Rapunzel felt something as she entered the Moonstone chamber: it wasn't fear, though that was definitely a factor in her decision-making at the moment. It wasn't the strained muscles in her neck or the bruised rib, either. It was a tug inside her mind, like a string pulling on every fiber of her being. The chamber looked different than before, almost back to the way it had been when she'd first stepped foot inside. The spikes were gone, replaced by smoothness and soft edges. The rock almost looked like frozen water, as if it could spill or slide down at any moment all around her. She wondered briefly what would happen if she touched it now; would anything happen after…

No. She still couldn't bring herself to think about it. It was too painful.

In the center of the chamber, where the Moonstone once stood on display, was Varian, lying unconscious on a folded blanket. The strange black suit was gone, his dark shirt ruffled and singed, his chest forcefully shuddering up and down. His face was tinged with pain, his forehead slick with sweat, and his eyes moved rapidly behind closed lids. A hunting bow was laid out close by, the shaft reinforced with steel, the wood worn and well-loved by strong hands. Rapunzel had never seen Varian wield any sort of weapon, unless the automaton he'd used at the Battle of Old Corona counted as one. Deep down, Rapunzel knew that no matter how much time passed, she could never fully forget that night. And yet, despite everything that had happened, all the bad blood between them, it broke her already fractured heart to see her former friend suffering so much.

Kneeling at his side was the black-haired girl, still as a statue, her fingers kneading the linen fabric of her almost threadbare apron. Her expression was obscured, hidden from Rapunzel's view, but her fidgeting hands spoke loudly enough. As Rapunzel approached, a brown hare appeared from around the girl's leg, ears perked high over his unblinking eyes. He bounded over with his slender legs to the princess, sniffing at her bare, dirt-caked feet, his pink nose tickling her skin.

Rapunzel couldn't help but crack a small, pain-filled smile. "What's his name?" she dared to ask, reaching her hand down to stroke his head. The hare leaned into her touch, thumping his foot with a joyful squint. When the girl didn't answer, Rapunzel chewed her lip. "It's Shay, right? That's your name?"

The girl said nothing. Her hands continued to knead, slowly working her apron into a series of thumb-stretched wrinkles.

Rapunzel's eyes wandered to Varian's pain-filled chest once more. It was then that she realized that the Moonstone half was missing. "Where – where's the Moonstone?!"

That caused the girl to stop fidgeting. She slowly reached to her side, producing a delicate vial. Inside it was the fragmented Moonstone, its ethereal light bleeding through the thin glass.

"How did you…" Rapunzel swallowed. "How did you remove it?"

The girl still didn't answer. She slid the Moonstone half into her apron pocket, but her hands did not return to their kneading. She simply folded them in her lap, unmoving.

Rapunzel sighed, trying not to feel frustrated. I'll try later, she told herself. She gave the hare one last pat before turning on her heel to leave.

"It was so bright."

Rapunzel rounded about, hope igniting in her chest. "What was?"

"Your hair." The girl finally lifted her head, turning to look at the princess. Only her left eye was visible, unsettlingly orange and unblinking. "So, the stories were true, then."

Rapunzel took a deep breath. I'm going for it. She stepped closer and sat down at Varian's other side, giving the girl no other choice but to look at her. The hare followed, but as he approached, he hopped over towards the girl instead, sniffing his way under her arm.

"Shay," Rapunzel spoke clearly. "You know who I am."

"I know who you are," Shay answered quietly. "Princess Rapunzel of the House of Corona, sole heiress to the throne." She blinked once. "Precious."

It felt strange to hear her title spoken aloud like that. Not even the royal guards addressed her with such formality. "In what way do you know me?" Rapunzel pressed. "I saw you in my dream. The woman you were with…your mother. How does she know me?"

Shay seemed to think about it for a moment, staring hard into her lap. "The Sundrop," she eventually answered.

"The Sundrop?"

"Aye. She knew where it was. She knows where everything is."

Rapunzel felt a different fear begin to creep up her spine, perching itself at the nape of her neck and tugging on the fine hairs there. "If your mother knew where the Sundrop was, did she tell anyone else?"

"No. She wanted to protect it." Shay pulled the hare into her lap, fingers absentmindedly scratching his long ears. "To keep it safe. But the king was desperate. She knew how important you were. She knew how it could be done." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "And she knew the consequences."

Rapunzel wet her lips. "Your mother…Did she know another woman? A woman named Gothel?"

Shay looked sharply up at her, her nose flaring with anger. She opened her mouth, as if to deliver a heated retort, but it died in her throat. Her expression softened into a regretful, bitter mask. "No, princess. My mother had nothing to do with the witch who claimed you." She sucked in a deep breath, clenching her jaw. "But she did have everything to do with saving your life."

Rapunzel squinted, trying to understand. "She told my father where to find it, didn't she?"

"Yes." The girl looked down again, her hair falling even lower over the right side of her face. "I've always wondered if she regretted it. I don't think she did, though. She would never have never seen him again if she hadn't."

"Who?"

"My father." Shay sighed. "But that's not what you came here for. You came for the Moonstone. You can't have it."

Rapunzel's fear was gone, her frustration returning. "I just wanted to check on Varian."

Shay's eye twitched once with disapproval, but when she spoke, it wasn't about Varian. "You already have a piece of it, you know." Shay's stare had returned, and Rapunzel could see red behind the curtain of black. "It's mingled with the Sundrop in your heart."

"You're saying I already have a piece of the Moonstone…inside me?"

"Your hair protects you. It didn't do that before, I'm sure."

"I…no." Rapunzel slowly shook her head. "How do you know all of this?"

Shay reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, revealing her red right eye. Rapunzel remembered it from her dream; it was just as unnerving as before. She hadn't seen it this close before; there was a glow to it, obscuring the pupil. It would have been creepy if Rapunzel hadn't already seen so many spooky things before. Clearly, Shay knew this, as she let her hair fall over it once more. "I see things," Shay answered. "Some of it is my upbringing. But now, the Seven Sisters help, too."

Rapunzel didn't know what that meant, but she didn't feel like pulling on the thread to find out. Not today, at least. She was just glad that the girl was answering her questions, however cryptic her answers were. "How is he?" she changed the subject, jutting her chin down at Varian's feverish form.

"Hurt." Shay spoke the word in a hard, clipped tone, almost like she was trying to spit something foul out of her mouth. "His heart is broken. To say nothing of dispelling a geas."

"Ha!" Rapunzel snapped her fingers. "I knew it was a geas!" Then she blushed sheepishly. "I mean, I've never actually…well, I was sort of under one, once. I think. True story."

"I see," Shay's eyebrow creased with concern. "It takes incredible willpower to break a geas on your own. It constantly works to rob you of your agency, preying on your desires and twisting them until they align with the caster's. Typically, it's a form of blood magic, forbidden and terrible." She looked down somberly at Varian. "Still, I'm not sure she knew what she had truly done to him. In truth, I don't even know how she did it."

Rapunzel couldn't help but speak the name in her mind: Cassandra. It hurt now, hurt like a hot brand in her skull. She couldn't do it. Not yet. She had to put off the pain, just a little longer. She looked down at Varian once more: she could still see traces of blood from his nose, and his breathing was still labored. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "If I could heal him…but ever since I touched the black rocks, I – I can't."

Shay frowned, then offered her open-faced hand. "May I?" she asked softly.

Rapunzel hesitated before placing her fingers on Shay's palm; as she did, she felt a jolt of magic, and a flutter of orange sparks appeared from the contact, floating down towards the obsidian ground. Shay's eye was closed as she concentrated, muttering a phrase under her breath. Another jolt, and she tilted her ear, as if listening to something. Then she opened her eye and sighed, pulling her hand away. "I'm sorry, Princess. That fragment of the Moon's power has…" She supplied a Celtic word first, then shook her head. "It's…spoiled the Sundrop. Changed its makeup." She flashed a glance at Varian's clammy face. "What's the word you would use…transmutation. Yes, that's the alchemical term."

Rapunzel mirrored the head shake. "Well, can it be fixed?"

I can repair what has been done, child of the Sun.

Both girls whipped their heads about, searching for the voice's owner. "Who's there?" Rapunzel stood, grabbing twin fistfuls of unbreakable hair.

Well done, Pleiades, the voice continued. You, who know so much, and yet always seek more. You knew to bring him here. My champion.

Shay was on her feet, fists clenched over her heart. "You're her," she breathed. "You're the Lunar Celestial!"

So I am. In this place, on this night, with my broken tear in your hands, I can speak to you…though if such travesty had not occurred, I would be seen and not simply heard.

"Luna."

Varian's eyes had opened, blinking blearily up at the domed, black ceiling. He blinked a few more times, then formed a steep frown across his freckled face. "You knew this would happen," he grumbled.

"Varian!" Shay was back down at his side, moving to help him sit up.

But Varian waved her away, propping himself up on his elbows. "I'm fine," he said unconvincingly. He looked straight at her apron pocket and extended a demanding hand. "Give me the stone," he ordered.

"Varian," Rapunzel crouched down beside him. "Don't you remember what the Moonstone did to you?"

"I remember everything," he answered, jabbing a finger at the Moonstone half as Shay extracted it from her pocket. "And she's the one who knew it would happen!"

I did NOT know, the Celestial boomed. There is a force at work beyond my sight to see, an ambition I failed to acknowledge. I accept the consequences, and so here we stand. We are not defeated yet, my champion.

"Excuses, excuses," Varian spat.

"Varian," Rapunzel's fists remained clenched. "Who is talking? What's a Lunar Celestial?"

Varian rolled his head to stare at her, his jaw tight as a vise. "The one who got me into this mess," he answered with venom in his voice. "The one who keeps telling me that what I've been given is some sort of 'gift'."

"Varian, don't," Shay insisted, trying to get him to lie back down. "You still need –"

"I said I'm fine!" he barked. Shay flinched, almost as if he'd slapped her, and he instantly looked guilty, his anger melting away. He sighed shakily, then laid back down, staring dismally up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry, Shay," he said in a monotone. "I'm sorry for everything. This is my fault."

"No, Varian," Rapunzel's fists began to loosen from her hair. "This is my responsibility to fix, not yours. Cassandra was…" She stopped, unable to finish her sentence as emotion clogged her throat. "She was just…" She swallowed it down, forcing her shoulders to relax. "We'll find her," she announced, more to herself than anyone else. "And then we'll straighten this whole thing out."

Varian shook his head, lolling from side to side. "I don't even need to be touching that thing to know she's miles away by now," he told them. "We'll have to work with what we have to stop Zhan Tiri."

"Zhan Tiri?" The name froze Rapunzel's blood. "What do you know about Zhan Tiri? I thought you were here to save your father!" It was the only reason she could think of, why he had traveled all this way: to obtain the power to break his father free of his amber prison. Her hand tightened around her hair once more, ready to act if anyone moved. "Was it Zhan Tiri who told you that you needed the Moonstone to do it? How do I know that's not Zhan Tiri talking right now?"

You DARE compare my dulcet tones to the husking crow of that unholy abomination?! The Lunar Celestial raged. The black walls of the Moonstone chamber shifted, flexing in a single wave around them, like a ripple in a lake of oil. I would sooner favor being compared to a starving rat than that contemptible creature!

Rapunzel's eyes were wide. "Okay," she said slowly. "Not Zhan Tiri, then." She sucked in a deep breath. "Who or what are you?"

I am a spirit, Luna answered, a voice for the light that the moon reflects from across space and time. I have been since the dawn of time, and I will be until the heavens break. I have seen many possibilities, many paths that have led and deviated from this moment. I believe that despite this unprecedented departure, there is still a chance my champion will prevail.

"She's talking about me," Varian supplied in a hushed whisper.

"You?" Rapunzel frowned. "I don't understand. Champion of what?"

"To stop Zhan Tiri," Shay answered quietly. "And to save your life."

"Save my…" Rapunzel's knees turned to liquid. "You mean…if I had reached the Moonstone –"

You would have perished, champion of the Sun, Luna answered. That much power cannot be confined within a mortal vessel. The fusion alone would have cast your form to the stars.

Looking down at the Moonstone vial in Shay's lap, Rapunzel suddenly felt ill. She lowered herself carefully to her knees, trembling. "I see," she managed to speak. "So, then…Eugene's father was right."

"No," Varian sat up again, staring hard at her. "Destroying the Moonstone isn't the answer."

"How do you know about that?"

"The Keeper," Shay tucked the Moonstone away. "We read the records there. We know what happened here, twenty-five years ago."

"We actually probably know more about Lunaris' history than anyone else in this castle," Varian pointed out, crossing his legs as he leaned forward. "Maybe even more than the King. I doubt he's done any heavy reading lately."

You have been armed with knowledge, the Celestial's voice resonated through the chamber once more. Now you must use it. The demon Zhan Tiri must be stopped…and your father must be freed.

Varian clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing to slits. "But we can't do either without the Moonstone."

Combined with your own gift, the fragment you possess may be enough.

"'May' isn't good enough," Varian asserted firmly. "I wasn't certain before, and it cost me six months in prison…" He glanced up at Rapunzel with a somber, dejected look. "And my friends. I can't make the same mistake again. I don't…I don't ever want to be that person again. This time, I have to know for sure."

The Moonstone chamber became quiet, almost deafening with silence. It seemed as though whatever resonance had been there was gone; Luna had left them alone. The three looked at each other, each wondering what the other was thinking. "Varian," Rapunzel finally spoke. "All I want is to protect my kingdom."

"I know." Varian sighed, long and hollow. "And I know I've held it against you before." He forced himself to look her in the eye, steeling his resolve. "I was too angry to say it before. Too desperate."

Shay stood. "Killy," she beckoned once to the hare. "Let's go check on Martin." Without a glance, she turned and left, Killy trailing at her heels as they left through the stone double doors. Varian and Rapunzel watched her leave, squinting through the slit of light from the throne room as she disappeared through it.

Rapunzel felt an involuntary shiver. "I don't think she likes me very much."

"It's not you," Varian reassured her. "She's just shy."

Rapunzel gave him a look.

"Really, really shy." Varian picked at the hem of his pantleg, trying to smooth out a wrinkle. "I owe her an apology. I owe so many people an apology."

Rapunzel found herself winding a strand of hair around her finger. She ran the soft end across her palm, like the stroke of a paint brush. "You know, you're owed a few yourself."

"Not anymore. I remember what you all said."

"I meant it." Rapunzel stopped brushing. "I should have come to see you sooner."

"You shouldn't have needed to see me in the first place." Varian worked his jaw back and forth. "All I wanted was for my father to be proud of me. If he knew where I was now, what I'd done to get here…I'm not sure how he would feel."

Rapunzel felt tears fill her vision. She could still see Quirin in the amber, reaching endlessly for a sight he couldn't see. Had he ever been betrayed before? Had he felt betrayed as the crystal closed in around him? He must have at least felt alone. Maybe even afraid. She reached out to Varian and placed a warm, shaking hand on his shoulder. "I'm going to help you find out," she promised. "I am going to earn your trust back, whatever it takes. Because I need…" She sniffed loudly, and the tears fell unchecked down her freckled cheeks. "Because I need my friend back. At least one of them. Can't I have just one?" She started to sob, her hand flinching away as she curled up into her knees. She tugged her long, blonde hair around her, wishing it was a real embrace. Even though she knew Eugene was never far, in this moment, she felt like she was back in her tower again. No Pascal. Not even her wicked Mother. So far away from the world. Broken. Helpless.

After a moment or two, she felt gentle hands push the hair away, and she smelled leather with a faint note of vanilla as two wiry arms hesitantly wrapped themselves around her. Varian said nothing; he didn't need to. They sat there together, each in pain, each supplicated by the mutual relief of forgiveness.

"I always thought she would be here," she whimpered.

"We'll find her, Rapunzel. We're not alone anymore."

The next morning was greeted by sleepy eyes and slowly mending hearts. Varian was back on his feet, his eyes bright with determination as he accepted Martin's hasty embrace and enthusiastic claps on the back. The guard then immediately denied feeling very anxious at all about Varian's recovery and casually muttered that he still looked terrible. Shay was quiet as usual, but her expression was soft, replaced by relief and gratitude. Varian tried to give her a meaningful look, an unspoken reassurance that they would talk properly about things later. She seemed to understand, giving the slightest nod.

Rapunzel's feet were still heavy, but her eyes were a brighter shade of green; her reconciliation with Varian hadn't been a cure-all, but it had helped soothe the ache in her chest, at least to a point that she could breathe properly again. Eugene noticed the difference immediately, and while it made him uncertain at first, Rapunzel took the time to reassure him that she would be alright.

"I'm still…I'm working on it," she told him.

"Well," he gave a weak smile. "Just don't forget that I'm here to help you, when you need it."

"I know," she gave him a quick, grateful kiss. "Thank you."

Eugene's eyes flickered once in Varian's direction – the boy and his friends were sitting on the other side of the dining hall, each munching on what food the King was able to provide from his surprisingly meager storage. "What about him?" he asked warily, low enough for only Rapunzel's ears. "Is he going to be trouble?"

"No," Rapunzel shook her head. "We're in this together, now."

Eugene raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're absolutely sure about that?"

Rapunzel set her lips in a firm line. "Yes," she answered. "He's here to help us."

Her true love sighed once, folding his arms over his chest. "Look, I know you want to…You have such a big heart, Rapunzel. But two days ago, I would have said the same thing about Cass. I'm sorry," he apologized when Rapunzel's nose twitched in pain. "But Hair-stripe here has betrayed us before. What's to stop him from doing it again?"

Rapunzel thought about it for a moment; ever the thinker, always the clever one, Eugene had raised a perfectly valid point. She gazed across the hall at Varian and his companions, her expression nebulous as she tried to find the answer. She saw Martin, the Coronan guard, say something around a mouthful of bread, and Shay shot him an orange-eyed glare from her seat. But Varian smirked at the comment, a genuine look of mirth pressing through the clouds of uncertainty over his brow.

"Them," she finally answered. "Even after everything that's happened, everything he's done, he still has friends who have stood by him this entire time." She glanced over at Rudiger's hulking form, the enormous racoon pacing restlessly back and forth in front of the fireplace. "I can't believe everything they've had to go through to make it here. A witch hunter, Lady Caine…even Matthews tried to stop them. If it was Varian alone, it would all be so hard to believe, but Shay and Martin are his witnesses." She shook her head. "No. I believe them. They're here to help us."

Eugene hadn't moved. "Or are we here to help them?"

"We're here to help each other," Rapunzel said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. She turned for everyone to see her, locking eyes with Lance and Shorty, King Edmund and Adira, Varian and his companions. She needed them all to understand. "We're all in this together, now. It doesn't matter where we come from, or how we managed to make it here. We all have the same goal in mind: save our friends and families before Zhan Tiri can move against us. We can't do that unless we accept each other for who we are. I don't expect that acceptance to happen over the course of one day, but if we're going to do this, we need to start now."

She placed a hand over her breast. "My name is Rapunzel, crown princess of the House of Corona, and I'm asking my subjects and allies this day to help stand against the evil that threatens not just our land, but all of the Seven Kingdoms. I won't compel anyone to stand by my side. I'm asking you…no, I'm begging you, to help us do everything we can to protect all that we hold dear."

Silence filled the hall. The fireplace popped loudly, making Killy flinch and duck into Rudiger's shadow. No one spoke for what felt like eons, and Rapunzel's face started to burn.

Then Lance stood and smiled, revealing a row of beautiful white teeth. "I'm with you, Princess," he reassured her. "It wouldn't be half as fun to turn tail and hide…much as I'd like to, anyway."

"Do I get a raise?" Shorty announced with a hiccup.

"Shorty, you don't get paid," Eugene pointed out with a frown.

Shorty jutted a finger at Pascal, who was seated in his usual spot on Rapunzel's shoulder. "Caspal does. Tell them, frog man!"

Pascal lashed his tongue out in the old man's direction, the chameleon's eyes dismissively narrow as he turned dark with annoyance.

Martin hoisted himself to his feet, brushing crumbs off his jacket. "Well, I do get paid," he reminded everyone, "but that's beside the point. I've sworn allegiance to the House of Corona, and I have no intention of breaking my oath." He placed a fist over his heart, his brown eyes trained squarely on Rapunzel's hopeful face. "I'll renew that oath today, Princess. On my blood and honor, I will stand by you until death."

King Edmund squared his shoulders, his beard bristling as he spoke. "And I thought I was dramatic," they heard him grumble. "But the Moonstone is my responsibility. While at least half of it is here with us, it is my duty to secure the other half."

Eugene's arms fell down to his sides. "You mean you're coming with us?" he blinked.

"In time," the king clarified. "Adira and I have other matters to attend to before we make haste for Corona's shores. We'll assist in your labors to repair your transport, but then we must part ways for a time, my son."

Rapunzel watched Eugene's eye twitch once; the term "son" had only recently applied to him, and she was certain he wasn't used to it yet. "Yeah, well, parting is such sweet sorrow and all that."

He really wasn't used to it. "That is a shame," Rapunzel clapped her hands together, hoping to disperse the tension. "But I'm so excited when we get to see each other again!" She marched forward and reached for King Edmund's hand, tucking his large gauntlet between her slim fingers. "I feel like we were only just getting to know each other, and it's really important to me that our kingdoms reestablish the beautiful connection we once had."

The King's face was a mask of surprise. "Yes, well, the Princess of Corona has my full support in her endeavors," he assured her, but his formality failed to hide his discomfort. Still, his next words were genuine. "I also look forward to the day when we meet again. But first," he gently freed his hand and turned to face across the dining hall. "I would speak to Quirinson. In private."

Varian's face blanched, freezing like a deer in a crossbow's sights. He placed his plate on the table a bit too loudly and stiffly stood, his eyes never leaving King Edmund's scrutinizing gaze. "Yes, sir," he managed to speak.

The King swept his arm out down the hall, gesturing towards the next corridor. "Walk with me." He led the way, and everyone watched as Varian followed, his hands clenched into tense fists at his sides. He refused to meet anyone else's looks as he trudged anxiously in pace behind the King, and they rounded the corner, out of sight.

Eugene let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness, he's gone," he groaned.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "I already told you, Varian –"

"Not him," Eugene clarified agitatedly. "My cookydook so-called father is finally out of earshot for the first time in hours. I swear, the man has a demeanor that legitimately makes me miss running from rhinos and ax-crazy mermen."

Martin made a scoffing noise. "Mermen? Really?"

Eugene glared at him. "Well, what have you had to run from?" he demanded.

"The undead," Martin and Shay both answered at once. "And a witch hunter," Martin added.

"Oh," Eugene waved his hand lazily through the air. "A witch hunter and the undead. Well, isn't that novel?"

Rapunzel caught Shay's eye. "I'd like to talk about that more sometime, if you don't mind," she probed. "Varian told me a little bit, but I'm sure there are details that he left out."

Shay said nothing, but she gave a curt nod.

"That being said," Rapunzel spread her arms out wide. "The least we can do while we wait for them to be done with their nice chat is to start gathering what we need to repair that gondola. Alright, everyone! Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!"