sits against the wall, hiding it behind his back as footsteps get closer.

The door to his cell is opened and Lance is all but thrown inside, quickly followed by Eugene being shoved in and the bars slamming shut behind them.

“Lance--” Varian carefully turns him over, helping him lean back against the wall.

Lance takes a deep breath. “Hey there, buddy,” he says, congested as he ruffles the alchemist's hair, bloodshot eyes lighting up. “Oh, Clovis your hair, it’s so soft!”

Varian isn’t at all sure how to respond as Lance simply pets his hair while calling him ‘Clovis’. The delirium’s taken hold.

“Stalyan,” Eugene approaches the bars, and the woman raises an eyebrow. “You have to call this thing off and give me the antidote. Lance has nothing to do with what happened with us, and neither does the kid.”

“Maybe not, but it’s good to have leverage.” Stalyan crosses her arms. “Do you remember our trip to Pincosta, and you said that stealing the sultan’s jewels was the worst idea I ever had? And that after I made you go through with it we made a fortune?”

“What are you getting at, Stalyan?”

“What I’m getting at, is that I know what’s best for you. I always have, and I always will.” she smiles sweetly at him through the bars. “I should get going, it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, and uh…” Stalyan turns her gaze to Lance. “I don’t think we want any bad luck, now do we?”

She turns on her heel and saunters towards the exit, tossing the keys to the cell at his feet. “I’ll see you at the altar, Flynn.”

“My name is Eugene.”

“No, it’s not.”

“I don’t understand,” Rapunzel says tearfully as she flips through her journal. “How can Eugene be getting married?”

Pascal lets out a low, sad chirp, looking at her with large brown eyes. Ruddiger’s tail loosely curled around her neck as he chittered as Maximus nuzzles the side of her face in an attempt to comfort her. The princess takes a shaky breath and pulls the ring box from her purse, unable to hold back her tears as she stares at it.

She raises her head when Cassandra steps in front of her. “Raps, I know that Eugene and I don’t see eye to eye on… Well anything, but, if there’s anything I respect about him, it’s how much he loves you, Rapunzel.”

“I love him too,” Rapunzel says quietly. “But why couldn’t I realize how much I loved him until now?”

Cassandra gets down on her knees in front of the princess and takes her hands into her own. “I know for a fact that Eugene would never do this to you. I guarantee you, he’s only doing this because he feels like he has no other choice.”

Lance and Varian come to mind. Eugene would do anything to keep them safe. Even if it meant marriage.

“You know what else I know?” Cassandra asks. “I know that Rapunzel wouldn’t just mope around and let this happen.”

Rapunzel can’t help but smile as Cassandra gives her a knowing smirk. She pulls one hand away and returns the box to her purse before wiping her eyes. She rises to her feet and looks back to the city.

“Let’s go crash a wedding.”

Eugene paces around the cell, stopping now and then to see just what it is Varian is up too at the bars to their cell. He’s been there for the better half of an hour, and now and then he swears he hears him whimper in pain.

He watches him curiously for a few moments until a hard cough from Lance captures his attention. He’s at his side in an instant, helping him lean forward and rubbing soothing circles into his back.

“Don’t worry Lance. I’ll get you that antidote.” Eugene takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “Even if it means marrying Stalyan.”

“Maybe you don’t have too,” Varian says as he finally pulls himself away from the bars. Eugene watches him stir whatever is bubbling in the beaker, watching as it turns from a pale yellow to a brilliant orange.

His eyes widened. “Is that--”

“An early wedding present,” Varian confirms with a grin.

“Varian, you genius!” Eugene jumps to his feet and pulls the boy into a tight hug, lifting him off his feet and spinning him.

“I love you!” he sets him down and pulls back to plant a kiss on his forehead before pulling him into another hug. “I am so proud of you!” he squeezes Varian a bit more when he feels him stiffen for a split second before melting into his embrace.

Eugene rests his cheek on top of messy black hair and lets out a silent, breathless laugh. Silently, he asks himself; “Oh man, do I want kids?”

He shakes the thought from his head as Varian pulls away, blowing on the vial to cool its contents. They’re at Lance’s side within seconds, Eugene coaxing his mouth open and Varian pouring the antivenom down his throat.

Lance coughs. “Oh, Clovis, that tastes terrible…”

“I know, but it wouldn’t be medicine if it tasted good.” Varian smiles, wincing in pain as he closes his hand. Eugene notices this and takes his wrist, grimacing at the rope burns and turns his hand over.

“Oh, Varian…”

He stares at the boy's palm, red blisters were forming where he had held the heated glass beaker, and while it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as Cassandra’s hand; it was worse than the burns he knows the alchemist suffers on a near-daily basis and would still need treatment.

“Eh,” Varian shrugs again. “I’ll live.”

“And now, because of you, so will Lance.” Eugene smiles at him.

Varian rubs the back of his neck and smiles. “So, um… What’s the plan to get you out of that wedding? I don’t have enough ingredients to make another dosage and the Baron still has that spider.”

Eugene hums in thought, he glances at the keys in his hands. “I may just have an idea..."

Chapter Text

“Are you sure we couldn’t have gotten in any other way?” Cassandra questions as she fiddles with the costume she wore.

Cassandra wears a blue and white gown decorated in lace and a lighter blue trim around that separates the darker blue from the wite. Its lacey sleeves fell over her elbows, making her skin itch ever so slightly, and if not for the long white gloves she wore her burnt hand would have stood out like a sore thumb and drawn attention right to them. Her black hair was pinned underneath a matching feathered hat.

“We need to blend in and this is what they wear in Courmont,” Rapunzel answers.

“Couldn’t I have at least been the guy?!”

Rapunzel pulls the collar of her costume; a simple black long coat that reaches past her ankles with a matching hat to hide her hair and easily mask her feminine form. Ruddiger pokes his head out from her coat and she gently pushes him back down.

“When you have 70 feet of ‘people can see you coming from a mile away’ growing from your head, then you can be the guy.” Rapunzel links their arms together and leads Cassandra to two empty seats in the back of the cathedral.

“I hate weddings,” Cassandra grumbles, crossing her legs under her skirt, careful not to disturb the sword she has strapped to her leg.

“Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’ve been to a wedding…” Rapunzel muses. “You know, if my boyfriend wasn’t the groom and marrying another woman, this could be pretty fun.”

The crowd in attendance falls into a hush as the band begins playing, the minister gets into position and Eugene steps up to the altar. Rapunzel stiffens Cassandra, putting a hand to her chest to keep her still as her eyes dart around the room.

She counts ten of the Baron's men. Two at the entrance, three stationed along the walls on both sides of the room, and two at the altar. Not counting the four men she counted outside, and she doesn’t put it past him to have people blend into the crowd.

This wasn’t a well thought out plan, she admits, but between all of them, they stand a chance. A slim chance. But a chance.

The music changes and the crowd turns as the large double doors open. The Baron walks down the aisle towards the altar with Stalyan on his arm, she wears the same dress she wore earlier that day but now she has a bouquet of flowers in her hand.

They reach the altar and Stalyan smirks at Eugene. “I knew you’d come around, Flynn.”

Eugene doesn’t answer her and the minister takes that as his cue to start the ceremony. “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Stalyan and Flynn Rider.” he looks between them. “Have either of you prepared your vows?”

“Just get it over with, old man.” Stalyan shoots him an icy glare and the minister clears his throat.

“Yes, yes, of course. Do you--”

“I object!” everyone in the room turns to the back of the chapel, eyes on Rapunzel as she stands from her seat.

“What are you doing?” Cassandra whispers at her. “We had plan remember?” It wasn't a great plan, but it was still a plan at the very least.

Rapunzel doesn’t answer her and walks to the center of the aisle, removing her costume as she does.

“Rapunzel..!” Eugene smiles brightly at her. The crowd erupts into gasps and murmurs as he runs to her, pulling her into his arms. “Rapunzel, you came to rescue me?”

“Of course I did! I love you, Eugene, with all my heart.” She pulls away to cup his cheek, Eugene taking her hand and kissing her palm. “I’m just sorry it took all of this happening to figure out how much.”

“I love you too, Rapunzel.”

“Not to break up your little love fest,” Stalyan begins, and they turn to face her. Rapunzel’s eyes widening when she sees Lance and Varian there, Lance looking as if he could collapse at any moment. “But you’re running out of time, Rider.”

“Okay, first of all, my name is Eugene,” he links his fingers together with Rapunzels. “And second of all,”

Smoke suddenly fills the room and people begin screaming. The sounds of wooden chairs falling on marble floors fill the room as those in attendance begin clamoring for the exit.

The smoke clears and the two guards at the altar are stuck to the wall by Varian’s pink goo, and Lance and said alchemist touch their fists together in triumph. Eugene grins at the Baron’s and Stalyan’s shocked faces.

“Lance is fine.”

Stalyan drops the bouquet while her father pats himself down. “How did you get the antivenom?!” he demands, going still when he pulls the small vial from its hiding place.

“You really should search your prisoners,” Lance says, wiping his face clean before putting an arm around Varian’s shoulders.

Varian spins another of his alchemy bombs on his forefinger and grins. “That’s like… Bad Guy 101.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Stalyan growls and pulls the dagger strapped to her leg. “No more Miss Nice Bride.”

The cathedral descends into chaos in a matter of seconds as the Baron’s men attack full force with their weapons.

Cassandra springs to her feet, tearing the skirt of the gown she wears to give her more freedom to move and draws her sword before running headfirst into battle. The hat falls from her head as Rapunzel quickly unties her hair and uses it to throw the dessert table at three of the guards, covering them in food and leaving them stunned.

“Cass--” Eugene gasps, using the hilt of a sword to knock out one of the guards. “You got all dressed up? For me?”

Cassandra swiftly punches a man, breaking his nose with one hit and knocking him to the ground. “Only because it’s your special day, Eugene.”

“You know, I’m a little hurt that I wasn’t invited to your wedding, Fishskin,” they turn to Adira who’s casually leaning against a wall while eating a slice of cake. She ducks down suddenly and swiftly kick one of the Baron’s men in the face, knocking him out without dropping so much as a crumb on the floor. “I mean, I thought we were friends.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually glad to see you right now.” Cassandra comments, forcing another man to drop his weapon.

Adira simply smiles, setting down her slice of cake on the only table left standing before drawing her sword and joining the battle.

A lasso suddenly secures itself around Eugene’s torso and he’s being dragged back towards Stalyan. Rapunzel’s hair lassos around him and pulls him back towards her.

“Look, we could do the whole ‘he’s mine’ spiel if you want, but we all know that someone like Rider will be much happier with me.” Stalyan sneers at her.

“His name is Eugene, and you don’t get to decide who or what makes him happy!” Rapunzel argues as hse pulls.

“Ladies, please--” Eugene wheezes as the rope and hair around him tightens with each tug.

“Oh, and I assume you do?”

“No!” Rapunzel pulls her hair taut. “Eugene is the only one who can make those decisions! I don’t know your history together, but maybe your relationship didn’t work out because you tried to decide everything for him!”

Stalyan eyes widen slightly and she falters, allowing the rope to slip from her hand and for the princess to pull Eugene towards her and he frees himself.

Meanwhile, Varian finds himself cornered by Anthony the Weasel and the man that grabbed him in the alley. He’s run out of alchemy bombs, and while he’s certain he can handle Anthony, there’s no way he could take on the larger man.

“Kids shouldn’t play with swords,” Anthony mocks, taking a step forward with his sword. “You could poke an eye out--”

The larger of the two men suddenly elbows his accomplice in the gut, knocking the wind out of him before throwing him clear across the room into a pile of chairs. He looks at Varian before turning to charge at Lance, leaving the alchemist bewildered.

Before Varian can recollect his thoughts he’s grabbed by his throat and lifted from the ground.

“You damned brat,” The Baron snarls as he grips the boy with bruising force. “I knew you were trouble the second I laid my eyes on you.” He squeezes tighter, forcing a choked gasp from him. “The smart ones always are.”

Varian kicks his legs as he struggles to pry the man's hand away from his throat, eyes watering as it becomes increasingly hard to breathe. The Baron cries out and drops him to the floor, allowing Varian to suck in a desperate breath, and when he looks up; he sees Ruddiger clawing and biting at the man's face.

With a frustrated yell, the Baron grabs the raccoon by his tail and throws him into a wall where he goes limp.

“R-Ruddiger!”

The Baron turns back to Varian, golden sword drawn and ready to strike him down. He then swiftly turns around, his sword clashing with Eugene’s. He forces the sword from Eugene’s hand, grabs him by the front of his shirt and pushes him to the ground, pinning him in place with his boot on his chest.

“I should have done this a long time ago, Rider.”

Eugene’s throat tightens when the man opens the locket on his ring, watching as the spider emerges. The Baron holds the spider over his face as it slowly lowers itself by its thread.

He screws his eyes shut, bracing himself to be bitten, only opening his eyes when the weight on his chest is removed and he hears the Baron grunt. The man stumbles away from him when Varian tackles him, and the spider lands on the back of his ring hand.

“No--” the Baron begins patting himself down in an attempt to kill the arachnid before it can bite. “No, no--” he flinches when the spider bites. “The antivenom--” he searches for it. “Where is--”

A whistle gains his attention and he turns his attention to Adira, Ruddiger in one arm while the broken vial dangles by its chain from her finger. Enraged, the man picks up his sword again before turning to face Eugene.

“I’m not going down alone, Rider.”

Clang!

The sound of Rapunzel’s frying pan hitting the back of the Baron’s head echoes throughout the church, and he falls to the ground unconscious.

“Rapunzel,” Eugene picks himself up and runs to her, pulling her into his arms. “God, I love you.”

“I love you too, Eugene.”

Stalyan and Anthony pull the Baron to his feet while the rest of his men turn and run. The woman turns to the couple, looking at them with disgust and anger.

“We’re going to find that antivenom, and mark my words Rider,” she glares daggers at Eugene. “If you ever step foot in this city again, I'll end you with my own two hands.” she turns away from them and together, she and Anthony help the Baron escape.

“For the last time, my name is Eugene!”

Rapunzel can’t help but smile when she hears Stalyan groan with disgust. Turning back to Eugene, she takes both of his hands.

“Eugene, I… Have my answer… To your proposal earlier.”

“No, Rapunzel, that’s not necessary. At least not now.”

“Not now… Right, that is exactly what I was going to say.” she laughs awkwardly. “Not now.”

Eugene smiles and pulls her into a kiss, smiling into the kiss when she wraps her arms around his neck and they tune out the world around them.

The campfire crackles as everyone cleans themselves up from the wedding brawl. Cassandra, Eugene, and Rapunzel sit around the fire.

“You know what?” Cassandra begins, handing the final pin to Rapunzel as her hair returns to its usual style. “I want a sword fight at my wedding.”

Rapunzel laughs and Eugene raises a skeptical eyebrow. “You don’t strike me as the marrying type,” he muses. “But then again… If that Andrew guy didn’t have it out for Corona the two of you would make quite the--ack!” a silk glove hits him in the face and Rapunzel laughs harder.

Not far from the campfire, Varian winces as Adira wraps his injured hand with a bandage. Ruddiger purrs in his lap as he uses his other hand to scratch behind his ears.

“We can teach you, you know,” Adira says, breaking the silence between them. “Hector and I.”

“Teach me?”

“To fight. I’ve been watching you these past six months, and you’re good, Varian. You’re quick on your feet and, but most of all you’re brave. You went toe to toe with Hector without any hesitation.” she says with a proud smile.

“But, that said, there’s room for improvement, and with Short Hairs injury…” she trails off, taking note of how Varian flinches when he mentions Cassandra’s hand. Adira sets the bandages aside and releases his hand, letting it fall limply at his side.

“What I’m saying is… I want to train you to join the Brotherhood.”

Varian stills, staring at Adira with wide blue eyes. “I.. You… You want me to join the Brotherhood…?”

She nods and stands up from where she had been kneeling. “I know it’s a big decision, and I know your top priority right now is to free your father, but I feel like you would have a lot to gain from training with us.”

Varian stumbles over his words as he tries to form a response, thankful when the princess calls him for dinner. Adira places a hand on his shoulder as she walks past him.

“Think about it, Varian.” is all she says to him before disappearing into the night.

Rapunzel smiles at Varian when he joins her, Cassandra and Eugene at the fire. She frowns at the way his eyebrows were furrowed with uncertainty. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” he puts on a smile. “I’m fine. How’s Lance?”

“He still has a slight fever but he’s going to be fine,” Eugene says, placing a hand on his shoulder. He squeezes. “Because of you. So much for only hurting people, huh?”

Varian’s forced smile turns genuine as he takes the bowl of stew Cassandra offers them. He begins eating as the conversation picks back up, Adira’s words quickly drowning them out.

Rapunzel notices when Varian stops eating and stares off into the distance, his expression unreadable. She wants to ask him what’s wrong but restrains herself when he simply turns back to the fire moments later and joins in the conversation.

Rapunzel smiles. She’ll ask him later.

Chapter Text

It’s late at night, crickets chirp and the fire crackles as everyone sleeps within the caravan. Maximus dutifully paces around the campsite, head held high as he keeps watch for the night and light on his feet as to not wake Fidella.

The stallion stops suddenly when he hears something explode in the distance. Ears pinning back, he cautiously follows the sound of coughing. It leads him to an empty field, and he visibly relaxes when he finds Varian is the source of both the coughing and the explosion.

Maximus stomps out a small flame before it can grow into a wildfire and Varian wipes his face on his sleeve before putting his hand to his chin.

“Not the reaction I was expecting, but it could come in handy…” he mumbles, before writing down the formula in his notebook. Maximus nickers at him. “Oh,” he tilts his head back to look at the horse. “Hey Max, did I spook you?”

Maximus ears pin back again, eyes drifting to the scorched ground and broken glass and Varian follows his gaze.

“Oh, I was just trying to recreate the spearhead,” Varian answers, showing the stallion the Demanitus Spear, casting his face in soft blue light. “Though, truth be told I’m just trying to distract myself… But anyway, this thing is thousands of years old and yet it’s still in perfect working order.” he flicks the head of the spear with his forefinger. “It’s electric Max. It’s like an electric torch! If I could figure it out, then I could replicate it, then I could make it so we wouldn’t have to work by candlelight anymore!”

Varian looks at Maximus with a bright smile, eyes sparkling at the very idea. “Think of how many people something like this could help!” he turns back to his failed experiment. “Of course, I’d use a clear glass to house it, it’ll make the light brighter and easier to see with... Oh! I wonder if I could make an even smaller version of the spear? One that people could carry around like a regular torch, that would come in handy.”

Maximus listens to Varian ramble on, doing his level best to keep up with him, but intelligent as he was, the inner workings of alchemy and machinery were lost on him.

A twig snaps and Maximus nudges Varian with a hoof to silence him. Varian follows his gaze, rising to his feet and readying the spear as a thicket begins rustling. They brace themselves, confusion washing over them when a familiar face emerges from the bushes.

Vigor stares at them blankly for a moment before promptly walking over to them and climbing onto Varian’s shoulders and begins gnawing on his goggles.

Maximus’s ears pin back and he sniffs the monkey turning his attention back to the thicket when it begins rustling again. Varian once again gets into position, relaxing when two young girls emerge from the bushes, one with long red hair and the other with short black hair.

“There he is!” The black-haired girl says and they run towards them. “Hey! Give us back our monkey!”

Varian raises an eyebrow at the two girls, reaching up to pry the monkey’s hand from his ear. “Your monkey? Yeah, no, I don’t think so.”

“Hey, we st--borrowed him fair and square, now give him back!”

“Ah, so Madam Canardist let you borrow him in the dead of night, huh?” he crosses his arms, grinning in amusement as the two girls look at one another.

“Okay fine,” the brunette relents raising her hands in surrender. “You got us, he’s not our monkey and we didn’t exactly have permission to borrow him, but we need him, so give him back. Or else.”

“Or else what?”

Eugene yawns as he steps out of the caravan, stretching his arms over his head. He groggily walks over to the campfire and warms his hands. He looks over to the caravan when Rapunzel steps outside, shuffling her way to the food trunk and fishing herself out a midnight snack.

“Okay Max, it’s my shift--” he blinks, now fully awake when the steed is nowhere in sight. He looks around. It’s not like Maximus to leave his post. Did something happen? Did he wander off to get some water? Did--

He hears shouting in the distance, and he looks at Rapunzel, her mouth full of cheese. Grabbing the first thing he touches as a weapon, Rapunzel’s trusty frying pan, he takes off after the sound with the princess hot on his heels. He motions for her to wait before he jumps out of the bushes into an open field, ready to attack but his grip on the frying pan falters when he sees the sight before him.

Varian was on the ground, two little girls on his back, one pressing his face into the dirt with one hand and twisting his arm behind him at a painful angle, while the other pulled his ankle towards his head. He can’t help but wince for him. While the boy begs for mercy and taps the ground with his free hand, his eyes dart to Maximus, the horse was simply staring at the display with, of all things, a monkey in a turban, on his head.

Eugene turns his focus back to the children. Is that--

“Angry! Red!” Rapunzel calls excitedly as she emerges from the bushes.

“Eugene, princess Rapunzel!” the little girl twisting Varian’s arm releases him and jumps up, the other little girl doing the same. Red hugs him around the middle before hugging the princess as Varian flips himself onto his back.

“How am I supposed to join the Brotherhood if I get beat up by two little girls?” he grumbles as he pushes himself into a sitting position.

Eugene looks between the three and crosses his arms. “Explain. Now.”

Varian and Angry begin talking over one another, far too quickly for Eugene to keep up. He can pick up on a few things; the monkey’s name was Vigor, the girls ‘borrowed’ him and it was about a necklace.

He raises a hand and they both go silent. “Okay, now what does any of that have to do with making Varian eat dirt?”

“He wouldn’t give Vigor back to us,” Angry answers with a shrug, Red nodding in agreement.

“And why exactly is Vigor so important?” he cringes when the monkey hops from Maximus’ head to his shoulder and then to Varian’s.

“He’s ‘psychic’,” Varian answers, picking at the bandages around his hand, paying no mind as the monkey chews on his hair.

“You remember, right Eugene? We met him the day we first went to Corona together.” Rapunzel reminds him.”

“Crazy old hag conned me out of five silver pieces…” he grumbles. “But anyway, what could you possibly need a ‘psychic’ monkey for so badly that you would ‘borrow’ him?”

“Well…” Angry looks to Red, receiving a nod from her. “He gave us this.” She hands Eugene a piece of paper.

“Follow the leaf to find your tree?”

“Yeah, see this necklace is the only thing I have left of my family,” she shows off the leaf pendant hanging around her neck. “So it’s got to be talking about my family tree, right?”

“The old lady said Vigor could show us, but only if we paid more money, and we didn’t have any more money so we decided to borrow him.”

“Look, Angry, I understand why you did what you did, but it’s not right. Borrowing without asking is stealing, no matter how you look at it. We have to take him back.”

“No! I need him to find my family!”

Eugene goes to argue with her but his voice catches in his throat when Red glares at him. He looks at Maximus, and even he seems conflicted. He goes to say something but Varian interrupts him.

“I think we should look into it,” he says, much to Eugene’s surprise. “I mean… I don’t believe in all this psychic mumbo jumbo, but even if there’s the slightest chance of finding your home, I think it’s worth looking into, right?”

Rapunzel smiles brightly. “Right! So I say we follow that leaf!”

“Really? Thank you!” Angry hugs Rapunzel. She pulls away and looks at the monkey expectantly. “Okay, Vigor, where do we go?”

Upon hearing his name, Vigor stops gnawing on the metal shaft of the spear and Varian rolls his eyes.

“Give me that,” he snatches it away from him and goes to pull out a coin, only for Eugene to take his arm and stop him.

“Now hang on a minute, you guys.” The three turn around to look at him. “The last time Vigor told us to go to a tree, we…” he trails off when Rapunzel takes his arm and squeezes.

“Eugene…” her green eyes dart to Varian, and he follows her gaze, taking note of the way he nervously wrings his hands together.

“It uh…” he clears his throat. “Things didn’t go as planned.”

“Come on, Eugene,” Varian looks at him with a forced smile. “Be a little optimistic, would you?” he takes out a coin and kneels in front of Vigor. “Where’s Angry’s home, Vigor?”

The monkey stares at the coin for a moment before taking it from him. He begins to hop around, barking and howling before climbing a nearby tree and begins swinging from branch to branch deeper into the forest.

Maximus whinnies, urging the three onto his back and once he’s sure they’re secure, he takes off after Vigor, and Rapunzel drags Eugene along on foot. They follow him through the forest, Maximus, and Varian duck their heads to avoid low hanging branches as twigs, leaves, and acorns pelt them from above.

The horse suddenly skids to a halt at a riverbank, a few stray pebbles falling in and disturbing the otherwise still water. Angry hops down from his back and looks around, using her hands as binoculars as she looks up and down the river bank.

“I don’t see anything….”

The gravel crunches under Varian’s boots when he dismounts, eyes darting around for Vigor. “Where did he--” his voice breaks off into a startled shout when Vigor simply drops down from a tree and onto his head.

Leaves fall from the tree, drifting down to the ground and into the river to be carried along by the gentle current. Red let out a quiet gasp and pats at Varian’s shoulder until she has his attention. She directs his gaze to the water, to the leaf floating down the river.

“Follow the leaf to find your tree…” he mumbles, his lips turning up into a smile. “Come on, this way!”

When Eugene and Rapunzel finally catch up with them, he’s out of breath and has to double over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. After a few deep breaths, he straightens up only to see Maximus trotting along the riverbank with Angry and Red on his back. Varian looks back at Eugene, frowning at the torn expression the man wears on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Eugene sighs. “I’m worried. What if she doesn’t find anything at the end of the river? And on the off chance she does, what if it’s not what she’s looking for?”

Rapunzel takes hold of his hand. “Then we’ll just have to be there for them if they need us,” she tells him and Varian puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Like you are for me.”

Eugene smiles at them, linking his fingers together with Rapunzel. His gaze drifts to behind Varian. “Hey, kid?”

“Yeah?”

“Vigor’s going for a late-night swim.”

Varian whirls around to face the river, and sure enough, Vigor is slowly spinning in a circle as he floats downstream on his back and Rapunzel giggles into her hand.

They follow after the leaf, running along the riverbank, never losing sight of the leaf even when the current picks up. The river eventually leads them to a cave and that’s when they come to a stop.

Maximus paws at the dirt with his hoof and nickers as Eugene peers into the cavern. “It’s pitch black in there…”

Varian pushes himself to the front of the group and takes the Demanitus spear and holds it out into the cave. The light from the head of the spear doing nothing to light their path. He hums and hands the weapon to Rapunzel before sitting down with the group watching him curiously as he pulls out some beakers.

Vigor blinks, and Eugene swears he sees a spark in the animal's eye as he hops down from Varian’s shoulder, watching intently as the boy begins mixing chemicals.

A few seconds later, Varian corks the beaker and shakes it gently, causing the liquid inside to glow a bright green. He then takes a rope and a large stick and ties the beaker in place before presenting it to his spectators.

“A lantern.”

Red claps and Vigor howls.

“Woah… You’re a wizard?” Angry asks with amazement.

“No, wizards work with magic. I am an alchemist.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The difference, Angry, is that alchemy exists.”

Varian leads the group through the cave, following the bubbling stream while using his glowing elixir to light the way. The walls of the cave were dotted with broken lanterns, rats squeak and run for cover as they pass, and the sound of water dripping from above echoes throughout the cave.

After what seems like hours of walking, Varian’s elixir has begun to dim and the leaf catches on the damp rocks of the river bed. Three tunnels lie before them and Angry hops down from Maximus’ back to pluck the leaf from the ground, before eyeing each path. She looks at Varian.

“Can you do any of your magic to tell us which way to go?” she asks, a soft breeze ruffling her hair.

“Alchemy,” he corrects her, casually swatting Vigor’s paw away from the Demanitus Spear strapped to his back. “And I don’t have to, look.” he points to the tunnel she stands in front of. “There’s a breeze, that means this path leads to the exit.”

It’s already daybreak by the time they reach the other side of the tunnel, the rising sun doing little to provide them any light due to the thick fog in the forest. Varian shakes his elixir, the glow brightening slightly but quickly dimming again.

“There’s nothing here…” Angry mumbles. “Mr. Wizard, give Vigor another coin, he might know where to go.”

“Alchemist,” Varian corrects her again and starts searching his pockets. He blinks, patting himself down. “I uh… Eugene can you--”

“Nope, no sir, I am not giving another cent--” his voice catches in his throat when the four glare at him. He looks to Maximus for help, but even the horse is glaring at him. “You too? Really?” he digs into his pocket and pulls out a silver coin.

The coin shines in the low morning light and Vigor blinks at it before he starts howling, climbing onto Varian’s head and staring off into the distance. The fog clears enough for the group to spot what looks to be a house beneath a great oak tree, and the girls hop off of Maximus’ back and start running towards it.

Eugene goes to follow them, but Vigor holds out his open palm expectantly, and with a sigh of defeat; he drops the coin into his paw and Varian snickers as Rapunzel takes his arm.

As they approach the house, they find that it’s nearly in shambles, the windows were broken, broken shutters threaten to fall to the ground at any moment and if not for the smoke billowing from the chimney, one would think it was abandoned.

Angry’s eyes light up and she runs forward, only for Eugene to hook his arms under her shoulders and lift her off the ground.

“Hang on, a second. I know you’re excited, but… It’s been a long time since they’ve seen you so they’re going to be pretty shocked. Let Rapunzel and I do the talking at first, okay?”

“What are you even going to say?” Varian asks as he knocks on the door. “Hi, we’re friends of your long lost daughter and a psychic monkey told us where to find you?”

The door opens and Varian stills, shocked expression mirroring that of the girl’s who answered the door.

“You--”

“I have a big sister!” Angry wiggles out of Eugene’s arms and runs forward, hugging the older girl around her middle.

The teenager simply stands there unmoving, hazel eyes turning to Varian for an explanation as a young woman pokes her head around the corner, eyebrows raised with curiosity.

Rapunzel and Eugene step up to the door, Red holding onto Eugene’s hand as she peers inside the house. The princess’s eyebrows knit together and she and Varian share a look.

“Who’s at the door, Liliana?”

“Uh…”

“It’s me!” Angry pulls away enough to look at the young woman. “Kiera! Your sister!” Another face pops into view, eyeing the girl with confusion. “You see, Vigor, he’s a psychic monkey, he told me to follow the leaf, because the necklace you left me with has a leaf pendant, to find my tree, and I did, and I found you! So now we can be together!” she says in one breath. “But you have to take Red too,” Red pokes her head out from behind Eugene, her grip on his hand tightening slightly. “We’re a package deal and if you don’t want her then I’m not staying.”

All eyes are on Eugene and Rapunzel, and Eugene clears his throat. “What she’s trying to say is… She thinks you’re her long lost family.”

“Think? I know!”

“H-Hang on a minute, kid,” one of the young women says. “We’re not…” she pauses, biting her lip as she searches for the right thing to say.

“This is why we shouldn’t have left mother,” the other says in a gruff voice. “She’d know what to do right now.”

“Where is your mother?” Rapunzel asks. “And… Aren’t you those bandits that attacked us outside of Vardaros and tried to steal Vigor?”

Two of the three sisters begin talking over one another, giving her different answers about their mother's whereabouts, and different excuses about their checkered past. The youngest pinches the bridge of her nose.

“Quiet!” She snaps and the three behind her fall silent. She looks back at the princess. “You should come inside.”

Angry and Red sit in front of the fireplace, Varian leaning on the wall next to them, holding onto Vigor’s paw to keep him from wandering about the old house. Rapunzel sits in an old chair with Eugene beside her as one of the young women offers everyone tea in mismatched mugs.

They gave the basic introductions, Rosalina was the eldest sister, with short black hair, blue eyes, and a scar on her cheek. Isabella was the middle sister, with long black hair tied in a braid, brown eyes and large earrings that had captured Vigor's attention. And then there was Liliana, the youngest sister with curly hair that reached the middle of her back, brown eyes and a mole on her chin.

“Okay so, we’re not bandits,” Liliana begins. “We’re bounty hunters. The only reason we attacked you back then is because Pretty Boy over here,” Eugene stiffens as everyone turns to him. “Had a bounty on his head, and some French guy hired us to bring him the monkey. Simple as that.”

“As for our mother,” she continues. “We--”

“Mother and Lucia, Rosa’s twin sister, were in favor of the ‘dead’ part of ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ while Rosa, Lily and I were in favor of the ‘alive’ part, and they would go after anyone and anything if the price was good enough while we just wanted to go after crooks, so we split up.” Isabella blurts out.

Rosalina shakes her head with a quiet groan and Liliana takes a breath. “Yeah, so… We’re sorry for giving you a hard time before. We were just doing our jobs. You don't have to worry about us bothering you again. Can't say the same for mother and Lucia, but..." she trails off with a shrug.

“That’s nice and all, but are you my family or not?” Angry demands as she stands up.

The three sisters look at one another and the room falls silent save for the crackling of the fire. Rosalina is the first to move, walking up to the girl and kneeling so they were eye level with one another.

“You seem like a nice kid, both of you do, but…” she pauses to take a breath. “As far as we know, mother never had any more children after Liliana, so… I’m sorry.”

“Oh…” Angry looks away from the young woman. “Okay.”

Before anyone could say anything, Angry shoves past Rosalina and runs outside. Rapunzel’s chair wobbles as she stands up. “Angry, wait!” she calls, and she, Eugene and Red run out after her, leaving Varian and Vigor along with the bounty hunters.

“So uh…” Varian clears his throat, looking at Liliana. “I thought your name was ‘Lana’? Or was that just an alias?”

“Wow, alchemist’s really are smart, huh?”

“Angry…” Rapunzel approaches her, offering her a hug. “Are you okay?”

Angry sniffs and wipes at her eyes, turning around to hug the princess. “I was so stupid to believe in that monkey… To think he could actually help me find my family…” Rapunzel rubs her back as Eugene kneels beside them. “I just wanted it so bad…”

Eugene picks up the crumpled up fortune and smooths it out. “Follow the leaf to find your tree…” he reads, smiling fondly as Angry pulls herself away from Rapunzel.

“You know, when I found Rapunzel, I was chasing a crown,” he begins. “And when Rapunzel found me, she was chasing lights in the sky. That’s what we thought would bring us happiness, crazy right?”

“Yeah, I guess, but why are you telling me this?”

“Because you thought that finding your tree would help you find your family, well, who’s with you, right now when you’re feeling your lowest?”

Angry looks away from Eugene and Rapunzel, turning to face Red and her eyes well up with tears.

“Red’s your family, and if following a leaf down a river and through a cave helped you realize that then… You’ve found your tree.”

Angry wipes her eyes again and smiles at Red. She reaches behind her neck and unhooks the clasp of her necklace before securing it around Red’s neck. She takes her hand as she gently holds the leaf pendant in her hand.

“So I don’t ever forget who my family is”

Varian stifles a yawn as Angry and Red lead the way back to Madam Canardist’s caravan. It was midmorning by the time they reached their destination and Vigor hops down from his shoulders, whooping and barking at his owner with excitement.

“Vigor!” she holds out her arms to hug the monkey. “Welcome back.” she pats his back as he hangs from her neck and lifts him like one would a toddler. She smiles at the two girls. “Did Vigor help you find what you were searching for?”

Angry looks at Red and smiles. “He sure did.”

“Wonderful, wonderful… That will be five silver pieces,” she says, holding out her hand. The group simply laughs and she narrows her eyes, putting an end to the laughter as quickly as it started.

“Okay, you two, you need to figure out how to--” Eugene’s voice catches in his throat when he turns to an empty saddle. He scowls, turning away as Varian simply takes their place on the horse.

“I hate it when they do that,” he grumbles, fishing out five coins and handing them over.

Canardist closes her boney fingers around the coins and smiles at Eugene. “Thank you for your patronage.”

“So,” Rapunzel nudges Eugene with her shoulder as they walk back to the caravan. “Vigor made a believer out of you, huh?”

“Absolutely not,” he answers, leading Maximus along by the reins. “But, if it makes two little girls happy, then… Who am I to take that away from them?”

Rapunzel gives him a knowing smile, folding her arms behind her back. “Is that right?” She turns her attention to Varian. “What do you think, Varian? Are you still a skeptic like Eugene?”

Varian jolts, straightening his back. “Huh?” he blinks the sleep from his eyes. “Oh, um, sorry, princess, but Team Awesome doesn’t believe in fortune-telling monkeys," he says through a yawn.

“Exactly.” Eugene takes hold of her hand and kisses her knuckles. “But I do have a prediction of my own.” Rapunzel looks at him curiously. “I predict that Varian is going to have a headache for the rest of the day.”

As if on cue, Varian tips over and falls off of Maximus, landing on the hard ground and startling himself away. “Ow…” he rubs at his head with an annoyed grimace.

“And would you look at that? I was right!” Rapunzel playfully shoves Eugene as Varian pulls himself to his feet. “That’ll be five silver pieces, please.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel listens as a heavy rain pounds on the roof of the caravan, to the steady drip of water dripping through cracks in the ceiling, and to the steady pounding of a hammer from above. A clap of thunder makes her jump and she opens the skylight, rain pouring down on her as she pokes her head through it.

The rain stings her eyes as she turns to Varian, hard at work patching a hole in the roof with nails between his teeth and his goggles over his eyes to protect them from the rain. She watches him intently, the rain doesn’t seem to phase him as he nails the piece of scrap metal into place.

“Varian!” she calls over the storm. “Varian, come inside!”

“I’m almost done!” he calls back to her, voice barely audible above the howling wind and the rain.

Rapunzel grimaces but goes back inside, closing the skylight and taking the towel Cassandra offers her. The caravan rocks suddenly, and after a few beats, she hears the door to the boy’s side of the caravan open.

She grabs another towel and opens the top half of the dutch door dividing the two halves of the caravan, smiling as Varian dries his hair.

“I checked the roof, that was the only spot that needed an immediate patch,” he says, voice trembling as he pulls the towel around his shoulders. “Once the storm dies down a little, I’ll patch up the other leaks.”

“You’re a lifesaver, kid,” Eugene says, taking the extra towel from Rapunzel and dropping it on his head. “Now let's get you out of those wet clothes before you catch your death.”

Rapunzel sits on her cot, sketching away in her journal with a quill while Cassandra entertains herself by slicing fruit with her sword. From the other side of the caravan, she can hear Lance whistling some random tune. The same tune he’s been whistling for the past four hours.

She stops drawing and Cassandra stops slicing fruit when the door opens and Varian enters their side of the caravan with a book under his arm. He closes the door behind him and simply marches over to Rapunzel’s cot and plops down next to her, pulling her hair over his ears with a miserable groan.

” You see, Lance? Your damned whistling chased him away!” Eugene’s muffled voice can be heard through the door.

“If you’re looking for quiet you won’t get it here,” Cassandra comments, taking a bite of her perfectly sliced apple.

Rapunzel looks at her quill and then at Cassandra. “Oh come on, the scratching isn’t that loud,” she says, holding her arms up so Varian can rest his head on her lap.

“You’re right, I’m sorry, it’s not loud. It’s just mind-numbingly annoying.”

Rapunzel sticks her tongue out at her and Cassandra does the same before throwing an apple slice at her, Pascal catching it with his tongue and eating it.

“Anything’s better than the whistling…” Varian mumbles, sitting up and turning his head to the door. “I could take it if he knew literally any other song!” he shouts, and Lance falls silent as Eugene breaks out laughing.

The top half of the dutch door opens, Lance leans over the bottom half of the door and starts whistling again, it’s the same song but he’s somehow managed to be louder. Cassandra groans loudly and puts her hands over her ears, and Pascal uses Rapunzel’s hair as ear muffs as Varian stands up from the cot.

“You know what, Lance?” he crosses his arms and walks up to the man. “The next time you get poisoned, I’m not making you the antidote.”

Cassandra covers her mouth, her laughter coming out as a snort as Lance’s whistling breaks into an overdramatic, exaggerated gasp. He opens the bottom half of the door and enters the girl's cabin, Rapunzel pulling her feet off the floor while Cassandra sits on her cot. Eugene leans in the doorway with his arms crossed as he watches Lance stare Varian down. Lance was easy twice the kid’s size, yet he didn’t budge.

“What was that?”

“I thought I was pretty clear…” A playful smirk makes its way onto Varian’s face as he folds his arms behind his back. “Or did you make yourself go deaf with your constant whistling?”

Rapunzel flips her journal up to cove her mouth and muffles her gasp as both Cassandra and Eugene begin oohing.

“Okay, little man, you and me, right now.” Lance cracks his knuckles and rolls his shoulders. “I win, you have to say something nice about my whistling.”

“And if I win?”

“Then I will never whistle again.”

“Okay, you’re on.”

They shake hands and Rapunzel lowers her journal. “Um, guys? There’s no room in here for--”

“Blondie,” Eugene hurries to sit beside her and puts his hand over her mouth. “This might be our only chance to get some peace until the storm ends! Let the boy fight for his cause!”

“Fitzherjerk’s right,” Cassandra agrees, sitting cross-legged on her cot and pulling Ruddiger into her lap. “Besides, he needs to work on his close-quarters combat, so it’ll be a win-win.”

Rapunzel pulls Eugene’s hand from her mouth. “Okay fine,” she relents. She looks to Varian and Lance as they ready themselves for their match with stretches. “Just… Be careful, okay?”

“Okay…” Cassandra sucks in a breath, her lips splitting into an eager grin. “Fight!”

Lance and Varian circle one another with their fists raised in front of them while Eugene and Cassandra cheer them on from the sidelines. Lance flashes Varian a grin and throws the first punch, only for the alchemist to simply duck out of the way and counter with a swift punch to the man's jaw.

“Is that the best you got?” Lance chuckles. “I barely felt a thing.”

Varian side steps when Lance grabs for him and plants his feet on the floor and grabs hold of his arm. He flips the man over his shoulder and he lands on the floor with a hard thud. Eugene and Cassandra cheer.

He claps his hands together and smiles triumphantly. “But, I bet you felt that.” Lance doesn’t move and Varian’s smile turns into a frown. “Lance…?” Panic washes over him when Lance doesn’t respond at all. “Lance, are you--”

The man suddenly grabs him, earning a startled squeak from the alchemist as he flips them over so he’s pinning him down, Eugene and Cassandra falling silent. He gives him a cheeky grin.

“What do you have to say about my whistling now, little man?”

Varian stops squirming and hums in thought before smirking up at him. “You’re a little off-key.”

“You know, I didn’t want it to come to this,” Lance says with an almost menacing laugh. “But you leave me no choice.”

Before Varian could do anything to stop him, Lance attacks his ribs and sides, tickling him up and down with deft fingers. Varian bites his lower lip resisting the urge to laugh, but he’s only able to last for a few seconds before he bursts into laughter.

“S-S-Stop, stop!” he squirms to getaway.

“You know what you got to do, Varian.”

“Stay strong, kid!” Eugene urges as Rapunzel giggles behind her journal and Pascal squeaks encouragingly.

“Remember what I taught you about enemies bigger than you!”

“I-I can’t--” Varian laughs, tears springing to his eyes. “O-Okay, okay! I-I-I give up!”

Despite his surrender, Lance does not relent. “Okay, now say something nice about my whistling.”

“Th-The song is c-catchy and n-not off k-k-key at all!”

“Thank you,” Lance releases him, and he rolls away clutching his stomach as he continues to laugh. “Now, was that so hard?”

Eugene crosses his arms and leans back against the wall. “That was dirty, Lance,” he says, Rapunzel patting his leg.

“Doesn’t matter, I won.” Lance shrugs. He starts whistling again as he picks himself up from the floor while Varian’s laughter dissolves into snorts, and then into deep breaths.

The sound of wood breaking, followed by something landing on the roof forces the caravan to a sudden stop and an end to the fun. Hands shoot out and grab whatever they can for balance as the caravan tilts forward on its side.

Rapunzel runs outside, holding her cloak over her head to protect her from the rain with one arm and a black coat folded over the other, as she joins Varian at the side of the caravan and hands him his coat. as they examine the caravan.

The caravan was stuck in the mud, and one of the wheels had completely broken off, which in itself wasn’t an issue. A large tree had fallen and leaned against it, keeping it in place and preventing the horses from pulling the caravan free from the mud.

“Well, the good news is, I can fix it,” Varian affirms as he slips on his coat, though it does little warm him up in his drenched state. “The bad news…” he trails off and gestures to the tree as lightning flashes in the sky.

Rapunzel sighs. “Let’s get back inside.”

As she leads him back around the caravan, something in the near distance catches her attention and she stops. She squints to see through the rain, and lightning flashed again, illuminating a mansion.

Varian pushes his hair from his eyes and follows her gaze. “Rapunzel, no.”

“It’s a house, Varian! A nice, warm, dry house!”

“What are they doing out there?” Cassandra asks herself as she watches Rapunzel and Varian argue through the window.

“Leaving themselves open to a nasty case of the sniffles, that’s what,” Eugene responds and uses her shoulder as an armrest. “Allow me to translate,” he clears his throat, watching as Rapunzel points to something in the distance. “Oh but, Varian, there’s something over there and we should go see what it is!”

“But, Rapunzel,” Cassandra joins in while Varian gestures back to the caravan. “It’s pouring rain, and the most logical thing to do right now is to stay with the group where it’s safe!”

“You can go back inside if you want, but being the free spirit that I am, I’m going to go check it out.”

The duo outside stops their bickering, and Varian runs a hand down his face and speaks to the princess.

“Ugh, okay fine, you win.” Cassandra translates, and they watch as Rapunzel grabs the boy by his wrist and drags him off into the darkness.

“I’m telling the princess you made fun of them,” Lance says from behind them, and they jump in surprise.

Clearing her throat, Cassandra knocks Eugene’s arm off her shoulder. “Well, that was fun, but we should probably go after them.”

The bizarre house looms over the princess and the alchemist as they approach it, finding that it’s made up of seashells. Or at least designed to look that way. Lightning flashes in the sky, making the house appear far more sinister than it is.

“This place is creepy,” Varian mumbles taking hold of Rapunzel’s hand.

“Okay, maybe it is a little creepy,” she agrees. “But, who knows, they may let us wait out the storm here.”

“Or they could be psychotic murderers and try to kill us in our sleep, but hey, your idea seems plausible.”

Rapunzel rolls her eyes and steps up to the door, squeezing Varian’s hand as she reaches for the crab-shaped door knocker. She knocks, the sound booming inside the house as a clap of thunder echoes through the night sky.

They wait in anticipation for someone to answer the door, looking at one another when nothing happens after a full minute. The rest of the party joins them in front of the house, eyeing it suspiciously as Rapunzel knocks again. Another minute passes and no one answers the door.

“Great, no one’s home,” Cassandra grabs both Rapunzel and Varian by their shoulders. “Let’s go back to the--”

The sky lights up with a bright flash of lightning and thunder booms loudly above them as the front door swings open, and the group huddles close together as the flashing lightning reveals the shadowy figure of a man.

Cassandra firmly grasps the hilt of her sword, Lance holds onto Eugene, crouching down to hide behind him and Varian hides behind Rapunzel’s hair.

“Now, what have we here?” a tall, slender man with white hair and thin mustache asks in a foreign accent as he blinks at the party with surprise. “Travelers stuck out in the rain?”

“Hello,” Rapunzel’s voice cracks and she clears her throat. “We’re sorry to bother you, but our caravan is stuck in the mud.”

“A carriage stuck in the mud is quite the dud, don’t you think?” the man laughs to himself as the party looks between one another. “Come in, come in, my name is Matthews, and you’re all more than welcome to wait out the storm and fill your bellies here.”

“Well… Perhaps not the horses, they shed far too much hoof prints are a pain to get out of the rug… But I assure you, the stable is just as warm and dry. Ah,” the man extends a hand to Ruddiger, allowing him to sniff his fingers. “I’m afraid this little fellow will have to stay in the stables as well,” he quickly draws back his hand when the raccoon hisses at him. He pulls a handkerchief from his robe and puts it to his hooked nose. “Allergies, you know?”

“I’ll bring you something to eat later,” Varian says to the raccoon as he crawls onto Maximus’ saddle.

Matthews steps to the side and ushers the party inside. “Welcome to the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

The strange mansion's foyer is grand, to say the least, large and open and very, very pink. A fire crackles in the fireplace, drawing the party further inside to warm themselves. Rapunzel gazes around the room, eyes sparkling with amazement.

“This place is incredible,” she breaths. “It’s made entirely from shells?”

“As smart as we are pretty, hm? I know that a house made entirely from shells doesn’t really belong in the woods, but then again, neither do any of you and yet… Here we are.”

“How did you even get shells this big?” Varian asks as he rubs some warmth back into his arms.

“Why, from giant hermit crabs of course,” Matthews answers with an amused chuckle. “Now come, let me show you to your rooms.”

Matthews leads the group up a flight of stairs and down a long hall. The walls were decorated with odd paintings and sculptures, and potted coral served as plants. The shell floor was protected by a deep purple hall runner that muffled their footsteps.

“Here we are,” the man comes to a halt at the end of the hall where a large, ornate mirror hangs on the wall between two scallop shell shaped doors. “The dining hall is to the left of the foyer, so please, enjoy your stay.” he folds his arms behind his back and walks away.

“However long that may be.”

“Alright, there’s only two beds and four of us,” Eugene begins as he examines the guest room. An armoire stands between two double beds.

Lance lies back on one bed, arms behind his head with his eyes closed, Varian sits on the other with the navy blue duvet around his shoulders, and Shorty lounges in a chair while eating a yam.

“Who’s going to bunk with Shorty?”

“I don’t like this,” Cassandra mutters. “None of this feels right and we should just leave.”

Rapunzel stops wringing the water from her hair into a bucket to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you find it strange that a place like this is just sitting out in the middle of nowhere? And that the innkeeper or whoever he is just took us in, offered us food and a place to stay without asking for so much as a single coin?”

“I admit that it’s a little strange, but it’s better than the caravan right now.” Rapunzel resumes drying her hair. “And Mr. Mathews is just… Eccentric. I don’t think he has any ulterior motives for letting us wait out the storm here.”

As Cassandra goes to respond there’s a knock at their door, Rapunzel crosses the room to open it and Eugene smiles at them from the other side.

“Dinner’s ready, and I don’t know about you two, but I am starving.”

The dining hall is just as grand as the foyer, only much bluer than it is pink, with a grand chandelier made of an assortment of seashells of every shape and size hanging from the ceiling above them.

The party sits at a long, curved table, eating an assortment of food that was prepared for them. Everyone was quiet as they ate, the only sound heard between them was that of their silver wear on their plates.

Pascal’s tongue shoots out and catches the mashed potatoes on Rapunzel’s fork before she can eat it, leading her to bite down on an empty fork and blink in confusion. She narrows her eyes at the chameleon as he chirps innocently at her, and she takes another forkful of food from her plate. Pascal opens his mouth to dart out his tongue, but when he does it collides with an empty saucer and Rapunzel giggles.

“Gotcha!”

“Will you put that thing down?” Rapunzel turns her attention to Cassandra as she glares at Eugene who's looking at himself in the reflection of his table knife.
“You’ll poke someone’s eye out.”

“Why should I? You never put your sword down.”

“Technically, her sword stays in its sheath all the time so she’s never really holding it all the time,” Varian says, cutting into his slice of ham and taking a bite and Cassandra shoots Eugene a smug smile.

“Oh, stay out of it, short person.” Eugene flicks a spoonful of peas at him, Pascal's tongue darting out and catching one.

“Eugene…” Rapunzel chides, jumping in her seat when the man's face is suddenly covered in mashed potatoes. “Varian!” She turns to Varian, who looks rather pleased with himself as he returns to his meal as both Cassandra and Lance burst out laughing.

“That’s a good look for you, Eugene.” Cassandra comments.

“Oh, ho,” Eugene grabs the serving bowl of mashed potatoes and takes its ladle into his hand. “It is on.”

Rapunzel lets out a defeated sigh and slumps back in her chair as everyone arms themselves with a different dish while Pascal hops up and down with excitement. Cassandra has the peas, Lance has the dressing for the roast turkey, and Varian has the bread rolls.

“Oh come now,” everyone at the table stills. They look between one another before finally turning to Shorty. “Our generous host worked hard to make us a nice dinner and you’re going to waste it on a childish food fight?”

Within an instant, everyone’s set down their weapons, simply staring at the old man as he cuts into his roast beef rather than simply using his hands like they’re used to. They watch curiously as he eats a small bite and then wipes his face with one of the cloth napkins from the table before folding it over his lap.

“Please, pass the bread.” Varian does as he’s told and passes him the breadbasket. “Thank you, Varian.”

“Are you… Feeling okay, Shorty?” Rapunzel asks with a kind smile. “You seem… Different.”

Shorty’s neck cracks as he turns to the princess with a blank stare and the dining hall falls into an awkward silence as the group begins picking at their food again. Everyone looks at Rapunzel when she stands from the table.

“Eugene,” she forces a smile. “Can I speak with you for a moment? Alone?”

Eugene turkey leg in hand follows Rapunzel to the hallway outside the guest rooms. He takes a bite of the turkey leg as she turns around to face him.

“Something’s wrong with Shorty.”

“... Come again?”

“You saw him just now; he had perfect posture, perfect manners, his breath wasn’t… Stomach-churning… He knew who Varian was.” she lists everything off on her fingers. “Something just isn’t right, Eugene.”

Eugene chews what’s in his mouth and swallows. “You know, you’re starting to sound like Cass.”

“Eugene, I’m serious. I don’t know who that is down there, but it’s not Shorty.” She puts her hands over Eugene’s mouth when footsteps echo down the hall and a voice can be heard. “He’s coming,” she grabs him and pulls him into the armoire in the hall.

“Rapunzel,” Eugene whispers. “This is ridiculous there’s nothing wrong with--”

“Shhh.” Rapunzel puts a hand over his mouth again and opens the doors to the armoire just enough so they can peek outside. They watch as the dwarf simply gazes at himself in the mirror on the wall. Rapunzel’s eyebrows bunched together. “What’s he doing?”

Eugene pulls her hand away from his mouth. “It’s Shorty, Rapunzel, he probably thinks he made a new friend.”

The couple watches from the safety of the wardrobe as Shorty just stares at the mirror, only looking away when Lance approaches him.

“Hey there, Shorty.” Lance smiles down at him with concern. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? You were acting a bit strange during dinner.”

“Of course I’m feeling alright,” Shorty answers, slurring his words slightly. “Say, have you done something different with your mustache? It looks fuller.”

Lance rubs his mustache. “Well,” he turns to the mirror. “I haven’t trimmed it in a few days so--”

Rapunzel and Eugene put their hands over the other's mouth when Lance’s reflection suddenly grabs him and pulls him into the mirror. They watch, eyes wide as the reflection steps out of the mirror, eyes glowing red briefly before turning normal as he straightens his clothes.

Rapunzel pulls Eugene’s hand away from her mouth, watching as the reflections of Lance and Shorty speak to one another. “What… What are they?”

Meanwhile downstairs, a small piece of a roasted carrot flies through the air only to be captured by Pascal’s tongue. The chameleon changes his color to match the carrot, earning a laugh from Varian.

“Okay,” the alchemist hums, using his knife to roll three peas onto his spoon. “Think you can catch all three of them before they can hit the table?”

Pascal chirps in thought, rubbing his chin with this tail before nodding. Cassandra watches from the other side of the table as Varian prepares to fire with one eye closed.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to play with your food?” she scolds him.

“She died before she had the chance.”

A crash from upstairs causes the peas to roll off the spoon and onto the table, and both Varian and Cassandra look up at the ceiling before one another. Things upstairs go silent and Cassandra shrugs, turning back to her plate as Varian and Pascal share a glance.

After a few minutes of silence, Eugene and Rapunzel enter the dining room, dragging an unconscious Lance and Shorty in the princess’ hair. Cassandra lowers her water glass and raises an eyebrow.

“Uh… What’cha got there?”

“A problem.”

“What do you mean Lance and Shorty aren’t Lance and Shorty?” Cassandra demands with her hands on her hips.

“I don’t know, but what I do know is that is not Shorty.” Eugene points accusingly at the dwarf. “This Shorty threw me clear across the hall. And I once saw the real Shorty lose a fight. To a trout. On dry land.”

Varian eyes the two as they struggle to break free from their bonds. “If they aren’t Lance and Shorty then who, or what are they?”

“I know it sounds crazy but… I think they’re reflections of the real Lance and Shorty?” Rapunzel guesses. “We saw… Not Lance drag the real Lance into the mirror in the hall upstairs.”

“Okay, this is just insane.”

“It is insane!” ‘Shorty’ agrees. “Don’t listen to them, Cassandra, I’m the real Shorty!”

Eugene’s eyes narrow. “Okay, Shorty knowing who Varian is? Weird. Shorty knowing who Cassandra is? Highly Suspicious. But Shorty knowing who Shorty is? That is not the real Shorty.”

Rapunzel puts a hand to her chin and hums, looking between each of her friends. “If Lance and Shorty aren’t really Lance and Shorty… Then who’s to say we’re really who we say we are?”

They fall silent, eyeing one another suspiciously before Rapunzel begins pacing around in a circle.

“If we’re going to get our real friends back we have got to know who we can trust,” she says. “Which is why I propose a series of tests to see who’s real and who’s not.”

“And just who’s going to conduct these tests?” Varian demands and she stops pacing to stand beside him. “Anyone of us could be a mirror person.”

“You’re right,” she puts her hands on her hips and hums in thought again. Her eyes light up and she smiles mischievously.

Rapunzel attacks Varian’s ribs, tickling him up and down and causing him to burst out laughing.

“N-No, stop! P-Princess!” she follows him to the floor, her fingers unrelenting even as he squirms and pleads for her to stop. “S-Stop! ‘Punzel, p-please!”

Finally, the princess releases him and smiles as he catches his breath. She looks up at Cassandra and Eugene. “He’s real,” she affirms, smiling fondly at the alchemist when he sits up. “Which means you’re in charge of the tests.”

Varian paces back and forth in front of the table as Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra, and Pascal all sit across from him waiting for his first test. He hums into his hand, eyeing food on the table, having been long forgotten.

“Rapunzel,” she sits up straight and smiles. “The real Rapunzel sees the art and beauty in everything,” he gestures to the food. “Turn this into a masterpiece.”

Rapunzel stands up from her place at the table, approaches the food, rolls up her sleeves and food begins flying. Pascal eagerly catches what he can while Varian, Eugene, and Cassandra duck and take cover behind empty plates at chairs.

Some time passes and a breathless Rapunzel, covered in table scraps, presents her masterpiece; a castle with three human figures in front of it. Varian walks over to it with his arms behind his back and whistles.

“A diorama of Corona,” he examines her work. “Not too shabby.”

“Impressive as that is, any respectable artist can--” Eugene’s voice breaks into a horrified gasp when Rapunzel squashes one of the human figures with her palm. “Uncle Monty!”

“Oh yeah, she’s real,” Cassandra affirms and Rapunzel wipes her hands on a napkin as Varian’s eyebrows furrow.

“Wait… You don’t like Uncle Monty?”

“Not in the slightest.” Rapunzel turns her attention to the others at the table. “Okay, Varian, who’s next?”

Everyone gathers around the table, Cassandra leans on it with one hand as both Eugene and Varian crouch on the floor with Rapunzel standing beside them. They all watch as Pascal eagerly awaits his instructions.

“Let’s start with something easy. Show us the colors of the Corona flag.” Varian instructs and the chameleon changes into a brilliant purple with a bright yellow gold sun on his chest. “Okay, now the color of Maximus’ favorite food.” Pascal turns to the color of a red delicious apple.

“Oh, oh, do the Baron when he was bitten by that spider!” Eugene requests and Pascal turns to a sickly green with dark green blotches.

“Okay, Pascal, rapid-fire!” Varian begins listing off different people and things, and Pascal dutifully changes to each one of them without issue. “Alright, last one; Rapunzel’s favorite color.”

Pascal begins changing colors, from his usual green, to pink, then purple, yellow and blue, and every color in between.

Rapunzel smiles. “That’s right! Because all of them are equally amazing in their way.” She catches the chameleon when he collapses, out of breath and kisses the top of his head. “He’s real.”

Varian stands up from the floor with a big grin. “To the next test!”

Eugene sits back in one of the dining chairs, one leg over the other and his arms crossed as Varian and Rapunzel stand in front of him and Cassandra stands off to the side.

“Okay, Eugene, for your test, Rapunzel and I are going to ask you a series of questions.”

“Fire away, you two.”

“What is the one thing we can never keep in stock, and why?” Varian asks.

“Apples, because Maximus and Ruddiger eat them faster than we can get them.”

“Very good, Rapunzel?”

Rapunzel steps forward. “What is Pete the guard’s middle name?”

“The. Also Stan’s middle name.” Eugene grins. “Come on you guys, give me some hard questions.”

“Okay,” Varian steps forward. “What is the name of the compound I use to heat power my water tanks back in Old Corona?”

“Ha! Flynnolium! Named after yours truly.” Eugene says as he smooths back his hair. He looks at Rapunzel when she walks over and presents him with two identical wanted posters.

“Now, which of these posters accurately depict the likeness of Eugene Fitzherbert, aka ‘Flynn Rider’?”

Eugene hums, leaning forward to closely examine the posters. “Trick question, no one can accurately capture all of this.” he gestures to himself and Rapunzel beams as Varian's eyes him with uncertainty.

“That’s him alright!”

“Hang on, I have one more bonus question for you.” Varian walks up to him. “Finish this phrase: If something’s not impossible then…” he trails off, waiting for Eugene to finish for him.

“Then…” the man blinks. “Then it’s possible?”

Varian’s eyes widen and he takes a step back. “You’re not Eugene.”

Rapunzel stiffens and Cassandra grabs her sword as Eugene gives the alchemist a confused smile.

“Varian, buddy, of course, I’m Eugene. If something’s not impossible then that means it’s possible, that’s just common sense.” He looks to Rapunzel. “Right, Blondie?”

Rapunzel bites her lip, unsure what to do as she looks between her boyfriend and Varian. The boy meets her gaze, giving her a pleading look. She takes a breath and turns back to Eugene.

“Do the smolder.”

Eugene blinks at her and scratches his cheek when she glares at him. He lets out a defeated sigh before giving her a weak grin that makes her eyes widen.

“You’re not Eugene!” She accuses and Cassandra unsheathes her sword. Rapunzel takes a step back when the mirror double rises from the chair, eyes turning red as he grins at her.

“You got me, but you have to admit, I had this ‘Eugene’ guy down pretty well. Much better than short stack over there.” he jerks his thumb to ‘Shorty’. “But,” he turns his gaze to Varian. “What tipped you off?”

“Eugene Fitzherbert not knowing Flynn Rider’s catchphrase? That’s just not heard of.” Varian answers, closing his hand around one of the alchemy balls in his pocket. “That and I saw the real Eugene looking into the mirror earlier.”

“Observant,” ‘Eugene’ remarks. “But you missed one teeny tiny detail.”

“And what’s that?”

“This.” The hilt of Cassandra’s sword collides with his forehead, knocking him to the ground in a daze, the alchemy ball rolling across the marble floor.

“Varian!” Rapunzel is at his side in an instant, pulling him into her arms as he groans in pain.

She flinches back when ‘Cassandra’ points her sword at them, her eyes glowing the same red as the other mirror copies. Pascal draws her attention to ‘Eugene’ freeing ‘Lance’ and ‘Shorty’, and she grabs the alchemy ball as they approach them.

She aims it at them. “What have you done with my friends?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” ‘Eugene’ smiles down at them. “You’ll all be together again soon enough.”

Rapunzel tightens her grip on Varian and throws down the glass ball in her hand. It shatters, filling the room with a cloud of thick blue smoke and effectively blinding the doubles.

The doubles growl lowly when the smoke clears and neither the princess nor the alchemist is insight.

“Everyone split up,” ‘Cassandra’ says. “They couldn’t have gotten far.”

Elsewhere, in a world devoid of color, Eugene, Lance, and Cassandra charge at the mirror hanging on the wall only to be blown back by some unseen force. They slam onto the floor and groan, both from frustration and pain.

“I knew there was something off about this place,” Cassandra grumbles as she sits up. She rubs the back of her head and winces when her fingers brush against the growing bump.

“I would like to suggest finding a less painful way of getting out of here,” Lance proposes. “I didn’t want to say anything to him, but being flipped like that by Varian hurt and I’m still a little sore.”

Eugene stands up and approaches the mirror. He presses his hand to it, gazing out into the world of color beyond the glass. “Don’t worry guys,” he says. “I have faith in Rapunzel. I’m sure she’s realized by now that’s not us and she and Varian are working on a solution.”

“Ow, ow, ow,” Varian hisses in pain as Rapunzel pushes up his bangs to examine where he was struck on the forehead. She had carried him off to the first room she came across, and that happened to be a small coat closet beneath the staircase, the dim glow of one of his beakers giving them a small amount of light.

He hears her suck in a breath and he grimaces, screwing his eyes shut. “Am I bleeding?”

“... No,” she hesitates and he feels her run her thumb, her wet thumb, across the injury.

“You hesitated.”

“You’re fine. It’s fine, it’s not as bad as it looks.” Rapunzel gives him a weak smile when he simply stares at her. “Anyway,” she quickly changes the subject. She opens the closet door and peers out of it. “The coast is clear.”

They emerge from the closet, Rapunzel tightly gripping Varian’s hand as he grabs an old mop from the closet to defend them with. They sneak their way upstairs and down the corridor, stopping a few feet away from the mirror.

“We have to figure out how to get the doubles back into the mirror and our friends out of it…” she turns to Varian, eyes widening when she sees the doubles coming up behind him. “Varian,” she takes Pascal and places him on the boy's shoulder. “Run.”

Before he can protest, the princess shoves him away as the doubles charge at them. He picks himself up and hurries to hide around the corner, carefully peering around it and watching helplessly as Rapunzel fights with a copy of herself.

He presses his back against the wall and holds his breath, Pascal blending in with the color of the wall as one of the Rapunzel’s stands victorious, and he shuts everything out to listen to the doubles speak.

“One down, two to go,” Eugene’s double says.

“Split up,” Cassandra’s double speaks next. “The boy couldn’t have gotten far. But the lizard… He can blend in with anything, so he’ll be a problem.”

“Oh,” Rapunzel’s double chuckles. “You just leave the lizard to me.”

Back within the colorless world, Rapunzel pounds on the mirror with a frustrated growl. She stills when she hears footsteps, turning to the rest of the party.

“They got you too, huh?” Eugene smiles sympathetically at her.

“Guess that just leaves Varian to find a way to get us out of here,” Cassandra muses, arms crossed over her chest.

Rapunzel scoffs. “What’s some kid going to do against the likes of them? They’ll throw him in here before he even has the chance to think of a plan.”

“I don’t know, Blondie, Varian’s a…” Eugene trails off, eyes turning wide as he stares at the woman in front of him. “You are not Rapunzel.”

She tilts her head and smiles at him. “What do you mean?”

“Yeah, Rapunzel wouldn’t call Varian ‘some kid’,” Cassandra draws her sword. “Who, or what are you?”

The double’s smile turns sinister. “I could tell you,” she begins, eyes turning red, standing out brightly in the world of grey. “But it’ll be much more fun to show you.”

The double’s body begins to contort, bones cracking with each movement as long black claws grow on her fingers. Her grin turns wide, showing off sharp teeth as she growls at them.

“Please tell me how showing us is any better?” Lance asks, voice shaking.

The double lunges forward.

“Oh, lizard,” Rapunzel calls in a sing-song voice. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

She turns the corner, jumping back in surprise when the business end of a mop is pointed at her. She relaxes when she sees Varian at the other end.

“Varian!” He glares at her, tightening his grip on the mop, and she gives him a pleading smile. “Varian, I know what you’re thinking, but I promise I’m the real Rapunzel.”

Still, he doesn’t answer her. He just stares at her with uncertainty as Pascal makes himself visible on his shoulder. Cautiously, Pascal climbs up the mop handle, eyeing Rapunzel up and down before letting out an excited chirp and jumping into her hands.

Varian lowers his weapon. “I saw you fighting yourself and one of you got shoved into the mirror and--” he relaxes when Rapunzel pulls him into a hug.

“It’s okay. I’d attack you too if I thought you were an evil mirror monster.” She pulls away and looks down the hall. The doubles were nowhere to be seen. “Please tell me you have an idea on how to get them back in the mirror and our friends out.”

Varian puts his hand to his face and hums. “Based on what I saw, it’s safe to say that the mirror works in reverse. So, we lure the mirror doubles close enough to the mirror so that our friends can drag them back in and escape. Question is… How exactly do we do that?”

Rapunzel crosses her arms and drums her fingers along her forearm as she thinks. She looks back to Varian. “What about using live bait?”

Varian’s shoulders slump at the sly grin on the princess’ face. “Sometimes I really don’t like you.”

Lance screams as Rapunzel’s double dangles him from the ceiling, her sharp claws digging into his leg before she tosses him at Eugene as if he were nothing. She lands on all fours and rises to her feet.

Cassandra lunges at her with her sword, only for the double to grab her wrist and easily push her back on the floor. With a twist of the double’s wrist, Cassandra’s forced to drop her sword, and her grin widens even further.

“Okay, fighting her isn’t getting us anywhere,” Lance groans as he and Eugene pick themselves up.

“Well, if I could think of anything else, I’d do it,” Cassandra says. “But I’m all out of tricks.”

“That’s it,” Eugene cracks his knuckles. “Guys, cover me!”

Before either of them could stop him, Eugene runs to the double, stopping inches away from her and giving her the smolder. “Hey there, beautiful.”

The double falters, blinking at him with confusion before falling into a lovesick daze. Eugene gives a thumbs up and Lance charges at the double, tackling her and forcing her into the open armoire. He slams it shut and Cassandra uses her sword to lock the doors.

“How did you know that would work?” Cassandra asks.

“Because, and as much as this hurts to admit, our Rapunzel is completely unphased by the smolder.” He turns back to the mirror. “All we can do now is wait for her.”

“Come on, you little pest,” Eugene’s double hisses. “Where are you?”

“Looking for me?”

The double comes to a halt and smirks when he spots Varian ahead of him, armed with an old mop. He takes a step forward and the boy gets into a fighting position, pointing the mop head at him as if it were a spear. He laughs.

“Now just what do you plan on doing with that?” The rest of the doubles round the corner, and slowly they begin advancing on him.

The Cassandra double suddenly draws her sword and lunges, quickly cutting the mop into three pieces and rendering it useless. She flashes him a fanged grin.

“Run.”

Varian runs as fast as he can through the inn with the mirror doubles hunting him down like dogs. He stumbles as he turns the corner, catching himself on one hand before he could fall and continues down the long corridor.

He looks over his shoulder; they’re right behind them and he stumbles again, he’s a goner. He grunts when he runs into someone, struggling to pull himself away when they roughly grab his arms. He looks up at his captor, Rapunzel, and she winks at him.

The doubles skid to a halt, red eyes narrowing when Rapunzel releases the boy and they wear matching grins. “What are you--” Eugene’s double’s voice catches in his throat. “They’re both real, quick get them into that mirror!”

“Mirror?” Rapunzel tilts her head and looks behind her. “I don’t see a mirror… Varian, do you see a mirror?”

“Can’t say that I do, Rapunzel.”

The doubles let out inhumane growls as they stalk forward, claws ripping through gloves as they flex their fingers. Rapunzel gives Varian a curt nod and the two of them yank the hall rug out from under their feet, leaving them standing on the mirror.

“You’re not talking about this mirror, are you?” Hands shoot out from the mirror, grabbing the ankles of the doubles.

“They’re too strong,” Varian observes. “We have to knock them off their feet somehow.”

Pascal chirps from Rapunzel’s shoulder, pulling a strand of her hair free from her hair ties and the princess and the alchemist smile at one another. Rapunzel quickly unties her hair, tossing the end of it to Varian.

They pull it taut and rush forward, tripping the mirror doubles with Rapunzel’s golden hair, and giving their friends the chance to pull them back into the mirror.

The doubles struggle against their human counterparts. They claw at whatever they could to keep from being forced into the mirror to no avail. Relief washes over Rapunzel as her friends pull themselves free from the mirror world, Eugene and Lance quickly mounting the mirror backward on the wall to keep their doubles trapped. She runs forward into Eugene’s arms just seconds later and kisses him.

“We did it!” She cheers, hugging him tightly when he squeezes her around the waist.

“You know, I never thought I’d see a mirror I didn’t like,” Eugene comments and Cassandra rolls her eyes with a fond smile.

“Is it too late to switch him out for the evil one?”

“You two are amazing, you know that?” Lance gives Varian a bear hug. “I was starting to think to find a way out was impossible!”

“Well, if something’s not impossible…” Varian trails off and Eugene grins.

“Then it’s just not worth doing!” Eugene then gathers up as much as Rapunzel’s hair as his arms could hold. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m willing to take my chances with the caravan over staying another second in this place any day.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m with him,” Cassandra agrees, gathering up the rest of Rapunzel’s hair. “Let’s get out of here!”

The party rushes downstairs, skipping every other step and runs towards the door to the inn.

“Leaving so soon?” they whirl around to Matthews as he stokes the fire. He smiles at them. “Oh my, did you meet the people in the mirror? Do forgive me for not warning you about them, I rarely have guests so it simply slipped my mind.”

“Mr. Matthews, thank you so much for your hospitality but we really need to be on our way,” Rapunzel says with a forced smile.

“Oh, please don’t let them chase you away! You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you like.” he turns back to the fire. “Who knows, you may come to enjoy it.”

“Thank you but… We’re going to take our chances in the…” Rapunzel’s voice trails off when she opens the door.

The storm had gotten far worse, raining so hard they could barely see a thing as the harsh winds blew tree limbs and lightning flashes in the sky.

“I’ll take the first watch?” Cassandra offers in a defeated tone.

The fire crackles in the fireplace as the party lies on the around it, curled up in thick blankets and quilts Matthew’s provided to keep warm on the otherwise cold floor. The scratching of Rapunzel’s quill in her journal is almost deafening in the silence of the foyer, and she stops suddenly when she feels Cassandra gaze at her.

“Sorry,” she smiles sheepishly, and the swordswoman shrugs with a smile.

“What’s some scratching amongst friends?”

Despite this, Rapunzel sets the quill down and closes her journal, and settles down on her makeshift bed. “I’ll draw later,” she yawns. “Something tells me I’m not going to forget the mirror for a long time.”

Shorty snores loudly as he sleeps nestled between Lance and Eugene, and even with a pillow over his head to drown it out, Eugene still hears him loud and clear. He sits up, hugging the pillow to his chest.

“Anyone else having trouble sleeping?” he grumbles, shoving the pillow in Shorty’s arms when the dwarf goes to spoon him.

“Yeah,” Varian mumbles from his place next to Lance. He misses Ruddiger.

Lance sits up. “You know what always helps me feel better?”

He begins whistling again and after a few moments, Eugene joins in, soon followed by Cassandra and then Rapunzel. Together, the four of them fill the foyer with a rather pleasant tune, and Varian sits up. He simply takes to listening, leaning against Lance with a content smile when he sees something from the corner of his eye in the shadows.

He turns and peers into the darkness, a chill running down his spine when he sees the ghostly figure of a small girl. She smiles at him and a flash of lightning illuminates the room, and then she’s gone.

“You okay, little buddy?” Lance gives him a gentle nudge and Varian blinks several times. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he rubs at his eyes. “I’m okay. My eyes are just playing tricks on me, that’s all.”

“It’s because you don’t sleep enough,” Eugene says through a yawn. “Go to sleep, kid, it’s way past your bedtime.”

Varian smiles fondly and rolls his eyes as he settles back down onto the floor. “Yes dad.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel awakes the next morning to the sun shining on her face. She slowly sits up and stretches her arms, smiling groggily as Pascal stretches out like a cat. One by one, her friends wake and pick themselves up from the floor.

“You know,” she begins, scooping up Pascal and resting him on her shoulder. “Besides almost being replaced by evil mirror versions of ourselves, the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow makes for a really good night’s sleep.”

“I will admit, it is the best seashell inn I’ve ever stayed at.” Eugene comments. “But, uh… Where’s the door?”

Rapunzel follows his and Cassandra’s gaze to the door, or at least, where the door used to be. Now it’s just a part of the wall as if the door never existed at all.

Varian runs his hands across the smooth shell, knocking on it in a few places. He turns to the others, wordlessly confirming their suspicions.

Rapunzel lets out a soft sigh. “Let’s get some breakfast before we try and find another way out.”

The party wanders one of the many halls in the House of Yesterday’s tomorrow, spending the better half of the entire day opening any door they come across. They mostly lead to bedrooms, rooms filled with strange objects, rooms leading to nowhere, and even a dog kennel of all things.

Rapunzel opens a door that seemingly leads to nowhere and steps inside, only to emerge further down the hallway through another door. She blinks and sticks her hand through the door, giggling when it pokes out of the other door.

Cassandra opens another door, quickly closing it and pressing her back against it when the tentacles of an octopus grab for her.

Varian tries a door, eyes lighting up when he finds a lab that puts the one in his cellar back in Old Corona to shame. Tables were lined with beakers, floor to ceiling bookcases were filled with books, chemical compounds, and inventions of all kinds… Everything a proper scientist could ever need.

Every inch of him itched to go inside the room. To test the numerous theories he’s come up with since leaving Corona but has been unable to due to the lack of a proper workspace.

Eugene must have known that because he closes the door, takes him by the wrist and all but drags him away and, oh, does he whine.

“I found the way out!” Shorty calls out and everyone shares an uncertain glance before following his voice.

They come to a brightly colored room, that while it gave off the illusion of being outside, with the sky blue colored walls and ceiling, the numerous toys filling the room to the brim served as a clear indicator that this was not a way out.

“Shorty, this isn’t the way out,” Cassandra tells him.

“Not with that attitude it’s not,” the old man retorts and she rolls her eyes.

“Well, you can stay here and play, but us adults want…” she trails off, scowling when she realizes that everyone had ventured into the room. “And they’re gone.”

Eugene wades through a mound of stuffed animals, nearly jumping out of his skin when a large, purple teddy bear suddenly pops up in his face.

“Hi, there!” He smiles when he hears Rapunzel’s voice coming from behind the toy, much deeper than usual as she speaks for the bear. “My name is Eugene Fitzher… Bear.”

“Very cute, Blondie,” she lowers the teddy bear and smiles at him. “But you need to work on your teddy bear voice… And your puns.”

Rapunzel hugs the bear as she looks around the toy room. She’s never in her life seen so many toys. She never really had any growing up in the tower, only three books and various hobbies kept her occupied as a child. She never even had a doll, now that she thinks about it.

“Whoever all this belongs too is one lucky kid,”

“One lucky spoiled kid.” Eugene retorts.

“Oh come on, Eugene, there’s nothing wrong with indulging a kid now and then.”

“That’s a very slippery slope, Sunshine. Kids need to have boundaries. You’ve got to show them who’s boss-- Varian, so help me, if you step foot in that lab I will take away all your alchemy stuff and you won’t get it back until you’re twenty!”

Rapunzel looks to the door when she hears Varian groan in response, she uses the teddy bear to stifle her giggles as the boy crosses his arms and walks over to Cassandra and Lance as they duel with wooden swords.

Varian sulks and leans against one of the many shelves in the room, quickly sidestepping when Lance slips on a ball and falls back into the wall, toys falling from the shelf when he does. One of the toys hits Varian on the head and he winces, catching whatever it is in one hand and rubbing his head with the other.

“What was that you said about toy swords not hurting?” Cassandra grins down at Lance, holding her wooden sword over her shoulder. She glances at the toy Varian has in his hands and her eyes widen as she lets out a gasp. “No way!”

She snatches it from him and he blinks. She holds the toy in both hands. It’s a blue top with farm animals painted on it. “I used to have a top just like this!”

“I had one like it too,” Varian says. “It was the first thing I ever dismantled, but I never could get it back together.” he sighs wistfully.

“You like tops?” Lance questions with a grin, flinching when the swordswoman glares at him.

“You got a problem with that, Strongbow?”

“Not at all, please, spin away.”

Cassandra grins and gets down on her knees, setting the top on the floor as Lance, Shorty, and Varian gather around and pressing the red button on the top. The top comes to life, spinning fast and she lets out a giddy laugh.

“Look at it go!”

The top picks up in speed and it begins to glow. Varian shields his eyes as the top becomes brighter and brighter with each turn. “Is it supposed to do that?”

Rapunzel gives one last squeeze to the teddy bear before she returns it where she found it. It flops over and she fixes it so it’s standing up straight before turning to Eugene with a smile.

“We need to get back to finding a way out of here.”

“Come on, come on!” a young-sounding voice says before Eugene has the chance to respond.

The couple turns around, eyes turning wide when they see Cassandra… Only she’s a… A young child and she’s dragging Lance, who also appears to be a young child out of the playroom and into the halls.

“W-Wait for me!”

Stunned, they watch as Varian, also younger than he is, runs after them with a baby in his arms. Eugene opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a broken squeak while Pascal rubs at his eyes. They look at one another, and then they run after them.

They track them down to the dining hall, where they chase and throw food at one another. Rapunzel’s voice catches in her throat as she looks to each one of her friends. Cassandra appeared to be around seven years old? And Lance was maybe five? And Varian, well, besides being noticeably shorter and somehow being thinner than he already was, he wasn’t all that different, ten or twelve at the youngest.

The poor boy looks beside himself as he tries to get Lance and Cassandra’s attention and the baby in his arms tugs at his hair, and she quickly recognizes the baby as Shorty, evident by the beard and mustache on his face.

Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. Was Shorty… Born with his beard and mustache? She knows that some babies can be born with teeth, but facial hair? She shakes her head. It doesn’t matter. What matters is--

An egg hits Eugene in the face and Cassandra laughs.

“You’re ‘it’, Fitzherjerk!”

“Yep, that’s Cass alright,” Eugene grumbles, wiping the egg from his face.

“How did this… How did this happen?” Rapunzel asks Eugene, ducking as pudding flies over her head.

“Let’s find out,” Eugene lets out a sharp whistle and the group of children freeze in place, each of them looking at him with big eyes. “Okay, one of you start talking.”

“One of you start talking.” Cassandra mimics him in a high pitched voice.

“Cassandra.”

“Cassandra.”

With a groan, Eugene turns his attention to Lance. He has to resist the urge to grin. He’s forgotten just how much of a butterball Lance was as a kid. “Lance? How did this happen?”

“How’d what happen?”

“How did you turn into kids?”

“Who turned into kids?”

Eugene runs his hand down his face and Rapunzel gives him a sympathetic smile. She looks to Varian, reaching out as Shorty pulls his goggles as far as he can before letting go. She winces when they snap back into place and brings tears to the alchemist's eyes.

Lance raises his hand.

“Yes, Lance?”

“How come your hair’s so long?” he asks, bouncing on his heels.

“Hair grows as you get older, so I guess that it’s because she’s old,” Varian explains and the princess grimaces.

“I’m only nineteen…” She grumbles and Cassandra lets out a gasp.

“Wow, she’s super old.”

“Okay, look,” Eugene gains their attention again. “Something in this house turned you into children, and we have got to fix that, so one you better tell me how this happened, right now, or there will be consequences!”

“Eugene!” Rapunzel hisses. “We’re not going to get anywhere by threatening them!” She bends down so she’s eye level with them. “Now, could one of you please tell us how you were turned into children?”

“It was magic,” Varian says, holding Shorty at arm's length as he begins pulling his hair again.

Rapunzel blinks. A simple answer. An obvious answer. And a strange answer coming from someone who doesn’t believe in magic. But… It’s a start.

“Thank you, Varian, that’s very helpful,” she says and the boy’s face lights up from the praise. She turns back to Eugene when he sighs.

“Great, first a magic mirror and now this,” he grumbles. “We really should have taken our chances with the storm…”

“Well, we didn’t, and now we have to find a way to turn them back…” she trails off when she turns back to the children, only to find that they aren’t there anymore, and food once again begins flying.

“Guys stop! We’re going to get in trouble!” Varian yells and Rapunzel stands up straight.

“To normal…”

Eugene paces around the dining hall, mostly to think of a solution to turn everyone back into their proper ages, but also because it seemed to put Shorty to sleep. He narrowly avoids an egg to the face when Cassandra hits it off the table with a soup ladle.

“Young lady,” he approaches the table. “You get down from there right this instant!”

“You’re not the boss of me,” she swings again, this time destroying a cake and splattering it everywhere and getting it on Eugene’s face.

There’s a tug at his sleeve and a thoroughly frustrated Eugene turns around. “What?” his chest tightens when he sees Varian flinch at his tone and he clears his throat. “What is it, Varian?”

“I-I um…” the boy wrings his hands together nervously. “I was wondering i-i-if I could help?”

“If you can find a way to turn yourself, Cass, Lance, and Shorty back to normal, that’d be fantastic.” He answers and the boy nods.

“Okay! Leave it to me!”

“How do fish breathe if they don’t have noses?” Lance asks and Rapunzel gives an exasperated sigh.

“Fish breath through their gills, and while they don’t have noses, they do have nostrils.”

“What was the first color you ever saw?” Rapunzel goes to answer but he asks another question before she can speak. “Do crabs have eyebrows? What sound would zero make if it weren’t a number? What are we having for dinner? What--”

“A lizard!” Cassandra’s voice is full of excitement and Pascal freezes.

“Oh! Can I hold him? Please, I want to hold him!” Lance stands up from where he lies on the table.

The two don’t give the princess the chance to answer before they’re chasing the poor chameleon around the room, knocking over chairs and somehow making an even bigger mess in their wake.

Lance eventually catches Pascal, rubbing his chubby cheek against his tiny body as he coos.

Rapunzel wants to take Pascal away from him, worried for his safety, but a gentle hand on her shoulder from Eugene calms her nerves.

“It’s okay, Blondie, Lance has always been gentle with animals.” He guides her attention to the gentle way Lance held Pascal, and while the chameleon appeared annoyed, he wasn’t in any danger.

Rapunzel sighs in relief, only to let out a startled cry when something explodes nearby. She and Eugene turn their attention to Varian, his hair blown back and face covered in soot as he holds a beaker over the scorch mark on the floor.

Cassandra drops her armful of kitchenware and runs over to him, landing on her knees at his side.

“Can you make an even bigger explosion?” she asks, eyes sparkling.

“Um, yeah I think so,” Varian sticks out his tongue as he reaches into his vest and pulls out another beaker. “I just need to add more… More…” he trails off. “Hydrogen peroxide,” he sounds the word out and Eugene hands Rapunzel the baby. “And more sodium and--”

Eugene snatches the beakers from him before he could even finish the thought, and the boy gets to his feet.

“Hey! Those are mine!” Varian grabs for them and Eugene holds them above his head.

“Well, you can have them back when you’re back to normal.” Eugene stows the two beakers away in the pouch on his waist and Varian pouts.

“My, my, it would seem you’ve found the Ol’ Top of Time,” the group turns to Matthews.

“Why am I not surprised that you know what’s going on?” Eugene grumbles.

“The older you are, the younger it makes you. This one must have been ancient.” Matthews chuckles, reaching to tickle the baby’s chin. “Look at the baby!” His eyes widen and he quickly draws back his hand when he touches his beard. “Zut alors, that is one ugly baby.”

An amused smile crosses the man's face as he looks around the dining hall. “Now, would you just look at this mess?”

“He did it,” Cassandra points at Lance.

“Nuh-uh, she did it!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

They both suddenly point at Varian. “He did it!” They say in unison.

“I did not!”

The three of them gather around Rapunzel, throwing accusations at one another and asking her to believe them. Their shouting causes Shorty to start crying, and Rapunzel starts bouncing him. She turns to Matthews with a pleading look.

“Mr. Matthews, please, how do we turn them back to normal?”

“Oh, that’s quite simple. Simply find the top and turn it in reverse,” he explains with a smile

“So we just corral them into the nursery, find the top and change them back? Simple as that?” Eugene asks, eyebrow raised.

“Oui, but… You only have one hour to do so or they’ll be children forever.” Matthew adds and Eugene lets out a ‘there’s the catch’ under his breath. “Of course, you could always leave things as they are.”

“So many would give the chance to be young again,” The three children ran past him into the foyer and scattered, laughing as Rapunzel and Eugene chased after them. He smiles.

“And, you do make such a lovely little family.”

“Okay…” Rapunzel pants tossing another loop of her hair around the three. “Okay, Lance, Cass, Varian, even though you’re children, your voices matter. So this is a discussion”

Eugene raises an eyebrow as she picks up a gravy boat from the floor before turning back to the children tangled in her hair. Cassandra, in typical Cassandra fashion, had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, Lance was far too busy petting Pascal to be paying attention to the princess’ words, and Varian simply looked mildly inconvenienced.

“So, whoever holds this gravy boat gets to talk,” Rapunzel concludes and Eugene resists to roll his eyes. Cassandra opens her mouth to speak but Rapunzel quickly hushes her. “Cass, sweetie, I have the gravy boat right now.”

“Now, Eugene and I just want to help you three get back to normal. But we can’t do that if you keep running off.” She smiles at the children. “Which is why I think that from now on we should stick together. You’re stronger in numbers, after all.”

Cassandra raises her hand and Rapunzel passes the gravy boat to her, only for the girl to blow raspberries at her. Rapunzel frowns and Eugene snorts.

Lance then grabs the gravy boat from Cassandra, Pascal taking refuge inside it only to let out distressed squeaks as they begin fighting over it.

“Guys,” Rapunzel’s hands twitch as she reaches to take the gravy boat. “Guys, you have to share the gravy boat-- Lance you need to wait for your-- Cassandra please--”

“You can’t talk without the gravy boat!” Cassandra reminds her, freeing herself from her hairy prison. “Lance, over here!”

The two begin playing hot potato which quickly turns into keep away when Varian tries to catch it, with the gravy boat, poor Pascal still stuck inside it as it’s thrown back and forth.

“Guys, we only have thirty minutes left--”

“Blondie,” Eugene puts a hand on her shoulder. “You’re being way too easy with them. Kids respond best to authority.”

“No, Eugene, they respond best to by feeling like they’re being heard.” This time Eugene does roll his eyes. “Give a child the freedom to express themselves without talking down to them, and they might just surprise you.”

“Rapunzel, listen, I was raised with dozens of other kids, I know what works. Especially with Lance.”

They turn their attention back to the children when they hear Varian let out a ‘ha!’ when he catches the gravy boat, only to trip back on Rapunzel’s hair and drop it to the floor where it shatters.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” He panics and Lance simply scoops up the dizzy chameleon.

“Okay, play time’s over!” Eugene hands Rapunzel the baby and marches over to them. “Here’s the deal, you three are going to march your butts to that playroom, we are going to get that top, and you’re all going to go back to normal! We will not be running off, we will not be breaking things and for the love of all things big and small, we will leave that poor frog alone! Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes, sir…” Varian mumbles, wringing his hands together again as Lance releases Pascal. The chameleon lets out a sigh of relief while Cassandra rolls her eyes but makes no objections.

“Good,” Eugene puts his hands on his hips. “Any questions?”

After a moment, Lance raises his hand. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Again?” The boy nods. “Can’t you hold it?” He shakes his head and he sighs. “Okay fine. Varian? Do you have to go?”

“N-No, sir.”

Eugene’s lips press into a thin line. The way the kid held himself and spoke… Maybe Quirin was a little too strict with him… He’ll have to have a discussion with him once he’s free from the amber.

“I don’t have to go either!” Lance says suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Rapunzel smiles and leans forward. “Maybe you should go anyway? Just to make sure.”

Lance hums, chubby cheeks puffing out slightly as he considers it. “Okay.” he takes Eugene’s waiting hand.

“We’ll meet you in the nursery in five minutes,” Eugene says, pulling Lance along. “Come on, Lancey, you don’t want to stay a kid forever. One two, one-two.”

“Okay, while I don’t think Eugene should be so harsh with you guys, he’s right. We need to get to that nursery and change you back.” She feels a tug on her skirt. “And Cassandra’s gone again, isn’t she?”

Meanwhile, Eugene leads Lance down a hallway lined with sculptures of fish, people, and fish people.

“Can we play chase?”

“No, we’re going to the bathroom.”

“What’s that?”

“A sculpture.”

“What’s it do?”

“It doesn’t do anything, it’s just for people to look at.”

“What people?”

Eugene sighs deeply. “Just people, Lance.”

The little boy breaks free from his hold and runs up to another sculpture. “What’s this?”

“It’s another sculpture,”

“What does it do?”

Eugene pinches his nose as the boy starts asking question after question. “Enough with the questions, Lance!” he snaps. “You’re driving me insane!”

Lance’s lower lip juts out and quivers as tears fill his eyes. “Oh, no, no, don’t cry!” Eugene gets down on his knees. “Please, I hate seeing kids cry, it’s going to make me cry and I have a really ugly cry!”

The tears are already rolling down Lance’s cheeks and Eugene can feel his welling up. “Hey! How about a piggyback ride?” The tears stop just as quickly as they started, and he wastes no time to climb onto his back.

The little con artist.

“Did you know that the earth has three layers of varying temperatures?” Varian asks as he and Rapunzel wander down the hall in search of Cassandra. “And that the world is 97% water? Oh, what about the fact that our hair and nails are made up of the same thing?”

“Really?” Rapunzel blinks. “Huh, I guess that explains why they’re a pain to trim.”

“You can also make a type of acid just from leaving wine open! The natural acidity of the grapes, when left exposed to oxygen, turns into an all-new acid!”

Rapunzel pulls Varian to a stop. “Varian, sweetie,” he looks up at her. “I know you’re very smart, and I love learning new things, but we really need to focus on finding Cassandra right now, okay?”

“Oh… Okay!”

Shorty begins fussing, reaching for something, a yellow wooden duck, on one of the many tables that lined the hallway, and Rapunzel hushes him and pats his back. Varian goes to take the toy, only for Rapunzel to pull him close to her when Cassandra slides along the carpet with an old shield as a makeshift sled.

She flips off the shield and lands on one of the tables, knocking the toy several feet away and causing Shorty to start crying.

“Cassandra, you need to get down from there,” Rapunzel tells her while trying to console the baby.

“But the floor is lava!” She retorts as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Varian quickly darts away from Rapunzel and hoists himself up onto another table.

“Listen, Cass, as much as I’d love to play, I am the undefeated champion of ‘the floor is lava’ after all, but we only have fifteen minutes left too--”

“You’re burning!” Cassandra shouts, pouting when the princess stays in place. “And here I thought my voice mattered…”

Rapunzel lets out a defeated sigh and begrudgingly climbs onto a table where Shorty manages to wiggle himself free from her arms and onto the floor. Both Cassandra and Varian let out gasps.

“Oh no! The baby’s heading to the lava lake! Oh no!” Cassandra points, mouth agape in mock horror.

Varian reaches to grab the baby from the safety of his table, but he leans too far and falls onto the carpet and Cassandra gasps again.

“Oh, no! Varian’s dead!”

Rapunzel lets out a quiet sigh as Varian goes limp on the floor. She goes to get down from the table but Cassandra stops her.

“The floor is lava! Do you want to be burned alive like him?”

Left with no other choice, Rapunzel hops from one table to another until she’s close enough to scoop up the baby into one arm, and pulls Varian up by the back of his shirt and into her lap.

“See, Cass? I saved them b--” her voice breaks off into a groan when she finds Cassandra missing again.

Cassandra swings from banister to banister, stopping only when she sees the princess and the alchemist following her. The princess has her hair down and at the ready.

“Hey! You’re supposed to be dead!”

“I brought him back to life,” Rapunzel says through a sigh. “And, I also got rid of the lava, so you can come down now.”

Cassandra hums as she considers this new information. “Yeah, okay, the lava’s gone.” She agrees. “But now it’s acid!”

Rapunzel groans again, using her hair to make an elevated seat for herself and Varian as Cassandra swings away.

“Motherhood suits you, my dear,” the princess turns to Matthews as he approaches.

“What?”

“All I’m saying is that should you fail to find the top in time, it wouldn’t be the worst thing, no?” The man smiles at her, watching as Varian entertains the baby with a game of peek-a-boo. “Why, you could even live here! This is such a lovely home for such a lovely little family, don’t you agree?”

Rapunzel glances away from him when she hears Eugene. She hasn’t even considered having a family of her own before. She loves her friends, yes, and she already considers Cassandra her sister, and Lance and Varian her brothers, and Shorty… Her weird drunken uncle, but this… This wasn’t right.

“Mr. Matthews, I--” her voice catches in her throat. He was gone.

“Lance, do not go jelly legs on me, stand up!” Eugene says through gritted teeth as he drags Lance along the floor. “Blondie, what are you just hanging there for?”

“The floor is acid.” Lance springs to his feet with a cry, hugging the wall as he hurries along to the nursery, and Eugene muffles a scream into a section of Rapunzel’s hair.

Varian smiles at Eugene when he lowers his handful of blonde hair. “Rapunzel brought me back to life.”

Eugene lets out a tired sigh. “Yeah, she brought me back to life too.”

When they finally return to the nursery, Lance and Cassandra are running about and playing with the large assortment of toys. Varian bounces on his heels, eager to join them but not wanting to stray too far from the adults.

“We need to find that top,” he hears Rapunzel say, seeing her wince as the baby roughly pulls on her hair.

Lance runs between them and they narrowly avoid being run over by Cassandra in a wagon, and then Varian spots the top on the floor. He runs over to it and picks it up, only for Lance to try and grab it from him and they engage in a game of tug of war.

“Lance, let go! I had it first!”

“But I want it!”

Cassandra’s wagon rolls into the two boys, knocking them over and sending the top rolling away. Quick on her feet, the girl grabs it before anyone else could and the three of them begin fighting over it.

Rapunzel forces a smile and cautiously approaches them. “Guys, we only have five minutes left, so maybe we should--”

Eugene stomps his foot down and everyone goes silent, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Lance holds on to Cassandra’s leg with one arm, pushing Varian’s head away with the other as the alchemist pushes him back and reaches for the top that Cassandra held just out of his reach.

“Give me that top, right now, young lady.”

She doesn’t and holds the top further back, testing him. Eugene’s eyes narrow. “One.” She blinks at him, and Lance and Varian back away. “Two.” She holds the top even further away. “Give me the top!”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel hands Varian the baby. “Yelling at them isn’t going to get us that top.”

“Oh, and I guess cuddling it out of them will?”

“And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means you let these kids walk all over you!”

“Well, bossing them around isn’t doing us any favors either!”

Cassandra rolls her eyes as the two adults argue and motions for Lance and Varian to follow her. She leads them to the wagon.

“Let’s go somewhere a little less… them.”

“But…” Varian trails off, looking back to Rapunzel and Eugene as they continue to argue. He turns back to Cassandra as she helps Lance into the wagon “Won’t we get in trouble?”

Cassandra groans and rolls her eyes again. “Don’t be such a goody-two-shoes, come on!”

“I--”

“You’re a big kid, aren’t you? That means it’s your job to make sure us younger kids don’t get hurt.”

After a moment of inner conflict, Varian reluctantly boards the wagon as Lance winds the propeller up.

“You know what? Let’s just turn that top and get out of this place!” Rapunzel says, throwing her hands up in the hair.

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“Tally ho!” The wagon speeds off when Lance releases the brakes, carting the children out of the nursery and down the hall.

Varian holds Shorty close to him when the wagon topples over after one wheel catches on the trim separating the hall from another room. He lands on his side, Lance bouncing off him and knocking the wind out of him as the baby squirms out of his arms and eagerly crawls to the wooden duck between the sharp teeth of a very, very large dog, it’s massive paw on the top.

The color drains from his face when Shorty tries to pull the toy free, only to give up seconds later and crawl onto the sleeping dog’s back.

Slowly and carefully, Varian pushes himself to his feet. He inches forward, holding out his arm to block Cassandra before she can go for the top.

“Move, hairstripe!” She hisses.

“N-No! You could get hurt, I’ll get the top. So just… Go wait with Lance at the door!”

“You’re not the boss of me!”

Varian grabs her arm. “I’m older than you, you have to do what I say!”

Cassandra yanks her arm free and goes to argue but Rapunzel steps between them.

“Guys, guys, shhh.” Rapunzel hushes them in a whisper to not disturb the sleeping dogs inside. She crouches so she’s eye level with them. “Cass, sweetie, I know you want the top, and I know you’re very, very brave, but Varian’s right, you could get hurt so I need you both to please leave the kennel.”

“Why should I listen to you?” Cassandra demands.

“I’m not telling you what to do, but I am strongly suggesting that you reconsider and--”

“Wow,” Cassandra rolls her eyes. ‘Eugene was right, you do let us walk all over you. You two are going to be disasters as parents.”

“Lancey, we have to go now,” Eugene says gesturing to the door.

“Why that way?”

Eugene can feel the grey hairs growing. “Because that’s the way to the door, and we have to go bye-bye now.”

“Why?”

Rapunzel tears her eyes away from the scene, picks Cassandra up and positions her so she’s under one arm and grabs Varian by the wrist.

“Hey! Put me down!” Cassandra struggles until the princess sets her down on her feet.

“Alright young lady, playtime is over! Now,” she makes Cassandra and Varian hold hands. “You two are getting your rear ends out of this kennel, right now. And you walk on those tips toes, and you will not let go of each other's hands until I say so.”

“But--”

“No buts!” Rapunzel nudges them forward. “Tiptoes. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cassandra and Varian say in unison before doing as they’re told and Rapunzel lets out a quiet sigh in relief.

Eugene pinches the bridge of his nose. “Lance, listen to me, we have got to go, now. Why can’t you just do what you’re told?”

“Because…” Lance trails off in search of the right answer. “I’m a kid.”

“Yes, yes, I know you’re a kid and…” Eugene’s voice breaks off into a sigh, eyes darting over to Rapunzel as she has words with Cassandra and Varian. “And kids need to feel like they’re being heard…” he smiles and turns back to Lance. “Okay, buddy, how about we play chase like you wanted too earlier?”

“Really? Okay!” Lance jumps to his feet and pokes Eugene in the chest. “You’re it!”

Eugene grins and has the little boy chase him to the door at the other end of the kennel where they meet Rapunzel, Cassandra, and Varian.

“Alright, now you three wait here,” Eugene says, and Lance takes hold of Varian’s other hand.

“That is an order,” Rapunzel adds firmly.

Rapunzel and Eugene turn their attention back to Shorty and the top. Every so carefully, they make their way across the kennel, stepping over dog bones and the dogs themselves. They hold their breath, Rapunzel reaches for Shorty as he finally pulls the toy duck free from the sleeping dog’s jowl, and each of the dogs finally wakes up.

The dogs rise to their feet, growling with their teeth bared and Eugene quickly grabs the baby, the top, and Rapunzel, pulling her into a run just as the dogs lunge for them.

They climb on top of the kennels, Eugene handing the baby to Rapunzel before digging around his pockets and the pouch on his hip for something that could help. He hands close around Varian’s compounds, and after a second he uncorks them with his teeth and mixes them.

“Eugene--” Rapunzel’s eyebrows shoot up in concern at the smoke that begins forming in the one beaker.

“Alright you mangy mutts,” Eugene corks it, shakes it and then throws it to the other side of the kennel. “Go fetch!”

The dogs bark and run after the beaker as it rolls along the floor, giving the couple the chance to escape.

“The door, the door!”

Lance stops stacking the dog bowls and bones and closes the door with the party still inside, smiling proudly at Eugene while Varian and Cassandra try to open the door.

“I meant go out the door!”

Eugene and Rapunzel skid to a halt when they reach them, turning back to the dogs as they yelp in surprise when the beaker explodes.

“It’s locked!” Lance announces.

“Why would you--”

“I’m a kid.”

The dogs begin barking again, charging at them and snapping their jaws. Eugene and Rapunzel pull the group of children between them, holding them tightly as they brace themselves for the worst, and Shorty pokes his head out and throws the top at the dogs with a giggle.

Pascal then uses his tongue to activate it, and a bright light fills the kennel. No one moves or even breathes until the light fades, and when they look to the dogs, they find that they’ve been turned into puppies by the top.

“Aw…” Rapunzel coos as Lance, Cassandra, and Varian wiggle out of her and Eugene’s hold.

She smiles and picks up the top as the children play with the puppies and turn the dial to reverse.

“Okay, as… Fun as babysitting for the day was,” she begins and they line up in front of her. “I think it’s time to add about sixteen years… Five in Varian’s and…” she trails off and turns to Eugene. “How old is Shorty?”

“Forty-- Seventy-- I have no idea.”

Rapunzel chuckles and sets the top down in front of the group before pressing the button. It spins rapidly and a blinding light flashes, fading seconds later to reveal her friends back to normal.

“Hey, I’m still missing teeth!” Shorty says as he picks at his teeth or lack thereof.

“You’ve always been missing teeth,” Cassandra reminds him. She looks at her hand and raises an eyebrow. “Uh… Raps?” She shows the princess where she and Varian were still holding hands. “Can we let go now?”

Varian’s face flushes and he quickly pulls his hand away to rub the back of his neck with a nervous laugh.

Rapunzel smiles and runs forward to pull her friends into a tight hug, and Eugene joins them as the puppies watch on from their kennel. Lance pulls away and smiles brightly.

“We’re keeping the puppies, right?”

After leaving the kennel, puppies in tow, the party resumes their search for a way to leave the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Eugene opens a random door, a strong wind current nearly sucking him in if not for Rapunzel grabbing him and pulling him back.

“We have checked every door in this house… and not one of them leads to an exit!” Eugene complains, straightening his hair. “Varian, could you use your alchemy to blow us an opening?”

“I could, but uh, you kind of used up all the chemicals I had left,” Varian responds, pulling his hand away when the puppy in his arms starts chewing on his fingers. “But… If you let me go to that lab… I could make some more. Maybe something even stronger. But It’ll probably take me all night.”

Eugene squints at the boy in front of him. “Okay fine,” he sighs. “Just don’t make a mess.”

“And wear your goggles,” Rapunzel adds firmly. “You don’t need glass flying in your face.”

Varian chuckles. “Yes, ma’am.” He looks at the puppy in his arms as he carries her off to the lab down the hall. “You can be my assistant tonight… I think I’ll name you Rider.”

“If we’re naming them then I’m naming mine Cuddles,” Lance says snuggling his puppy. “Because you’re so cuddly, yes you are, yes you are!” He turns to Cassandra. “What are you naming yours?”

“... Dog.”

“Simple, I like it.”

Rapunzel smiles and looks at Eugene. “You know, even though we may not have agreed on everything, I think our parenting styles were complementary to one another.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” he takes her hand. “And if we ever do decide to have kids, we’ll raise them with assertiveness, compassion,”

Rapunzel smiles and kisses his hand. “And a whole lot of love.”

The clock from down the hall chimes midnight and Varian sits back in his chair, pushing up his goggles as the fire under the beaker heats its contents. He yawns and stretches his arms over his head before picking up the puppy off the floor and setting her in his lap.

“Now all we have to do is wait, and tomorrow we’ll finally be able to leave this place,” he says as he pets her and closes his eyes.

“Now, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Varian cries out at the sudden, unknown, yet somehow familiar, voice and falls out of his chair, and Rider begins barking at the dark side of the room.

Varian gets on his knees and he sees her again. That ghost girl. “Who-- Who are you?” He demands, voice cracking, and she smiles at him again.

“A friend.” She steps up to him, the twin buns on the top of her head bouncing as she moves. “Or at least, I would like to be.”

Chapter Text

Varian stares at the ghostly figure before him as he slowly rises to his feet. She says she’s a friend, but then why does his gut tell him to run? Why is it when she speaks he feels like he’s ensnared in those roots again? His stomach churns, as she stares at him with large eyes.

He picks up the puppy, putting an end to her barking and takes a step back. “W-what do you want?”

“Don’t be nervous,” the girl smiles sweetly at him. “There’s something I wish to show you. Come along, Varian.”

His eyebrows furrow. How does she know his name? She moves past him, gliding along the floor to the door where she stops and looks at him. She’s waiting for him.

Varian takes a hesitant step forward and follows her out of the lab.

“Varian!” Eugene slams the door to the lab open. “Varian, Rapunzel’s--” his voice catches in his throat.

Varian was nowhere in sight. If not for the beaker burning on the desk and the toppled over chair, it looks as if he hadn’t been here at all.

“Shit,” Eugene quickly leaves the room, returning to Cassandra and Lance in the hallway. “Varian’s gone too.”

“Well, isn’t that just fantastic…” Cassandra crosses her arms.

“What are the odds that they’re together?” Lance asks.

“I don’t like this,” Cassandra says.

“You don’t like anything.” Eugene points out. “But, I don’t like this either. Let’s split up, we’ll cover more ground that way.”

Varian blinks numerous times to adjust his vision to the moonlight reflecting off the marble floor. When his vision finally adjusts the lighting in the room, his eyes turn wide as he takes in his surroundings.

“This is…”

Tall windows lined the walls, allowing the light from the full moon outside to pour into the grand room. Banisters hung from the high ceilings and two thrones sat at the end of a long deep purple rug.

“The castle…?” he looks around him, dread filling him when he sees that the door to the lab is gone. “But how--”

Heavy footfalls echo off the walls, and the boy whirls around to the throne, dropping to one knee and bows his head when he sees King Frederick pacing back and forth.

“Y-Your Majesty, forgive me, I--”

The doors to the throne room open and Frederick stops pacing as someone else approaches and kneels beside Varian.

“Your Majesty,” the newcomer says and Varian stills. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

“No need for such formalities, Quirin. Please, rise.”

Varian raises his head as the man beside him rises to his feet. “Dad…?” The man pays him no mind. Neither of them paid him any mind, it was as if he wasn’t even here. “Dad--” he reaches out to take his father’s hand, recoiling when his hand simply passes through him.

Confused, Varian stands and looks at his hands and the ghost girl steps up to stand beside him.

“Frederick, please, listen to me,” Quirin’s voice sounds desperate. “You must end your search for the Sundrop Flower!”

Varian raises his head. “The Sundrop Flower? But… But Rapunzel already--”

“They can’t hear you,” the ghost girl tells him. “This is merely an echo of the past.”

Varian looks away from the ghost girl and back to the scene playing out in front of him.

“Quirin, I understand your concerns, but you have to understand, without it, Arianna will… The baby will…” Federick trails off. He exhales heavily through his nose. “I can’t lose them.”

“Frederick, you have to understand,” Quirin pulls a torn piece of parchment from his vest. “If you take that flower Corona will fall into ruin in a matter of years!”

Varian closes the distance between himself and the two men as Quirin unrolls the parchment.

“That’s the--”

“The first piece of the Demanitus Scroll, yes.”

“By removing the light you’re welcoming in the darkness!” Quirin warns. “I’ve seen what the rocks can do first hand, Frederick! The lives they’ve destroyed, my friends, my family, my home, please you can’t let this happen to your people!”

“I have no choice…” Frederick says in a quiet voice.

“Then you have sentenced us to death!”

“Then so be it.”

Eugene and Lance come to a rather strange door in the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Unlike the others, it wasn’t in the shape of a scallop shell. It was wooden, ancient, with the symbol of that demon from the Great Tree.

A green line shines through the space between the door and the floor, and footsteps can be heard inside.

“Okay so how are we going to pick--” Lance falls silent when Eugene simply kicks the door in. “A little less subtle than I’m used to, but alright.”

The room was circular and covered in vines, relatively empty save for the statue of the demon and a stone pedestal with--

“Rapunzel!” Eugene runs forward, pulling a dagger from his boot. “Rapunzel, wake up!” He touches her sleeping face, heart pounding in his chest when she shows no signs of waking. He begins to cut at the vines that ensnared her, Lance joining him.

They’ve suddenly pulled away, slammed into the wall and glowing green vines tightly wrap around them.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Matthews steps forward, his usual attire replaced with a long black robe and a horned headdress and holding a scepter. “We mustn’t wake the poor dear.”

“Matthews!” Eugene growls. “Let her go!”

“Oh, trust me mon amie, I take no pleasure in this, but she left me no choice.” The two men bound to the wall watch in shock as the innkeeper’s form begins changing. “The mirror failed.” His skin turns a sickly translucent green as he levitates off the floor. “The top failed.” His eyes turn solid white, and he’s no longer a man, but an ancient ghostly spirit.

“But I, Tromus, loyal servant of Zhan Tiri, will keep the Sundrop in this house. Forever.”

Varian’s standing outside in a field of black rocks beneath the full moon. The ruins of a village. He stares blankly ahead where the king once stood and anger bubbles in his chest.

All this time… All this time he knew about the rocks? And he did nothing? He knew what they would do to Corona and yet he still…

All those villages, all those homes that were destroyed by the rocks, all the lives that were ruined… Old Corona… The amber…

He trembled as his anger turns into rage, clenching his fists tightly at his sides as hot tears roll down his cheeks.

“It’s awful isn’t it?” The ghost girl asks him softly. “All the damage that one selfish act can cause. All the pain and the suffering that so many people have endured…” she moves in front of him and takes both his hands into her own. “Including you.”

“But I know how to make it all go away. How to right these wrongs that have befallen you and countless others.”

Varian looks at her warily, the feeling of being ensnared in roots returning and making it difficult to breathe.

“Take the Moonstone,” she says, tightening her grip on his hands. “Rapunzel doesn’t deserve its power, but you… It's already granted you some of its power, Varian. You--.”

Varian pulls himself away from her. “W-What do you mean the Moonstone’s granted me some of its power?”

“You were the only one unharmed when the Sundrop used the Moonstone’s incantation,” the girl says calmly and his eyebrows furrow. “Even when you touched her, you weren’t hurt while Cassandra’s hand as all but crippled.”

“The power granted to you by the Moonstone protected you that day. These rocks are guiding you just as much as they are to Rapunzel. It is your destiny to make the power of the Moonstone whole once more and use that power to right these wrongs and bring the Sundrop to her knees.”

“Bring the Sundrop… No!.” Varian takes several steps back. “Even if it is my destiny to make the Moonstone whole again, why would I use it to hurt Rapunzel?”

“Because it’s what you want, Varian. Deep down you know it to be true.” The girl's sweet smile morphs into something twisted. “You may lie to yourself and say you’ve forgiven her, but you still want her to suffer.”

“N-No I--” Varian’s voice catches in his throat, eyes widening in terror. “It’s you…” he mumbles and the ghost girl tilts her head, smiling that twisted smile. “It’s you-- From the tree…”

“Zhan Tiri.”

“Rapunzel!” Eugene cries, struggling against his bonds. “Rapunzel, please, you have to wake--Mpfh!” Vines wrap around his mouth, silencing him.

“Hush,” Tromus shoots him a glare, he turns back to Rapunzel, the vines now covering her nearly up to her sternum. “The only way she’ll wake up from this dream is if she wakes herself up.”

He turns to the two men and smiles. “But tell me, why would she give up on a perfect life, hm? Free of struggle and strife, free of making difficult choices… Truly a paradise.”

The vines continue to grow around the princess and Eugene’s desperate struggle continues.

“Soon, Master,” Tromus turns his attention to the statue of Zhan Tiri. “The limitless power of the Sundrop will be yours.”

“You’re Zhan Tiri,” Varian says, unusually calm for someone confronting the voice in his head.

“Such a clever boy.” The ghost girl’s twisted grin wides inhumanely as everything around them begins to crack. The world around them shatters, and they’re back on that platform in the world of pinks and purples.

“I knew I should have targeted someone without your intellect,” tree roots emerge from her skirt. “But I had grown rather fond of you during our time together in the tree.” she croons, her form changing to that of the demons from the Great Tree.

“But it doesn’t matter,” she grabs him before he can react and lifts him to her face. “With or without you, I will acquire the Sundrop and Moonstone, and I will make good on my promise to that old fool and destroy Corona.”

“You’ll never get the Sundrop and Moonstone!” Varian struggles in her grip. “I’ll never let you hurt my friends!” he stops struggling and glares daggers at the demon. “I’ll stop you before you even have the chance!”

Zhan Tiri’s eyes widen a hair and she laughs. “Oh, I’d love to see you try, my dear little Demanitus.”

Rapunzel’s eyes snap open and she sits up with a gasp. She tears away the vines wrapped around her and frees Pascal from the birdcage he’s locked in, kissing him quickly on the head before turning her attention to Eugene and Lance.

The vines around them become weak enough that they can break free and Eugene runs over to Rapunzel, pulling her into a tight embrace. He kisses the top of her head, his grip on her tightening.

“I thought I lost you…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Eugene,” Rapunzel says running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. “Ever.”

“Uh,” Lance clears his throat as the house begins collapsing around them. “I hate to be the third wheel here, but we have got to go!”

Everything around them begins turning to sand, flooding the halls as they struggle to outrun it. The door suddenly manifests, offering them their freedom from this cursed house and they run through it, stumbling to the ground outside.

They pick themselves up as a harsh wind threatens to blow them away. Rapunzel peeks over Eugene’s arm, watching as Tromus begins to dissolve with the house.

“This isn’t over!” He gives one final warning before both he and the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow are no more.

The wind dies down and Pascal pokes his head out of Lance’s vest, crawling onto the man's shoulder as Rapunzel leans heavily into Eugene’s arms with a relieved sigh.

“Rapunzel!” They turn to Cassandra, Shorty, and animals.

“Cass!” The princess pulls away from Eugene and tackles Cassandra into a hug.

Cassandra blinks before hugging her back. She smiles, looking at Eugene and Lance. “I’m glad you’re all okay.”

Rapunzel smiles and pulls away from her, holding her hands. She smiles at the animals, quickly frowning when she sees Ruddiger perched on Maximus’ head.
“Wait…” she turns back to the remains of the house, her face turning pale. “Where’s Varian?”

Cassandra’s grip on her hands tightens as both Eugene and Lance whirl around to the pile of sand. Rapunzel takes a few hurried steps forward, pulling Cassandra along with her only for Eugene to block her path with his arm as an arched, ancient stone door manifests before them.

“Stay back,” he warns. “There’s no telling what’s going to come out of there.”

There’s a banging on the door and then it swings open with a loud groan. Varian stumbles out of the door, collapsing to his knees and taking deep breaths as the puppy runs forward to join its siblings.

Rapunzel smiles brightly and releases Cassandra’s hands. “Varian!” She runs up to him and gets on her knees before pulling him into a tight hug. “You’re okay!” She blinks back the tears in her eyes, pulling away just enough to pepper his face with kisses. “I was so… I thought…” she thinks back to when he fell at the Great Tree and she tightens her grip on him, tucking his head under her chin. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Varian leans into her arms, mind racing as he tunes her out. Did she know? About what her father did? About what he unleashed onto the world? That all of this was because of her-- No. No, it’s not her fault.

Rapunzel turns tense as Varian begins muttering to himself and holds her breath as she listens.

“It’s not her fault, it’s not her fault, it’s not her fault, it wasn’t her choice, it’s not her fault, it’s not her fault--” his voice breaks off into a sob and the princess kisses the top of his head and holds him close.

Eugene, Lance, and Cassandra look at one another with concern before turning back to the two.

Varian slowly pulls away from Rapunzel and wipes his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Rapunzel…?”

He looks at her and she smiles at him, gently cupping his face with one hand and wiping away the tears on his cheek. She gives him a nod, telling him to continue.

“We need to talk.”

Chapter Text

The sun hangs low in the sky, casting everything in warm orange light as Eugene and Lance set up camp for the night in an open field. Cassandra has the three puppies lined up in front of her and held a stick in one hand. She waves it in front of them before throwing it and they give chase, running past where Varian and Rapunzel sit alone and talk.

“You saw all that in the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow?” Rapunzel asks softly. Her mouth was dry and her mind was racing as she processed everything Varian had told her.

Her father knew about the rocks. He was warned that by taking the Sunflower he’d be inviting them into Corona, but he still… He knew what was happening outside of Corona, and he’s denied it for nineteen years. She bites her lip. Without that flower, her mother would have… She wouldn’t…

“Varian, I… Don’t want to believe that,” she says. “I… I don’t know if I can.”

Varian nods his head, staring out into the empty field dotted by the black rocks. “I know what you mean… Part of me wants to chalk it up to Zhan Tiri playing with my head, but the other part… The other part of me believes her.”

“As soon as we get back to Corona, I will get answers.” Rapunzel says firmly. “I know they don’t mean anything to you anymore, but I promise we’ll get to the bottom of this, Varian.”

Varian gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Rapunzel.”

The full moon shines brightly in the night sky, casting everything in a soft glow. Varian stokes at the campfire, keeping watch for the rest of the night while the others sleep in the caravan. Despite his best efforts to sleep, every time he closed his eyes he was back in that world.

Back in Zhan Tiri’s grip.

He hadn’t told Rapunzel what she said about his connection to the Moonstone. He probably should have but… The Moonstone is her destiny. Not his.

He tilts his head up and gazes at the moon. Zhan Tiri isn’t just going to give up on getting what she wants just because he saw through her tricks. She’s just going to find someone else and manipulate them to take the Moonstone and use it against Corona. Against Rapunzel.

He can’t let that happen. He has to keep the Moonstone safe. Three clouds pass in front of the moon and he swallows hard.

There’s only one way he can do that.

Rapunzel rises with the sun, stretching her arms out over her head with a yawn. She slips out of her cot and onto the floor, stepping over Cassandra’s puppy as she makes her way outside.

“Good morning, Varian,” she says through another yawn. “Adira, Hector.” She freezes suddenly and blinks herself awake, looking at the two knights as they casually sit around the campfire eating who knows what for breakfast.

“Princess,” Adira nods at her.

“Sundrop,” Hector greets her through a mouthful of food.

Cassandra shuffles up behind Rapunzel, eyes closed as she leans heavily on her back. “What’s for breakfast--” she opens her eyes and she’s wide awake when she sees their company. “Okay, what the hell are you two doing here and why are you eating our food?”

“I asked them to come,” Varian says. He sets down his bowl and stands up to face them. “I um… I borrowed Owl last night and sent them a message.” He rubs the back of his neck as Lance and Eugene stumble out of the caravan. “I’ve decided to join the Brotherhood. So…”

“I’m leaving.”

Varian bites the inside of his cheek as the party stares at him in silence. This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? There’s no way they’d be okay with this, not after everything that’s happened.

“I-I’ve been thinking about it ever since we left Courmont,” he says, voice cracking. “I have so much that I can learn from them, about the rocks, the Moonstone, my heritage, I--” Rapunzel pulls him into her arms.

“Just promise me you’ll be safe, Varian.” She says, squeezing him.

Varian blinks in surprise before he smiles and hugs her back just as tight. “I promise.”

Eugene hugs him from behind, and he’s sandwiched between him and the princess, and he becomes trapped even further when Lance and Cassandra hug them from each side. Varian closes his eyes, melting into the princess’ embrace and tries not to laugh when he hears Lance start crying.

Cassandra is the first to pull away and she walks up to Adira. “If anything happens to him, there will be nowhere in the Seven Kingdoms that you can hide from me.”

Adira smiles with amusement. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, Short Hair.”

Varian hoists his pack over his shoulder and grabs the Demanitus spear as Ruddiger perches on his shoulder and Rider wags her tail next to him. He smiles back at his friends, not at all when surprised when Rapunzel hugs him again.

“I guess we’ll see you in the Dark Kingdom.” She says pressing a kiss to the side of his head and he hugs her back.

“See you in the Dark Kingdom.”

Chapter Text

Cassandra hums to herself as she reads the map, tuning out Lance and Eugene’s bickering as they attempt to replace a broken wheel on the caravan. They were just three weeks away from the Dark Kingdom, and already, no matter which way they looked all they could see were black rocks.

If the rocks were this bad this far from the kingdom, then she doesn’t want to imagine how bad it is within its walls.

A cool breeze ruffles her hair and she shivers, pulling her cape tighter around her shoulders. She looks up when Rapunzel plops down next to her.

“Have they made any progress?”

“Unless you consider a muscle contest as ‘progress’, then no.”

Cassandra folds the map and puts her head in her hand. “It’s times like this I miss having Varian around,” she mumbles. “He’d just do his little nerd thing and we would have been back on the road an hour ago.”

Rapunzel chuckles. “Yeah…” she looks back at the caravan as Lance and Eugene flex. “... Do you want to go for a hike while they work this out? It’s going to take them a while.”

Cassandra follows her gaze and grimaces with distaste at the sight. “Yeah, lead the way.”

The two engage in idle chit chat as they venture through the forest, Rapunzel stopping now and then to point out some herb or flower that Cassandra’s never heard of before dragging her off to something else.

“You know,” Cassandra begins, arms crossed over her chest as she gazes at the canopy of tree limbs above her. “I’ve seen a lot of trees in my life, but these… Are some of them.”

She grins when Rapunzel shoves her playfully. “Well, I think they’re beautiful.”

“You think everything’s beautiful.”

“Because everything is beautiful in it’s own special way.”

Cassandra rolls her eyes and follows Rapunzel deeper into the woods. She finds herself steadily growing uneasy as the forest becomes darker and a thick fog covers the ground. The only thing that gave her a hint of comfort was the fact Owl was following them overhead. Crows caw at them, hidden from sight within the trees and she moves closer to Rapunzel.

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

“Nope. But that’s what makes exploring--” Rapunzel shrieks when the ground beneath her gives way she’s sent tumbling down a hill.

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra slides down the hill after her, sighing in relief as the blond dizzily sits up and plucks twigs from her hair.

“That’s what makes it fun…” Rapunzel blinks several times until her world stops spinning.

“Sure it does,” The swordswoman pulls her to her feet and looks around. “Well, that was fun and all but we should head back to the--”

The snap of a twig catches her attention and she draws her sword, putting herself between Rapunzel and the unseen threat.

A tiny old woman comes out of the fog, paying the two young women no mind as she plucks a mushroom from the ground and places it in her basket. Cassandra’s stance relaxes as the woman picks another mushroom before finally taking notice of them.

“Goodness me,” she adjusts her spectacles with a shaking hand. “I wasn’t expecting company today.” She gives them a wrinkled smile. “Would you two care for some tea.”

“Sorry, ma’am,” Cassandra sheaths her blade. “But we’re just passing through.”

“Are you sure? I have this special blend that I’m sure you two will love.” The old woman’s eyes sparkle. “Oh, I’ll need to dust off the good teapot.”

“One cup of tea won’t hurt, Cass,” Rapunzel says softly, gently squeezing her arm and Cassandra sighs in defeat. “We’d love some.”

The old woman leads them to her cottage that looks like it was ripped straight from a storybook and very out of place in this forest. The grass around it was perfectly tended to, trees and flowers that would otherwise not grow out here dotted the yard.

They follow her inside and it’s just as one would think a small fireplace in the corner with a rocking chair and knitting basket beside it, and a table and chairs in the center of the room.

Rapunzel and Cassandra sit down at the table while the old woman fixes the tea and some snacks.

“I have a bad feeling about this,”

“You say that about everything,”

“Yeah, and I'm usually right,” Cassandra mutters and Rapunzels sighs. “Look, let’s just drink some tea, eat some cakes or cookies or whatever, and then get back to the caravan.”

The old woman emerges from her kitchen and sets down a tray, smiling as she shakily pours two cups of tea for her guests.

“That is a beautiful teapot,” Rapunzel comments and Cassandra studies it.

It’s tall and pink, painted with bluebirds and white and yellow swirls in a very Rapunzel fashion. The teacups matched it, though they were painted with feathers rather than birds.

“Oh, thank you, dear.” The woman sits down. “Tell me, what brings you, two lovely young ladies, all the way out here?”

“Adventure,” Rapunzel answers with a smile.

“Adventure, you say? Well, I may just have a once in a lifetime adventure for you.”

“What do you mean?” Cassandra raises an eyebrow while sipping her tea.

“How would you like to see this beautiful forest from a bird's perspective?”

“What, are you going to turn us into birds or something?” Cassandra asks jokingly and Rapunzel chuckles into her tea. The old woman simply smiles at them and Cassandra chokes on her tea. “Oh, oh, you’re serious. Okay,” she and Rapunzel set down their teacups and stand. “We need to be on our way, thanks for the tea.”

The two young women only take one step away from the table before they suddenly shrink and change into the forms of small birds. They look at each other, feathers ruffling in surprise before looking down at themselves.

“Oh, come on!” Cassandra hops around on the floor to turn back to the old woman. “What was in that tea?!”

“Oh,” the old woman stands from her chair and uncovers a basket of eggs. “The tea was just normal herbal tea. It’s the teapot that turned you into birds.”

“You know, I’m usually up for anything but this is a little…” Rapunzel trails off as she looks at herself. “This is a little much.”

“More like insane,” Cassandra shoots a look at the old woman. “Turn us back. Now.”

“If you insist,” the woman cracks the egg in her hand over Cassandra’s head and she turns back to normal.

Rapunzel gives an experimental flap of her new wings, crying out in alarm when she lifts off the ground. She laughs and begins flying around the room.

“Cass, Cass look! I’m flying!” She perches on her friend's shoulder, giggling into her wings. “This is amazing!”

“Look, Raps, I know you’re having fun right now, but we need to turn you back to normal,” Cassandra says as the old woman gathers another one of the eggs.

“Oh, come on Cassandra! I know this is weird--”

“No, no, 70 feet of magic hair is weird. Evil mirror versions of yourself are weird. Whatever it is you see in Eugene is weird. This? This is full-blown wacko!”

“Okay, maybe this is wacko, but when will we ever get another chance like this?” she looks at her with pleading eyes. “Please? Just for one hour?”

Cassandra sighs deeply and picks up her teacup. “I’m going to regret this,” she mutters before downing the rest of the cup.

Rapunzel hops off her shoulder as she turns back into a bird, leading her to the open window. She flaps her wings in place, turning back to the old woman. “We’ll be back in one hour.”

“Please, take all the time in the world.”

Rapunzel flies high above the clouds, spinning with delight as the anxiety and fear of what awaits for her in the Dark Kingdom fades away the higher she goes. She looks down and the view of the world is breathtaking.

Everything is so small from her place in the clouds, she can hardly see the black rocks from here and she loves it.

Cassandra knocks into her as she struggles to keep herself in the air, prompting the princess to offer her support by leaning on her.

“Just spread your wings out and let the wind guide you,” she says as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

“O-Okay but--” Cassandra teeters in the sky when Rapunzel pulls away once her wings are spread. She flies after her, sticking close to her side. “Don’t leave me, please!”

“You’re doing it!”

Cassandra looks down, eyes widening in amazement at the view. “Woah…”

“Right?”

They sail through the sky without a care in the world, flying from cloud to cloud as if it were natural for them. They circle each other and dive down into a field of dandelions sending their spores flying on the wind.

A mountain catches Rapunzel’s eye in the distance. “Race you to the top!”

“Oh, it is on!”

Rapunzel is the first to reach the peak, but Cassandra comes in at a very close second. The pant as they catch their breaths, looking at one another and laughing breathlessly.

“See?” Rapunzel nudges Cassandra with her wing. “I knew you’d have…” she trails off, staring far off into the distance.

“Raps?” Cassandra tilts her head and follows her gaze. She has to squint to see it, but far into the distance, she sees it. Tall and deadly black rocks high into the sky and pointing in every direction. Her feathers ruffle. “That’s the…”

“Dark Kingdom.” Rapunzel finishes for her. “Wow… We’re closer than I thought…”

“... Are you okay?”

“I… I’m scared Cass. What if I’m not supposed to come back? What if I can’t neutralize the Moonstone? What if…” she trails off again turning away from the sight.

“Hey,” Cassandra puts her wing around her. “Listen to me, whatever happens at the Dark Kingdom, I’ll be right there to help you. We’ll all be there.”

Rapunzel smiles and leans against her. “Thank you, Cassandra. I don’t think I could do this without you.”

Cassandra smiles and nudges her. “Come on, this was fun and all but I miss my hands.”

“We’re back,” Rapunzel sings as she and Cassandra perch themselves on the windowsill.

“Did you enjoy yourselves my dear little chickadees?” The old woman asks as she clears the tea table.

“Oh yes, we did. It was incredible.”

“Good, good.” The old woman focuses on clearing the table, humming to herself as she does.

“So, can you turn us back now?” Cassandra asks after a few moments.

The woman turns back to them with a confused smile. “Turn you back? Oh, heavens no!”

“W-what--”

Darkness suddenly envelopes them as they’re scooped in a burlap sack. They begin squawking, flapping around in an attempt to free as the old woman carries them outside where they hear the rattling of a cage.

“Forgive me, my dears,” the old woman says as she places them both in an ornate birdcage outside. “But I’m something of a birdwatcher and I’ve found that humans make such rare, one of a kind birds.” She smiles at them through the bars as she closes the cage. “I simply can’t help but keep them for myself.”

“You rotten old--” Cassandra squawks and covers her beak.

“What is--” Rapunzel squawks as well. “What is going on?”

“Oh dear, didn’t I tell you? If you aren’t turned back by sunset you’ll be a true bird forever. Oh but don’t worry my loves, I’ll take excellent care of you.”

“Our--” Squawk. “Our friends will come from us, and when they do you’ll be in--” Squawk. “Big trouble!” Rapunzel calls after the old woman as she retreats inside.

“About that, Blondie…” Rapunzel and Cassandra whirl around to face Eugene and Lance, both of them transformed into birds; Eugene and bluejay and Lance a cardinal.

“Eugene--” Squawk. “You guys are birds too?”

Cassandra groans and leans her head against the bars of the birdcage. “I cannot believe I’m saying this, but I really wish Adira were here to bail us out right now.”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much help to you, Short Hair.”

Their cage rattles as everyone jumps back, feathers ruffled and letting out startled squawks. Rapunzel hops up to the bars and peers at another, much larger cage on the floor. Inside it was four birds of various sizes and she recognized them all.

“How did you--”

“When a nice old woman offers you tea you don’t turn her down,” Adira responds and examines her pristine white feathers as the cage they’re in begins rattling again. She’s in the form of a tall white bird with long legs. A secretary bird, Rapunzel notes. “But I have to say, I wasn’t expecting-- Hector will you please! I can hardly hear myself think.”

Rapunzel’s gaze turns to Hector, a magpie, as he pulls on the bars of the cage with his talons and beak. He stops and turns to his sister.

“One of us needs to figure out how to break out of here, dear sister.” He tells her before returning to his task.

Adira rolls her eyes, stepping to the side as the peacock trapped with them messily pecks at the tray of birdseed.

“That is some good eating,” the peacock, Shorty, slurs, and birdseed falls from his beak.

“You know,” Varian, in the form of a robin, begins from his perch in the cage. “I’ve seen a lot of weird things since we left Corona, but this? This is just full-blown wacko.”

“Thank you! At least someone has some common sense.” Cassandra grumbles.

Rapunzel begins pacing around the birdcage. “We have got to get those eggs,” she says. “Does--” Squawk. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

“I do,” Lance raises a wing. “If we can’t bring the eggs to us, we go to them.”

“That is a brilliant idea,” Eugene says. “But how do we do that?”

“That’s where the idea falls apart.”

“Hang on a minute,” Rapunzel says, watching as Adira tries opening their cage by reaching for the hook with her talons through the bars. “I got an idea.”

Inside, the old woman hums to herself as she washes her enchanted teapot. She pauses when she hears a crash from outside and sets the teapot down on the table to go investigate.

She opens the door and a flock of birds suddenly fly at her, causing her to cry out in alarm. A few of them peck at her, allowing two others to fly straight for the eggs and use them to return to normal.

Cassandra plucks a feather from her head and breaks another egg over Rapunzel and the princess smiles at her before untying her hair.

“You turn everyone back to normal and I’ll handle grandma,” she says and they split up.

The old woman shoos the birds away just as she’s bound by long golden blonde hair, tight enough she’s unable to break free, but not enough for it to hurt her old bones.

“No, please!” the woman pleads, struggling as one by one Cassandra turns the birds back into humans. “It’s so dreadfully lonely out here, please don’t leave me!”

“Yeah, well get a cat,” Cassandra tells her. She jumps at the sound of shattering porcelain, turning to face Hector as he drops the handle of the teapot to the floor.

“And while you’re at it, you can get a new hobby.”

“No!” the woman wails. “Now I’ll never be able to make my tea again!”

Rapunzel drops her hair when both the woman and the cottage suddenly vanish in a small puff of smoke and everyone’s left outside in the open. She blinks in surprise and looks at Hector who simply shrugs. She knows that if he hadn’t broken the teapot she would just turn more innocent people into birds, but she can’t help but feel a little bad for her.

But the fact the woman and her house would just cease to exist like that...

“Okay, now that’s full blown wacko.”

“Well, that was… An adventure.” Rapunzel says as she joins Cassandra at the campfire, looking back as Eugene, Lance, and Varian fix the wheel on the caravan while Hector adjusts Fidella and Maximus's harnesses and Adira leans against a tree.

“Yeah.” Cassandra answers and Rapunzel frowns at her tone.

“... Are you alright, Cassandra?”

“Oh, no, I’m great. I love being turned into a bird and nearly kept as some crazy old woman’s pet for the rest of my life.”

“I’m sorry, Cass… I thought she was just lonely and wanted some company… I thought we could trust her.”

“Yeah, you think that about a lot of people and it always gets us into trouble.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look, Raps, I know you’re a trusting person and want to see the good in everyone, it’s one of the things I love about you, but you’re too trusting! You trusted Calliope and she almost got us all killed by that kurloc, you trusted Adira and we were almost killed by that incantationand the tree,” the way she clenches her injured hand doesn’t go unnoticed by the princess. “You trusted Matthews and he tried to sacrifice you to a literal demon, and now, you trusted some random old lady in the woods and we were almost turned into birds!”

“Maybe I am too trusting, but it’s better than being cynical all the time!” Rapunzel argues.

“I’m only cynical because I’m trying to keep you safe!”

“I don’t need you to keep me safe, Cassandra!” Rapunzel stands up, averting her gaze when a hurt expression crosses her friend’s face. “I’m not fresh out of the tower anymore, I can take care of myself!”

She looks back to Cassandra when she stands up. They say nothing as they stare at one another before Cassandra turns on her heel and walks off and guilt fills the princess.

“Cass, wait, I--” she stops herself, dropping her hand to her side and biting her lip. She turns back to the caravan and everyone acts as if they weren’t watching just now.

She sighs and goes inside.

Cassandra walks alone through the forest, looking up at the night sky through the trees as she lets her mind race.

Rapunzel doesn’t need her. She’s given up everything back home to come with her and help her fulfill her destiny, and she’s right! She doesn’t need her out here. Time and time again Rapunzel’s gotten herself and the others into trouble, and time and time again she’s gotten them out.

“Why am I even here?” Cassandra asks herself, coming to a halt.

“You’re here to find your destiny, Cassandra.”

Cassandra turns tense and draws her sword at the unfamiliar voice. “Who’s there?”

“A friend,” the small ghostly figure of a girl emerges in the fog. “Or at least, I would like to be.”

Chapter Text

Cassandra stares at the ghost girl with uncertainty, her grip tightening on the hilt of her sword as the girl's gaze steadily makes her uneasy. Her stomach twists in a knot and she takes a step back.

She glares at the girl and she smiles sweetly at her.

“You asked why you’re out here, and the answer to that question is to find your destiny, Cassandra.” the girl turns from her and gestures for her to follow. “Come, I wish to show you something.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think so.” Cassandra glares at the girl and she turns around. She smirks at her confusion. “Did you honestly think the kid didn’t warn us about you before he left on his family road trip, Zhan Tiri?”

“It would seem that my dear little Demanitus was one step ahead of me…” The girl frowns and her eyebrows pinch together in annoyance. “You must know why I’m here then, yes?”

“You’re going to try and tempt me into taking the Moonstone and use it to destroy Corona,” Cassandra sheaths her sword and crosses her arms. “But guess what? Corona’s my home and even if I am upset with Rapunzel right now, nothing you say or do will ever make me turn on her. So, adieu.”

Cassandra gives the ghost an exaggerated bow and turns on her heel, leaving the girl alone in the fog.

“Oh,” Zhan Tiri smiles as Cassandra’s form vanishes from sight. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“So, how did you guys end up falling for the old lady’s tricks?” Eugene asks, handing Varian one of his tools. “None of you strike me as the tea party type. Especially not your uncle Crazy Rhino Man.”

Varian pokes his head out from beneath the caravan and motions for Eugene to come closer. “You see,” he lowers his voice to a whisper. “Turns out, Hector is a firm believer in respecting your elders and Adira has quite the sweet tooth.”

“Well, Grandma Bird Brain did make really good jam tarts.” Eugene muses as Varian disappears under the caravan again.

Dog barks excitedly and runs up to Cassandra as she returns from her stroll, and everyone goes silent when Rapunzel exits the caravan.

The two young women look at each other for what felt like an eternity before Rapunzel runs up to her and hugs her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” she cries into her shoulder. “I didn’t mean it! I was just… I was mad and I took it out on you and I am so sorry, Cass.”

Cassandra hugs her back and blinks back her tears. “I’m sorry too, Rapunzel, I didn’t mean--”

“No! No, you’re right!” Rapunzel pulls away just enough to look her in the eye. “I am too trusting and it does get us into trouble! It just… Hurt… To hear it said out loud… But I shouldn’t have said what I said. Because I do need you, Cassandra.” More tears well in her eyes. “You’re my big sister and I will always need you.”

She takes hold of Cassandra’s hands, squeezing them gently. “I just… I also need to make mistakes, you know?”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I need to stop being so cynical, and I need to trust you and your judgment too.” Cassandra smiles. “But I’m not going to stop trying to protect you. After all, you’re my little sister. I’ll just… Tone it down a little bit. Deal?”

“Deal.”

With the wheel of the caravan repaired and reinforced, Varian packs up his tools. He looks up when Cassandra offers him a hand and she pulls him to his feet once he takes it but doesn’t let go.

“Cass?”

“You know your little friend from the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow?” She asks and his face pales. “I met her.”

“A-And?” he clears his throat when his voice cracks. “Did she… Show you anything?”

“No,” Cassandra lets him go and leans against the caravan. “I didn’t give her the chance before I told her to f--” She stops herself, looking away from him.

“Cass, I promise you, whatever you’re about to say, Uncle Hector has said worse.”

“Uncle Hector, huh? A week and a half and you’re already that close?” Cassandra grins and his cheeks turn pink. “Anyway, I told her to fuck off. But… If you hadn’t told us about her then… I don’t know if I would have.”

Varian smiles, comforted by the fact he helped Cassandra protect herself against Zhan Tiri’s manipulation. He rubs the back of his neck, he sees Hector and Adira in the distance waiting for him and he hoists his pack over his shoulder. He turns back to Cassandra.

“Be careful, Cassandra. She’s not going to give up that easily.”

Cassandra can’t sleep.

No matter how hard she tries, every time she closes her eyes she’s plagued with memories she doesn’t want to remember. Painful memories of a man and woman, the symbol, all of what she had long ago locked away in the darkest corner of her mind.

Everytime she closes her eyes she hears that cursed music box. The soft melody that only brought more pain. The way the woman sang the same melody to her in a tongue she vaguely knew. The way the man would tell her stories of their ancestors and how one day they would take back what was theirs.

She hears the shouting. The shouting of the guards that burst into their house in the middle of the night in search of the stolen Princess.

Surely the man and woman must have something to do with it. They were the heads of the resistance, why wouldn’t they take the Princess?

Every time she closes her eyes she sees them dragged away in cuffs, and she’s being taken away by one of the guards and he promises her it’ll be alright. That she’s safe with him.

That they were bad people and had to go away. Just like all the other bad people, no matter how minor their offense.

Cassandra rolls onto her back and stares at the night sky, tears stinging her eyes as everything floods back to her. She glances over at Rapunzel, sleeping soundly against Eugene’s chest.

Her chest tightens as she’s overwhelmed with animosity, and tears her eyes away from the couple to stare at the moon.

She found her destiny.

Chapter Text

Training with Cassandra had been hard for Varian in the beginning. But after a few spars she became easy to read; her movements easy to predict and easy to block or dodge. While he was never on the same level as she was, she has been training with the royal guard since she was nine, after all, he was able to make her work up a sweat.

But training with Hector… It made training with Cassandra a breeze in comparison. His movements were fast, unpredictable and difficult to keep up with.

When he said he was going easy on him in the Great Tree, he meant it.

He wipes his bloodied lip on the back of his hand, tightly gripping the hilt of his sword with the other as he tries to predict his opponent's next move. He sees his crouch and his eyes narrow.

They rush at each other, swords clashing until a swift kick to the stomach makes Varian drop his weapon and makes him stumble. He narrowly avoids losing an ear by grabbing hold of the man and flipping him onto his back.

Varian picks up his sword as his opponent picks himself up, wiping the corner of his mouth with his knuckles and grinning at him.

“Not bad.”

Before he can even think of a counter-attack, the wind is knocked out of him and his sword clatters on the ground, pain shooting up his spine as his back roughly collides with the cold hard ground. He gasps for air and tries to push himself on shaking arms only to be forced back down by the heel of a boot digging into his chest.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring the metallic taste in his mouth from where he bit his tongue, Varian glares up at the man above him through blurred vision. Yellow eyes peer down at him, and after a few seconds the man steps off him and Varian sucks in a much-needed breath of air.

“That’s enough for today,” Hector says, watching the boy's chest rise and fall with each gulp of air he took.

“I… I can still fight!” Varian protests through his gasps.

“Pushing yourself beyond your limits won’t help you improve, nephew. We’re nearly at the Dark Kingdom and you’re going to need your strength if you’re going to help your precious Sundrop.”

Varian finally catches his breath and Hector offers him a hand. It’s only when he takes that hand and he’s pulled to his feet does he realize how much his body aches.

“I’m impressed,” Hector compliments and tosses the boy a canteen. “For a scrawny thing like you to get me off my feet… You’re a lot stronger than you look.”

Varian chugs down the water given to him, promptly sitting on the ground and letting Rider and Ruddiger climb on him as he does. He lowers the canteen and wipes his mouth. “Thank you… I think.”

Adira, Hector, and Varian sit around a campfire, Ruddiger and Rider curled up beside Hector’s wolverines, who Varian had since named Gulo and Carca as they sleep in a pile of grey fur of various textures.

Varian bites into the rabbit Adira had caught earlier that day and his gaze turns to the mass of black rocks he can see on the horizon. In just a few short days they would be at the Dark Kingdom and to say he was nervous would be an understatement.

“What’s it like?” he asks and the two knights look at him. “The Dark Kingdom?”

“Dark,” Hector answers plainly and Varian rolls his eyes.

“Once, long ago, the Dark Kingdom was a prosperous place, not unlike your Corona,” Adira begins. “But over many centuries, the black rocks had completely taken over, and twenty-five years ago our king, Edmund, ordered everyone to evacuate and never return.”

“And the king?”

“He stayed behind to guard the Moonstone against anyone who seeks its power.” The woman brings her hand to her chin and gazes at the fire as she thinks. “Sundrop or no, Edmund won’t let us anywhere near the castle, let alone the Moonstone, without a fight.”

“Which is why you need to build up your strength,” Hector says as he piles more food on Varian’s plate. “King Edmund isn’t going to show you any mercy just because you’re a kid.”

Adira has Varian in her grip, pinning his arm behind his back with one hand while her other arm was around his neck, just tight enough that it made breathing difficult but not impossible. He was trying to whip up something to slow her down, but she, just like Hector, was too fast for him and now his beakers lie forgotten on the ground.

“You rely too much on alchemy,” She says, and Varian can hear the smile in her voice as he uses his free hand to try and pry the woman’s arm away from his neck. “You won’t always have it at your disposal.”

Okay, she’s right, he knows that. But he was a man of science goddammit! It was hard not to rely on his alchemy!

Without thinking, Varian whips his elbow back and Adira releases him as she stumbles back in surprise. He puts some distance between them as she recollects herself and grips the hilt of his sword.

He swallows hard as Adira touches her nose and his vision blurs slightly when he sees red on her fingertips. The woman blinks with surprise and turns her gaze to him, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Nice to see you’re finally getting serious!” her smile turns into a grin.

Adira unsheaths her shadow blade and Varian pales. “Oh boy.”

Varian lies on his back with his arms spread out, panting heavily as he stares at the clouds. Every inch of him hurt, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. Hell, even his hair hurt. He turns to Adira as she wipes the sweat from her brow.

Pride bubbles in his chest. He made her break a sweat.

“That was fun,” she says, smiling down at him. “You’re a real natural, Varian. Your father will be proud of.”

His breath hitches at her words.

Will his father be proud? He’s virtually gone behind his back and gotten involved with a part of his life that he never told him about. That he didn’t want him to know about.

His mind begins to wander. To the Moonstone and whatever connection he has to it, to the rocks, to the vision Zhan Tiri showed him of his father warning the king, to the amber, to the entire reason he’s out here, to begin with.

They’re almost at the end of the road and he hadn’t found the way to free his father. What if he never does? What then? Or what if he does find the way but his father is--

Something furry nuzzles against his cheek and he turns to Ruddiger, the raccoon chirping at him with concern as if he knew his mind was taking him into a dark place.

“I’m okay, buddy,” he smiles and tiredly pets him, running his fingers through his fur. He sits up with a groan, pulling the raccoon into his lap and looks at Adira. “I’m sorry about your nose.”

“It’s nothing.” The knight simply waves it off. “Trust me, I’ve had far worse injuries.” She sits down beside him. “You know, seeing how much you’ve progressed in just a few short weeks, it got me thinking.”

“If things were different if you were born and raised in the Dark Kingdom and trained with us since you were young, there’s a good chance that Edmund would have taken a shine to you. Of course, he probably would have anyway with you being Quirin’s son and all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Quirn was Edmund’s right hand, and they were quite close.” A fond smile crosses her face. “I’m positive you would have been just as close with Edmund’s son, given the chance.”

“What… What happened to him?”

“All I know is that he was sent away with everyone else to keep him safe. What happened to him, where he is, if he’s even still alive, is unknown to me.” She stands and offers him a hand.

Ruddiger moves to his shoulder as he lets Adira pull him to his feet and they stare off to the horizon. The mass of black rocks casting a dark shadow over the plain they were in.

“Only two more days of travel,” Adira sighs. “Be ready for anything, Varian.”

Varian follows Rider through the fog, picking up a stick and throwing it for her to chase, engaging in a little game of tug of war with her until she lets it go only to repeat the cycle.

He watches her chase after the stick. The puppy had grown within the past few weeks, her legs had gotten a little longer, just enough that it was noticeable, and her teeth sharper.

“You know, Ruddiger, I think the top works differently on humans than it does animals because I swear Matthews told us its effects were permanent.” he muses. “Or maybe it’s because the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow was destroyed along with everything in it and now she’s just aging naturally? Or maybe…”

He trails off as one of the trees begins rustling without so much of a breeze. He reaches for the spear on his back, as the rustling gets closer, and closer, and closer until--

He cries out in surprise when something drops down onto his head, forcing Ruddiger to the ground where he starts hissing.

He relaxes when he hears the familiar sound of teeth clinking against the lense of his goggles. Letting his arms fall to his sides, Varian sighs deeply.

“Hello, Vigor.” The clinking stops for a split second before picking up again.

There’s more rustling and when he turns around he’s all but tackled into a hug by a very familiar face.

“Varian!” Rapunzel squeezes him tight. “I’ve missed you! What are you doing out here?”

Varian smiles and hugs her back as best as he can. “I’ve missed you too, and I could ask you the same question.”

“Oh that’s easy,” he turns his attention to Eugene. “Your friend here,” he gestures to Vigor. “Wants to take us on a field trip.”

“He’s taking us to find the last piece of the scroll!” Rapunzel says as she finally releases the boy from her embrace.

“The last piece of the scroll? But how does he know where it is?”

“He doesn’t.” Eugene states. “But, Rapunzel says it’ll be a birthday to remember, so here we are.”

Varian thinks. “But, princess, it’s not your birthday.”

“No, but it is Eugene’s.”

“Oh… Oh! Um, I uh,” Varian begins patting himself down. “I don’t have anything to give you.”

“It’s fine, kid, birthday presents have never really been my thing.”

“Well then,” Varian pulls Vigor from his head and sets him down. “Since it’s your birthday, I will leave you two to enjoy your scroll hunt alone. You know, together.”

He goes to leave, but Vigor firmly grips his hand, cooing at him and refusing to move. Varian tries to pull himself free from the monkey’s grip, only for the monkey to climb back onto his shoulders.

“I think he wants you to come too,” Rapunzel says and Varian sighs.

Vigor leads them further into the fog, whooping and howling with excitement as he runs ahead with the three humans, raccoon and dog on his tail. He eventually comes to a stop, perched atop of a stone monolith as they catch up with him.

“What did you find?” Rapunzel asks him sweetly and Eugene bends down to dust off the monolith.

“The Path of Demanitus…” he reads and the princess and alchemist look at him before turning their attention elsewhere; Rapunzel to the stone structure that lay before them and Varian to the spear he carried on his back.

“Demanitus? Wasn’t he that inventor guy who built that machine that saved Corona from the blizzard?”

Vigor howls suddenly and leaps forward, vanishing into the structure. Looking at one another the group follows him inside, Varian telling Ruddiger and Rider to wait for them outside.

“Vigor?” Eugene calls. “Monkey? Where did--” Rapunzel cuts him off with an excited gasp.

“Guys, look!” she points eagerly at the sight before them

The fog clears and the sun shines over a labyrinth stretched out before them as far as the eye could see. Thick vines and ivy cover the walls, black rocks dotted the top of the structure.

The princess bounces on her heels as Eugene and Varian take in the sight.

“Incredible,” Varian says with a grin.

“It’s a… It’s a…” Eugene stumbles over his words as he gawks at the sight before him.

“A-maze-ing?” Rapunzel finishes for him with a smile. “I have always wanted to go through a giant maze.”

Eugene tears his eyes away from the labyrinth and turns to her. “And I’m excited for you, Blondie, really I am but this is… Varian, buddy,” he puts his hands on his shoulders. “You’re the map guy, please tell me you have a map of this place.”

“You require no map,” a deep, unknown voice says and Varian snaps his mouth closed. The three look between one another before slowly turning to Vigor. The monkey hangs from the vines, staring at them intently before hopping down. They watch in bewilderment as he stands up straight and tall.

“For I am Lord Demanitus.”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Varian stare at the monkey with wide eyes, mouths agape in shock and confusion. The monkey stares back, awaiting their reactions to this revelation.

Rapunzel goes to speak, but the outburst of laughter from Eugene interrupts her.

“I gotta hand it to the old lady, I didn’t see this one coming!” he wheezes. “But there’s no way the monkey is Demanitus! The guy lived over a thousand years ago!”

Rapunzel watches as Eugene examines the monkey for strings and Varian starts bouncing on his heels at her side, she looks at him and smiles at the way his eyes were lit up with excitement. Like a kid in a candy store.

“Oh, I have so many questions…!” Both Eugene and Vigor, or rather, Demanitus turn to him; Eugene looking at him with disbelief and Demanitus smiling at him. He pulls the spear from his back. “How did you make this so it’s power could last for so many years? And how exactly does it work? It burnt the vines in the Great Tree but it doesn’t burn anything else.”

“I believe the more important question here is why exactly you have it, my dear boy. I designed it specifically to keep the dark magic of the Great Tree at bay, without it the tree will attack any within its reach.”

“Yeah, Rapunzel took care of that after it so no need to worry…” Eugene tells him as he walks over to Varian and places a hand on his shoulder. “Varian, buddy, don’t tell me that you of all people are buying this!?”

“Come on, Eugene, after everything we’ve seen in the past year, this,” he gestures to the monkey. “While, very, very strange, and amazing, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

“I assure you, I am Lord Demanitus,” The monkey reaffirms before Eugene could argue any further. “Protector of ancient Corona, a devotee of science and invention who has emerged in this monkey in your time of need.” The monkey’s eyes light up suddenly. “Banana!”

Varian blinks as Demanitus climbs onto his shoulders to pluck some bananas from the tree above him.

“Um, Lord Demanitus… Sir,” he clears his throat. “Could you tell us what’s going on?”

The monkey swallows what’s in his mouth and hops down to the ground. “Listen and listen well. Millennia ago, a mysterious event in the heavens split an ancient power in two. The Sundrop and Moondrop, two elements that long to be reunited, fell to the earth. From the Sundrop grew a flower, and from the Moondrop formed an opal. Three of my pupils and I searched for the Sunflower and Moonstone, but alas we never found them. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones seeking them either.”

“My pupils betrayed me and summoned my old nemesis, Zhan Tiri, a warlock from another realm bent on destruction. Though it took all my power, I was able to banish the evil from this world, but I knew that if my research were to fall into the wrong hands it could be used to destroy everything.”

“So I tore the scroll and placed the fourth and final piece within this maze to keep away those who are unworthy.”

“And… You’re a monkey because…?” Eugene raises an eyebrow.

“I could not let Zhan Tiri find me,” Demanitus responds. “Using my scientific intellect coupled with an ancient spell, I was able to create a hiding place. A living simian being of which I would lay dormant within until the time came for me to one day emerge.”

“Sound logic.”

“But, why didn’t you come out before?” Rapunzel asks.

“I’m no sorcerer, but from what I could understand, this spell would only allow me to emerge but once and only for a few short hours before my soul retreats into this monkey forever.” As if to emphasize this, the intelligence in his eyes fade and he’s coos, scratching at his back before recollecting himself. “Now, we haven’t much time, come.”

“Wow, if this guy really is Demanitus this is such a huge honor,” Rapunzel says taking hold of Eugene’s arm.

“If being the keyword here, Blondie.” Eugene says, catching Varian by the arm before he can follow after the monkey. “We don’t know for sure if he is Demanitus or not, for all we know he’s another one of Zhan Tiri’s minions.”

“Right, so we’ll be optimistically cautious,” Rapunzel assures him as Varian pulls himself free to catch up with Demanitus. “Emphasis on the cautious part.”

Rapunzel guides Eugene, Varian, and Demanitus through the maze, all the while documenting each twist, turn, and dead-end in her journal. She comes to a sudden stop.

“Okay, another dead-end,” she mumbles to herself as she marks it down. “Alright boys, this way.” She presses on with Eugene hot on her heels.

He looks back over his shoulder, not at all surprised to find Varian and Demanitus deep into a conversation about the boy's endeavors to provide hot water to Old Corona.

“See, my problem isn’t so much that I don’t know how to heat the water, it’s that I don’t know how to keep my machines from causing tremors… Or, you know… Exploding.”

“Well, the thing about engineering is that there is a lot of trial and error involved,” Demanitus says. “Only the sun above knows how many contraptions I’ve blown up in my time. Why that’s actually how I lost my left eye…” he shakes his head. “Anyway, if you keep at it and never lose faith in yourself or your abilities, you will accomplish great things.”

Varian smiles and rubs the back of his neck. “Th-Thank you.”

“Just… Wear your goggles while you’re working.”

Rapunzel leads them to their first obstacle, a large stone door with no way to open it and text engraved in the stone.

“A room with no way in, and no way out. See it in the rain, but never in a drought.” Rapunzel reads. “It’s a riddle! I love riddles!” Her eyes sparkle. “Nobody give me the answer, I got this!”

“Riddles? Really?” Eugene looks at the monkey for an explanation.

“Riddles will help you through this maze,” Demanitus answers. He suddenly hops onto the man's shoulder. “As will faith!”

Eugene cringes when the monkey begins chewing on his hair with a vacant look in his eye. “Do you mind?”

Demanitus freezes and clears his throat. “Sorry. Habit.” He hops back down. “You must not believe in only what you see.”

“Look, when you grow up like I have you learn pretty quickly that believing in only what you see and having faith that everything will work out can be the difference between your next meal and your last.”

“Uh, Eugene?” Varian captures his attention. “You, um, you got a little… On your shoulder.”

Eugene follows the boy's gaze to his shoulder where a large, white spider with the pattern of an eyeball blinks at him. He shrieks and swats it away.

Rapunzel turns away from the door, eyes widening as hundreds of the spiders begin to descend upon them. The group huddles together and Demanitus clings to Eugene’s head for safety. Rapunzel whipping out her trusty frying pan as Eugene and Varian arm themselves with a branch and spear respectively to fight them off.

“They’re ivory spiders!” the princess says, knocking one away from her with her frying pan. “They’re venomous, don’t let them bite you!”

“C’mon, Demanitus, just give us the answer!” Eugene grunts knocking a few spiders away with his branch.

“I don’t remember!”

“How can you not remember?! You built the damn thing!”

“Yes, but it was over a thousand years ago! My mind is not as good as it once was!”

“Oh for the love of…” Varian lets out a groan and rolls his eyes. “It’s a--”

“A mushroom!” Rapunzel announces eagerly and Demantius lets out an ‘aha!’, confirming her answer.

Eugene’s eyes dart around, searching for a mushroom of any type, and he finds a lone red toadstool in the corner. He runs to it and pulls, but it doesn’t budge. He pulls harder and he hears a click and the stone door behind him opens.

They hurry through the door before it slams shut behind them, separating them from the spiders and giving them the chance to catch their breath.

“I told you faith would get us through,” Demanitus says from his place on Eugene’s head.

Eugene sputters. “What did that have to do with faith?!”

The group ventures further into the maze, eventually coming to a fountain with a large statue perched above it staring down at them. Rapunzel’s eyes drift down to the plaque beneath the statue and read;

“If thou wish to skirt a deadly stress, donate a coin and earn safe egress…”

Eugene rolls his eyes as Rapunzel and Varian dig out a coin each before offering it to the fountain and Demanitus pats himself down.

“Let me guess,” he begins, crossing his arms. “You don’t have any money?”

“I’m afraid not,”

“Don’t worry,” Rapunzel hands the monkey a coin. “I’ll spot you.”

Eugene rolls his eyes again as the coin splashes in the water. He tenses up when he feels three sets of eyes on him.

“Oh come on,” he pulls out a silver coin. “This is my last coin!”

“Think of it as a birthday wish?” Varian tries with a smile.

“I don’t do birthday wishes, Kid.” Despite this, Eugene flicks the coin to the pond. Satisfied, the others turn away and continue down the path leaving him to catch the coin before it hits the water.

They continue through the maze, solving the riddles and puzzles Demanitus had left for them along the way. Varian and Rapunzel had even made a contest of it, whoever solves the most riddles has to do something for the other.

If Rapunzel wins; Varian has to make her some paint that can glow like his lantern elixirs.

If Varian wins; Rapunzel will let him keep any book he chooses from the castle library.

So far they’re tied.

Varian hums into his hand as he and the princess try to solve a puzzle before the other. The puzzle in question was to raise a path with the sun, and their only hint was the symbol of a sun on the wall on the other side of the pit.

“I got it,” Rapunzel says, turning away from the pit and she looks around for something. Her eyes fall on the banana Demanitus is ready to eat and snatches it from him before he can and pulls Varian’s goggles from his head.

She picks up a tree branch and crafts a makeshift slingshot with it and the boy’s goggles. She carefully aims with one eye closed and pulls the banana back as far as the straps of his goggles would allow before setting it free. The banana flies through the air, hitting the center ring of the sun carving and there’s a click before the path rises before them.

“Looks like I’m one step closer to my paints, Varian.” She gives him a smug grin and he snatches his goggles back.

Eugene leans against one of the many, many walls of the maze, watching as Rapunzel and Varian work on the next puzzle to give them access to the rest of the maze.

He scans the wall with his eyes, cocking an eyebrow when he notices one stone slab is colored differently than the rest.

Pushing himself from the wall, Eugene walks over to them. “Alright you two, step aside. I got this one.” He reaches for the slab.
“Oh come on,” Varian crosses his arms. “That’s too obvious.”

“Maybe it’s supposed to be obvious,” Eugene pulls the slab free and is delighted to see a tunnel leading to the other side. “See? I found the way through.”

Eugene hoists himself into the tunnel, having to crawl on his belly through cobwebs and various plant life that had grown through the cracks. He soon reaches the other side and brushes the cobwebs from his hair and clothes. He pats his hands together with a smug expression.

“And that’s how it’s--” He freezes as the door opens and Rapunzel and Varian step out of it.

“And… You’re back in the lead,” Rapunzel says and Varian grins. She draws a tally mark in her journal under a sketch of Varian. “And by one point too, talk about a close game.”

Eugene frowns deeply and turns to look at Demanitus. “Alright, Demanitus, where to next-- Demanitus?”

Rapunzel and Varian look away from her journal, turning their heads around in search of the monkey. Varian spots him further down one of the paths, sitting atop the ivy-covered wall while eating a banana.

“I think the spell is starting to wear off…” Rapunzel says quietly as Varian goes to retrieve the monkey.

“We need to hurry and get through this maze before he’s monkey brained forever,” Eugene says, watching as Demanitus shakes his head and comes back to his senses before jumping down from the wall and onto Varian’s shoulders.

“You okay?” Varian asks as Demanitus wipes the banana from his face.

“I’m afraid I’m starting to run out of time,” he answers, clearing his throat. “We’re nearly there, quickly now.”

Varian turns to join Rapunzel and Eugene, going still when a brick sinks under his foot and there’s a click. He holds his breath and waits for something to happen, taking another step forward when nothing does.

He stumbles back and the monkey clings to him when a stone panel suddenly rises from the ground and cuts off his path, separating him from the others.

“Varian!” Rapunzel and Eugene call from the other side. “Varian, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” he calls back and searches the wall for a switch. Demanitus draws his attention to a newly opened path

“It is as they say; when one door closes, another opens.”

Varian turns back to the wall. “There’s another path! You guys go on ahead, we’ll catch up!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, princess, I’ll be fine.”

There’s silence on the other side of the wall for a few moments before Rapunzel says, “Alright. Be careful!”

Varian follows Demanitus down the path, gaze fixed on the stone floor and tracing each crack with his eyes.

“Something’s troubling you,” Demantius points out and Varian comes to a halt.

“W-What?”

“Just a few short minutes ago you were asking questions left and right but now you’re quiet, and something tells me that is rather unusual for you.” Under his breath, he adds, “You remind me of myself at that age.”

“O-Oh, um, I’m sorry… I tend to talk a lot when I get excited.” He rubs the back of his neck, averting his gaze. “I know it can get pretty annoying.”

“Quite the contrary,” Demanitus looks at him from over his shoulder and smiles. “We wouldn’t learn without asking questions.”

Varian forces a smile and they start walking again. He sucks in a breath. “I’ve met Zhan Tiri,” he bites his lip when the monkey in front of him turns to him with wide eyes.

“You met… But how, I… I banished Zhan Tiri from this world!”

“I-I don’t know, but what I do know is she’s still after the Sundrop and Moonstone and I have to know how to stop her! Demanitus, please! You’re the only one who can help me!”

Demanitus is silent for what feels like ages to the young alchemist, and for a moment he begins to fear that whatever spell he used to allow his consciousness to take over Vigor’s body has worn off.

“What did she tell you?” He asks in a hushed tone.

“She… She told me that I have some of the Moonstone’s power, that the rocks are guiding me just as much as they are guiding the Sundrop to the Moonstone, and that it was my destiny to take it, make its power whole and use that power against Corona…” he pauses and averts his gaze. “Against Rapunzel.”

“If Zhan Tiri were physically back in this realm then she would already have taken the Moonstone for herself,” Demanitus tells him. “She wouldn’t have someone else take it for her.”

Before Varian could say anymore, his eyes fell on Rapunzel. She smiles at him, a strained, knowing smile and he swallows hard. Demanitus looks between them as Eugene joins the princess, and he pats the boy on the arm.

“Come now,” he clears his throat walking ahead of the party. “It’s just up ahead.”

They finally come to the end of the maze, a large open circular area with nothing but a crystal bridge and a tall stone structure with the scroll locked away in a glass container in the center of a bubbling green lake.

“It’s the fourth piece of the scroll!” Rapunzel exclaims, embracing Eugene. “We did it!” She looks to Demanitus, frowning at the all too familiar distant look in his eye.

Demanitus shakes his head, coming back to his senses once again. “We better hurry,”

Varian peers down at the lake, kicking in a stray rock and watching it melt away when it touches the surface of the water and confirming his suspicions. “Was the acid really necessary?” he asks, and Demanitus answers him by gesturing to a sign next to the bridge.
Eugene steps forward to read it, “Before thou claim thy glory, have faith the crystal bridge shall lead to thy quarry. Use the key to unlock after your faithful walk… That’s not your best work, is it?”

“Perhaps not but look,” Demanitus presents him with the golden key with the head of a monkey. “A mon-key.” He laughs at his pun while Rapunzel chuckles and Varian groans.

“No. Denied.” Eugene turns away from him.

“Here,” Demanitus tosses him the key, only for it to fall into the acid lake below.

Eugene sputters. “Why would you--”

“You were supposed to catch it!”

“I wasn’t ready! You gotta warn me!”

“I said here!”

Rapunzel rolls her eyes as Varian muffles another groan into her hair. “Eugene, you can just pick the lock.”

Eugene takes a breath. “Right, okay then. Rapunzel, bobby pin me.” She pulls a pin from her hair and hands it to him.

Turning away from the three, Eugene gingerly steps onto the bridge. He looks back and Demanitus turns the sign and points to the word faith with a smile. Eugene sighs and faces forward, carefully making his way across the bridge and reaches the piece of the scroll.

It takes him a few seconds, but he picks the lock of the glass case the parchment was locked in and carefully pulls it free. And, of course, the bridge begins to crack and fall to the acid below.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel cries. “Run!”

So he does. He runs as fast as he can across the crumbling bridge, leaping off of it when it becomes too unstable and grabbing onto Rapunzel’s hair before he meets a very, very unpleasant fate below.

She and Varian pull him up and they run as a section of the bridge falls forward, stirring up dust and sending shards of crystal in every direction.

“And what did we learn today?” Eugene wheezes doubled over with his hands on his knees. “Varian? Any guesses?”

“Don’t build bridges out of crystal?”

“That’s my boy.”

“Guys,” Rapunzel catches their attention. She’s holding the fourth and final piece of the scroll in her hands, showing them the unreadable text and the depictions of the sun and moon falling from the heavens. “Look.”

They crowd around her as she lays out each piece of the scroll on a rock, and the torn edges of the parchment begin to glow. The parchment comes together, repairing itself as if it had never been torn, and for the first time in over a thousand years, it’s whole once again.

“Maybe I should consider taking up magic…” Varian mumbles.

“If the kid can believe in magic, I guess I could give this faith thing a try too,” Eugene shrugs with a smile.

The ground beneath them starts shaking, it stops and then begins shaking again stronger this time. The turn back to the main portion of the maze, as whatever is coming towards them draws nearer.

“What did you do?” Demanitus demands, turning to Eugene who looks at him with confusion. “The coin!”

Eugene pulls the silver coin from his pocket and both Rapunzel and Varian glare at him. “What? So I didn’t put the coin in the fountain, what’s the big deal?”

A roar answers him as the statue from the fountain appears from around the corner, teeth bared and eyes glowing red.

“That is the big deal!”

The statue roars again and slams its fists down on the ground, cracking it even further and charges at them like a raging bull.

Rapunzel, Eugene, and Demanitus turn to run, while Varian simply stares at the contraption in awe.

“Incredible! I’ve never seen anything like-- ” Eugene grabs him by the arm and pulls him along just before the moving statue could crush him.

“You can be a nerd later, for now run!” Turning to Demantius Eugene asks, “How do we turn it off?!”

“You can’t! I didn’t construct it with vulnerabilities, because I thought people would be smart enough to put a damn coin in the fountain!”

The statue slams its paws into the stone again, causing the group to scatter to avoid being crushed.

“Oh, I’m not smart? I’m not the one who created a death machine with no way to shut it off!” Eugene argues as he and Demanitus do everything they can to outrun the machine.

It runs along the walls of the maze, dropping down in front of them and roaring again. Rapunzel’s hair lassos around the two before the machine could flatten them with its massive fists.

“Maybe next time you should dodge and then make your point?” she suggests as the machine readies to charge at them again.

They run again, as fast as their legs could carry them through the maze with the machine hot on their trail. Demanitus narrowly avoids being crushed beneath his machine’s fist by climbing onto a nearby wall, and he watches as it continues its pursuit of the others.

He watches as the machine corners them and Eugene pulls both Rapunzel and Varian behind him to protect them from harm.

“I’ve made many mistakes in my life, but I’ll be damned if one of those mistakes is going to get them killed.”

The machine rears up, growling dangerously at the three humans before it, only to drop down when the shrieking of a monkey captures its attention. It turns to the animals and charges, granting the three their escape.

Demanitus leads his machine further down the maze, causing it to knock into walls with each sharp turn he forces it to take. He hears the sound of glass breaking reaches his ears and the machine suddenly stops pursuing him.

He turns, confused to see the statue stuck to the ground in some sort of goo, and struggling to free itself. Demanitus turns tense when he’s simply lifted from the ground by Varian as he runs by, following Eugene and Rapunzel into one of the tombs he had set up to tempt treasure hunters.

They pull the door closed as the beast outside roars loudly and angrily. “That won’t… Hold him for long,” Varian pants, leaning against the wall as he catches his breath.

Demanitus coos in his arms, not unlike Vigor before blinking several times. “I’m nearly out of time,” he jumps free from the boy's arms and takes the scroll from Rapunzel.

“Listen to me, to summon the ultimate power one must unite the Sundrop and Moonstone. This scroll holds the instructions to wield that power.”

“Wield the power?”

“Yes, in the right hands it can be used for good, but in the wrong hands it can be inconceivably deadly.” Demanitus looks at Rapunzel. “That is why I tested your faith, to ensure that only a pure heart could be trusted with that power.”

“If it can be that dangerous, why don’t we just leave the Moonstone alone, then?” Eugene questions.

“We can’t,” Varian answers. “Without the light, darkness will only continue to spread.”

“He’s right,” Demanitus gives a curt nod. “The rocks will only reawaken and they will seek you out forever, destroying everything in their path.”

Something slams on the door and loose pieces of stone fall from the ceiling around them.

“Okay, he got out of the goo a lot faster than I anticipated,” Varian says, backing away from the door. He turns his attention to Demanitus when he takes his wrist.

“Listen to me,” he urges. “Should Zhan Tiri ever return to this world, you may be the only one who can stop her. You’ll find everything you’ll need to do so within my tomb in Corona. All of my research, everything I’ve left behind is yours to keep.”

The rumbling gets worse as the statue outside slams against the door again, this time cracking it enough to let in a small amount of light. Eugene pulls Rapunzel close to him.

“That’s great and all, but how do we get out of here?!”

Demanitus turns to the couple. “The moon cannot be seen without the sun’s light,” he places Rapunzel’s hand in Eugene's. “She gives you light, and now you must return the favor with your faith.”

“Demanitus, I don’t think I have it.”

“Everyone has faith, you just need to dig down deep inside and find it!”

Eugene holds his breath and closes his eyes. After the life he’s lived it’s hard to find faith. Even if he does already have faith in someone or something, or-- He opens his eyes and turns to Rapunzel.

“I do have faith,” he smiles, taking both of her hands and pressing their foreheads together. “I’ve always had faith in Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel smiles and gently squeezes his hands. She tears her eyes away from him when Demanitus starts palming at his head with a panic look on his face. Her eyes widen and she drops to her knees in front of him.

“No, no, Demanitus, please, you have to stay!” she pleads, taking hold of his paw. “I still have so many questions! H-How does my hair work? What does the Moonstone do?”

“Questions you’ll have to answer yourself, my dear.” Demantius smiles at her. “I’ve waited millennia inside this monkey to meet the Sundrop. I have faith in you, Rapunzel.” He turns his gaze to Eugene and Varian. “I have faith in all of you.”

Rapunzel reaches out to him when he pulls away from her suddenly, running into one of the corners of the room, making all sorts of noises before falling silent and going still.

The monkey turns to them, eyes crossed and unfocused before running over to them and climbing onto Varian’s shoulders to gnaw at his goggles. Vigor clings to the young alchemist when the statue finally breaks down the door.

Eugene pulls Varian back and turns to Rapunzel, taking her hand again. “Blondie, you’re going to save us.”

“But how?”

“I don’t know,” he smiles. “But I’ve always believed in us, I’ve always believed in you, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel’s eyebrows knit together for a moment before she steps between Eugene and Varian, taking both their hands and facing the machine. It’s face twists, opening its maw and bearing its teeth at her and she calmly closes her hairs.

Her hair glows brightly like the sun, casting everything around them in a warm light. Her hair wraps around them as the beast raises its fists, protecting them when it slams down.

A shockwave of pure sunlight destroys the statue and fills the maze, ripping up the ground, burning the plant life away and leveling the stone walls.

Rapunzel’s hair unwraps itself and she stumbles, blinking several times before smiling at Eugene and leaning against him. She grins.

“That was,”

“Don’t--”

“Princess, please--”

“A-maze-ing.”

Upon leaving the remnants of the maze, Varian joins the couple in returning Vigor to Madam Canardist. As usual, the woman was happy to see them approach her caravan, though she was happier to see the monkey than she was them.

“Thanks for the trip, Vigor,” Eugene says the monkey hops from Varian’s shoulders into the arms of his owner. “It was very… Educational.”

Canardist smiles lovingly at Vigor, and then quickly shoots the three a nasty glare before vanishing inside her caravan.

“Well, Blondie, you were right. This is going to be a birthday to remember.” Eugene smiles at her.

“Are your birthday celebrations always kind of… Deadly?” Varian asks, picking up Rider as Ruddiger takes Vigor’s place on his shoulders.

Neither of them answers him, both humming in thought before Eugene shrugs. “Yeah, kind of.” He grins at him. “You know what we should do for your next birthday? Get abducted by pirates! It’ll be a blast! Oh! Maybe we’ll even have to walk the plank!”

Varian rolls his eyes and snorts. “As fun as that sounds, I think I’ll pass.”

Rapunzel links her arm with Eugene’s. “Come on, Cass is probably starting to worry about us.”

“You mean Cass is probably starting to worry about you, it’ll be a cold day in hell when she worries about me.”

“Wait!” Canardist and Vigor emerge from their caravan. “Wait, please,” she rushes up to them. “Vigor has something he wishes for you to have.” Saying this, she plucks the gemstone from the monkey’s turban. She raises an eyebrow as Eugene pulls out a silver coin and then lets out a disappointed sigh. “Unfortunately, it is free.”

“No, take it. I owe him one,”

“If you insist.” The woman smiles and trades the coin for the gemstone. She then shoots them another nasty glare and once again vanishes inside the caravan.

“I need to get back to Aunt Adira and Uncle Hector,” Varian says. “It was nice seeing you two again, and doing something fun before… You know.”

Eugene pats his shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to camp with us? At least for a little while?”

Varian shakes his head. “Nah, it’s my night to cook. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, I guess.” he goes to leave but Rapunzel catches his wrist.

“Can we talk?”

Rapunzel leads Varian to a secluded spot a few feet away, leaving Eugene to examine the gemstone Vigor had given him. When she’s sure they’re out of earshot she turns to the alchemist.

“Varian, about what you told Demanitus… About you and the Moonstone--”

“It doesn’t matter,” Varian interrupts her. “I mean, even if what Zhan Tiri told me is true, and I do have some of its power, taking the Moonstone is your destiny, not mine.”

“I… I think it is true, I’ve always thought that…” Rapunzel trails off and bites her lip. She takes a breath and holds his hands. “Varian… After the blizzard, I started having these dreams… About you and… And the rocks.” He looks at her with confusion.

“They were always the same… You were so… Angry, and the rocks they… They responded to your anger. To you. You would tell me to stop running and to follow my destiny, and then I would wake up and my hair would be glowing and… It was like it was looking for something.”

“Like when you first used the Moonstone’s Incantation…” Varian mumbles and Rapunzel nods.

“You were the only one who wasn’t hurt and my hair… It was looking for you, Varian. I don’t know how to explain but, I think, that whatever connection you have to the Moonstone, my hair, the Sundrop, could sense it and that’s why it grabbed onto you like that.”

“But… But why didn’t you say anything before? I-If you thought I had any connection to the rocks, to the Moonstone, even for a second, you should have told me!”

“I know.” She averts her gaze. “I just… Between what happened to your father, and in the Great Tree I… I didn’t want you to worry about anything else.”

Varian looks away from her, chewing his lower lip and rubbing the back of his neck. He turns back to her when she squeezes his hands moments later. A look of uncertainty crosses her face and she sucks in a breath

“Varian, if… If for whatever reason I can’t take the Moonstone, then… I think you should take it in my place.”

“W-What? But I… Why me?”

“Because, if you are connected to it in any way, then you might be the only one who can control it. Please, Varian.”

Varian swallows hard, and the princess squeezes his hands again, giving him a reassuring smile. “... Okay,” he sighs. “But only if you’re unable to take it yourself.” He smiles at her. “Of course, seeing as you’re the wondrous and magical Sundrop, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

“Wonderous and magical, hm?” Rapunzel grins at him and his face flushes.

“Y-You know what I mean,” Varian lightly shoves her and she laughs. “Now about my book…”

“Hm?” Rapunzel blinks innocently at him. “What book? I don’t remember any book.”

Eugene watches with a fond smile as the two begin bickering, and based on how Rapunzel holds her journal just out of Varians reach, it’s over which one of them won their contest from the maze.

He rubs the gemstone between his finger and thumb, eyebrows pinching together when he feels a small hinge. Pressing down on the stone causes it to open, revealing a small slip of paper inside. He unfolds the paper and it reads;

At the end of Rapunzel’s journey, one of her party shall turn against her.

Chapter Text

Eugene stares at the campfire, unable to sleep as his mind raced to make sense of the fortune he was given. He pulls it from his pouch and reads it over for the umpteenth time, and his stomach churns at the very idea of someone, one of his friends turning on Rapunzel.

He looks around the campsite, at the others to try and make sense of who the fortune could be warning him about.

Maximus and Fidella sleep side by side, and he quickly rules them out. They’re both too loyal to the crown, and even an endless supply of fresh apples wouldn’t be enough to tempt Maximus.

Pascal slept on Maximus’ head, and Eugene ruled him out too. There’s no way he would ever betray Rapunzel.

His eyes drift to Shorty, asleep on one of the black rocks at a weird angle. No. Absolutely not. The man barely knows where he is half the time, the only way he could possibly betray Rapunzel is if he did it by accident.

He looks to Lance, the man leaning against a tree with both his and Cassandra’s dogs curled up in his lap. No, no he wouldn’t turn against her. He’s Lance! His best friend! His brother even! He would never do anything to hurt him or the woman he loves.

Eugene’s gaze turns to Cassandra. It’s her watch so she was the only one besides himself still awake. Leaning against her is Rapunzel, fast asleep with the young woman’s arm draped over her shoulder. Cassandra catches him staring and turns to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

He holds his breath, thankful when Rapunzel muttering something in her sleep catches the young woman’s attention.

Cassandra couldn’t be the one the warning was about. She’s Rapunzel’s best friend! She would never do anything to hurt her in any way! But… She’d do anything to protect her… Even if it meant...

Eugene watches as Cassandra gently brushes a strand of the princess's hair from her face with a tender smile before turning back to the view before her.

He shakes his head and turns his gaze back to the fortune, reading it one more time. He doesn’t want to tell Rapunzel, but if someone does turn against her, and if she found out he knew about it, it would only hurt her even more.

Folding the slip of paper, he stows it away in his pouch before leaning back to stare at the full moon. He’ll talk to her in the morning.

Elsewhere, Hector stairs up at the moon. He’s dedicated the past quarter-century of his life to keeping people away from the Dark Kingdom. Away from the Moonstone. But a pretty girl with magic hair shows up, bats her pretty eyelashes at him and he allows her to just waltz right in.

“You know we’re just leading them to their deaths, don’t you sister?”

Adira looks at him with an unreadable expression. He’s yet to look away from the night sky and his voice was unusually quiet. “You don’t know that, Hector.”

Hector finally tears his eyes away from the moon to face her. “Tell me, Adira, even if the Sundrop can neutralize the Moonstone, what happens to the girl?”

Adira doesn't answer him. She can’t answer him. She can’t answer him because she doesn’t know what will happen to Rapunzel once she takes the Moonstone.

“Have you told them anything? About what happened the last time someone tried to put an end to the Moonstone?” Again, she doesn’t answer him and he turns away from her.

Hector looks over to where Varian and the animals slept; finding the boy leaning back against a tree and wrapped up in his coat to protect him from the chill of the night air, his raccoon and dog curled up in his lap while his own wolverines slept on either side of him.

“At the very least, the kid has the right to know,” he says in a low tone, and this time, he doesn’t wait for her to respond, simply walking away from her. “He’s just as much a victim of the Moonstone as the rest of us.”

A loud crash sends a murder of crows into a frenzy, cawing loudly as they fly off into the clouds. The party peers over the side of the cliff, gazing down at the caravan that lies in pieces and far beyond repair at the bottom.

“Oh, not again!” Eugene groans loudly. “We promised the kid we wouldn’t drive it off any more cliffs and what did we do?”

“Well, technically we didn’t drive it off the cliff,” Cassandra points out. “Someone, Eugene,” she coughs his name into her fist. “Forgot to lock the breaks and it rolled off the cliff.”

“I don’t think he can patch it up this time,” Lance comments.

“We should probably leave a note,” Shorty says.

“Well,” Rapunzel sighs and turns away from the wreckage down below. “Looks like we’re traveling on foot.”

“Sunshine,” Eugene takes her hand before she can follow the rest of the party down the path. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“At the end of Rapunzel’s journey, one of her party will turn against her?” Rapunzel reads the slip of paper Eugene had given her. She looks away from it to look at her boyfriend. “Eugene, everyone’s had my back this far, no one’s going to turn against me.”

“I know, I know! But Demanitus has been right about everything so far,” Eugene runs a hand through his hair. “And if someone were to turn against you, that doesn’t mean it’s due to malicious intent…” he trails off, eyes drifting over to Cassandra as she teaches her dog to give her his paw. “They could be doing it to protect you…”

Rapunzel follows his gaze and her eyebrows knit together. “You don’t suspect Cass, do you?”

“Of course I…” he trails off again. “Blondie, look, I love Cass, I do, she’s like a sister to me. Albeit the annoying sister you only put up with because you have too, but a sister nonetheless, but… You know how far she’ll go to keep you safe, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel frowns deeply and her forehead wrinkles. Eugene places his hand on the small of her back. “I think we should just be on the lookout for--Ack!”

A bird flies directly into his face and falls into his hands. He blinks several times before looking down at the corvid in his hands. It’s a pitiful looking thing, with a vacant look in his eye that could easily rival Vigors.

The bird gurgles, lying on its back with its feet curled up to its chest. Eugene shifts it so it’s in one hand and he lightly pokes it with his finger.

“Are you okay, bird?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“He doesn’t look hurt…” Rapunzel muses as Pascal crawls along her arm to inspect the bird. Suddenly, the bird springs up onto his feet, slowly blinking at them before simply perching himself on Eugene’s shoulder.

Eugene tries to shoo him away, only for the bird to peck at him. He then plucks it from his shoulder and gently tosses it in the air, only for the bird to simply fall to the ground with a soft thud.

The bird doesn’t move for a moment before picking itself up and flying off. It knocks into a tree and almost dizzily flies towards the castle that looms in the distance.

“Dumb bird,” Eugene mutters as Rapunzel walks past him.

The princess stands at the edge of the cliff, gazing at the kingdom before her. The Dark Kingdom is, well, dark, and also desolate. It’s covered in a thick fog and completely overrun with the black rocks. There’s no grass, at least not that she can see, and it was as if the sun itself didn’t shine above the kingdom.

“Your destiny awaits, princess,” Cassandra says softly from her side.

“Are you ready?” Eugene asks from her other side.

“I have to be,” she says quietly. “Demantius said if I don’t take the Moonstone then these rocks will destroy everything. But… I don’t know what’s going to happen to me when I do.”

“Well,” Cassandra takes her hand. “Whatever happens in there, you won’t be alone.”

“That’s right,” Eugene takes her other hand. “We’re all in this together, Sunshine.”

Rapunzel squeezes their hands. “I couldn’t do this without you two here,” she says. “I wish I knew that… No matter what happens today, I wish I knew that we’d always be together.”

“Even if we are destined to head in our separate ways, we should make the most of the time we have left,” Cassandra says with a smile.

“And for once, I don’t mind agreeing with you,” Eugene says. He smiles as Lance puts a hand on his shoulder.

Rapunzel smiles as Maximus and Fidella come to stand at Cassandra’s side. She turns back to the Dark Kingdom with the wind blowing through their hair.

“Well… Destiny calls.”

The party stares at the chasm ahead of them. It’s at least a mile wide, and they couldn’t even see the bottom. But if the fall itself didn’t kill you, the mass of black poking through the fog would.

“So,” Eugene starts. “How do we get across this thing?”

“That’s how,” Rapunzel says pointing off into the distance and drawing everyone’s gaze to a gondola hanging over the pit.

“Um… Are you… That doesn’t look very… You know, safe.”

“Oh come on,” Rapunzel turns to her friends. “Who’s afraid of a little old gondola?” They all raise their hands and she smiles and high-fives them. “Yeah! I am loving the positivity, you guys!”

“Blondie,” Eugene looks from her to the gondola. “That thing’s at least fifty yards out.”

“I can get it,” Cassandra says and the couple looks at her with uncertainty. “Trust me, I can do it.”

“Of course I trust you, Cass, we trust you, it’s just… What about your hand?”

Cassandra looks to her hand and back at the princess. “Even with my hand I’m still the most agile out of all of us, I got this.”

“Alright,” Rapunzel smiles. “Just… Be careful, Cassandra.”

Rapunzel holds her breath as she watches Cassandra walk across the cable over the pit of black rocks. One would think she would have taken off her heavy battle armor before doing so, but…

Her hands fly to her hair when the swordswoman suddenly loses balance, quickly untying it and ready to catch her, but she catches herself on the cable and shimmies the rest of the way to the gondola. She holds her breath again when the gondola starts moving towards the Dark Kingdom, rather than away from it, only to stop seconds later.

The princess sighs in relief when the gondola begins moving back towards them and she looks at Eugene. “See? I told you she had my back.”

“Yeah, I guess she does…” Eugene mumbles, watching as the gondola returns to the station.

Cassandra raises her eyebrow at them through the window when they simply stand there smiling at her. She scowls and opens the door with an annoyed groan.

“Did you want me to get the door for you too?” She blinks when Rapunzel suddenly hugs her tight. She rolls her eyes with a fond smile. “Okay, let’s go, we don’t have all day.”

“Good, they’ve found a way across,” Adira comments, watching as the gondola slowly makes it way across the chasm.

Varian peers over the edge of the cliff, his stomach dropping as his vision blurs as he swears he can see an all too familiar eerie green glow from its depths. His chest tightens, and he feels his palms become sweaty and-- Oh no, he’s afraid of heights now isn’t he? Or maybe it’s just when he can’t see the bottom? Either way, it’s likely to be a problem.

He’s pulled from his thoughts when Hector pulls him away from the edge by the back of his shirt. He clears his throat.

“How uh… How do… We get across?” he asks sheepishly and Adira hums.

“There’s a cave system that leads to the castle,” she says after a moment. “It’s not too far, we can--” Her voice catches in her throat and for the first time since Varian’s met her, he sees her eyes widen.

He follows her gaze and squints. He sees what looks to be a… A bear on the roof of the gondola? No, that’s not right, that can’t be right.

Behind him, Hector curses.

“Shit,”

The gondola rocks dangerously as Rapunzel and Eugene fight off the man in the bear mask. Nothing they did seem to phase him in the slightest, they’d knock him off his feet and he’d be back up almost instantly.

If not for Rapunzel’s hair wrapped tightly around the masked man’s wrist, Eugene would have been split in half as the man swung his battle-ax down with the intent to kill.

The man’s ax gets stuck on the cable, and when it pulls it free it breaks in numerous places, fraying and threatening to snap at any moment under their weight.

Rapunzel pokes her head inside the gondola and she addresses Lance and Cassandra. “I don’t mean to rush you but, go faster!”

The gondola picks up speed, and she rejoins the fight, arming herself with her hair as the man rushes at her.

Rapunzel hears a battle cry and the man is suddenly knocked onto his back, and Adira lands on the roof of the gondola.

“And now, Adira’s here, because of course, she is.” Eugene comments and the man in the bear mask gets to his feet and charges at her.

Rapunzel and Eugene watch on as Adira and the man in the mask fight one another. It was intense and they were equally matched, blocking each other's attacks as if they knew when and where the other would strike.

However, the man gets the upper hand when he knocks Adira’s shadow blade from her hand and sends it flying into the chasm. He then swiftly kicks the woman in the ribs and sends her tumbling over the side of the gondola.

“Adira!” Rapunzel cries, watching helplessly as she disappears in the fog.

The man then cuts through the bow of the gondola and without the support it tilts dangerously on an angel. Rapunzel pulls both herself and Eugene to the top of it and the cable groans as it frays even further.

Eugene swallows hard as the man pulls himself up. “Rapunzel, you and the others get off this thing, I’ll take care of Mr. Personality over here.”

“But--”

“Cass!” He and the swordswoman lock eyes for a split second and she nods, grabbing Rapunzel and hoisting her over her shoulder before jumping to the safety of the solid ground.

“Eugene!”

He turns back to the man in the bear mask and slowly backs away as he towers over him. “You seem like a… Reasonable guy, why don’t we call this a draw?” he trips on a loose piece of wood siding, falling onto his backside as the man raises his ax.

Eugene stares at him with wide brown eyes, afraid to move even an inch as he silently stares him down.

The cable breaks and Rapunzel screams.

Eugene groans in pain as he flips himself onto his back. His head is pounding and he’s certain he’s cracked a few ribs. He pushes himself up and grips his head.

“Well, that was thoroughly unpleasant…” He stills when the ax slams into the ground next to him, and slowly he raises his head to stare at the masked man. He swallows hard. “Well? What are you waiting for? Finish me off.”

“I… I can’t,” the man says, voice muffled by the mask. He pulls the mask from his head, revealing tired brown eyes, long brown hair, and a thick mustache and matching goatee. “You… Are my son.”

Eugene stops breathing. He searches the man's face for a sign that he’s just saying things to take him off his guard. For doubt, for a smile, something, but he finds nothing.

“You’re my… My… My father?” No, no, that can’t be right. He doesn’t have a father! There’s no way that this man could be-- And the man nods. “Okay,” he breaths out. “Okay, yeah, alright.” Eugene pushes himself to his feet.

The man says nothing to him and they quietly stare each other down. Eugene’s heart pounds in his chest as all sorts of emotions, anger, sadness, confusion, denial, and other emotions he’d rather not deal with right now wash over him one after the other.

“I don’t know why I didn’t see it before,” he says after a moment and approaches the man. He’s a good head taller than Eugene, almost as tall as the Baron if not a little taller, something of which he didn’t think was possible. “The dark, soulless eyes, the unbridled aggression that drives one to attack total strangers!”

The man still says nothing to him, instead he pushes past him and pulls Adira’s sword from the black rocks. He eyes the weapon before swiftly slicing through the rocks as if they were made of butter and Eugene’s eyes widen as he turns back to him.

“I am your father.” He reiterates and Eugene falls silent. He walks past him into the mouth of the cave. “Now, come with me.”

Eugene, hesitant to follow, spots Adira from the corner of his eye, she’s on the side of the cliff, using the rocks growing from it for support. His eyes dart back to where he and the man claiming to be his father fell from and she nods before climbing back up.

He turns and follows the man into the cave.

Meanwhile, Varian follows Hector through the cave system Adira had mentioned. It was dark, even with his chemical compound he could hardly see more than three feet ahead of him, but Hector seemed to know exactly where he was going.

He looks back to where they entered the cave and chews his lower lip.

“Don’t dawdle, nephew.” Hector chides and he picks up the pace. “We’re nearly there.”

“Uncle… Who was that man?” he asks, though he already has a feeling he knows who it is. “Was that Edmund?” The silence is all the answer he needs.

“How much do you know?” Hector asks him suddenly. “About all of this?”

“Just what you and Adira told me… My dad never mentioned any of this to me before.”

“I’m not surprised.” The man in front of him takes a breath. Quirin will have his head for this. “It's time you knew the whole story, nephew.”

Rapunzel’s shoulders tremble as she stares into the chasm below with tears stinging her eyes. She feels Cassandra put a hand on her shoulder, hears her apologize but she doesn’t answer her. Instead, she rises to her feet.

“This is not how our story ends,” she says. “We’re going after him.”

“No need,” she turns and glares at Adira as the woman makes herself known. “He’s fine, he made it safely into the cave below, I saw it. Now come, Fishskin didn’t risk his life so we can waste time by looking for him.”

She blinks when Rapunzel’s hair lassos her. “Just a minute, Adira,” she tightens her hold and Adira gives a defeated sigh. “You knew that knight, didn’t you? In fact, I bet you know a lot of things you’re not telling us, and we are not moving another step until we get some answers.”

“You’re right, princess. It is time you’ve heard the whole story.”

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, a single drop of moonlight fell from the heavens.
From that one small drop of light formed a single, seductive opal stone.
It had the power to destroy any and all who would seek to possess it.
Over time, the opals defenses spread far and wide, and from that grew a kingdom.

“A kingdom founded by our ancestors,” the man, Edmund, king of the Dark Kingdom, explains as he guides Eugene down a long corridor.

Eugene stares at the stained glass portraits of the Dark Kings and Queens of the past that lined the corridor. They were Edmunds ancestors. They were his ancestors.

None of this feels real. It feels like he’s in a dream and he wants desperately to wake up.

“Generation after generation of our bloodline have dedicated their lives to guard the Moonstone,” Edmund captures his attention again. “To protect the world from its limitless destructive power.”

“But it was Edmund, the last of the Dark Kings who tried to put an end to this dark legacy and destroy the stone,” Adira says, Rapunzel and her party staring at her intently as she tells them the tale of the Moonstone.

“Only… It didn’t go as well as he hoped.”

“Many lives were lost that day, my kingdom nearly destroyed,” Edmund says with deep remorse. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply through his nose. “Your mother…”

Eugene stills, his chest tightening at the mere mention of his mother. He always wondered what had become of her, whenever he asked the house mother of the orphanage he never got a direct answer. No one knew what happened to either of his parents, and that childish side of him always held on to the hope that they were alive and looking for him.

And, he was half right.

“In the fallout,” Edmund continues. “I ordered my subjects to leave this cursed place, never to return.” He turns back to him, regret and sorrow swimming in his eyes. “Even my own son.”

“I sent my most trusted soldiers out into the world, to ensure that this power is kept a secret from the world.” Edmund turns away from him again and continues the tale. “For if it ever fell into the wrong hands, it would mean certain doom.”

“We call ourselves the Brotherhood,” Hector explains, his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead. “An elite group hand-chosen by the king himself to protect the Moonstone.”

Varian doesn’t say anything, simply following the man through the cave as he absorbs this new information. He’s seen what the black rocks are capable of during his travels beyond Corona, the pain and suffering that they’ve caused countless people over the ages. But to think that simply trying to touch it could nearly wipe out an entire kingdom…

What will happen to Rapunzel when she tries to take it?

“After the… The incident, with the Moonstone, we all went our separate ways.” Hector draws his attention back to him. “Your father was the only one of us smart enough to put this life behind him and start over. I dedicated my life to keeping people away from the Dark Kingdom, while Adira dedicated hers to chasing down a fairytale.”

“I refused to believe that such darkness could exist without a light of equal power,” Adira says. “And as usual, I was right. After years of searching, I found the Sundrop. I found you, and only you can restore balance to all things.”

Rapunzel studies the woman, and there’s not a trace of doubt anywhere on her face. “If you’ve known this all along… Why have you been so cryptic?”

“Because while I’m certain that uniting the Moonstone with the Sundrop would neutralize it’s threat… I don’t know what will happen to you.”

Cassandra steps up besides Rapunzel. “You mean if Rapunzel touches the Moonstone she could…”

Rapunzel places a hand on her shoulder. “I did not come all the way out here to stop now.”

“Good,” Adira smiles. “Are we all friends again?”

“Sure,”

Cassandra crosses her arms and reluctantly follows after Rapunzel and Adira. “We never were.”

Eugene follows Edmund into what once was the dining hall. A large, empty room with nothing but a table, some chairs, an assortment of black rocks, and a fireplace to give light and warmth to it all.

“Welcome home, son.”

“Don’t call me son.” Eugene glares, his eyebrows knitting together. “How do you know if we’re even related or not?”

Edmund turns to him, clapping his hand down on his shoulder and leaning close to him. “It’s your eyes,” he says, looking him in the eye. “You can tell a lot by looking in a man’s eyes.”

Eugene goes to respond, but that damn bird flies into his face again, and once again he catches him before he can fall to the cracked marble floor. Edmunds's eyes crinkle as he smiles beneath his mustache.

“My ravens have been keeping watch over you ever since you left,” he explains. “But, over time they lost track of you…” he trails off as the raven in Eugene’s hands rolls out of his hold and onto the floor with a squawk.

They watch as the bird rolls away. “You see what I have to work with,”

Eugene looks away from the floor when Edmund shoves some papers into his hands, and his eyebrows shoot up with surprise at the sight of old wanted posters for one Flynn Rider.

“These posters do not do your nose any justice,” Edmund says quietly.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!”

Edmund smiles again and turns away from Eugene. “This reunion is going great!” he says to himself. “We’re finding common ground, sharing stories… I may just win him over yet!”

“... You do know I can hear everything you’re saying, right?” Eugene asks and the man in front of him stills and clears his throat.

“I must have been saying my thoughts aloud again. I’ve been alone for a very long time, you see… And Hamuel,” he gestures to the raven trying to court his reflection in the black rocks. “Doesn’t make a very good conversation partner.”

“I don’t doubt it…” Eugene mumbles as he looks around the room again. His eyes fall on the portrait above the fireplace and his breath catches in his throat.

He walks up to the fireplace, gazing at the painting of Edmund and one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen. She has long flowing brown hair down to her waist, kind almond-shaped hazel eyes, and a kind, warm smile. She smiles down at him and he feels… Something, in the pit of his stomach.

“Your mother,” Edmund tells him softly and his chest tightens.

Eugene stares at the portrait for a few moments before finally tearing his eyes away. “Listen, your majesty, I have to find my friends, I have to make sure Rapunzel is okay.”

“She will be, as long as she stays away from the Moonstone.”

“She can’t she’s the Sundrop.”

“You don’t know that she is, son.”

“Do not call me son!” Eugene snaps. “You don’t get drop me off at some orphanage half a world away and then call me son!”

“Listen to me, s--” Edmund stops himself and sighs deeply. “I can tell you love this woman, I can--”

“See it in my eyes, yeah, yeah, I know.” He meets the man's gaze when he places a hand on his shoulder.

“The Moonstone… It can get into your head, fill it with thoughts, that’s what it’s doing to her, what it’s done to me. I’m lucky that all I lost was my arm…” His gaze turns back to the portrait of his late wife.

Eugene clenches his fists at his sides. “I don’t want Rapunzel to take the Moonstone, but there’s no other choice. I know how dangerous it is, but… But she has to take the Moonstone or else these rocks will destroy everything looking for her!”

“Perhaps not,” Edmund releases him and draws Adira’s sword. “This weapon, it has the power to cut through these rocks,” to demonstrate, he cuts through the black rock near the fireplace with ease. “It could destroy the Moonstone and put an end to all of this!”

“No. No, the black rocks made a path leading Rapunzel here--”

“Leading you here.” Edmund stows the blade away and puts his hand on his shoulder again. “Did you ever once stop to think that maybe taking the Moonstone could be your destiny? To keep her safe?”

Eugene opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out and Edmund squeezes his shoulder tight.

“The last time someone tried taking the Moonstone, your mother was taken from us. Please, son, don’t let the same fate befall the love of your life.”

Rapunzel and her party arrive just outside the castle gates. She stares at them, chewing her lip before taking a step forward. Adira’s arm suddenly shoots out in front of her, blocking her path.

“You have to be careful, this path is lined with countless lethal traps.” She lowers her arm and steps forward, a brick sinking under her foot. Adira grabs the princess and pulls her back as spikes burst up from the ground. “Watch out!”

The spikes shake and rattle before crumbling at their feet and Cassandra rolls her eyes and scoffs. “So much for lethal.”

“Okay, so I oversold the traps a little. They’re old.” Adira shrugs. “That said, the others may be in better condi--”

Rapunzel goes still and all eyes are on her as her hair begins glowing and lifts itself into the air. She blinks a few times, and just seconds later the glow stops and her hair falls down her back.

“Um… What just happened?” Lance asks.

Adira looks back to the castle and says, “The Moonstone must know the Sundrop is near.”

“Well, let’s not keep it waiting any longer.”

The noise that escapes Varian’s throat is not one he’s proud of, but when the blue streak in your hair suddenly begins to glow an even brighter blue, you tend to make sounds you wouldn’t be proud of.

Hector and the animals all look at him with surprise and confusion as his hands fly to his hair, pulling his hair down to look at the glowing streak with wide eyes.

Thankfully, it stops just as suddenly as it started and his hair is back to normal.

“Uh,” Varian turns to Hector. “What the hell was that?”

Varian doesn’t answer him, mind reeling to find some sort of scientific explanation, but his mind keeps going back to one thing and one thing only. It’s whatever connection he has to the Moonstone. He can’t really deny it anymore, can he?

“Its uh… You know… Magic.” That's the only explanation he gives the man as he walks past him and continues down the path, Ruddiger and Rider following closely behind him.

Hector goes to say something, but he instead closes his mouth and follows after him.

Rapunzel approaches the large double doors leading into the castle. She turns back, looking at Cassandra, Lance, and Adira and giving them a small, thankful smile when they begin working the crank to open it. The chain rattles and the large heavy door groans in protest after who knows how long of being undisturbed.

Her face lights up when she sees Eugene waiting for her in the doorway. “Eugene! You’re okay!” She runs forward to embrace him but he takes a step back. “Eugene?”

“I’m sorry, Rapunzel,” he says, unable to meet her gaze. His voice is soft and laced with regret, and she’s taken back to that day in Courmont. “But I can’t let you in.”

Rapunzel hears the sound of a chain breaking from within the castle and the door slams shut. “Eugene!” She runs to the door, pounding on it with her fist. “Eugene! Let me in!” She pleads, tears welling in her eyes as she presses her head against the door. “Eugene!”

She freezes and slowly looks up at the door. “One of her party will turn against her…” she mumbles and Pascal chirps softly from her shoulder. “I don’t believe this…”

“Rapunzel,” Lance steps up to her, reaching to place his hand on her shoulder but lets it fall to his side instead. “Rapunzel, I’ve known Eugene my entire life and believe me when I say that he has never loved anyone more than he loves you.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra agrees. “Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it for you.”

Rapunzel hugs herself, letting their words sink in. The last time someone said they were doing something for her benefit she was locked in a tower. She blinks away her tears and turns back to them, pushing her hair back behind her ears.

“You’re probably right, but I… I need to hear it from him.” She looks at Adira. “There’s a back entrance or something, right? There’s no way this is the only way inside.

“I’m afraid he’s sealed off all but one entrance; the cave system that Hector and Varian are currently making their way through.” She answers. “The only problem is the only entrance to these caves is on the other side of the chasm.”

Rapunzel’s lips press into a thin line and she turns back to the castle looming over her. “Then, we’re just going to have to find another way in.”

“We need to hurry then, the king has my shadow blade, the only thing capable of cutting through these rocks. He’s going to use it to destroy the Moonstone.”

“Pascal,” Rapunzel takes the chameleon from her shoulder. “I need you to find Eugene, and keep him away from that stone.”

Pascal puffs out his little chest and nods before hopping off to scale the palace walls.

Rapunzel’s hair begins glowing again, the ground beneath her shaking and cracking as black rocks burst through the stone. They split the ground in two, sending large tremors to the caves below and the castle above.

The ground beneath them splits open, swallowing them whole. Rapunzel grabs onto Cassandra, quickly pulling her hair free from its braid and uses it to keep them from falling into the molten lava below while Lance and Adira catch themselves on the black rocks.

“Wonderful, a sewer… Filled with lava,” Cassandra grumbles, pulling herself up onto a black rock and away from the threat.

“Good news,” Adira clears her throat and captures their attention. “The sewers lead directly into the castle.”

Below in the caves, Varian shields himself from the rubble falling above him as large black rocks tear their way down the path. He lowers his arms when the tremors stop and he’s faced with a wall of black rocks, completely separating him from Hector.

Varian picks himself up from the ground and approaches the wall and he hears Rider barking from the other side. He presses his hand to it as he searches for some sort of gap between the rocks.

“Hector!” he calls. “Are you alright?”

“Don’t worry about me, just keep going down the path!” The man orders. “It’s a straight shot, find your friends, I’ll find another way in.”

Varian pulls away from the rocks and Ruddiger takes his place on his shoulder. “Alright, um… Be careful.”

Meanwhile, within the castle, Eugene glances up at the ceiling as rubble falls to his feet. He turns his attention back to Edmund.

“If I know Rapunzel, then she’s already found another way in.” He says, unable to mask the pride in his tone.

“Then we have to get to the Moonstone first.”

Eugene follows him down another long corridor, this one lined with suits of armor marked with the symbol of the Dark Kingdom. He follows Edmund into a large, circular room and his breath catches in his throat.

Large stone statues of his ancestors stare down at him with cold hard gazes and he feels uneasy as he passes through the room. He sees Edmund’s statue, unfinished, standing tall beside an empty pedestal. Well, it would be empty if not for the stacks of wanted posters upon it.

He swallows hard and turns away from it to face Edmund when he speaks to him.

“Generation after generation of our ancestors had sacrificed everything to keep this stone from the world,” he explains. “And now, you’ve come to help put an end to this and take your place among them.”

Eugene licks his lips, unable to speak as Edmund opens another set of doors. His eyes are instantly drawn to the white light pouring from a circular cage at the opposite end of the otherwise empty room.

He follows the king inside the chamber, eyes fixated on the cage at the other side of the bridge.

“That’s the…”

“The Moonstone,” Edmund draws Adira’s sword once again. “It’s time to put an end to this, once and for all. All that stands between us and our freedom is this bridge.”

Eugene grabs the king before he can charge at the Moonstone, pulling him back just as the stone flashes, and two large black rocks burst through the ground, destroying the bridge.

He releases the man’s fur cloak, and Edmund heaves a sigh. “I’ll fetch a rope.”

Eugene follows him from the Moonstone’s chamber, closing the door behind him and Edmund vanishes from sight, leaving him alone in with the statues.

He looks up at one of them, a man with sharp features and a long beard and mustache, turning away to face where his statue would have stood if things were different.

He picks up a stack of the wanted posters for Flynn Rider and begins flipping through them, smiling bitterly at the small hint of nostalgia that hits him as he gazes at them.

Eugene leans against the rocks. He’s spent so much of his life living as someone else, as Flynn Rider, a master thief doing whatever he had to to survive. He spent so much time alone that the idea of anyone even liking him, let alone loving him seemed strange to him.

But all of that changed when that damn horse chased him through the forest and he found a tower.

He was the luckiest man in the world! For the first time in his life, he had someone who loved him! The love of his life! He had a home, he had friends, a purpose, and every day felt like it was a dream, one he didn’t want to wake up from.

But now…

His head hurts and his mouth has somehow gotten even drier as he continues to flip through the papers.

He lets out a bitter laugh.

“You should have known, Eugene,” he tells himself. His entire world was crumbling around him and he didn’t know how to stop it. “You should have known that you were wrong about everything. That it was all too good to be true.”

He lets the papers flutter to the floor and puts his head in his hands. He doesn’t know what to do or who he is. He’s not who he thought he was. He’s not Flynn Rider anymore. Hell, he’s not even Eugene Fitzherbert anymore!

He’s someone else now and he doesn't know who.

He lowers his hands and gazes up at the statues once again. “One of you, tell me who I’m supposed to be! Tell me that I’m not destined to be alone again!” he pleads with them, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. “That my life had meaning…”

“Please…” His voice sounds foreign to his own ears, small and broken as he fights back tears. “Please, just tell me…”

His hands find their way to his face again and he sits on the empty pedestal, with his head hung low. “Who am I?”

Rapunzel leaps from a black rock to a small stone ledge, careful not to lose her footing and fall into the molten lava waiting for her below. She looks at Adira, the woman guiding her and the others through the sewers as carefully and quickly as she can.

“How much further?”

“Another couple hundred yards and we’ll be directly below the throne room.”

As she says this, Rapunzel’s hair begins glowing again, rising into the air and pulling her forward as everything around them begins trembling. More black rocks emerge from the lava, walls, and even the ceiling, tearing a hole in it and cracking the walls.

The ledge she stands on gives way, and she falls towards the lava. She hears Cassandra cry out her name, sees Lance and Adira both grab for her despite being too far away to help her.

Before she can reach for her hair, a hand grabs her around the wrist and she’s hanging above the lava.
Her hair stops glowing then, and the black rocks below her bend and lean, pointing down the sewer, not unlike when they first created the path leading outside of Corona a year ago.

She’s carefully lowered down onto the rocks below, and her savior drops down beside her.

“Thank you, Hector,” she says breathlessly and she pats his arm in gratitude.

Hector nods in response and catches Adira’s eye. She raises a questioning eyebrow at him and he shoots her a look. “The rocks separated me and the kid, but he’s bound to have made it to the castle by now.”

“Great,” Cassandra leaps over to them. “Now how do we get in the castle? We’re not going to last much longer down here.”

Rapunzel eyes the rocks she’s standing upon and traces the path with her eyes. They were leading further into the sewer system, and when she took a step down the path, her hair begins glowing again, drawing her forward.

“We do what we have been doing since we left Corona,” she says, taking another step. “We follow the rocks.”

Chapter Text

Varian pulls himself up through a trapdoor, carefully closing it behind him and rises to his feet. He glances around the room, finding he’s in what used to be the castle’s armory.

Broken weapons and pieces of armor were scattered about, the black rocks punctured chest plates, and the walls and the walls themselves were crumbling away around them.

He gazes at the emblem of the Dark Kingdom carved into the stone above the arched doorway, and his stomach ties itself into a knot.

The last time someone tried to so much as touch the Moonstone, it nearly destroyed the kingdom and took who knows how many lives. What if when Rapunzel takes it, she can’t handle its power? Or, what if it rejects her, or even...

He vigorously shakes his head, chasing away the thoughts in his mind.

“No,” he says to himself. “No, no Rapunzel will be fine. She’s the Sundrop, Varian, you know this.” He forces a smile when Ruddiger chitters at him and paws at his face. “I’m okay, I just let my imagination get the better of me.”

Varian stills when the black rocks around him glow a bright cool blue, the hallway outside the armory lighting up just the same. He pulls his hair stripe down to his eyes, and sure enough, it’s glowing too.

“Well, Ruddiger,” he takes a breath and turns back to the doorway. “Let’s get going.”

Eugene raises his head when he hears the doors to the throne room open, expecting to see that Edmund’s returned with the rope. What he wasn’t expecting was to see a certain chameleon.

“Pascal?” He calls, relieved to see the chameleon hurrying up to him. His relief turns into confusion when Pascal crosses his arms and glares at him, turning red. “What’s the matter with you, frog?”

Pascal chirps angrily at him and he rubs his neck. “Look, I know you’re mad at me, and I deserve it, but I didn’t have a choice,” Eugene lowers his hand and Pascal shoots him a look before crawling into his palm. He holds him up, showing him the statues around the room.

“Pascal, this place… This is where I come from,” he tells him, and the chameleon turns back to him, returning to his natural green color. “I know, it’s crazy, I can hardly believe it myself but…” he trails off into a sigh.

“I know we only came here so Rapunzel could take the Moonstone, but… But the last time someone tried to destroy it, I… I lost my mother.”

Pascal chirps sympathetically at him, patting his hand. “I can’t lose her, Pascal…” And, just like that, Pascal’s chirping angrily at him again, crawling along his arm and down to the pouch on his hip. He burrows inside it and pulls out a piece of paper.

Eugene takes it and unfolds it and it reads;

At the end of Rapunzel's journey, one of her party will turn against her.

He stares at it in confusion for a split second before his eyes widen. “It’s me,” he says softly. “I’m the one who…” he sits back down and tilts his head back. “How could I be so stupid?”

He can almost hear that damn monkey scolding him, reminding him to have faith and not lose sight of it. He gives Pascal a small smile when he climbs onto his shoulder.

“I’m a real idiot, aren’t I?” The chameleon nods and he smirks. “You didn’t have to agree.”

He eyes the fortune one more time before tearing it into pieces. He jumps to his feet. “Alright, Pascal, let's go find our princess!”

Varian follows the path of glowing rocks, and he’s positive now that they’re guiding him to the Moonstone as whenever he passes one, it stops glowing. He followed them up a flight of stairs, and now he finds himself in yet another hall, leading into even more halls in different directions.

“Why do castles have to have so many halls?” he mutters to himself, turning another corner. “And here I thought the castle in Corona had a confusing layout…”

The boy freezes in place, fingers twitching as a man towers over him and glares down at him. He has a rope over his shoulder and an ax in his hand.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Eugene runs down the corridor with Pascal on his shoulder. He has no idea where to even look for Rapunzel, but if he knows her, then she’s bound to be somewhere in this place.

He skids to a halt when he hears Edmund’s battle cry echo off the walls, followed quickly by the sound of metal on metal. He and Pascal share a look and he follows the sound.

What he was expecting when he reached the other end of the corridor, was Rapunzel and the others fighting against Edmund. What he was not at all expecting is to see Varian, picking himself off the marble floor and wiping the blood from his nose before turning back to his fight with Edmund.

Or trying to fight him, that is.

He was mostly dodging while getting in the occasional swing or stab of the Demanitus Spear.

Eugene can’t find a single trace of fear on the alchemist's face and he’s unable to tell if the kid’s brave, or really, really stupid.

He takes a step forward when Edmund swings his ax down, Varian attempting to block the attack with the shaft of his spear only for the ax to cut through it and break it into two. The two pieces clatter to the ground, the light from the spearhead flickers a few times before going out.

“Varian--” Eugene croaks out, but the boy doesn’t hear him, he doesn’t have the time to hear him before Edmund’s on the attack again.

The kid barely avoids being cut in half by rolling away and he draws the sword on his hip. He doesn’t get the chance to use it though, as the king suddenly charges at him, body-slamming him and knocking him several feet away.

Eugene’s heart stops when the boy's head collides with the marble floor, watching as he pushes himself up onto his elbows as Edmund approaches him with his ax at the ready.

He prays to whatever powers that be that the kid will stay down.

But of course, he doesn’t and rises to his feet and raises his fists. Stupid. He’s definitely stupid.

Edmund stares at the boy in front of him. Even though he’s unarmed and outmatched, and without a doubt in more pain than he lets on; he glares at him with defiance and a familiar stubborn glint in his eye.

“Leave this place while you still can, boy.”

“I can’t do that, your majesty.”

Edmund sighs heavily with regret and raises his ax. “Then I pray you’ll forgive me.”

“No!” Eugene runs forward and grabs Edmunds's arm to keep him from slicing the kid in half. “Don’t hurt him, please! He’s my little brother!”

Edmund easily knocks his son away, sending him tumbling to the ground and fixing him with a hard glare. His eyes narrow dangerously when the boy places himself between them.

He studies him further; his nose was bleeding and a bruise was beginning to form on his cheek from where he had knocked him away earlier. The king finds himself amused to see that the defiant and stubborn spark was still in his eyes, it almost reminded him of… Now he sees it.

He says nothing and approaches him, Eugene freezes on the floor while the boy readies himself for another fight.

“There is only one man I know who’s stupid enough to look certain death in the face without a hint of fear in his eye.”

“So tell me, boy,” he leans over him. “Why would your father let you come here?”

Varian blinks at him in surprise and his shoulders become slack. “Y-You know my father? I mean, o-of course you know my father, but uh… H-How did you know that I’m his son?”

“He can tell a lot by looking at a man’s eyes,” Eugene says, releasing the breath he had been holding.

“I know Quirin as well as I know myself, the only possible explanation for you being here is that he wasn’t able to stop you…” Edmund mumbles to himself, and Varian catches the sadness in his tone.

“Your Majesty, I assure you my father is alive,” he says. “He’s--”

“He’s in a coma,” Eugene blurts out, getting to his feet. “The black rocks, they um… made him sick… Really sick, and Varian’s here to try and find a cure. Right?”

“Uh, y-yes! That’s right,” Varian nods. It’s not a complete lie. “He uh, couldn’t stop me because he’s in a coma.”

Edmund stares them both down. They’re lying to him, he can hear it in their voices. A trait his son had gotten from himself and the boy must have gotten from his mother. But he can look at the boy and tell it’s not something he wants to talk about. He sighs.

“I see,” he turns from them. “All the more reason to destroy the Moonstone then.” Edmund’s unable to keep himself from smiling under his mustache as he walks away from them.

“How delightful it is to know that Qurin’s son and my son are close enough to consider each other brothers!” he says to himself. “This is wonderful!”

“You’re saying your thoughts again, old man.” Eugene chides and the king clears his throat before vanishing down the hall.

“Wait a minute, you’re his son?” Varian looks at him with confusion. “You’re the prince?!”

“Apparently,” Eugene answers with a shrug. He puts an arm around Varian’s shoulder and turns him around. “Where’s Rapunzel?”

“You mean she’s not with you?”

Eugene grimaces and pulls him closer to his side. Okay, so Rapunzel hasn’t made it inside the castle yet. He can work with that. “Listen to me, king Doom and Gloom over there is planning on destroying the Moonstone, right? We have to stall him until Rapunzel is able to…” he trails off at the face Varian makes. “What’s wrong?”

“What if… What if when she takes the stone it… What if she--”

“Hey,” Eugene moves to stand in front of him, putting his hands on his shoulders. “It’s gonna be alright. This is Rapunzel we’re talking about, remember? If anyone can handle the power of the Moonstone, it’s her.”

“But what if she can’t, Eugene?” Varian raises his voice. “What if when she takes it something bad happens? Hector told me what happened the last time someone even tried to touch it, and I…” he trails off and looks away from him. “I can’t lose anyone else to the Moonstone.”

Eugene frowns deeply and pulls Varian into a loose hug. He can’t deny that they’ve both suffered and lost so much because of that damned stone, and he understands his concerns. He does. She still doesn’t want Rapunzel to take the stone, but there’s no other choice.

“Listen, Varian, I’m scared too,” he says, pulling back and making the alchemist look at him. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we have to have faith in Rapunzel.”

“I know,” Varian sighs. “I know, you’re right, and I do have faith in her, it's just… I’m a little on edge, so I’m not really thinking clearly right now.” He rubs the back of his head and winces when he touches a bump. “That and I think I might have a concussion.”

Eugene gives his shoulders a comforting squeeze. He goes to speak but all that comes out is a broken squeak as both the rocks around them and the streak in Varian’s hair both begin to glow. “Uh… Kid? You uh… Your hair, it’s uh…”

“Oh, um… That’s uh…” he tugs lightly on his hair. “Yeah, that’s new.”

Eugene blinks at him, and all of a sudden he finds himself in a riverbank, having narrowly escaped a dark and watery grave. He glances at Pascal, just as he did back then hoping for an explanation, but all he gets is a shrug. He shakes his head to bring himself back to the present. “You know, two years ago this would have freaked me out…”

“Anyway, speaking of magic glowing hair, let’s go find Rapunzel.”

Beneath the castle, the path of black rocks guiding Rapunzel and her party to the Moonstone had begun to point upward, creating a tower that they had no other choice than to climb.

Slowly and carefully they make their way up the structure, and when she reaches the top, Rapunzel peers through the hole in the wall. Lance hovers behind her and looks inside, he closes one eye and hums.

“What do you see, Lance?”

“Just the old man, I think he’s talking to himself.”

“That’s good,” Adira joins them. “That means he doesn’t suspect we’re here.”

Rapunzel and her party climb through the opening, hiding behind suits of armors and black rocks as the king talks to himself in the other room. The princess glances around in search of Eugene, biting her lower lip until Cassandra puts a hand on her shoulder.

“The Moonstone’s chamber is just beyond those doors,” Adira tells her.

She takes a breath and fixes her gaze on the large double doors ahead of her. “We need to distract him so I can get in there and take the Moonstone.”

Cassandra squeezes her shoulder. “There’s no way I’m letting you go in there alone. Who knows what’s in there!”

“She should go alone,” Hector says. “Only the Sundrop can access the Moonstone, isn’t that right sister?”

Adira nods and Rapunzel furrows her brow. She looks at Cassandra from the corner of her eye and she takes her hand. “Cass and I will go,” she says, her friend smiling softly. “Lance, Hector, Adira, you three run interference and distract the king long enough that we can slip inside.”

The three nod their heads and Rapunzel quietly pushes herself away from the wall. It’s times like this that not wearing shoes comes in handy, as the sound of her bare feet padding on the floor was nearly inaudible.

She holds up three fingers as she reaches the arched double doors. She begins counting down from three with her fingers, only to be tackled by Cassandra when an ax misses her head by an inch and lodges itself into one of the suits of armor behind them.

They turn to the king, the man standing tall and glaring at them. “Get out!” he bellows. “Or my next throw will not miss its target!”

“Edmund--”

“I have nothing to say to you, Adira!”

Lance charges forward to bodyslam the king, only to slam painfully into his chest. The man doesn’t budge, simply raising an eyebrow. The man grins sheepishly at the king and he’s knocked to the side, crumpling to the floor in a daze.

Cassandra unsheaths her sword and rushes the king, only for him to swat her away as if she were nothing more than a fly.

Edmund steps forward with his fixed on the princess before him, his eyes narrow when both Hector and Adira put themselves in front of her.

“You were both ordered to keep people away from this place!”

Hector and Adira share a glance before turning their focus back on their king. They say nothing and charge forward. Edmund stands his ground and catches Hector by the wrist. He quickly disarms him and, as if he weighed nothing at all, he throws him into Adira, knocking her to the ground.

“Your Majesty,” Rapunzel catches his attention as the others collect themselves. “Please, listen to me--” Her hair begins glowing again, and the king looks at her with surprise. “The Moonstone knows I’m here,” she says, marching forward only for Edmund to block her path.

“No! No one may enter that room!” He tells her.

“I am going in and you do not want to get in my way!”

“You’re not getting past me,” he growls.

“Yes, she is!” Rapunzel and Edmund turn to the entrance, the princess’s face lighting up when she sees Eugene run into the room. “She’s the Sundrop, so let her through!”

“Eugene!” She smiles brightly when he gives her a quick hug.

“Rapunzel, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean--” He’s silenced by a quick peck on the lips.

“There’s no time for that, we haveto get to that stone.”

Edmund’s eyes widen when he sees Eugene nod in agreement before turning to him with a glare that could easily rival his late wife. “Let us through, old man.”

“But the Moonstone has to be destroyed, son!”

The room falls silent and everyone looks to Eugene. A gleeful smile spreads on Rapunzel’s face and she clasps her hands together. “Son?”

“Son?” Cassandra and Hector ask in unison.

Lance beams as Varian pulls him to his feet. “You finally got adopted!”

“I’ll fill you all in later,” Eugene tells them, taking hold of Edmund’s and begins pulling him away despite his protests. “Long story short, I’m a prince. Probably.”

Rapunzel turns away and runs to the large double doors separating her from the Moonstone with Cassandra on her heels. She goes to open the door, but some unseen force keeps it locked in place. The room begins shaking and her hair stops glowing.

The eyes of the statues glaring down at them begin to glow a bright eerie blue and the tremors become stronger.

“It can’t be…” Edmund pulls himself free from his son's hold. His eyes widen as he looks between the statues of his ancestors as one by one they begin to glow.

“What’s going on?”

“For centuries, my ancestors have sworn to protect this threshold,” the group gathers in the center of the room as ghostly figures emerge from the statues. “And now their spirits have arisen to uphold that oath!”

The ghosts lunge at them and they scatter.

“So,” Rapunzel reaches to untie her hair as one of the ghosts dangles Lance in the air before abruptly dropping him when Pascal’s tongue jabs him in the eye. She smiles at Adira when she catches Pascal and Lance falls to the floor. “You have a dad?”

“Yeah,” Eugene gives her a grin.“Turns out you’re not the only one who had a destiny waiting here.” He ducks his head when Rapunzel whips a section of her hair at one of the ghosts. “You get to that stone, I’ll hold off my old man.”

Edmund sees the princess running to the Moonstone’s chamber and he snarls. He runs to stop her only to be blindsided by a sudden cloud of smoke. He waves it away and catches Varian by his wrist, crushing it until he drops his weapon and roughly tosses him to the floor.

He resumes his pursuit of the princess, only this time he’s tackled by his own son. “No!” he shouts, glaring at him. “She mustn’t be let in!”

“Liste, you’re majesty- father- I don’t know what to call you, but you have to stop these spirits!” Eugene pleads with him.

“Even if I could, she must never enter that room!” With that, Edmund grabs Eugene by his collar and flips him, and he lands hard on his back several feet away.

Cassandra cuts through one of the spirits and it evaporates into a thick puff of smoke. She ducks low when Hector charges, cutting through another before it could bring its battle ax down on her and it meets the same fate as the other.

The eyes of the statues belonging to the defeated ghosts glow again, and the two ghosts emerge once more, one grabbing Cassandra by the throat and the other locking weapons with Hector.

Rapunzel’s hair slices through both of them, and the princess smiles at the two swordsmen as they’re set free and they rejoin the battle.

Lance ducks and dodges the swing of a ghostly battle-ax, and from the corner of his eye he can see Eugene picking himself up from the floor before charging at the king again.

He turns his attention to one of the ghosts as it lets out a spine chilling howl, slicing its ax at Adira as she swiftly dodges. She stops to pick up Pascal, and the ghost raises its weapon.

“Adira!” he cries, rushing forward and tackling her out of the way just as the ax slams into the ground where she stood. He smiles at her and she glares at him.

“I had it under control!” she snaps, sounding more annoyed than angry with him. She turns from him, Pascal safely perched on her shoulder and he deflates. “Lance,” she looks at him from over her shoulder with a kind smile. “Thank you.”

Lance’s heart flutters in his chest, but he doesn’t have the time to swoon before the ghost is on them again. He picks up a discarded sword and swings it, slicing through the middle of the ghost. The ghost evaporates only to return just as quickly as it had vanished.

“They just keep coming back!”

Eugene struggles in the king’s grip. The man has him off his feet and pinned to a black rock, glaring angrily at him. He stops struggling and looks at him.

“You know what, maybe you are right! Maybe it is my destiny to come here,” he says and the king’s eyes narrow. “But maybe it’s not to join you here, maybe it’s to save you from this place!”

Edmund’s expression softens ever so slightly, the surprise evident in his eyes.

“You don’t have to fight anymore, Rapunzel is here to put an end to this,” Eugene continues. “Trust her.”

“But how… How can you be so sure?”

“You say you can tell a lot by looking into someone’s eyes, right? Well, look into mine. I have faith in Rapunzel,” he nods his head towards the battlefield. “They all have faith in her.”

Edmund looks Eugene in the eyes, his expression softening further before he turns his attention to the battlefield where everyone was fighting for their lives against his ancestors.

“You should too,” Eugene says softly and he turns back to him. He stares at him for a moment longer before releasing him, and he runs to join the others.

“Couldn’t get past them, huh?”

“They are surprisingly stubborn,” Rapunzel answers.

The specter’s circle them from above, diving at them one by one. They claw at them and swing their weapons, and one of them grabs Varian by his arms and throws him at Rapunzel and Eugene.

They catch him, but the force of the throw knocks them both to the ground and leaves them dazed. One of the ghosts charges at them with his ax and Lance rushes forward and wrenches it from his grasp.

Turning his own weapon against him, Lance slices through the ghost with ease. He looks around the room; Cassandra, Hector, and Adira had their backs pressed together as three of the four ghosts surround them, and Rapunzel, Eugene, and Varian were still in a dazed pile on the floor.

“Okay, Lance,” he says to himself. “I think we learned something today.” He cuts one of the spirits when it lunges at him. “We all have a destiny, and we may not know when we’ll meet our fates, but is it not going to be today!”

Adira’s shadow blade catches his eye and he grins. Dropping the ax, Lance runs for the sword, picks it up and uses it to slice through one of the statues. The statue cracks and crumbles before falling into a large pile on the ground and the spirit of the Dark Queen suddenly evaporate before she could attack him.

This time she doesn’t return.

“Lance, you’re a genius!” Eugene praises as he gets back to his feet. “And that is the first and last time I will ever say that!”

“Everyone!” Rapunzel pants. “Cover for lance!”

Lance jumps over the rubble of the statue and tosses the Shadow Blade to the nearest person who happens to be Adira. She kicks it high into the air and jumps, dragging it down through the statute of one of the Dark Kings of old, and his spirit vanishes.

“Hector! Heads up!”

She tosses the blade to him, and he slices through the legs of the next statue and it crumbles around him. Varian grabs the sword from him and runs to the next, pivoting on his heel to avoid being cut down by an ax. One of the remaining spirits blocks his path and he tosses the sword under it and it slides on the floor.

Cassandra catches it and throws it into the statue closest to her, it falls and the ghost evaporates like the rest. She flashes Varian a smile and he gives her a thumbs-up as Rapunzel tosses the sword to Eugene.

Eugene rushes at the final statue, and the final ghost gives chase. He slams his ax down into the floor, Eugene jumps over it but loses his footing when he lands. The wind is knocked out of him and the sword slides across the floor and out of his reach.

He turns over, and the ghost of his ancestor raises his ax high above his head. He closes his eyes and braces himself for the hit, but instead, he’s met with a blast of cold air and when he opens his eyes, the ghost is gone.

He turns to face the statue, finding Edmund standing on its shoulder with the sword in his hand.

“Our family…” he trails off as the head of the statue slides off its shoulders. It falls into the incomplete statue of Edmund, knocking it over where it breaks on the floor.
“Our family is just awful.”

Rapunzel nervously wrings her hands together, a nervous tick she had picked up from Varian, as the king, Hector, Lance, and Adira lift the large chunk of stone blocking the door to the Moonstone’s chamber.

She looks at Eugene when he takes one of her hands and smiles at him while Cassandra puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes.

“It’s all up to you now,” Edmund says once they have the stone high enough that they could crawl under it.

“No,” Rapunzel squeezes Eugene’s hand. “It’s up to us.” The three steps forward and she stops in front of the stone. She looks at Varian and nods her head towards the double doors, and he nods.

Rapunzel gets on her knees and crawls through the opening with Cassandra, Varian, and Eugene following after her. They enter the room and the door closes behind them, shutting them off from the others outside.

The princess’s breath catches in her throat as she stares at the circular cage before her. “We made it, guys,” she says softly, drawing their attention to the center of the room.

Varian holds his breath, feeling uneasy as he stares. He looks from the stone to Rapunzel, and then to Eugene. The man places a hand on his shoulder and gives him a comforting squeeze and a look that said everything was going to be alright. He smiles and looks at Cassandra finding her eyes fixated on the Moonstone, and an unreadable expression on her face, and he feels uneasy again.

Rapunzel’s hair glows bright, rising into the air as the black rocks filling the room begins glowing.

Cassandra does a double-take at the sight of Varian’s hair stripe glowing the same color as the rocks and he simply shrugs it off.

The rocks bend and lean, pointing to the Moonstone in its cage, and Rapunzel takes a step closer to the edge. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and steps off the edge, and the path forms under her foot. She beams and strides forward with purpose, her friends close behind.

They reach the end of the bridge and Rapunzel turns back to them with a bright smile. She walks over to Cassandra.

“Look,” she takes her hands. “I know that this journey hasn’t exactly been easy for us but…” she throws her arms around her best friend. “Thank you, Cass. For everything.”

“It’s time, Rapunzel,” Cassandra says. She doesn’t return her hug, and Rapunzel doesn’t mind. Cassandra’s never been a touchy-feely type of person.

Rapunzel pulls away from her and turns to Varian. She runs a hand through his hair and cups his cheek. “Don’t worry, princess,” he says, leaning into her touch. “No matter what happens, I’ll be right here. I promise.”

She smiles and turns to Eugene when he holds out his hand for her. She takes it and he smiles warmly at her.

“This ist, Rapunzel.” He kisses her knuckles. “Now go get your destiny.”

Rapunzel kisses him. “I love you,” she says. She gently pokes Pascal on the nose before turning back to the Moonstone.

She approaches the cage as it opens itself up, the Moonstone, shining bright, rises from its confounds, waiting for her. Rapunzel reaches slowly for it, heart racing in her chest.

Her destiny is within her reach, and it beckons her to take it. All she has to do is--

A hand closes around the Moonstone.

“Cassandra?” her eyes turn wide and hair stops glowing, falling around her, hanging over the bridge, and into the darkness below. “What are you doing?”

“I’m fulfilling my destiny!” Cassandra answers, her arm trembling as she struggles with the Moonstone.

Rapunzel reaches to her, but Eugene pulls her back as Varian runs forward. He grabs onto Cassandra’s closed fist and the woman snarls.

“Let go!” she barks, struggling against his grip.

“Cass--” he grits his teeth as the Moonstone begins flashing between their hands. “Whatever she told you, it’s not worth it!”
“That demon didn’t tell me anything!”

Rapunzel watches with a mix of confusion and fear as they fight one another for the stone. She tries again to reach for them, but a shockwave from the Moonstone sends both herself and Eugene flying backward across the bridge.

She pushes herself up, watching as the shockwaves of energy surround both of her friends, growing brighter and brighter until it’s blinding. Eugene pulls her into his arms and black rocks burst from the ground one after the other.

After what seems like an eternity, the shockwaves finally end, and the light finally fades. Rapunzel blinks, pulling herself away from Eugene’s chest as her eyes readjust to the darkness of the room.

She slowly turns back to where Cassandra and Varian are, her breath hitching when she sees the alchemist on the ground, unconscious as shockwaves of energy bounce off him and another section of his hair turns blue.

“I tried to warn you, Rapunzel…” Cassandra’s breathy voice cuts through the silence, and she slowly raises her eyes.

Cassandra is nearly unrecognizable. Her armor had been replaced with the rocks, black with a blue stripe that wrapped around her body and connected with the Moonstone over her heart.

Her once black hair now glows a bright blue, and her eyes now glow the same color as she glares down at her.

“You have to be careful who you trust.”