Flynn Rider had abandoned them. That was all Cassandra could think about as she swung her sword up at the burly man who assaulted her.
Lousy. She jabbed.
No good. She parried.
Second rate. She twisted the blade.
Thief. A forceful swing knocked the man's sword from his hand. He dove after the weapon as Cassandra advanced.
"You're under - Aah!" Her arrest announcement was foiled as he threw dirt in her face. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, only to feel her feet being kicked out from under her.
Rolling out of the way, she got back on her feet and charged. This time, the man was ready for her. His sword cut into her arm. She would have ignored the pain if she hadn't heard the neighing of Maximus.
Her head flipped around and she saw her father lying on the ground, the twin of her attacker standing over him preparing to deliver the final blow. The horses had been forced onto the narrow ledge, her dad between them and the attacker. They'd have to trample the Captain to attack the twin. Cassandra gave her attacker one final push before rushing at the other man.
He blocked her sword with ease, knocking it out of her hand, throwing her to the ground. With her father unconscious, she didn't stand much chance against these men.
Rolling under the sword, Cassandra grabbed onto her father. Maybe she could apparate them away?
Before she could cast the spell, one of her assailants snatched the back of her tunic, yanking her up.
"Feisty, ain't she?" he said, twisting her arm behind her back. "I see why Flynn wanted to wait."
Cassandra stopped struggling, "What do you know about Flynn?"
"Flynn Rider. Our partner. It was his idea to lead you out here where you'd be all alone," the man said, his voice gravely. Cassandra's heart trembled. A minute ago, she'd thought Flynn was just a coward. Now she knew. He was a traitor.
Her father groaned. She wasn't alone. She had to forget Flynn for now and get her dad to safety. She stepped hard on the foot of her captor. He shoved her down and raised his sword. Cassandra braced herself, shielding her father. Before the blow could come, Maximus and Fidella stomped hard on the ground. The ledge started to crumble. Cassandra held onto her father and rolled him off the side of the mountain, crashing down several feet.
She was aware enough to note that the Stabbington brothers hadn't landed within sight, if they'd fallen at all, which she hadn't seen. Sensing that she and her father were safe, she gave into the darkness as it came over her.
Rapunzel, unaware of what was going on in the rest of the world, waited with her mother in Professor Toothiana's office. Nervously, she fingered her hair, catching the long strands and then releasing them. As the minutes dragged on, Rapunzel bit her lip.
"Are you sure about this, Mother?" she asked. Gothel patted her on the head.
"Of course, my dear. Mother knows best, you know."
"I know, I know," Rapunzel said, squeezing her eyes shut, "but this feels ... wrong."
Gothel laughed in her face, "My dear, what would you know about right from wrong? Trust me. This issue is much too complicated for a poor little girl like yourself. Leave the decisionmaking to us grown ups."
"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel said with a sigh. The room was dark when Tooth finally came in. The large fairy leaned heavily on the door as she shut it. Her limp wings and feathers drooped as she made her way to the desk. Her violet eyes looked so tired.
"Are you alright?" Rapunzel asked. Tooth gave her half a smile.
"Fine. I'm fine, dear," Tooth said, smoothing the feathers on her head.
"Maybe I should come back later," Rapunzel started to suggest.
"NO!" Gothel said. "Classes are over. This is your only chance. Do it now, before everyone leaves for Christmas break."
"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel said.
Tooth smiled, "Good. Good. So after my spell, you'll go home, right?"
"I have the portkey all arranged and I've already sent her trunk home," Gothel said.
Tooth nodded and took Rapunzel and Gothel's hands, "Okay. Let's go."
Jack looked to the sky. The storm had ceased but the damage was done. Four children were hurt and it was his fault. He never should have taken them out in the storm.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed back to the Slytherin Dungeons. He gave the password and went straight to his room, stretching out on the bed, feeling awful.
No sooner had he laid down than he heard the pounding of feet and saw the door flying open. All the Slytherin adults, led by Mr. Gaunt, stormed in. Gaunt marched across the room and loomed over Jack.
"You have to go," Gaunt commanded.
"What?" Jack asked, pushing himself up.
"You promised me all purebloods would be safe around you," Gaunt said accusingly, "yet your foolishness has done damage to the purest one of all. Sally Slytherin lies in the Infirmary because of you."
Jack turned from Gaunt to look at the others. They all bore similar hardened frowns. Jack opened his mouth to fight, but then closed it. They were right. The very thought of purebloods being right made him sick. But nevertheless, they were right. He had broken his promise.
Wordlessly, Jack gathered up his belongings and shoved them all into his trunk as the Slytherins stood sneering. A few even snickered as Jack made his way out of the dungeon.
Jack paused beside Mother Nature's door, but she had it sealed with vines. He kept going, heading up, back towards the hospital wing. That's where the other children were staying. Maybe he could take refuge there.
When Jack reached the Infirmary, he paused by the door, seeing Merida kneeling next to a bed. Maybe she'd cooled off and would accept his apology now.
Setting his trunk down at the entrance, he walked over to her.
"Hey, how are the boys -"
Merida turned and shoved him.
"This is YOUR fault!" she screamed in his face, tears running down her cheeks. "You've hurt me brothers. Worse. You've hurt all witches!"
"What?" Jack asked, incredulously. Sure, the boys getting hurt wasn't a great outcome, but that seemed like a stretch.
Merida brushed away her tears, "We had a deal. My dad and I. He'd stop persecuting witches for the safe return of the boys."
"Merida, I'm sorry -"
Merida's eyes glowered, "Now it's ruined. You make a mess of everything. Get out. I never want to see you again. And stay away from me brothers."
Merida turned back to the boys. Jack tried to apologize again, but Merida wouldn't even look at him. Feeling more dejected and alone he turned back to the hall. Forget staying in the Infirmary. But where could he go?
"Jack." A sharp voice came from a side classroom. Jack went in and found his head of house, Emily Jane Pitchiner.
"Yes?" Jack said.
"She's right," Mother Nature said, her voice icy.
"What?"
"You hurt those children."
Jack's heart froze. "No. I didn't -, I wouldn't -"
She walked towards him, her manner cold, "You did. This storm? It is you."
"No. It couldn't be," Jack stammered in disbelief. "I couldn't stop it."
"I know weather," she said. "I am often the cause of it. But this is not me. This was you. You. Overzealous to have a snow day. You started a storm last night and lost control. Merida is right. Mr. Gaunt is right. It is best you leave. Leave this house. Leave the school."
Jack's heart fell. It was not the first time he'd been expelled, but the last time was Pitch Black, a teacher who openly hated him. Emily Jane, on the other hand, had always been fair, or at least neutral. If she thought Jack was behind the blizzard … maybe he really was.
His world shaken, Jack grabbed his staff and flew off, leaving snowflake tears on his way out.
Flynn gasped as he came out on the other side of the gate. His eyes were met with towers. Lots and lots of spiraling towers covered in shimmering pastel tiles, twisting down from the mountain ledges around the hidden valley.
Keeping to the shadows, Flynn got closer. It took a moment for him to realize all the towers were swarming with tiny birds.
Creeping closer, he wondered not only where the princess's teeth would be, but how he would get to them. Some of the towers seemed to be floating in mid-air.
As he moved closer in, a tiny bird flitted by his head. It squawked at him. He almost jumped. It wasn't a bird at all, but a tiny fairy that looked surprisingly like his old history teacher.
The bird-like fairy cocked her head and darted down, grabbing his bag.
Flynn looked around. The other fairies either hadn't noticed him or were ignoring him. This little one didn't seem to be sounding any kind of alarm. She flew a few feet in front of him.
Swinging his bag further behind his back, Flynn followed the fairy deeper into the valley.
She led him to an outcropping of stone. Leaning over the edge, he could see a spiraling tower extending down. Carefully, he gripped the delicate golden decorations and climbed down.
As he climbed down, he noticed that each tile on the column held a smiling child's face.
The fairy led him down to a wide pavilion. She kept close to the column with the faces. As she slowed down, he started to recognize some of the faces. They looked remarkably like the children at the orphanage.
"Flynn," a voice he recognized called. Flynn almost jumped. He hadn't heard from Lance Strongbow since he'd fallen in with the Stabbington brothers. Lance was several years older than Flynn. He'd aged out of the system before Flynn ran away. During the first few years after Flynn got expelled, they'd pulled a few jobs together. Despite their friendship, they had different goals in thefts and Lance tended to use more extreme measures than Flynn was willing to go in for.
He looked around for his friend, but he was still in Tooth Palace, surrounded only by fairies.
"Flynn!" Lance called again. The voice sounded closer, and Flynn realized it was coming from the column. The fairy guide stopped right in front of a tile where the voice was strongest. Flynn looked down at the wall. There among the face tiles he spotted his own. Flynn stuck his fingers into the diamond hole and pulled out a cylinder. The fairy put her hand on it. Before Flynn could copy her, there was a loud pop and fluttering. Flynn slipped the cylinder into his satchel and slipped down the edge of the tower, under the platform he'd been on.
Just in time, too. The flurry of wings landed almost on top of him.
"They're arranged by continent," Professor Toothiana said. Flynn had to stop himself from gasping. Of all the blasts from his past, the history teacher was not one he expected.
"Here, this tower represents most of the Coronians living today," Professor Tooth went on.
"Yes, yes, get on with it," a woman said impatiently. Flynn felt like he'd heard her voice before, but couldn't place it.
"Wow," a young woman's voice said. Flynn didn't need to guess on this one. The end of her hair hung over the pavilion, directly in his face. Only one girl had hair long enough to dangle that far if her head wasn't in sight. Princess Rapunzel. The very girl whom he was looking for.
"Okay, so obviously you'll both want to keep your memories," Professor Toothiana said. "Ah, here's Rapunzel's!"
Flynn scooched himself up so he could see where she took the tube from, using Rapunzel's hair to keep him out of Professor Tooth's view.
Tooth handed Rapunzel her tube and started to fly around the tower.
"Strange, I don't see yours, Madame Gothel."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll find mine. Rapunzel, do that summoning spell," Gothel commanded.
"Accio Mother's teeth!" Rapunzel shouted, pulling out her wand. Flynn didn't see where the teeth came from. Some other column. She must not be native Coronian, he assumed.
"And, of course, the Guardians," Tooth said, darting to another tower.
While Tooth was distracted, Flynn spotted Gothel break a small egg behind her back, where Rapunzel couldn't see. A second tube flew into her hands. There was no way for Flynn to tell who's teeth they were, but the cylinder was black, not gold like the others.
The Tooth Fairy pulled out six cylinders from a central column and handed them to Gothel, "Anyone else who should know the truth?"
"No."
"My friends!" Rapunzel said.
"Rapunzel," Gothel scolded. "How many times have I told you. Erasing everyone's memory will only work if it's everyone. Even if your friends don't mean to harm you, they may spoil our plans."
"She's right," Tooth said, cocking her head. "I was often betrayed in my youth. But it's your secret, so it's your right to control who knows the truth or not."
"Why don't we compromise," Gothel said. "You can let one friend remember. Jack. He's the secret keeper after all. He'll remember the truth. And if he thinks it's safe, you can tell your other friends."
Gothel glared at Rapunzel with a look that made Flynn's blood run cold. The younger girl bowed her head and consented to the arrangement. The Tooth Fairy waved her arms and a pink bubble surrounded the three women.
Flynn held his breath as he realized his torso was in the bottom of the bubble now surrounding them. He grabbed his teeth and held them up to the top of the platform inside the bubble as he listened to the Tooth Fairy chant. All the columns shimmered, the fairies shuttered in their places. Slowly, the bubble around his head dissipated until he was in open air again.
"It is done," the Tooth Fairy said.
"Thank you," Rapunzel said. The fairy put all the teeth away, handing Gothel's off to a smaller fairy to put away. Flynn didn't know exactly what had happened, but he realized that he'd saved his memories from being affected by it. The Tooth Fairy flew Rapunzel and Gothel away. Once Flynn was sure they were gone, he climbed back onto the pavilion.
The fairy who first took him to his memories grabbed at his sleeve. The meaning was clear. He was only supposed to take his own memories. Flynn swatted the fairy away, he took the teeth identified as Rapunzel's and slipped them into his bag.
The fairy squawked and the other fairies swarmed around him. Time to go.
Rapunzel's stomach turned as she and Mother Gothel portkeyed back to the tower. Being unconnected to the Floo, and having no broom or skill to apparate meant that portkeys were the only way to get to and from of the tower now. Rapunzel didn't mind. She was finally free.
Once her body had adjusted to the new location she looked up at Mother, unable to stop the wide grin.
"I can't believe I did it."
Gothel gave a wry smile, "Yes, dear. You finally listened to me. Good girl. Now. Mummy is feeling a little run down, so ... please."
"Oh, of course." Rapunzel ran to get the chair, stool and brush. Gothel took her seat and brushed the hair as Rapunzel sang.
"Flower, gleam and glow..." The hair glowed. Mother grew younger. Once the deed was done, Rapunzel turned to her mother. "So, I've been thinking about my new identity."
Gothel rolled her eyes and leaned away from the girl. Rapunzel bit her lip, but kept going.
"I want something similar to my life. But without the hair. Do you think I could introduce myself as ... Rebecca or something?"
Gothel scowled, then started to smile, "Why worry your little head about this now, my pet? You have many more days to decide."
"But -" Rapunzel started. Gothel put her finger on Rapunzel's lip.
"Now, now, no need for you to shout."
"I wasn't -" Rapunzel tried to say. Gothel shook her head and laughed.
"My dear, you can't do anything right. Why do you think you could come up with a convincing fake identity?"
"But I -"
"Rapunzel, I said NO! I do not want to hear about your silly identity!" Gothel yelled. Rapunzel took a step back as Gothel rubbed her temple. "Great. Now I'm the bad guy."
Rapunzel bit her lip as Gothel grabbed her hair and went to the window.
"I'm going down to make sure the spell worked and get supplies for the winter."
The older woman slid down the hair to the ground, leaving Rapunzel watching from the window.
Pascal crawled out from the place he was hiding in her bodice. He gave a small chirp and pointed down to the ground with his tail.
"No, Pascal," Rapunzel said softly. "Mother is right. I don't know if the spell worked. I have to wait. It seems like I'm always waiting."
Rapunzel watched the trees blowing in the gentle breeze. She couldn't help but wonder, when would her life begin?
Hiccup felt good about the meeting with the king as he flew back to Hogwarts. Toothless enjoyed the night flight and Hiccup let him have free rein, chasing bats and owls in the cold night. He was in no hurry to get back to the school.
The meeting with King Fergus went as well as he could have hoped. Despite keeping a calm exterior, especially in front of Astrid, Hiccup had felt weak-kneed the entire time. A small part of him expected Merida to turn on him, draw her sword and stab Toothless. He knew it was just a nightmare, but the fear remained. Merida was his friend. She would not betray him. And if she ever did ... it would only be because someone was controlling her.
Toothless took him over the Scottish border and Hiccup noticed that this time he didn't get the terrible fright that initially kept him away. Maybe the meeting with the king had done something to ease his fears. After all, the king did swear that Scotland would not attack the Barbaric Archipelago. And he was going to stop sanctioning the people persecuting wizards. It was the most they could have expected. All Merida had to do was hand over her little brothers, safe and sound. What could go wrong?
Toothless descended on the lawn just after midnight. Hiccup fed him before heading in to bed. He was so tired. His eyes wanted to pop out of his head and never see light again. He barely noticed that his roommates were up. It was the last day before winter break. Of course they'd be too excited to sleep. He laid down intent on a good night's sleep, until he heard Crispin say:
"Serves the mudblood right."
Hiccup's eyes flashed open. He'd never heard Hufflepuffs using slurs like that. They tended to be loyal and accepting of everyone. Without getting up, Hiccup listened to their conversation.
"I still think she ought to kill the little beasts. Teach the king what it's like to have your family hunted."
"Don't say that," William said. "It's not her fault her father's daft."
"I'm not saying it is. But she's got some power over him, don't she? Otherwise he'd have attacked the school to get the triplets back. Why can't she use that power to help the little folks, instead of spending it all on those boys?"
The only triplets in the school were Merida's brothers. Hiccup was much more alert.
"Can you blame her?" William asked. "I mean, if my brother was dying, I'd probably be up there yelling at everyone, too."
Hiccup threw back his covers, "What happened?"
The boys looked at him. William answered, "All the kids were playing outside, but there was an accident with Merida's brothers. Now they're in the Infirmary."
"I heard the nurse say one of 'em might not make it," Crispin said.
Hiccup raced out of the room, up to the Infirmary. As he reached the area, he noticed no noise. No noise save a lone woman crying. Odd for a room so full of refugees.
He pushed his way into the room and found Merida kneeling at the bed of a red haired boy. Either Harris, Hamish, or Hubert. Hiccup couldn't tell. Hiccup didn't need to know which of her brothers was hurt. He sat down next to Merida and looked over the boy.
He was pale, and lying still as death. Merida leaned over him, her hands clasped in prayer.
He put his hand on Merida's shoulder and she started to cry.
"I'm so sorry, Hiccup," she whispered.
Hiccup took her hand. "It's okay."
"Your island - our treaty is ruined."
"We can worry about it later," Hiccup said. He would worry about his island. She had enough to deal with.
"But -" Merida said.
"Your parents don't know yet," Hiccup said matter-of-factly. "I'm sure your brother will be alright by the time of the transfer."
"And if he's not?" Merida said, looking uncertainly at the unmoving body.
"Hey, we've got magic. I bet you they're back to normal in a few days … and if it takes a little longer, I will deal with the political fall out. You focus on them as family."
Hiccup reached out to hug Merida and she broke down.
"Thanks," she said into his shoulder. He patted her head. People on Berk didn't comfort each other like this, but it felt nice. Now ... back to square one with saving Berk.
After creating a massive snow storm in Siberia, Jack felt better. The boys being hurt wasn't really his fault. Even if he had made the storm, he told them not to go out without him, didn't he? They should have listened.
He settled down on a snow mound, wondering what to do now. He had no home. His family wouldn't take him back as long as he had magic, he'd ruined his friends' lives … Nobody wanted him.
He looked around the frozen landscape. He could make a house out of ice. Maybe an ice castle? That would be fun. But it didn't really fit his style.
Jack had just decided to make a fun house when he heard the crying. Summoning some wind, he flew above the landscape until he saw a gray cloak blowing in the wind. Jack landed next to the speck. A small child was digging at the snow.
"Mommy!" the child cried.
"Oh man," Jack said, landing next to them. "I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was out here."
Jack twirled his staff and a strong gust of wind blew the snow off the woman. Jack helped pull her out, but it was obvious she was freezing. Her body was so cold … Jack couldn't tell if she was breathing. He quickly tore off his cloak to cover the woman and made an ice wall around them to keep out the wind.
The child stared at him in horror.
Jack quickly pulled out his wand and cast a spell to make a fire.
"What are you doing out her in the middle of nowhere?" Jack asked.
"We … we're looking for the magic place. Santa Claus."
"Santoff Claussen?" Jack guessed.
"Yes. That's where mommy said," the child sniffled, curling up to his mother.
Jack looked out into the wilderness. He'd made quite the storm. It would be hard for anyone to find anything in this. He had to make it right.
Suddenly, he started flying. He'd felt this way before, when Nightlight took over his body. Nightlight knew where Santoff Claussen was. Nightlight could guide him.
Jack didn't see the town, even after Nightlight landed him in front of a giant oak tree. But since Nightlight was no longer taking charge, this must be the place.
"HELP!" Jack cried out. Several doors opened. Doors that came out of nature. The tree bark, the mushrooms … all of it opened up to admit several people. But from the biggest tree came someone Jack knew. Headmaster Ombric.
"Jack?" he questioned.
"There's a woman, she's freezing, it's my fault," Jack explained as quickly as possible. "Help."
"Of course," Ombric rushed out of his house. Professor Katherine appeared beside them, flying on her goose. Jack took them to the child and his mother, still encased in an ice shelter.
Ombric quickly checked over the woman while Katherine handled the crying child.
"She's dead," Ombric pronounced.
Jack's heart fell. The purebloods were right. The Muggles were right. His friends were right. He was a danger to people. He'd killed someone. And unlike Merida's brothers, there was no way to spin this as anyone else's fault. Without waiting for any judgment from the Guardians, Jack twirled his staff and flew off, trying to hold everything in as he went.