Rapunzel wiped her eyes and did her best to hold her head high as she walked into the castle. She hadn't stopped crying all while walking home. Not for the first time in her life, she didn't know who or what to believe.

Rapunzel believed that her dad was a good person. He may be protective of her sometimes, which could get annoying and humiliating, but Rapunzel never doubted that he cared about her the way that she had occasionally doubted Gothel. Rapunzel's father cared for all of his people. He was a fair king, and Rapunzel didn't see how it was possible for him to be so unbelievably cruel to people.

At the same time though, Rapunzel knew that Eugene wasn't a liar, and her mom wasn't stupid. They sincerely believed that there was a slavery scheme in their kingdom, and they seemed to think that the king was at the middle of it all.

Rapunzel believed that Eugene, Varian, and their families, had been slaves, but it was one thing to believe there were slaves and another to think that one's father was the one responsible for it all.

Rapunzel didn't understand why Eugene and her mom would ever believe something so terrible about her dad. She intended to get to the bottom of it. She would find proof that her dad was innocent, and she would find who really was responsible. And if there were any other slaves in or near her kingdom, Rapunzel would demolish it all.

The time for tears was done. Rapunzel had a job to do. She needed to find the truth. She wanted to talk to her father about all of this, but Rapunzel knew that she wouldn't get any clear answers from him. She didn't think her father was guilty, he just didn't want Rapunzel to know about things unless it was completely necessary. He protected her from any information he could. If he knew about slavery, he wouldn't talk plainly about it with her.

Rapunzel figured that the best way to find the information that she needed was by doing what Eugene had done himself. She made her way to the captain's office near the dungeons. The captain wasn't here, but Cass was. She was sitting at her father's desk, looking through his training notes. Rapunzel knew that this was sometimes her friend's way of relaxing, just like how she herself went to her paints.

Cass glanced up at Rapunzel in a distracted way, but when she saw how distressed Rapunzel looked she sat up and set her notes aside. "Hey, Raps, is something wrong?"

"I-I don't know." Rapunzel brushed her hair behind her ear. She came up next to Cass and sat next to her. "I'm just confused, and I don't know what to think."

"What's going on?" Cass asked. Rapunzel fidgeted uncomfortably as she tried to figure out how she was supposed to explain this. The whole matter of potential slavery was a really serious matter, and Rapunzel thought that people needed to know, but she didn't know if now was the right time to tell others about Eugene's accusations about the king.

"Okay, so I just found out that there are people who have been getting hurt really badly." Rapunzel said slowly. "They don't deserve the pain at all. Nobody does, but the thing is, the person they think is responsible for hurting them is somebody that I trust and I don't think that they would ever hurt anybody, let alone like this."

Cass took in a long, slow breath. She set aside the guard notes and turned to face Rapunzel. "Okay, do you know why they think the person you trust is the one that hurt them?"

"Well, kinda." Rapunzel said. She started searching the captain's desk for the transfer papers that Eugene had mentioned. She still didn't want to believe that Varian had been allowed to be enslaved because the guards let it happen, but she trusted Eugene, and her mom believed him, and then there was Hector's story about how his people had been captured by Coronans.

Rapunzel refused to believe that her father had anything to do with this, but maybe there was one or two guards who were bad seeds. Rapunzel didn't want there to be traitors to their kingdom, but she would rather deal with traitors than be betrayed by another parent.

"They were hurt badly by a group of people." Rapunzel said. "And the person I trust is in charge of the people responsible for hurting Eugene's family." Rapunzel had kept true to her word about not mentioning Eugene's family to her dad, but Cass was her best friend, and Eugene's friend too, despite how they acted with each other. She deserved to know where he had disappeared to these past few months.

Rapunzel hadn't mentioned Varian or Quirin. She knew that Cass wouldn't take that part too well, and Rapunzel knew that she honestly hadn't reacted very well when she'd first found out either.

Cass frowned slightly. "How badly were they hurt?"

"Really badly." Rapunzel didn't know how bad it had gotten, but what she knew was enough. Eugene's uncle's legs and back were hurt because he didn't do what he was told, and they were all branded and marked like they're pieces of property."

There was a fire burning in Cass' eyes. "Hang on, is this about the slaves?"

Rapunzel froze from her searching through the transfer papers. She looked at Cass with wide, horrified eyes. "You know about the slavery?" That couldn't be true. If Cass knew about slavery, she would be trying to demolish it. Rapunzel refused to believe that her friend would just sit to the side and let innocent people suffer for no good reason.

Cass sighed. "My dad told me years ago. He didn't call it that, but I was curious, and had nothing better to do, so I looked into it myself. Once you know what you're looking for, it's not really hard to find."

Rapunzel's hands were shaking and she shivered as she felt a sudden chill. She felt like she couldn't breathe. "Why would your dad tell you? And why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place." Cass said. "I know we're friends, but I'm still just a handmaiden. I knew that if I said anything out of line, I would learn more about this whole slavery business first hand."

Rapunzel felt weird, as though she was no longer connected to her own body. She felt like her soul had started to float away. She knew that she was still shaking and couldn't breathe, but she couldn't really feel it. All she could feel was a cold numbness. She wanted to run to her room, pull the covers over her head just to feel something, and block out the world. For the first time, Rapunzel almost wished that she could be back in her tower, away from anything that could ever hurt her and oblivious to the things that hurt other people.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked without really thinking of her words.

Cass was watching Rapunzel carefully. "I don't think you want to know."

No, she didn't, but what was Rapunzel supposed to do? As much as she didn't want to be hurt, she was far too empathetic to those that she cared about to look the other way. She wanted to stop their pain, even if she didn't completely believe that Eugene was right about her dad.

"Tell me." Rapunzel said in a shaky but determined tone. She had to know the truth, and right now it seemed like the only way to get it was by dragging the story out of everybody she could.

Cass stood up and started pacing around as she wrapped her arms around herself. She looked upset, and for Cass to be visibly upset something had to be seriously wrong.

"I was just a little kid." Cass said. "It was shortly after my dad found me."

"Found you?"

"I was adopted." Cass said. "I don't remember anything about my birth parents. My dad told me that I needed to forget about my mother and never talk about her. He said that she was a bad person, and if people thought I was like her then I would be taken away."

Rapunzel didn't think it was fair for a child to be punished just because of who their parents were, but she wasn't surprised by this revelation. Varian had been enslaved because Quirin had been. Eugene's whole family had been involved in this mess. It seemed that slavers didn't care about how young and helpless someone was.

"A-are you sure your dad was talking about slavery?" Rapunzel asked. She still didn't want to believe any of this. She'd already found out once that her life was a lie. She couldn't handle learning the same thing all over again.

Cass looked pained. "Yeah, I'm sure. I told you, I did my research."

So whatever slavery was going on, at the very least the captain knew about it. Rapunzel looked down at the transfer papers. She had turned to the page with Varian's name on it without even realizing it. Right there next to Varian's name, where a destination should be, was the same symbol that Eugene and his family had branded on them. A slave mark.

Well, at least Rapunzel knew how slavers had gotten to Varian. She had practically handed him right to them. Rapunzel's stomach churned and there was a thickness in her throat. She was going to be sick. "I need some air."

Cass came to Rapunzel's side and grabbed her hand. She started to pull her out of the room and down the halls. Rapunzel was alternating between hyperventilating and feeling like she had completely forgotten how to breathe. She was lightheaded and feeling dizzy.

Cass brought Rapunzel outside and she gasped as though she had been holding her breath for far too long. Once she started getting more air Rapunzel couldn't help but start sobbing. She collapsed to the ground and just let herself cry as though she had never cried before. Cassandra, who didn't do well with tears, just stood there awkwardly for a few long moments, glancing around to look for someone else to help. Finally Cass sighed and knelt next to Rapunzel, putting a hand on her back.

"I know it's scary, but it's not so bad." Cass said. "I'm here, aren't I? I was never a slave." And Rapunzel was relieved about that, but she wasn't just crying about the possibility of losing Cass. This was about Eugene, and Varian, and their families, and who knew how many other people whose lives and freedom were stolen from them.

When Rapunzel's tears didn't calm Cass tried another tactic. "I don't know if this will make you feel better, but when I confronted my dad about this he said that most people who are slaves are criminals, and this is how they repay their debt to society. It may be harsh, but it's still rehabilitation. You like that, right?"

Rapunzel did like the thought of rehabilitation, and she might have been convinced that this was for the best for everybody, and that was what horrified her so much. Rapunzel had seen how hurt Hector was, just because he'd been punished for not wanting to give up his freedom. That wasn't rehabilitation. And what about Varian? He had messed up, and he needed help, but not like this.

And then there was Eugene. He had escaped from slavery when he was only five years old. That meant that he had been even younger than that when he'd been a slave. No child needed redemption like that. This wasn't about teaching a lesson, it was about torture and cruelty.

"Rapunzel," She froze when she heard the familiar voice of her father. She would always be comforted by hearing him, but now it made her feel ill. She hadn't believed what Eugene had said, and she hadn't understood why her mom had sided with him, but then apparently Cass knew about this slavery conspiracy too, and so did her father.

The captain couldn't be the mastermind behind this whole thing, because he had tried to protect Cass from that future. If he was in charge, he was the one that made all the decisions and he could have changed how they did things and just decided to not enslave Cass.

There weren't many people in the kingdom who had more influence and power than the captain, and Rapunzel's father was at the top of that list. Rapunzel didn't want to believe that he could take someone's freedom from them, especially not after he had learned the way that Rapunzel had been raised.

She needed to talk to him, but if things went wrong, she needed to make sure that Eugene would still be okay.

Rapunzel took in a shuddered breath and looked up towards her father. He looked concerned and kind, just like always. "H-hi, Dad."

"My dear, are you alright?" he asked. He knelt to be closer to her level. "I thought you were spending the night with your mother."

"I-I came home early." Rapunzel said. "I need to talk to you."

"Of course, darling. You can always talk to me." Her father said. Rapunzel felt a familiar rush of guilt for wishing that he didn't sound so nice. What right did she have to doubt or question him if he had been nothing but nice to her?

Rapunzel had felt the same way about Gothel.

"I just…Eugene told me that there are slaves in Corona." Rapunzel said. She knew that she had made a promise to Eugene to not tell her father, and she hated to break her promises, but she needed to know the truth. Cass stared at Rapunzel like she had grown an extra head, but she only had eyes for her father, whose eyes darkened ever so slightly.

"And here I thought that Eugene could be trusted." The king sighed tiredly. He put his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders. "I wanted to wait to tell you when you were older, but I suppose it can't be helped now."

Rapunzel felt like her blood turned to ice. No. No! It couldn't be true. Her father…he knew…he had…why?"

"We have slaves?" Rapunzel said breathlessly.

"I know how it sounds." Rapunzel's father said. "But it's not as bad as all that. It's just a precaution to keep criminals and terrible people under control." That was what Cass had said, but there was one massive flaw in that explanation.

"What about children?" Rapunzel asked.

"We don't have children slaves." Her father said dismissively. Rapunzel glared at him furiously. She didn't want to hear his nonsense excuses.

"Don't lie to me." Rapunzel snapped. Her father looked at her for several long moments before he sighed tiredly.

"Alright, alright." The king said. "There are just a few exceptions, barely enough to worry about. There are just a few people who have too much power and influence, and some of those people are sadly children."

"Like the prince of a forgotten kingdom?" Rapunzel didn't know whether to be horrified or furious. Her father gave her a suspicious look.

"That's an oddly specific example." Rapunzel's father said. His grip on her shoulders tightened. "Rapunzel, darling, this is important. Have you ever met anybody named Horace? He would be just a few years older than you."

Horace. Rapunzel remembered Edmund and Hector saying that name. That was Edmund's son. Eugene was Edmund's son. Eugene was Horace, and Rapunzel's father was looking for him.

She may not want to believe that her father was capable of such horrible things, but she wasn't going to throw Eugene into potential harm's way just because of her naivety.

"I don't know anybody that goes by that name." Rapunzel said. It was a lie of omission, but technically the truth. Eugene didn't go by the name that his father had given him.

King Frederick noticeably relaxed. "Good. That's good. His people are dangerous, and I have no doubt that he could find a way to tear our kingdom to the ground. To keep Corona safe we have to sometimes do some things that we don't want to do."

Rapunzel believed in personal sacrifice for the greater good, but she didn't think it was fair for one person to force another to make that kind of sacrifice. Her doubt must have shown on her face, because her dad gave her a sad look. King Frederick sighed and gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze.

"I know it's difficult to understand." King Frederick said. "I was in denial for years when my parents first told me. I think it's time that I tell you about our family's legacy." Rapunzel didn't know if she wanted to be part of a legacy of enslaving people, but when her father started to pull her inside she found herself following him. She didn't know how to fight against him.

But maybe she could help somebody else fight.

Rapunzel looked over her shoulder to see Cass watching them. There was a rare look of uncertainty in her eyes. Rapunzel met her gaze and made a gesture that Cass had taught her a long time ago. It was a gesture just between the two of them that would communicate that there was danger and the other needed to go get help.

Cass shrugged, a desperate look in her eyes. She didn't know where to go and who to talk to. She probably didn't understand what the danger was. They both knew that Rapunzel's father wouldn't hurt her. But Rapunzel wasn't worried about her own safety.

Rapunzel flipped her hair back in a similar way that Eugene frequently did himself. She then made circles with her hands and put them on her forehead, as though they were goggles, before mouthing 'Old Corona." Cass' eyes narrowed and she nodded. She turned to leave, and Rapunzel relaxed. Cass would talk to Eugene. They would be able to figure out what to do, and maybe Cass would be able to let Eugene know that Rapunzel believed him now.

She would rather apologize in person, but that would have to come later. Her father was watching her carefully. The best way to keep Eugene safe was by keeping her distance.

It was only after Rapunzel was inside the castle did she remember that Cass didn't know that Varian was out, and that he and Eugene had both been slaves. She felt bad. Cassandra hadn't asked to be involved in all of this. None of them had. But Rapunzel knew that her friend wouldn't want to be left out.

She just hoped that Cass listened first before picking fights.