Chapter Text
Rapunzel heaved a heavy sigh as she watched the celebration below. Everyone was preparing for her birthday. Her 19th birthday to be exact, and it would be her first birthday party since returning home to her parents.
In her eighteen years long absence, the country of Corona had turned her day of birth into a kingdom-wide festival. Every year they would dance, play, and release lanterns into the night sky in the hopes that their princess would return.
Well, this year their princess had returned, and the people of Corona were going to throw a celebration like no other. Her father, the king, had spared no expense on the holiday, and everyone from all over the kingdom came to the capitol to celebrate.
Rapunzel could see them in the castle courtyard from her bedroom window. They were playing carnival games, eating cupcakes, and bouncing on a giant trampoline that King Frederic had purchased upon Rapunzel's request. Mostly however, they were bringing gifts. They arrived by the hundreds to drop off presents for the legendary princess. Where the guards men would then load them onto a stretcher and carry them inside the castle.
Rapunzel paid them no mind. Presents didn't excite her right now. Nor did games or trampolines. She hugged her knees as she felt the lump of dread in the pit of her stomach grow heavier.
Her pet, Pascal, gave a sympathetic sigh, and then tried to cheer her up by making silly faces, sticking his long chameleon tongue out at her. She ignored him.
That was when her boyfriend, Eugene, opened the door behind her. "Happy Birthday!" He called out to her.
She ignored this greeting as well.
Eugene frowned.
"Hey, how are you doing?" He rested a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.
"How am I doing?" Rapunzel echoed back sarcastically. "Well, let's see… I found out that my father has been lying to me for months. A secret squad of guards hunted us down in the dead of night, upon his orders. Oh, I destroyed my childhood home, and most recently, I committed treason!"
There was an awkward pause as her two most favorite people in the world eyed her with concern. It wasn't like her to snap at people.
Rapunzel sighed, trying to will the muscles in her shoulders to relax. The past few days had been stressful, to say the least.
Her friend, Varian, had asked her for help recovering an ancient scroll. A scroll that her father did not want her to have. Turns out that said scroll was proof that the magical Sundrop, the flower that had granted her long golden locks and own magical powers, still existed, and was hidden inside the castle itself.
Rapunzel still didn't know why her father had locked the flower away in the royal vault, nor why he had lied to her about the deadly rocks encroaching upon their home. However, Varian claimed that the Sundrop could stop the unbreakable spikes that erupted from the ground without warning. He also hoped that its healing powers could save his dad.
The thought of Quirin made Rapunzel's stomach flip flop with guilt. The image of the man frozen in amber haunted her. It hadn't been her fault, necessarily, but she still felt saddened at not being able to help him. She believed she needed to do more, but she was at a loss as to what.
Either way, it didn't matter. Varian had decided that he didn't need her help when he stole the Sundrop of his own accord. She had tried to reason with him, but he wouldn't listen. He considered her hesitancy to go through with the theft as a form of betrayal.
Deep down, she wondered if he was right. It was just rotting away in there, inside the vault. Flowers needed sunshine, water, and fresh air to grow. Denying it that, had caused the flower to wilt and fade, and she vaguely wondered if it even still had any power left. It must have, otherwise there'd be no reason for her dad to keep it.
Oh, and he would be furious once he found that the flower was gone! She shuddered. That's what worried her the most. Her father frowning at her sternly, as she would try to explain herself yet again. His disapproval radiating off of him, informing her once more that she wasn't really fit to be the heir to the throne. She couldn't live with his disappointment.
She let out another sigh. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"No, no. It's okay." Eugene assured, as he took both her hands into his own. She looked up again and saw his warm, loving gaze, and the fear within her subsided, if only for a little bit.
Eugene cocked a sly smile. "Hey, I know what will cheer you up."