One Month Later…

Corona's castle towers looked grey as the winter clouds loomed overhead, threatening to toss a fresh blanket of snow down upon the spires. The townspeople had grown increasingly wary of the frosty weather: under normal circumstances, they would have been less skeptical, but ever since the terrible blizzard from the year before, there were those who feared the storm's wrath would return.

Having survived a coup certainly didn't help calm their fears. The Sapporians had been uprooted from their menacing grasp on the capitol, but the damage they'd inflicted had only just been repaired. Thankfully, there hadn't been too many casualties, and the perpetrator of the coup, Andrew, had been placed in solitary confinement by Yaeger himself, awaiting a trial that most assumed would rule in favor of execution. Still, in the wake of the Sapporians' machinations, there were several high-profile criminals who had gotten loose, namely Lady Caine and the Stabbington Brothers. As a result, the townsfolk exercised a degree of vigilance that bordered on paranoia, constantly on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

Then there were the rumors of witches at work, hiding in the dark corners of the kingdom, emerging from their shacks and hovels in response to a rising magic: a slumbering power that had been disturbed by one too many hands searching in the black. Some invoked Gothel's name, wondering if the evil sorceress had returned from the grave. Others spoke of Demanitus, the ancient scholar, and the strange artifacts he left behind stirring back to life.

Rapunzel didn't appreciate the groundless talk, but she knew deep down inside that at least some part of it was true. She could feel it herself, flickering like a candle on the rim of the horizon. Even after travelling past that lip, that ring of light past the kingdom's walls, she still felt like she didn't know the first thing of what lay beyond. It didn't help that her parents had quickly enforced ignorance among their subjects, disguising much of the distress that the Sapporians' coup had inflicted. Fortunately, the economy was easy to stabilize, but there was an alarming turnover in castle staff – partly due to casualties, but there were a number of disagreements to deal with as well.

One point of conflict in particular was what exactly there was to be done about one Varian Quirinson and the guardsman, Martin Edrick. Many in the castle had witnessed their efforts to retake the kingdom from Andrew and his insidious compatriots, but while Martin was found guiltless, the king and queen were not so easily convinced of Varian's change of heart. In the end, it was only Rapunzel's word that kept her newly regained friend from accepting his meals from behind prison bars.

"I will accept any and all responsibility for Varian and his actions," she'd begged. "He has done more than enough to repay his debt to Corona."

King Frederick's heart was softened by his daughter's plea, but only by so much. "The boy's previous treatment was…regrettable," he'd admitted, before quickly amending, "But necessary. The fact remains that he did escape and cause a number of damages, not the least of which still being the reparations required to restore Old Corona from the destruction he made there." Rapunzel had noted the pity in her father's eyes as he'd given his verdict: "Very well, Rapunzel. The boy is under your hand, now. But he must be kept under constant guard. He is never to be left alone under any circumstance, and if he is to leave outside the castle, he must be escorted in irons. I will brief Nigel on the specifics – he'll deliver the transcript to you."

Rapunzel delivered news of the judgment to Varian personally, apologizing profusely for what essentially amounted to house arrest for him. "I tried to explain why irons are completely unnecessary, but he wouldn't listen."

To his credit, Varian took the news with surprising calm. "To be honest," he admitted, "I'd expected a more severe punishment. This means I can work on deciphering Demanitus' documents without distraction, at least."

"Yes, of course," Rapunzel agreed in earnest. "But that doesn't address the real issue, here."

Varian's face had turned to stone. "That problem is something none of us can do anything about, now."

The issue in question, worse than the prospect of Zhan Tiri's undetermined rise to power or Celestials working their nebulous agenda, was the aftermath of Rapunzel's time in Old Corona. Caius had left that day with a mission: to find Cassandra and bring her back to Corona, with only his word to promise his best efforts not to kill her. At the time, Rapunzel had deemed it the best option: Caius was the best agent available to apprehend her rogue handmaiden, and his efforts to track her down would hopefully keep him far away from the Haderon Forest. Regardless of how true his story might have been, Rapunzel was not about to let the witch hunter dispense his own justice in the name of mindless revenge.

But when Rapunzel had emerged from that cold, dank cellar, only Shorty and Pascal were there to greet her. She had panicked and questioned, interrogating a half-lucid Shorty for information, and to her surprise, he'd given her a coherent answer.

"The witch girl is gone," he'd said, his tone still slurred. "Left before the other guy did. Didn't say a word, either. Just went on her way with her bunny rabbit friend."

Telling Varian had not been easy, and at first, he'd asked if it was a joke. Once the truth had sunk in, he hadn't said a word for the rest of the day. Rapunzel had requested a patrol be sent out to the Haderon Forest as soon as possible, but it had taken more than a week before any scouts were even available. By that time, Varian was certain there was no way Corona's soldiers would be able to intercept Shay in time – he was positive that the instant she'd reach that forest, she'd immediately restore the ancient trees to their disorienting miasma, preventing anyone except him – and theoretically, Rapunzel – from finding Lyra's cabin or Haderon's tomb. Rapunzel thought about it now, and for what must have been the thousandth time, she blamed herself for how things had turned out.

"I should have dealt with Caius another way," she moaned out loud. "I shouldn't have made her leave."

"You couldn't have known what she would do," Varian said, sounding exhausted. "Besides, it's my fault. I shouldn't have taken her with me. There might have even been fewer casualties if she'd helped us here."

"Yaeger would never have allowed her to assist," Rapunzel countered. "I'm amazed he even let you within the gates."

Varian sighed. "It does neither of us any good to speculate what could have happened."

"You're right," Rapunzel conceded glumly. "All we can do now is hope that reports come in of anything regarding Cassandra." She reached for a lock of brown hair and began twirling the short strands around her finger. "Varian…are you sure you don't want to try using the spell?"

The other misfortune Rapunzel had suffered was discovering that she no longer possessed the power to break Quirin from his amber prison: the moment Eugene had returned to retrieve her, she'd attempted to use the Decay Incantation, convinced that it was the only solution. But when she'd spoken the words, nothing happened. She'd puzzled and fussed until she remembered – the fragment of power she'd carried from the Moonstone had been removed, returned to their half of the Moonstone…which had last been seen in Shay's hands.

In the present, Varian shook his head. "The full moon is past," he said in a monotone. "Even if I tried, I wouldn't have the power the spell likely requires."

Rapunzel felt the urge to fight him on the word "likely". They both wanted Quirin's freedom, and it killed her on the inside that Varian had to wait so much longer to see his father's smiling face again. "And you're absolutely certain Shay went back to her mother's cabin?" she dared to ask.

The tendons in Varian's neck went taut, even though his expression remained static. "There's only one other person besides me who could verify it," he answered slowly.

Rapunzel closed her eyes. "Me."

"In theory." Varian smeared his hands over his face, suddenly tired. "Is this how it feels to be 40?"

"Varian, I'm so sorry."

"It's appreciated, princess." He returned to his scribbles, squinting at Demanitus' notes. "But an apology does me no good."

He was angry, Rapunzel could see that much, but it wasn't anything like the unbridled fury she'd seen from him before. This was a quiet, simmering thing, but undoubtedly just as unhealthy. "She means a lot to you," she whispered. "Doesn't she?"

Varian took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled. For two whole minutes, he didn't say a word, but as Rapunzel was about to take her que and leave, he finally spoke. "When we came here to the capitol, to ask Xavier for help…she was terrified. So afraid to be so far from home. I told her I wouldn't let anything happen to her." His hands were back over his face, and they stayed there, shielding him from Rapunzel's view. "What was she thinking?" he hissed between his fingers.

Rapunzel witnessed Varian's anguish quietly, leaving without another word. There was nothing she could do for him. He was needed here, and she couldn't leave him alone. They were tied now, bound until this was done. Whatever came next, she had to make sure they all stayed together.

As she closed the door to Varian's gilded cage, Martin stood outside, gloved hands tucked behind his back as he kept his station. Surprisingly (and to Yaeger's disappointment), the guard had been cleared of all charges in affiliating with Varian, to which Rapunzel was personally grateful for. "He is eating, right?" she asked him, gesturing for him to step far enough from the door that Varian wouldn't hear.

Martin's expression was solemn. "Some days he eats enough to breathe," he shrugged, "other days he stress-eats. He passes out at the table, I drag him to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat." He frowned. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned, but he knows what he's doing is important, and he knows it doesn't mean a thing if he keels over. If I know him as well as I think I do, he'll pull through." He shook his head. "I just wish I knew what that idiot girl is up to. I guarantee if she was here, he'd have every document in that room translated already."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed. "You don't think she went to free her mother?"

"She has the means to do it," Martin answered. "Refused to let her father's sword out of sight. But it's been a month. If her mother was free, I'd like to think they'd both have shown up by now. Instead, we haven't seen or heard word of anything out of the ordinary since cleaning up the mess here."

Rapunzel folded her arms. "How do you know Yaeger's not keeping something from you?"

Martin sighed sharply. "I'm sure he is. Honestly, I think the guy's let the whole 'Captain's out of commission, therefore I'm in charge' situation go to his head. Don't get me wrong, Yaeger is one of the best soldiers in the kingdom. Loyal to a fault, but it comes with a lot of zeal. A bit too much in my opinion. It doesn't help that the Captain's worried sick about his daughter. All he wants to do is go out and look for her, but he can't do anything until he's fully recovered from the coup."

Rapunzel sucked her lips in, thinking to herself. "I don't like waiting like this."

"None of us do, your Highness," Martin agreed. "But there is at least one report I know of: King Edmund is supposed to be arriving with his Brotherhood affiliates to supply information and what he termed as 'war assets' to our cause. It seems we're not the only ones taking the threat of Zhan Tiri seriously."

"We'll take all the help we can get," Rapunzel planted her hands on her hips. "But there must be something more we can do. There's so much…unknown about all this."

Martin shrugged. "Can't be helped. As long as Varian's stuck here, we can't go out looking for anything or anyone, and Varian can't communicate more with the Lunar Celestial without going to one of her chambers."

Rapunzel hummed a frustrated note. She'd scoured the library for the past week, searching for anything that might tell her more about the Celestials. It wasn't until the previous day that Varian told her the only book pertaining to them had been lost during their travels. The only documents they had left that could help them were at his desk, each requiring a different cipher to translate. "Patience is a virtue," she mumbled to herself. But her patience was wearing thin, and she could feel something great and terrible coming from beyond that bright horizon.

And she knew they just weren't ready.

Another month passed, and spring began to thaw the cold, bidding the buds in the meadow fields to sprout through the melting snow. Farmers returned to till, workers repaved the roads, and the castle was fully renewed to its clandestine glory. Despite the uncertainty that loomed in her mind, life had surprised Rapunzel in its unexpected ways. She had reconnected with the thief girls, Kiera and Catalina, and she'd managed to help quash an attempt from the rival kingdom of Equis to sabotage cargo ships crossing the border. Eugene and Lance had remained by her side, always ready to catch her and coax a smile to her freckled face. But every evening, she'd return to Varian's study door, hovering anxiously as she'd check on his progress. To his credit, Varian was remarkably patient with her intrusion, but only because he asked her each time if she'd heard any word of Shay or Cassandra.

"Nothing," she'd always say. King Edmund himself had contributed to patrolling the border, with his subordinates, Adira and Hector, stationed at key locations both outside the Haderon Forest and Tarapai. Reports had yielded no significant results, aside from confirmation that the Forest's enchantment had returned in full force, though Varian had speculated that the trees themselves might have restored the spell. It seemed he wouldn't be certain of Shay's whereabouts until he saw her with his own eyes again. But he refused to let it distract him beyond performing his work, and in time, his efforts finally bore fruit.

It was a cold, rainy morning when Rapunzel was awoken from outside her chamber by Nigel, who insisted she get dressed and come to Varian's study as soon as possible. The princess nearly tripped on her way out the door, Pascal almost flying off her shoulder as she sped through the halls, reaching the stairs leading to the alchemist's floor.

Varian was in the doorway, panting with excitement. His black hair was a frazzled mess, his blue eyes were bloodshot, and his shirt was soaked with sweat. Martin was there with an almost frightened look on his face, alarmed at his charge's appearance. "Take a deep breath," he advised him as Rapunzel approached. "I get that you have something, but you haven't even been able to explain what."

"Varian," Rapunzel clasped her hands, heart ramming in her chest. "Please tell me you have an answer."

Varian managed to focus on her face, pupils dilated. He swallowed once, Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to compose himself enough to speak. "It's…it's incredible. The genius behind it…I never could have imagined…"

"Varian," Rapunzel asserted, grabbing his shoulders. "What is it?"

"It's…" He hung his head, shuddering. "It's exactly what we need to stop Zhan Tiri. But it won't work without both the Sundrop and the Moonstone. We need them both for this to work."

Rapunzel's face went pale. "You're sure?"

Varian raised his head, locking eyes with her again. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life," he said, standing up straight. "We need to find Shay and Cassandra, or Zhan Tiri will kill everyone in Corona."

"I don't understand," Rapunzel stammered. "We don't even know how Zhan Tiri is going to return!"

"But that's" – Varian swallowed again, and Rapunzel worried that he might retch. "That's the beauty of Demanitus' design! Here, come see!" He took her wrist and dragged her into the room, pulling her urgently to the table. Rapunzel felt her insides jolt at the sight of the study: sheets of paper were everywhere, some crumpled about in piles, others stacked catawampus across his bed. A few days prior, he'd requested chalk; now the walls were almost completely covered in notes and drawings, much of which was completely alien to the princess. There were, however, a few markings that she did recognize – not from her travels or personal studies, but from her time in Gothel's tower.

In the center of the wall was drawn a scaled version of one of Demanitus' diagrams, much more detailed and speared by almost a hundred arrows, each marked with words scribbled so hastily, she could barely read them. It looked like an hourglass, tipped over on its side, with a cylinder encapsulating it and a spherical chamber in the glass' neck. She gestured to it as Varian scattered a few pages away, revealing the original document on the table's surface. "You know what this is, then?"

"Yes, yes!" Varian said feverishly, mopping sweat out of his face. "I was up all night transcribing everything, it's clear as day now." He forced himself to take a deep breath, his voice shaking as he slowed down enough to be understood. "This device, he doesn't have a name for it, but I'm calling it the Great Unifier." He coughed once to clear his throat. "This is an artifact in the making, a tool that will safely and effectively extract both the Sundrop and Moonstone and combine it in its own self-contained chamber. Once all that power is contained, it can be delivered to any Celestial chamber and returned to their realm, purging Zhan Tiri from the Moonstone."

"The Moonstone? Wait, what you mean, 'purge'? How is she –"

"It's just a theory right now, but it's what Demanitus speculated Zhan Tiri would do after the demon's defeat," Varian continued. "He believed that the dimension he cast Zhan Tiri into was close enough to the Celestial's realm that the demon would likely find a way to infiltrate it and reenter this world through one of their relics. Now obviously, you haven't been hearing any voices in your head, but –"

"Cassandra could." Rapunzel felt a burst of hope bubble up inside her. "Of course. If Zhan Tiri was tied to the Moonstone somehow, it would explain why Cassandra felt compelled to take it!"

Martin frowned. "This is all pretty wild conjecture, you two. Even if it's true, we don't have the Moonstone here to verify Demanitus' claim."

"No," Varian agreed, wincing. "We need to find them."

Rapunzel knew what Varian meant. "But my father –"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Rapunzel, the entire kingdom is at stake if we don't retrieve that Moonstone and send it back where it came from." Varian pounded his fist on the tabletop, eyes burning. "Damn what the king says and do what you know is right!"

Rapunzel weighed her options, just for a moment. It didn't take long for her to decide. "Both of you," she ordered with as much authority as she could muster. "Get your things, whatever you need. We're going on a field trip."