During the midday, citizens had begun to switch their work shifts as others came to take their place and pick up where someone left off. It took a lot of scheduling and careful placements on who would do what for things to be done quicker as arguments would break out on who wasn't pulling their own weight or old prejudices came between fellows and strangers who came to help that almost nothing was complete. In a desperate effort, Eugene, Lance, and Maxiumus, along with the Pub Thugs and Coronan guards, tried to organize parties to take on whatever needed to be done and help settle small disputes before they escalated.

Anything else such as discussing new settlements and expansion were taken care of by the king and queen, while Rapunzel was sent to carry out their orders in order to prepare her for starting and ending certain tasks. While Rapunzel was eager to help and introduce new ideas after the journey to the Dark Kingdom, more of her suggestions came from not wanting to repeat the mistakes from when she was queen for a day. Sometimes just watching how her parents would deal with certain situations made things easier for Rapunzel to brainstorm her own ideas which she wrote down in her journal. Yet none could've known that their kingdom would suffer such disastrous results, let alone by Zhan Tiri herself, but complaining about the past wouldn't bring them any closer to the future. Even if it was easy to play the blame game and point fingers at everyone, even towards the questionable decisions of the royal family regardless of what their original intentions were.

Originally, even with the knowledge of the black rocks, Quirin and Fredric had conversed on expanding farmland within the kingdom under the guise that more produce meant more wealth which meant more happy citizens. Yet, a lot of resources would've still been needed in order to rebuild and expand the land and within their rights, the kingdom would be able to reconstruct their territory that would soon mark Rapunzel's own reign.

There had been a lot of discussion and planning between Fredric, Quirin, and Rapunzel that the woodlands within and outside the Corona walls would be reasonably cleared for lumber and land for crop expansion, watchtowers would also be established to increase security and survey the project. Many volunteers wished to aid in the work once their homes in the capital were rebuilt, yet before the plans were able to start, other priorities came along which were necessary to provide for the people and their families. In order to make up for the delay, Rapunzel proposed that perhaps criminals within the Coronan dungeons could be volunteered as an act of community service. It was a better idea than just leaving them to stew in bitterness while awaiting a fate in exile on a prison barge or worse. Perhaps some of them would be able to be pardoned for their crimes and reflect on finding a new path for themselves once the work was completed. However time would tell if this plan would actually work or it was just a source of cheap labor while the real Coronans would focus on expanding their kingdom's wealth.

Once Rapunzel and Eugene were outside the Coronan wall, there were already guards setting up markers on which trees would be removed and volunteers began to settle the land or tear up stumps near the wall to make things more hospitable for farmland. Far on a hill, Quirin and Varian were by a work tent, going over blueprints and propositions that would need to be sent for Fredric's approval on how far they were able to expand and whether a new wall would be constructed. Greeting Rapunzel and Eugene before moving onto discussing any further instructions and how long the developments would last even with extra aid. From the shift of the sun, it was time for the work shift which meant that the criminals would be coming to take over the work under supervision by the guard. Not only that, Eugene would also be staying behind as he was expecting Lance, Vladimir, and Ulf to help with the guard in making sure none go past the designated marks. After all, they had to leave plenty of woodland for the animals in order to prevent any future incidents, especially with the farmers.

After their duties were done, Rapunzel made it clear that she would be taking a walk into the woods for a while, clear her head and contemplate on what her next decisions would be for Corona's wellbeing. Perhaps moving around might be good and give everyone a fresh start, or attract some lonely wanderer into Old Corona or the capital to make a home for themselves and could inspire others to do the same. Looking through her sketches of Corona's older maps, Rapunzel debated on how much lumber would be needed to actually fix old plots and construct new homes. It seemed that the expansion would be much easier now that with the black rocks down and make travel easier to help other places that were affected by them, especially if they have an excess of supplies.

"There. What do you think, Pascal?" Rapunzel smiled at her little companion, who was more interested in eating flies that came too close, before looking at the new illustrations. The chameleon raised a brow at the map and shook his head, shrugging that something was lacking.

"Yeah, you're right… It's definitely missing something." And with that Rapunzel went back to scribbling and rearranging various ways on how she could make some things work. Maybe how to find faster routes to the other kingdoms and cities? Or maybe patrols along the roads to deter any criminal activity? What else could she fix? Who else could she be able to help? What was missing?

Maybe she should just give up. Lots of folks in Corona weren't very persuaded in aiding to rebuild the aftermath of Zhan Tiri's attack on the basis of the royal family's decisions and sought to leave if given the chance. In fact, after Varian's attack in Old Corona and the actions of Fredric, many people, even a lot of the guard, had left which gave the kingdom more vulnerability for the Saporian takeover. Each setback from the three incidents were more leverage for people to leave and start anew, forgetting Corona, even with the royal family promising to make better decisions. Many were tired and left the kingdom with less people than it used to in order to seek out better opportunities, while those with children too young, people who were too old, or those who had little to even pay for travel with had all stayed in Corona. Everyone had their own problems to focus on and needed resources for their own families rather than spending any remaining time to fix the business of royals. Some of the other kingdoms saw opportunity in this influx of weary wanderers and were able to welcome them with plenty of room, gloating that if Corona cared for its people, none of this could've happened. Others merely gave temporary sanctuary until Corona was fixed.

There was still so much to do and supplies were running low as Summer would make farming harder and Winter would be dawning upon the land. This gave more worries to the people as the fields that weren't ruined by the black rocks in Old Corona may not be enough for the people. Yet word from the king and queen had stated that Corona's ports for trade supplies and fish would be enough to help keep the kingdom through the Winter until the first snow melted. Even so, Rapunzel had brought up the idea of rations and who would receive what equally, and if they needed more, perhaps arrangements can be made. For now, it was best to focus and take advantage of the early Spring.

The more she walked and scribbled in her journal, the more Rapunzel ventured deeper into the woods, sometimes pausing a bit to look at her surroundings in order to not lose herself before continuing on. It was peaceful to hear the birds sing their troubles away and a gentle breeze brought some well needed fresh air. From the coroner of her eye, she stopped at a small clearing where a very familiar caravan was set up. Could it be-

"PRINCESS!"

Rapunzel and Pascal jumped as a voice appeared behind them and after turning, they were greeted by the presence of Madam Canardist.

"Madame!" Rapunzel smiled as she placed her belongings away in her satchel. "It's nice to see-"

"No time!" The older woman placed her hand on Rapunzel's lips. "I would be doing well if I haven't been on a perilous journey through dangerous lands looking for you."

"For me?" Rapunzel furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Yes! Vigor the Visionary has a very important message for you. A glimpse in the future in regards to the aftermath of your destiny... No charge."

"My destiny? But that's over now! The Sundrop and the Moonstone are gone. My hair is gone. I saved my home. Everything is back to normal, well most of it, what else is there?"

"No! There is more! Come! Quickly!"

Canardist began to push and pull Rapunzel towards the caravan and sat her down onto a chair, setting up a crystal ball and covering the windows to set the scene as Vigor leapt onto the table. He walked up close to Rapunzel, face to face, studying her.

Rapunzel leaned closer to whisper, "Hello Demanitus. Man, Varian would've loved this."

Despite the questioning appearance of this mystical fortune telling monkey, Vigor was really the ancient wizard Demanitus. The very one who defeated the villainous Zhan Tiri before being trapped in the body of a mere monkey. Now he was a complete monkey, in body and mind. And yet, as Vigor the Visionary, Demanitus offered fortune telling to those who wished to listen to them and his predictions were certainly accurate.

"QUIET! Vigor requires absolute silence for this dire fortune. He hasn't been able to sleep right until he is able to relay this important message to you." Canardist scolded as the final touches were made.

Moving to sit in front of the crystal ball, Vigor began to hum and then he began to screech and holler as the caravan began to shake. The crystal ball began to glow a bright red color as Pascal peeked from behind shoulder and Rapunzel watched in fear at the lights flashing and the monkey let out shrill cries as the ball turned black. Whatever it was, it was bad. Madame Canardist begins to speak.

"Vigor says that there is a great danger from the far south, where the land is barren with seas of sand and stone. There is one who rules over them all. One who has the power to destroy anyone that crosses their path without remorse. They may become your greatest ally or your most dangerous enemy, so choose your words wisely, princess. Tread carefully for you are not the only one who is at great risk of losing everything. The Jewel of Safira is the key."

"The Jewel Of Safira? What is that? Who is that?" Rapunzel questioned, desperate for answers as Vigor stared at her and made pitiful sounds.

Madame Canardist shrugged. "Vigor is very vague. But he's never steered you wrong, has he?"

"Well...no. But-"

"Take his message. And heed his warning. Vigor will not be giving out any more messages today. He must rest."

With that, Madame Canardist went to hand Rapunzel a piece of candy from a drawer as a means to settle her nerves and push her towards the exit of the caravan. There was no point asking more and Rapunzel looked down at her message as Pascal rubbed himself along her cheek to show his comfort and support, but it still didn't take the worry away. From the corner of her eye, Rapunzel saw Vigor wave a goodbye from the window with a sad expression on his face before hiding back behind the curtains and she waved back.

"Great." She groaned to herself. "That's just great. Not only do I have to worry about everyone working together to fix Corona, now I have to worry about this?! Pascal...I think I may be way over my head here. I thought I was so sure, but… Maybe I'm not ready to be queen just yet let alone a regent."

Standing tall and taking in a breath of air, Rapunzel held back the tears of stress. Crying wasn't going to solve anything.

"Come on Pascal. Let's go home."

Finding their way past the woods and with the Corona wall just in sight, Rapunzel looked around for Eugene so she could take Max or borrow a horse in order to head to the castle, her head buzzing like a hive with questions. Once she feels good and ready, she can talk with Eugene about this. Unsure of how she would even be able to tell her parents that a fortune telling monkey told her about a dangerous prediction.

Why now? Maybe her parents might know about this mysterious land covered in sand...Safira? Who or what was that? The Jewel of Safira? What is so special about this jewel?

But it was the message that scared her more.

One who has the power to destroy.

Her greatest ally or most dangerous enemy.

Who or what could be more dangerous than Zhan Tiri? Then Saporia? Then anything else that she faced throughout her journey to the Dark Kingdom?

With any luck, Rapunzel could be able to get the answers she needs after some rest and -

"RAPUNZEL! LOOK OUT!

Rapunzel was startled at Eugene shouting at her from afar and turned to his direction, oblivious to the danger that she was in.