Meaghan's POV: The Twilight Guardian

The remainder of my evening was rather uneventful. King Frederic was merciful enough to let me stay in a guest room close to the Royal Family. Rapunzel, her lady-in-waiting Cassandra, and I had time to meet and get to know each other. The Princess was very fond of me, but Cass was less than enthused. That said, she was still sociable and engaged in all of our conversations. I shared with them what I shared with the men, including my alternative form, and how I desperate I was to get back to the Keep. It was very kind of Raps to offer her support, but even I knew that there wasn't much she could do outside of Corona. The island-kingdom needed her there. Eventually, Eugene entered the scene and apologized to me for coming off as a jerk. Truth be told, I didn't think he was being one, so it was easy to forgive him and we got along fairly well afterwards.

For the first time since I left the comfort of my apartment, I felt the most at ease, save for the weird, fluffy sensation in my stomach. It grew stronger as I had transformed, yes, and I was slowly beginning to recall what it meant. I didn't know whether I liked said sensation or not. I felt Casey's presence, at least that much was realized. I wondered, though, if she could feel mine, too, or was that connection broken in the years I wasn't around?

As much as I wanted to stay awake, I was drained physically, emotionally, and socially, and even my new friends saw it. I bid them all good night with some regret, dragged my tired self to the draped beauty that was a palace bed, and crashed with the final thought of seeing everyone, especially a certain Benbow resident. Maybe I'd see him when I got there? I was afraid of the idea, for one or two reasons.

The morning was chilly in Corona as the front had started settling in. It wasn't bad enough for a lack of foot traffic, but there were noticeably a few less people on the streets with bundling clothes in an effort to keep warm. The blooms from all of the flowers appeared shy, even as the ever-radiant sun rose high.

His Majesty, King Frederic, walked away from the throne room, a somber look on his face. Arianna, his wife and Queen of Corona, realized his look of concern and placed her hand on his shoulder, slowing him down to a complete stop as he turned towards her.

"Honey," her gentle voice broke the silence between them, "what did Yen Sid say? What are we going to expect?"

Her husband brought a bear-sized hand up the small woman's face with such a soft motion.

"Arianna, my darling," spoke he, "it is much worse than we feared. Maleficent has broken the treaty of peace by attacking a refugee under the Day Guardian's watch. She grows ever angrier, and we both believe that with a returning Guardian, she will be sure to cause more terror among the realms. Meaghan must return to the Magic Kingdom by tonight's end if we are to continue fighting."

"Dad? Mom?"

The Princess ran up to her parents, her braided hair flowing behind her. Having heard everything, she sounded terribly heartbroken. "Is there anything Eugene, Cass, or I can do? She couldn't possibly travel alone, not if she doesn't know which way to go." Behind her were both her lady-in-waiting and her husband, whom the Royals assumed heard their conversation, as well.

Frederic sighed. It was hard enough to prepare the guardsmen to act as a whole army in the face of danger. He didn't want to lose those that mattered most to him. Not again. Even so, he knew he had to act, and so he came up with a solution.

"Cassandra," he began as he looked at the dark-haired handmaiden, "while your father is away, I'm counting on you to take his place and do what needs to be done. Take control of his men however you see fit and defend Corona with your life. Eugene," the King paused, "Yen Sid specifically requested your presence. For what, he did not say. Just that you had an important role to play in this war."

The former thief's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting such a request. "W-Wait a sec!" He waved his hands in front of him. "But, you and I already had plans to- What about Blondie? If Cass and I are elsewhere, what about her?"

"I trust that Cassandra can exercise both of her roles. She also has us," he said as he motioned towards him and his wife. "It's okay, Son. She won't be alone."

Rapunzel reached out and held her beloved's hand, giving him a reassuring smile. "No one said it was going to be easy, but I'm sure we can hold our own."

Her Highness, Queen Arianna, spoke up. "Please, Eugene… someone needs to go with Meaghan, and it can't be any of us. You're the only one who can accomplish this task."

Eugene indeed thought about what was being asked of him. He knew his way around places, including shortcuts, traps, all that stuff, but to leave his family and friends behind was asking a lot. And to help out a pretty weird wolf-woman who turned out to be a Guardian, of all things? It was a risk worth taking.

"Okay, I'll go." The first person he looked to was his Princess as he took both of her hands and gazed into her perfect green eyes. "Rapunzel, I don't know how long I'll be gone for, but I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. I can write, send a lantern-"

"Eugene," the blond interrupted as she kissed his lips, "your first priority is to be safe. I believe that you will be every good thing and more on your journey."

He smiled warmly at her before turning back to his father-in-law, a more determined expression gracing his face. "Your Majesty, is there a route you know that can get us there as quickly as possible?"

"I do. From the river where you discovered Rapunzel's powers and an hour north is a mirror. Few individuals know of it, but if you seek it, you will find it. That is your ticket to entering the kingdom. Now," Frederic patted the consort's back, "I have to let Cassandra in on our current status. We will see you off, and know that you both have my highest hopes and wishes."

Eugene and I had been on horseback for a while now, maybe four hours with small breaks in-between. The departure from Corona was both wholesome and heartbreaking. I was sure that Yen Sid had a really good plan, but it still sucked to see the wedded two parted. We only took the white horse, Max, as I had only a little horseback experience. It was nighttime, though, and we had made some excellent progress. The forest around us was breathtaking, even in the darkness. Owls hooted from many distances, and the bugs were at a minimum as the cold front continued to close in. The stars were the brightest I had ever seen since the one time I used the telescopes that planetariums had in their possession. Then and there, my mind was blown. The moon was absent this night, giving us excellent cover from potential thieves, predatory animals, what have you.

"How long have we got left," I asked as I desperately tried to keep my backside from bouncing so much. In a full sprint, it can get pretty painful and somehow numbing altogether.

"A few more hours. Are you holding up alright?"

"Yeah, I'm maybe so-so at the moment,"

He looked confused. "Should we stop and give you a minute?"

"Oh, nononononono, please don't," I pleaded. "It's my emotions, not my physical well-being, that are going all fifty-fifty on me."

"That right? What's got you so bothered?" He gave me this genuine look of, "Hey, wanna talk about it?" and I sighed. I didn't want to rant at him. Heck, we had only met the previous day! I shook my head. "It's not you, Eugene, I swear. I'd just hate for you to think I'm a complaining person."

"No, I already know you're not one of the whiners. If you were, we'd have heard a lot of it since the interrogation, and that would be the biggest crick in the neck!" He grinned in a humorous fashion, and that alone convinced to open up and smile back.

"Hahaha, thanks for that." I took a moment to find words, and when I did, it took a while to say them. "You know how I said it had been years since I did this?"

"Yeah?"

"And, you know how time, regardless of length, does things to people? Transforms them into something different, subtly or otherwise, like you and Punzy?"

He shrugged casually. "I mean, yeah, but where are you getting at with this?"

"I mean to say that I changed a lot, and not always for the better. I've been tainted, and a lot, not all, but a lot of the innocence I had in my teen years is no longer there. I've glorified in some pretty shady things from time to time, learned some bad habits that I continue now, and I just feel terrible at the thought of not being the once-shining model of goodness much anymore."

"And… you feel you're not worthy to carry the title and responsibility of Guardian, even though you're still acting on it?"

It was my turn to shrug. "I suppose, yeah. I truly mean well, but even now, I get this feeling that no one will want me to fight by their side because of how much I've changed. The people I look up to, I fear that I will be nothing to them. Even Maleficent said-"

"Okay, Missy, you can stop right there," the male interrupted. "Whatever Maleficent told you is already a bunch of funk. Think of it this way…" He cleared his throat and smiled with a daring sense to him. "As you most likely know, I grew up living the life of an orphan-tuned-thief, a liar, and some other pretty nasty stuff. There was," he stated as a chuckle escaped him, "nooooo way I had any redeeming qualities, anything that would change my mind and put me on a different path. Then I met Blondie when I escaped the royal guards and Maxie here," said he as he patted the horse. "Rapunzel, in spite of having almost no communication with other people and the outside world, managed to find the best in me, and eventually, I knew I needed to change. Not just for me, but I wanted to be the kind of guy that she deserved. So, if there's a moral to this story, I'd say don't freak out about your past and how you think folks are going to see you. You're here now, willing to fight the good fight because you care for those fighting in it. If anything, that's the most noble thing they'll see and appreciate. What do you think?"

I couldn't help myself when I smiled from ear to ear like an complete idiot. I hadn't thought about it like that at all. My mind reflected on how many times I had still done the right thing in my time as a Cadet, been there for my friends to help give the best possible advice, and all the happiness I accumulated in meeting new friends, made all the greatest memories, and everything good and bad that came from my experiences that shaped me into being a better person. It gave me a new perspective that I thought I could be proud of a little bit.

"Thanks, dude. I really appreciate the motivating speech."

He grinned triumphantly and pretended to punch my shoulder a titch. "Hey, what are friends for?"

"Friends," I repeated, "so soon after meeting me?"

"Not now, but by the time all this war business is over, we might as well be!"

We spent the rest of our travels chit-chatting sharing our life experiences, how he liked living in a palace as opposed to his old life, and how I liked playing group games like Dungeons and Dragons. Just jolly ways to pass the time until we reached our destination north of the river. We searched on all sides of the road, his head to the left, mine to the right, and Max's was straight forward; it was like this for a solid fifteen minutes or so before Max whinnied at a glimmering object in the distance. Eugene was the one that hopped off, carrying a lantern in hand. Sure enough, this was a tall mirror summoned by magic.

It was roughly eight feet tall and half its height was its width. The border was golden in color with elongated vines and fanned out leaves spreading outward. It reminded me of a few mirrors I had seen in antique stores and Goodwill that closely matched its design, but this one… it was thoroughly enchanted. When we saw our own reflections, we also saw the Magic Kingdom in the distance. We were so dang close! All we had to do was pass through it and report to the King, Mickey!

"Shorty, take Max and go in first; I'll follow you."

"What, you sense something?"

"What? No! Whatever happened to ladies first?"

I laughed aloud as Max and I zoomed past him, faking a posh, hoity-toity voice. "Oh, you're such a gentleman, Eugene. Thank you!"

His laugh followed mine as we passed the glass without a hitch. When we turned around, there was nothing but more woods behind us, but in front of us… Damn. It was a most beautiful sight that I missed. That Eugene had never seen. We were both absolutely floored by the lights before us, lighting up the Magic Kingdom and neighboring gardens as if it was expecting and inviting us. I jumped off of Max and slowly made my way forward.

"I… I can't believe it," I remarked. "I can't believe we made it here. And it hasn't changed in the slightest!"

"This place is absolutely gorgeous," he agreed as his brown eyes roamed the scenery. "Maybe when all this is done, I could take Blondie here for a lovely honeymoon or something."

I smiled, liking the imagery of his idea. "Assuming we can win this war first, maybe you'll get your chance." Before more was said, I took off into a sprint, desperate to make it to the palace doors. I don't think I could have run any faster than at that moment, even during my PT tests. I was filled with hope and anticipation, built up in my core. I was just ready. Ready to see Mickey, Casey, Quasi, and Jim. Ready to fight for the childhoods of myself and for millions of others.

I was ready to redeem myself.