Chapter Text
When they arrived in Corona, the first place Arianna led Cassandra and Rapunzel to was Xavier’s house. As they were walking in the streets, as incognito as they could with cloaks and hoods while the captain was getting the horses back to the stables, she had explained why there.
Both the queen and the mother in Arianna wanted Rapunzel to come to the castle, to discover her real family, to finally come home. But she feared also that her little trip and the discovery they made might not be well received by king Frederic.
Sure, he was most of the time a man of great understanding, ready to listen and accept as to improve the discussions between himself, his kingdom and the people on the other side. But now, it wasn’t about diplomacy, it wasn’t about another kingdom, or anything of the like. It was family, close people. And Arianna remembered how he had reacted when Xavier had recovered his memories and came to them, just the day before.
Frederic would think to protect, to assure the security of those he cherished most, of those he could never bear to lose ever again. And by doing so, Arianna feared he might do something he would later regret. So, she chose to let the two young women stay at Xavier’s house for the time being. That way, they would be able to see the city, to discover it and learn with Xavier of the many things of the world, all the while being close to the castle and their real family.
And when the time would come, Arianna would have figured a way to introduce them both in the castle. Though, she still didn’t know how that plan itself would be received and accepted, or rejected. Only time would tell.
So, later in the morning, she went back to the castle, pretending she was taking a horse ride in the forest as only official explanation. Her husband was worried that she had left without a word after the heated discussion in the throne room, but he couldn’t stay mad forever. His only family was back with him now.
Still, he found his beloved more distant that day. He only assumed the discussion had reopened a gap he had thought closed long ago when their daughter had be captured to never be found yet. Had he say something he shouldn’t have?
Since Xavier and Arianna had left the throne room, the conversation had played again and again in his mind, but he couldn’t find himself wrong. No, it had been wrong from Xavier to hide such knowledge. And curse these memory spells. Fitting excuses to a magic user, but to a king, that wasn’t enough. If the old blacksmith hadn’t been a long-time friend to his family, and hadn’t proved many times his loyalty to the kingdom, Frederic would have had no choice but to consider him a traitor to the crown.
Still, he found a way to express his frustration elsewhere than rummaging endlessly through his mind. When Arianna came back that day, he had been at the hen-house of the castle, taking care of the chickens and their eggs as he did since he was a kid. That was a hobby that had never left him. Most of the time now, he could only go there when he was stressed. He couldn’t afford much distraction.
The preparations for the evening were mostly completed. When the sun would fall behind the horizon, the lanterns would rise into the sky, like every year for now eighteen long years.
In town, Xavier had invited Rapunzel and Cassandra to take place on his balcony, from which they could see the bay, the castle, and part of the main street, snake of cobblestones running up and down the hill of Corona. It was one of the most perfect places to watch the show. He gave them a lantern each, the firsts of many he hoped.
“I know you’ve been here for only a couple of hours,” started Xavier, while offering them a cup of hot tea as cold came slowly, “but, how do you like it here so far?”
“Not as worse as I imagined,” admitted Cassandra, taking a sip of the tea.
“Is that so?” asked the blacksmith, genuinely intrigued by this comment.
“Well, the captain kept saying that the city was all about robberies, crimes, kidnappings and rapes. That I was lucky to live away in the forest, even with Mother who is, well, wasn’t exactly the best example of love a kid could ask for.”
“I see. But you know, the captains lives days and nights with crimes around him. The prison cells aren’t far from his office in the castle. He hears the criminals every day. Of course he would be biased. But let me assure you, when you’re not in the guard, you know the world is so much more than just that.”
“When are the lanterns going to fly?” asked Rapunzel, already leaning on the railing with her own lantern in hands.
“It shouldn’t be long now. We just have to wait till the king and queen release theirs, and then, those in town will follow,” explained Xavier, walking toward her, his own lantern with him. “Cassandra, you want to join us?”
Instead of answering, she came to the railing, and watched the streets down below. Waves of people were coming from afar, some even from the villages near the Corona wall to see the lanterns and release them as well.
As night fell even more, darkness covering the city, and a single light appeared on the balcony of the palace. Holding it were the king and queen, smiling to the crowd below, on the marches, in the courtyard, and in all Corona.
“There, take this,” said Xavier, handing Rapunzel a spyglass. “Put your eye against this lens, and point it toward what you want to watch. Just turn the rings to adjust the precision if it’s too blurry. You get it?”
“Yes, and whoa, it’s amazing! Cass! I can see the queen’s face like she’s standing in front of me! And, oh, so… he’s my dad… You want to take a look?”
“I’ll go get you another spyglass,” said Xavier, before Cassandra could even accept or refuse the offer.
He left the balcony with a knowing smile, and left them both enjoy the show that would be happening soon. When they were finally alone, Cassandra let her worry face go, and let herself enjoy the moment. Everyone was so nice to them. Why would she need to worry even when they were there? They wanted to help them. She trusted the captain, and the captain trusted Xavier and the queen. Why couldn’t Cassandra then?
At least, now, with lanterns in the streets, the peaceful city below, Rapunzel by her side, and no one who seemed to have any interest in harming them, she allowed herself to relax a bit. And while she was breathing deeply, letting the stress go, she realized how much she had been tense, for too long. And this stress she had only went away faster when Rapunzel leaned her head against her shoulder, while still watching at the city around them through the spyglass.
“It’s now! It’s now! They’re releasing the lantern!” shouted Rapunzel, stamping with impatience.
“I see it!” realized Cassandra, who was swinging by her friend’s sudden movement.
The king and queen were holding their lantern together, above their head. And now with only the wind to lead it, the paper light rose into the night, silent bird taking its flight in the dark, till wind makes it fall on a faraway land.
The lanterns in town followed as one, one big cloud of fires rising, warming the city as they ascended to the sky. Cassandra let hers go, and so did Rapunzel, and both their lights joined the flock that was leaving, so soon.
“Oh, shoot, I missed them,” said Xavier, as he arrived on the balcony with a second spyglass in his hands. “Was it great?”
“Beautiful,” said Cassandra with a warmer smile than before.
“Magnificent,” confirmed Rapunzel, radiant as ever.
“Well well, when they’ll be far enough, why don’t you come downstairs? I prepared a short meal. There’s meat and vegetables. Though I don’t know if you have any allergy or else.”
“Allergy? What is it?” asked Rapunzel.
“For food, it’s when an aliment normally edible can make you sick, even kill you, depending of the dose. But, if you didn’t know that, I guess there shouldn’t be any problem. Or else you’d know. If anything, the few I know of magic can surely suffice to help. Well, I’ll let you enjoy the show. After all you’ve been through, you deserve some time alone. I’ll see you downstairs.”
He nodded, and soon retreated inside the house, leaving once more on the balcony. In the streets below, the townsfolk were starting to play music, to dance as the streetlights were fired again. The music was entertaining, though the sound arrived at the balcony was a bit disrupted by the distance. As the lanterns flew away, the stars in the sky started to shine brighter than earlier in the evening. Songs were flying up in town, as did cheers and clapping.
At both the sounds and sights, Rapunzel parted from her position against Cassandra to watch below, and sighed.
“I want to go there, to be with them. They look all so happy.”
“But we can’t. Raps, let us take things slowly. You heard the queen, er, your mother. We can’t just go there and do as if nothing ever happened. We have to know this life better first. So we don’t take any fool step. We don’t know what could happen.”
“Even if only for a few minutes?” pleaded Rapunzel.
“I’d like to go down there too, you know?” admitted Cassandra, leaning her back on the railing. “Why don’t we dance here?”
“Dance? But I don’t know how…”
“Neither do I.”
Cassandra proposed her her hand to take, looking both unsure what step to take and ready to lead a dance she wouldn’t even know. If anything, it would be their dance. And no one could take that from them.
They didn’t know how to do it, where to put their hands. Shoulder? Arm? Waist? It was awkward, to say the least, and it made them both smile, and giggle and blush. After few tries, they settled on putting one hand on the other’s shoulder, the other hand on her side and back.
And like the people down below, they walked small steps, little jumps of sort, walking forward a bit, then backward, trying not to hit the railing of the balcony nor the walls of the house. There were mistakes, foot stamping the other’s foot, but it didn’t matter at all. Swirling into the night, they felt even more free than they had been in the forest, earlier that day. And warm smiles lighted their faces, eyes looking deeply into each other’s pupils.
Several times, the one looking in the direction of the door to the house could see Xavier watching them silently, with a face of wisdom that assured them their dance for the rightest thing in the world that could happen that evening. And they answered him both with a thankful smile, resuming the dance without further silent discussion, evading in their dream of being with the one from the past that would lead them to the future.
On the royal balcony in the castle, queen Arianna wasn’t looking at the whole city. Something was different tonight. Her eyes were looking at Xavier’s house, and his balcony that was only partially visible from where she was. And though she couldn’t see everything through the distance, she saw two persons dancing, and she knew who, and it made her smile.
Her husband by her side noticed this smile, and followed her glance, till Xavier’s balcony.
“I didn’t know Xavier had guests tonight,” he said, trying to start the conversation.
“Yes. He told me he met them during one if his previous journeys and that they’ll be in town for few days. Do you care?” she asked, a touch of hope in her voice.
“Well, I’ve been thinking. And I’ve been unjust to Xavier. He didn’t deserve the hatred I flooded him with the other day. I want to apologize. To invite him to dinner maybe. I have to make up for my mistakes. And the sooner the better. But, this matter is still private, so, better if the story doesn’t spill. And… if he has guests, better if we leave them out of all that.”
“I see. It’s never too late to apologize, Fred. Just… Prepare your words carefully. I’ll go get some sleep. This last day was tiring, to say the least.”
“I’ll see you there, darling,” assured Frederic, leaving a gentle kiss on her hands, cold by the time out in the night.
She went inside, readying herself for a good night sleep. Surely, this night would be the best in years. Though she had her reasons to not tell her husband, she had found her daughter, who had grown up to be a beautiful and healthy young woman. Yes, she had heard of the suffering she must have been through because of Gothel. Still, with the captain’s visits at the cottage, Gothel’s daughter Cassandra seemed to have helped Rapunzel appreciate the world, and the transition between the confinement up there in this tower and the life of the princess she was born to be would only be easier.
If only she knew she could trust Frederic to not try to hold Rapunzel in the city, to protect her for sure, but constricting her in a prison just wider than a tower. As always, he would think he would be doing the right thing. But how to make him see that this wasn’t the way? How could the grieving parent he was possibly let his long-lost child, who now was a grown-up young woman, wander around, and be assured she was safe? Arianna couldn’t answer those, for she had asked herself the same questions for eighteen years and that they came back stronger, now that she had found her daughter.
And now, she didn’t know if she would really do what she thought she’d do next. She had thought that the girls deserved some time together, to acclimate to this life neither knew. But then, there had been what Gothel had said in the tower, before her last breath. The Sundrop, the Moonstone.
Arianna knew the Sundrop, it was the myth that had saved her and her daughter all those years ago. But what was it about truly? Was this Moonstone supposed to be found? By who? She knew she’d go to Xavier on the morning, to check on the girls after their first night in town. And she would ask him, who knew magic, who now remembered knowing Gothel, what the Sundrop and Moonstone were about, and what to do about them. Should they be left alone? Sought and found? To what end? She hoped Xavier would have the answers. But not tonight.
On the morning, Arianna was up before Frederic, and after preparing herself, getting dressed, she went to take her breakfast in the castle’s garden gazebo. Her husband arrived when she had nearly finished, and as she went away wishing him a good day, he returned the wish, though noticing she was still different, like during the evening. He sighed, and went back to his eggs, knowing he would only be able to talk to her way later that day, after the many reunions set for months that were waiting for him today.
Arianna left the castle to go in town, security protocol obliges, with a soldier. She had asked the captain, as she knew he would want to come. They were going to Xavier’s house. And of course, the captain accepted. After the discussion in the forest, there were still a lot of things he wanted to ask Cassandra, be assured she was well, that she didn’t need any help or else he would gladly offer his.
When they arrived at the forge, Xavier wasn’t there, so they went directly to his house, which was literally the next door. They knocked, and were a bit surprised when Rapunzel went to open, though their surprised face left as soon as she invited them for breakfast with a wide grin. Both Rapunzel and Cassandra were up since barely half an hour.
“Ah, there you are,” said Xavier when he saw them enter. “Come, Cass is in the kitchen. Do you want to take a little something? I made cookies. A bit crunchier than Monty’s, but he’s not open today,” he laughed lightly, as he often did when comparing his kitchen skills with the baker’s.
“Thanks Xavier,” said Arianna, “I already took my breakfast. I’ll take a cookie though. How are your guests today?”
“Amazing!” shouted Rapunzel, coming from behind her. “This town is awesome! I want to know all about it! Will you teach me all about it? Please?”
“One step at a time, please, dear,” said Arianna. “You will know all you want to know about Corona. In time. I have questions first. If you don’t mind.”
“Well, I guess that’s okay. I can wait. I waited eighteen years after all,” sighed the young woman with a pout.
“Rapunzel… that’s not what I meant. It’s just that things are already moving faster than I expected and… there’s this connection to magic I want to understand before doing anything we might regret. I am open minded, but your father, well, he doesn’t see magic as well as I do. I haven’t told him about you yet. I want to do it right. But before, I need to know you more, and you need to know me and the life here more.”
“Right… How long do you think it will take?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m here. When… Shortly before Gothel died, she said something about the Moonstone. Xavier, you knew her. Do you know what she was talking about? And tell us the truth, not the legend.”
“The Moonstone is a myth, said to be the opposite of the Sundrop. But right now, it’s more like a theory. Eons ago, when the Sundrop fell onto the Earth, there was something else. Demanitus thought it was the Moonstone. All lead to say it was. But as far as I remember, it was never found.”
“Are you sure?” checked Arianna. “Or could this be Gothel’s memory spell talking? Frederic told me of a meeting he had with you and a man called Quirin the night Rapunzel was born. Could you have talked of the Moonstone?”
“Frankly, your Majesty, I don’t remember. Part of my memory may still be missing. But this meeting? I can’t say I remember any meeting. Though, well, now that you mention it… No, it was fleeting, but, no I can’t remember any meeting that night. Or maybe… If there was one, it’ll come back sooner or later. The main thing is, right now, we have no way to know the Moonstone is real.”
“Mother told me about the Moonstone,” said Cassandra, taking a pause in her breakfast. “She started saying it was a myth, like you said, but soon, she was telling me I was preparing to find it, to reunite it with the Sundrop. To become powerful. That it was my destiny, or something. Until I met Rapunzel, I didn’t understand why she kept telling me about the Moonstone, and never the Sundrop. I think she never wanted me to find the Sundrop. That she already had it, so there was no need to search for it. But, the Sundrop is inside Rapunzel, and what Mother did was wrong.”
“Yes, it was,” assured Xavier. “But the fact that she told you to prepare for the Moonstone seems a bit strange to me. Right before, well, leaving us, she said that finding the Moonstone would be a way to take revenge over Zhan Tiri and her minions.”
“Zhan who now?” asked Cassandra.
“Zhan Tiri,” repeated Xavier. “She was an ancient demon, sorceress, from another realm. And by realm, I mean reality. She was the one who cast the blizzard during Herz Der Sonne reign, long ago. Demanitus built a device, a portal, that banished her from our realm. This prison of sort is still closed, there’s no way from her side she could go out.”
“So why would my mother want so badly to take revenge on someone who’s basically dead?”
“That, my dear, I fear I can’t tell. Gothel was always different in a way. She did things I didn’t understand. This quest for the Moonstone is a brave one, if the Moonstone does exist.”
“Why don’t we search for it then?” asked Arianna.
Her question met a deafening silence. She took a chair to sit down, following the glances of her friends who frankly, thought the answer was a simple one.
“We can’t, your Majesty. If the Moonstone is real, and we don’t even know it is, then what luck do we possibly have to find it?” asked Xavier.
“I’m with him, your Majesty,” said the captain. “We can’t just leave for a fairy-tale. Assuming that there’s something at the end of this journey, how long would it even be?”
“No one had found it in centuries,” added Xavier. “It could take weeks, but more likely years, generations even, for all we know.”
“And what do the researches Demanitus did say about it?” insisted Arianna.
“That it’s a myth. That if it’s real, its power is certainly the opposite of the Sundrop’s. But, assuming that the Moonstone is real, we don’t even know it’s a stone. I mean, what we call Sundrop appeared as a flower and not a drop. And now, its power is in a person. It was only briefly a drop. For all we know, the Moonstone could be a tree. Or like Rapunzel, could be in a person, or even an animal. With all due respect, there’s so much we don’t know, it would be foolish to go on this quest.”
“But what if we did try to find it?” she insisted.
“Er… If I may,” started Rapunzel with a small voice. “The day before you found us, we were near the ledge where the Sundrop Flower was. And there was this big explosion when my hair touched the rocks around. And those black rocks around the cliff started to move, and they all pointed a way. Could they lead to the Moonstone?”
“Black rocks, you say?” checked Xavier, bringing a hand to his bearded chin in a thoughtful motion.
“Yeah, black rocks, smooth as if polished, but unbreakable,” described Cassandra. “You didn’t see them?”
“There had been reports,” said the captain, “but we never assumed it could be related to magic. Supposed it was some kind of erosion. We never investigated further. The king had asked us not to. And even if we did connect them to magic, we would never have thought it was this Moonstone.”
“But it can be,” admitted Xavier. “This changes everything. We could send explorers check this path of black rocks. But frankly, we still don’t know if it’s really the Moonstone.”
“Don’t be such a kill-joy, Xavier,” said Arianna. “This may be the best lead we have so far. You will go. You know magic best. And if they’re okay with that, I’d like my daughter and her friend to accompany you.”
“Your Majesty, you can’t be serious!” exclaimed the captain. “Your daughter has just been found, after all those years! You can’t just send her away like this!”
“Captain. Please. Rapunzel holds the Sundrop, or so, that’s what I understood. Cassandra has been told she had to find this Moonstone. And Xavier knows magic better than any of us in this room. And you have your place in the guard. I want to go with them, or at least you to go with them, but we have to stay here in Corona. And unless you know someone who could take your place, and a reason for your departure, or mine, that my husband won’t suspect, then we both have to stay.”
“I… Right, you’re right, your Majesty.”
Admitting his defeat in this argument he couldn’t win against a royal, the captain went to sit on a nearby chair, with a loud sigh he hoped would still show his disagreement. They all stayed like that a while, no one really wanting to reopen the discussion. Xavier offered another round of cookies, which all accepted silently, but none dared speak again of the Moonstone.
A bell chimed outside the house. Xavier looked through the window and sighed.
“It’s one of the neighbor’s kids. Guess his toy is broken again. I shouldn’t be long.”
He opened the door and left, making sure no one from outside could peek into the house, which resulted in a suspect movement to close the leaf. They heard him talk to the kid and level a metallic object in front of his eyes, toy that looked like a simple game of cogs and gears. Xavier nodded, and went in direction of the forge. Some teeth were twisted after a bad fall on the cobblestones of the street. Not a big reparation, it would be done soon.
Inside the house, the guests watched him work. They didn’t want to talk again of the previous discussion. Arianna had made her decision, she expected the others, mostly the captain, to understand her choice. If, for any reason, he disagreed, she didn’t want him to go to king Frederic. That could ruin this barely thought about plan. And the kingdom too, would the king order a search party to follow the black rocks.
When the room started to feel too oppressive, Rapunzel left without a word, only whispering something in Cassandra’s ear that the other woman seemed to understand perfectly. The second one to leave was the captain, who after checking the time, realized he had to go back in the training grounds for the day’s training session. He left politely, nodding to the queen, Cassandra and Xavier when he was outside.
“Well… It’s only the two of us now,” noticed Arianna when he was gone.
“Yeah…”
“Cassandra, if I may, would you go on this journey I suggested? You said your mother prepared you for this… But, after all she has done to you, and to my daughter, I don’t want to be like I’m taking her place, and forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“No, it’s okay,” assured Cassandra, unconvinced by her own voice.
“I don’t know what to expect of this journey, truly,” admitted Arianna. “But I do know that you’ve been held away for too long. And I trust Xavier to help you, so you and Rapunzel can be ready, one day, to come back, at your own pace.”
“And if this journey tells us we don’t want to come back here, in Corona?”
Arianna stayed silent, her head low. The idea of the journey had come so fast, so unprepared, she hadn’t yet thought of that possibility.
“We’ll come back,” assured Cassandra, seeing her face.
“Thank you. You… you’ve lost your mother, but you know, here you can have people who love you.”
“I already have Rapunzel.”
“I noticed. Hum… I know it’s impolite to spy, though yesterday, I saw you dance from my balcony. You were far away. But I knew you were happy. I don’t want to take that away.”
Cassandra couldn’t hide her giggle.
“You really think that?” she asked the queen.
“Yes. I don’t know how much of the world and the ways of the cities the captain told you, but some people will look at you strangely. Not because you were kept alone in a cottage in the woods or a tower for years. But because you love each other.”
“They would?”
“Sadly, yes. But I won’t. After all you’ve been through, after all you’ve lived, even if I know far from everything you’ve lived, I know you are each other’s anchor in this world. And I will never take that away. You and Rapunzel know best how to care for each other. To take you away from each other would only destroy all you’ve started to build together. That’s also why I can’t propose to only one of you to go on this journey. If you want to.”
“I… Thank you, for understanding.”
“Always, Cassandra, always… Now, for this journey… I will see if I can let you have a carriage or a caravan. You have a horse. She’s beautiful by the way. Does she have a name?”
“Not yet. But we’ll find her one. She’ll stay with us. She’s faithful.”
“In my mother tongue, faithful is translated “fidèle”. Would Fidella be a good name for her?”
“Fidella? I’m sure she’ll like it,” assured Cassandra with a smile.
“You could ask Xavier to make her a name plate if you want.”
“We’ll see. I have to ask Rapunzel first.”
“Of course… Cassandra, do you want to know another reason I want you to go with Rapunzel and Xavier?”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“It’s because I know you fight well. The captain told me he trained you in secret. And though I don’t thoroughly approve this secret training, I trust that he trained you well. And that if anything happened, you’ll know how to defend yourself and your friends.”
“Thank you for you trust, but… It still feels a bit weird, if I may. I mean, Raps and I left the tower what? Few days ago, less than a week, that’s sure. And now, you appear, you’re kind, understanding. And now you get us on a quest to find what Mother wanted me to find my whole life. It’s a lot to take in.”
“I know. Take your time. You don’t have to leave soon. You and Rapunzel can stay as long as you need to. Weeks, months… As long as you need to… We have to find you a caravan anyway…”
Arianna seemed to wait for a reaction, an answer, but Cassandra was thoughtful, and stayed silent.
“Well, I’d better go see my daughter,” she said with a warm smile, before taking a short pause to look back at Cassandra. “You, know, it’s weird for me too. For years, I feared I’d only talk about my daughter when diplomats would bring their condolences, and I would never have known her. And now, I know her, I know she’s healthy, happy, and in good company. And the fear is gone. And that’s thanks to you, Cassandra. I… I’ll go see Rapunzel.”
She turned around, and left the room, going up the stairs where Rapunzel went not long before. And Cassandra was alone in the room, with only a cup of tea and the remaining cookies as only company. Even Rapunzel’s chameleon, Pascal, was upstairs in the room Xavier had given them. Owl, who had been mostly on his own since the encounter at the campsite, was with Fidella in Xavier’s garden, for lack of real stables at his house.
They would leave. One day, to go on a quest. But before, they needed a good rest. The queen was right. She couldn’t make them blend into this life they knew nothing of, neither could she make them go away on this quest without any time to prepare. And so, all that was to do at the moment was waiting. But it was a good wait. They knew something was coming. They weren’t waiting for nothing with empty dreams Mother kept filling them with. Now, they had a goal. And they would reach it.
~ ~ ~
Away, far away yet not that much, two people walked. There were far from being together. Miles separated them. And they weren’t going the same way. They had fell from the sky only a day ago, when the black rocks caused the explosion in Corona. They knew what this explosion meant. They had to find something. Something precious they were to find centuries ago already. Something they hadn’t found yet.
Both believed that by finding the artifact, the other would break on Earth an evil who was well imprisoned and who should most certainly stay that way. One of them knew that was the worst idea possible. The other, though, hadn’t change her mind. They had lived for millennia with the evil being. They had been used by her when she tried to escape from her prison. No more. She thought them faithful. She shouldn’t.
Yet, for as long as they believed the other one would be against them, a silent war was on. And who wage a war shall find allies.