Angel: I wanna say I'll upload on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm only on episode 10, so I can't guarantee an update every single week, especially since it's the holidays. The only reason why I updated yesterday is because I had a lot of people asking me why I hadn't released it XD
Harmony here! Previously on Before Ever After, I met my older sister Rapunzel when I returned from helping a kingdom in need...and to be honest, she hasn't adjusted well. She doesn't really know what she's in for...anyway, the royal banquet happened, and Eugene, the former thief that helped saved her, ended up proposing! Rapunzel ran out, and then I ended up being snuck out with her and Cass for a little adventure...hopefully Pascal and Daisy can keep anyone from finding out. We stumbled upon these black rocks, and when we touched them, somehow my sister got 70 feet of blonde hair back, and I ended getting my moon powers returned to me!
Oh boy...how are we gonna get out of this one...
"Um, Cassandra?" Rapunzel calls out nervously.
"We have a problem," Harmony touches her bangs anxiously.
"Keep moving, princesses, we need to get-whoa!" Cass comes to an abrupt stop as she sees the very, very long hair... "What?!"
Harmony glances at her, holding her bangs again. The moon symbol on her hand continues to glow as Rapunzel examines her hair in shock, biting her lip.
"What happened?!" Cass demands once she's snapped out of shock.
"We have no idea! But we'll have to deal with it later," Rapunzel looks up ahead. "Let's go!" She grabs their hands and runs forward with them, the black rocks appearing behind them. Harmony gasps at her hand, waving it lightly to try and make it stop, but it was no use. They step onto the bridge, running as fast as they can to get to the two horses. Maximus stares at Rapunzel, stepping closer for a closer look at her, causing part of the bridge to break away. Now there's a noticeable gap. Another piece breaks, sending the three girls onto the ground.
They quickly get up and run past the moon when Rapunzel is sent backwards. "Cassandra! Harmony! My hair!" She pulls at it, but it's stuck behind a rock. The rocks are getting to their path, Harmony backing away in slight horror. She couldn't believe she was doing this...
"Come on!" Cass grabs her right hand, pulling her over to Rapunzel. The two help her pull as hard as they can as the rocks get to the bridge, breaking almost half of it and sending it into the air above them. They stare up in shock as the slab goes back down, about to break.
The three get onto the feet, staring at the danger...the bridge is now broken into four parts, slowly breaking apart underneath them. Rapunzel grits her teeth as her hair won't budge, Cass running forward. She then sees her broken sword and throws it away. Harmony jumps over the small gap and runs behind Cass, who stops suddenly as the section holding Rapunzel's hair lowers slightly. Rapunzel struggles to keep her footing and the two run back to her.
Suddenly, she's sent flying off the platform until the princess and lady-in-waiting grab her by the cape. "Whoa!" She shouts as they're all struggling. Max jumps over and runs to the end of Rapunzel's hair, trying not to focus on the bridge practically falling apart underneath him. The black rocks appear on the cliff and Max stomps on the rocks holding Rapunzel's hair. The three land on their backs, but are now stuck as both directions have fallen. Max is stuck on the other side, staring at the persistent black rocks. He jumps before he could fall off, running as fast as he can back to the girls. They cringe at the unforgiving abyss underneath them. Max jumps across and they leap for it, Rapunzel and Harmony landing on his saddle. Cass grabs Rapunzel's hair, but lets go, holding onto the edge of the bridge.
The two princesses gasp sharply. "Cassandra!"
She falls, but Fidella catches the back of her outfit with her mouth. The bridge is completely gone now as they hear a thud, the smoke blowing past them.
"See?" Cass asks the panting sisters. "I told you I'd get you in and out without anyone knowing. Piece of cake."
"Piece of cake?" The two question in disbelief.
"Uh, did you see the 70 feet of 'our father's going to kill us' growing from my head?" Rapunzel grips her long locks.
"Or the 'he's going to make sure we never see daylight again' inexplicably coming from my glowing hand and hair?!" Harmony holds out her left hand, the moon symbol still glowing, along with her blue bangs.
"One problem at a time, please," She replies and they go back to the castle, Rapunzel's hair flying behind her. It's early morning as they sneak into the kingdom, seeing the bunch of guards walking around, more so than at nightly patrols.
"We've got a problem. Because of the coronations, they've doubled security at the gates today," Cass peeks around the corner.
"That sounds like Papa, alright," Harmony sighs, crossing her arms.
"And there's no other way in?" Rapunzel asks in worry. If the guards see the princesses like this, they were done for sure.
"Sure, if you wanna walk through the front door in broad daylight," Cass replies obviously. Rapunzel looks around and sees one of the towers.
"Hm, maybe we don't need the front door..."
Maximus sniffs around, hiding around the corner. The guards are still in front of the princesses' rooms. He stands tall and walks up to the guards. He stares them down, seeing the handkerchief that's still on Stan. The guard smiles sheepishly.
"I told him it wasn't protocol, sir," Pete tells the horse, who gestures for them all to leave. They salute and walk down the hall, the horse opening the door. He sees the end of Rapunzel's hair and runs forward, Cass jumping into the window. Harmony follows soon after and her sister pants.
"Okay, quick, hand me the scissors!" She points to the scissors across from them. Cass grabs them and smirks a little.
"So what do we wanna do here? Maybe a bob? How about some layers?"
"Just cut them!" The two say urgently. However, when Cass tries to do so...it breaks once it touches Rapunzel's hair.
"Uh oh."
"Erm," Harmony bites her lip anxiously.
"Uh oh? Why uh oh? There shouldn't be any uh ohs!" Rapunzel turns around and sees the broken scissors. "Uh oh..."
Cass grabs another pair and holds up Harmony's bang, but the same thing happens: they break on contact.
"What?!" She exclaims in shock; even when she got trims, her hair never reacted like...that!
"Was your hair always this strong?" Cass asks slowly as she puts down the pairs of broken scissors.
"What? No! Try again," Rapunzel urges her. She does so with a dagger, but it bends and she frowns at it. "We're gonna need a plan B..."
Cass goes into her satchel that was at Maximus' waist and opens it, revealing a bunch of sharp weapons. She pulls out a cleaver.
"Rapunzel, cover your eyes. Harmony, step back."
They do as asked as Rapunzel's hair lays across the table. Cass slowly steps forward and slams on the hair...but the cleaver breaks in pieces. Harmony gasps in shock, covering her eyes with her arm. A mace is broken off, an axe with the same result, and even a tiny axe does nothing. Then she tries a huge axe, but it breaks the table.
"Forget it! They're just like those stupid rocks," She lightly touches Harmony's blue bang, examining Rapunzel's hair. "They're unbreakable!"
"We can't forget it! Today is our coronation," Rapunzel reminds her.
"We can't go out looking like this!" Harmony gestures to herself and her sister. The door suddenly knocks, causing all of them to silently panic.
"Hey, sunshine, are you in there?" Eugene asks, hoping that she was or else the king would have his hide!
Rapunzel is about to open the door when Cass grabs her arm. "You can't let Eugene see either of you."
"What? Why?" She asks in confusion.
"What's wrong with Eugene?" Harmony points towards the door.
"Everything! He can't know anything about last night. I told you two. If it gets out that I took you both outside Corona, I'm done for."
"But I trust Eugene," Rapunzel slowly places a lock behind her ear.
"He means a lot to her, Cass," Harmony frowns a little.
"Well, I don't trust him! My dad will have me taken off princess detail. We'll never see each other again," Cass looks at them pleadingly and they glance at each other, wondering just what to do...
"Oh come on, we've been looking for you two all night," Eugene calls out. The two frown a little, staring at Cass. She was practically begging them not to tell...they nod silently in agreement and Cass starts gathering around the hair. Harmony tries to hide her bangs, but they're too noticeable...
"Hey, are you okay in there? I can hear you, you know!" Rapunzel tries to help Cass, only to be sent onto the floor because her hair is stuck in the axe. She lets out a yelp, immediately alerting Daisy, Eugene, and Pascal. "Rapunzel!"
Cass pushes hair into a closet, Rapunzel hiding some under her bed. "Rapunzel!"
Harmony tosses some up onto the book shelf, trying to find something to hide her hair with. "Rapunzel!" Max drags a carpet onto a pile of hair.
"Stand back!" Eugene has had enough and breaks the door open. "Are you okay-holy hair!"
The four freeze in alarm as they're all holding strands of Rapunzel's blonde hair. Eugene is shocked while Pascal and Daisy look happy to see the hair in various hiding spots. Then they see the blue bangs from Harmony and the two princess chuckle sheepishly.
"Surprise...?"
He takes a deep breath as Rapunzel sits him down. "Whoo, mama! Ha! Okay, okay...this is new. I mean, no, not new. Right? Because we've seen this, obviously. That whole magic thing is involved again. And the whole blue thing from your younger sister, now that's new, but it's still crazy! This was magic, right? Actually, you know what? You don't need to tell me. I'm just gonna go ahead and say your blonde hair magically grew back, along with this moon symbol and hairdo," Eugene holds up Harmony's left palm, poking at her bangs. "I'm not gonna ask how. Obviously neither of you want to tell me or else you wouldn't have tried to hide them from me. So, I won't ask how it grew back, or how you got your moon powers back, but tell me please, how did they come back? Don't answer that. The important thing is that you're both okay. You're both okay, right? Because as long as you're both okay, I don't care what happened. But I mean, I care, obviously I care, but I'm sure there are reasonable explanations. Where is the war?!"
"Oh boy," Harmony rubs the back of her neck.
"That you'll share when you're both ready."
"Thank you for understanding," Rapunzel smiles softly as he's grinning widely.
"Oh, come on! Really?! I thought we trusted each other, Rapunzel!"
She cringes at his outburst and Harmony slaps him across the face. "Ow! ...You know what, I actually needed that."
"You're welcome," Harmony waves it off.
"We do trust each other, Eugene!" Rapunzel exclaims to him, "I do, it's just..."
"Fine, fine. You know what? I can't make either of you tell me what happened, but obviously you're keeping something from me. But whatever it is," He places his hands on Rapunzel's shoulders. "I-I just want you to know you should never feel like you have to hide anything from me."
She smiles softly at him, the animals looking on fondly. Cass just rolls her eyes and Harmony looks up at them with a grin.
"You don't hide things from the people you love...ever," Eugene smiles at her.
"Rapunzel, Harmony, sweethearts," Arianna's voice calls out from behind the doors.
"Hide your hair, women! You gotta hide your hair," Eugene tells them without a second thought.
"Girls?" The queen is about to open the door. Pascal and Daisy act quickly, slamming the door shut. "May I come in here, girls?" She jiggles the doorknob, and the two weren't sure how long they could hold it. Max comes in to help, and his tail rests about Pascal's hair.
"You can't! I'm...brushing my teeth!" She disguises her voice as if she is doing that.
"And I'm...helping her pick out an outfit!" Harmony opens up the closet.
"Oh, good. But I can still come in, can't I?" Nothing could make her not check in on them...and after the whole ordeal last night, no one had seen the princesses since then.
"Believe me Mom, you do not want to. Morning breath," Rapunzel chuckles nervously. "Wouldn't wanna expose you to that."
"She's right! It's...bad for your pores," Harmony cringes at her excuse, Rapunzel giving the other two a thumbs up. They just shake their heads.
"That's, ah, very thoughtful of you both, and I'm glad you two are spending some quality sister time together, but Dad and I want you two to join us on the terrace for breakfast."
"Um...I don't know. There's a lot of stuff we have to do to get ready," Rapunzel winces, looking at her hair in her hands.
"Girls, well...your father has something very important to share with the both of you. He's...he's been waiting all night."
They glance to each other briefly, feeling a little bit guilty. It hurt to hide all of this...but they had to. "Yeah, sure, um...we will meet you there in a minute?" She hears the queen leave and starts panicking again. "The coronation is in two hours! How are we supposed to cut this hair?!"
"And even if I could cut mine, I can't exactly cut off my own hand. I need my hands," Harmony holds up her left palm.
Cass glances at the hair and then at the horse's tail still on Pascal's head. "I...might have an idea," She smiles a little.
"Oh, uh...girls, ready for the big day?" Arianna asks slowly as the two stare. Their daughters have large wigs to cover their hair, while Harmony is wearing white gloves. The symbol was still glowing, unfortunately…
"You bet! Already into the princess spirit," Rapunzel smiles a bit as the wig moves around a little due to the weight of her own hair.
"Yeah, since Rapunzel has changed me a lot, I thought I might embrace the look the Duchess had..." Harmony didn't mean that on any level, though. She still thought the woman was a total bitch.
"The bigger the wig, the bigger the princess, right?" Rapunzel asks while adjusting her wig. "So Dad, Mom said you wanted to talk to us."
"Yes," He glances at his wife, who sips her tea. "Rapunzel, Harmony, last night, your mother and I had a discussion," He sighs heavily, getting onto his feet. "I know that I'm not always able to separate the man from the king and separating the father from the king has proven even more difficult."
They watch as he stands at the edge of the gazebo. He lets out another sigh as he sees them playing with their food. "Girls, I know this new life is hard to get used to...and I'm sure that sometimes you wish I would just get out of your hair."
The two cough, choking a little from their food. "Sorry. It's a little, um, dry out here. Anyone else dry?" Rapunzel glances at her sister. "Harmi?"
"Oh, um, yes, definitely," Harmony coughs a bit into her fist, feeling awkward.
"Rapunzel..." Frederic grabs her hand. "You are going to be queen someday, and you might be queen as well, Harmony," He holds her right hand thankfully. "Great queens with a magnificent kingdom. But you two know better than anyone else what a dangerous and evil place the world can be."
A shopkeeper in the market is dusting off a vase and when he examines it, he sees the reflection of a criminal. He suddenly gets grabbed by him.
"And the barrier keeping us safe from that is sometimes more fragile than it appears."
Another thug throws away the cart, and the duo let themselves get caught by the guards.
"When that evil rears its ugly head, it is my job to protect Corona from it."
People run away from the bank in terror, turning around to see another criminal robbing the bank with sacs full of coins.
"And one day, that will be your responsibilities."
The guards appear to take them away.
"And I must teach you two how to carry them."
The thieves surrender to them, which is strange...
"But that is many, many years away."
A jewelry shop is broken into, Pocket stealing a diamond.
"Until that burden is imposed on you, I'm asking you two to trust me that I know how to keep danger as far away from you both and this kingdom as is humanly possible."
Pocket smirks as he and the criminals are all taken away...if anything, they don't look angry that they've been caught.
"Do you understand? It wasn't until last night that I realized that my methods may have at times seemed...strict or unfair or-"
"Does this mean we can have more time to ourselves without having half the royal guard over our shoulders?" Rapunzel interrupts, frowning a little.
"We're old enough to go out the castle by ourselves, Papa," Harmony murmurs quietly.
"Well, this means I'm willing to reconsider those methods...but I make no promises."
"We can work with that," Rapunzel smiles softly and they kiss his cheeks. Two stands from their hair fall and Frederic sniffs them. The two quickly hide their hair. "Well, we should go...we have a lot of princessing up to do."
"Bye!" Harmony pushes Rapunzel away, both of them struggling to move with these giant wigs on top of their heads.
"You're right, Arianna," Frederic murmurs as he stares after them. "Teenagers are a whole new frontier..."
Eugene arrives in Rapunzel's room to see Cass sewing her dress for the coronation. "How are ya?"
She simply ignores him and continues sewing. He whistles as he examines the room, Pascal opening his eyes. He touches up the flowers a little...but the feeling was nagging at him. He had to know how they got their powers back!
"Oh come on!" He exclaims, turning around. "What is going on with the princesses? I mean, is it something I did?"
"Probably," Cass shrugs a little.
"And since when did Rapunzel start keeping secrets from me?!"
"Hey, Fitzherbert, I need to get this done before the coronation, so do you mind throwing your pity party someplace else?" She asks, and she sounded like she really didn't care...because she doesn't.
"Look, Cassandra, I know you don't like me for Rapunzel," He crosses his arms knowingly.
"Oh, that's not true," She drops the sleeve she was sewing, shaking her head. "I don't like you for anyone."
"I just want what's best for her!"
"You don't say," She replies sarcastically, crossing her arms.
"Of course! I want her to feel safe. I want her to be taken care of and I want her to be happy here. And I want Harmony to feel the same too...she's already like a little sister to me, you know."
"Funny," She chuckles a little, "You seem to have a pretty good handle on the things you want," Cass closes the door and he slowly sits down on the chair. He knew what he wanted...but it seemed like Rapunzel...didn't. He glances to Pascal, who just stares at him.
"Oh, don't you start," He glares a little.
After Rapunzel is finished adjusting her wig, it drops over her eyes and she picks it back up with a small sigh.
"Um...Harmi, when I was...gone, did you ever use your moon powers like last night?"
"No!" She shakes her head rapidly. "Never...at least, not that I can remember. I try not to use my moon powers because of what it does to everything and everyone around me...I'm really sorry I almost got you two hurt..."
"It's okay," Rapunzel whispers softly, pulling her into a gentle hug. "You couldn't control it, and neither could I getting my hair back," She tilts up Harmony's chin so that they look at each other in the eye. "And I wouldn't think of you as anyone but my sister," She lightly kisses Harmony on the forehead, causing her to suppress a laugh.
"Lame."
"Hey, that was a sentimental moment, missy," Rapunzel teases a little. "So...I don't really know you that well. Tell me something about you that no one else knows."
"Hmm..." Harmony rubs her chin in thought, her eyes widening. There was something...and it was pretty out there... "I...like science and inventing."
"Really?" Rapunzel gasps a little and Harmony motions for her to wait. She runs out of the room and comes back a few seconds later with a sketchbook. Sitting next to her sister, she flips through the pages, showing a bunch of formulas and inventions.
"See? I've got hundreds of things. Alchemy, botany, industrial stuff. Though, alchemy is probably the newest thing I'm into."
"Wow!" She murmurs in awe. "These are amazing!"
"Really?" Harmony rubs her arm sheepishly.
"Yeah! You should embrace it like I do with my painting," Rapunzel smiles at her. "Do you do any other art than this?"
"Well, sometimes I draw...I actually like a lot of stuff," Harmony bites her lip, giggling a little. "I can't believe I'm actually telling someone this. Most people don't even like to get to know me outside the castle."
"Well...you've got someone who wants to genuinely know everything you like and more," Rapunzel holds her hand and they smile at each other. The door suddenly opens and they look up to see their mother.
"Hi sweethearts."
"Oh, hi Mom," Rapunzel waves nervously.
"Hey Mama," Harmony adjusts her hair. She closes the door behind her, holding two boxes.
"Sorry to interrupt sister bonding time again, but you both left so quickly after breakfast, I...I didn't have a chance to give these to you," She takes a seat between the two girls. "I know it's a little early for coronation gifts, but I...thought you might like to see them now."
One box has the sun symbol, the moon on the other. They open the boxes at the same time, to see books and one locket in each box. The sun locket is a golden chain with the sun symbol as a charm, and the crescent moon locket is a blue chain, the charm having a star next to the moon. The two open up the books at the same time, seeing the queen's writing.
"18th of July, we embarked on a safari to the most remote plains of the third continent," Rapunzel reads first, Harmony flipping a page.
"21st of May, had to take shelter in a hidden cave to escape the fury of a violent storm."
"12th of April, helped villagers rebuild their war torn homes. Mom," Rapunzel stares at her in surprise. "Is this yours? Did you actually do all of this?"
"You've had all of these adventures?" Harmony holds up the book.
"Girls, before I met your father...I was so much like you two. I had no idea what I was supposed to have in this world. So I went out and found my own way," She holds out the two other books that look brand-new. The two take hold of them, opening it up to see blank pages. "Your father is right about one thing: you will be queen someday, but only you two get to decide what kind of queen you'll be. And no one can tell either of you the best way to make that decision."
"But how can we if..." Rapunzel stares up at her mother. "Are you suggesting that we should-"
"Sweethearts," She interrupts the older girl. "Find a way to fill those pages. I only ask that you both be safe, be smart, and above all be true to yourself, and also protect each other. Let your bond grow strong."
They smile softly at her and look at the back of the front cover. They see something in black, the same exact words:
Plus est en vous
Love, Mother
"Plus est en vous?" Rapunzel asks in confusion, mispronouncing the phrase. Harmony giggles at her a little.
"Plus est en vous," Arianna says with a small smile. "It means, there is more in you."
The two princesses smile, engulfing their mother into a group hug.
"Thanks Mama," Harmony whispers gratefully. All her life, no one had ever told her that...
Soon, it was time for the coronation of the princesses of Corona. The king and queen stand ready to name their daughters as the officiant is holding two crowns: the one that Eugene stole for the crown princess, and a silver crown with three diamonds on top.
Cass struggles to move the massive amount of hair under Rapunzel's wig. "This would have been so much easier with the other girls helping, but they're such gossips, half the kingdom would know about your hair and powers now," Cass adjusts the wig while Rapunzel finishes braiding Harmony's hair back into the bun she was in when she arrived home. The younger princess tucks her hair under her own wig, pulling on the gloves over her hands. Rapunzel is in a big pink dress, and Harmony is in a smaller yellow one.
"Are you sure you can't see it?" Rapunzel asks nervously, Cass pulling up the collar.
"Positive," She nods sharply. "Are you sure you two can pull this off?"
Rapunzel looks hesitant and Harmony bites her lip as they peek out the doors, seeing their parents. Taking one last look at their father, they close the door.
"We have to, Cassandra."
"Just be careful you don't trip on this," Cass bends down to the end of the dresses.
"It's not the dress I'm worried about," Rapunzel points downwards and Cass lifts up the dress to see two pink shoes on Rapunzel's feet. She didn't want to, but it was coronation day... "How do people walk in these things? Whoa!"
"I can see why you don't like wearing them, but we are princesses," Harmony chuckles, remembering to adjust her collar. Cass takes a deep breath, standing up.
"Just relax...this is going to be fine."
They smile at her a little, grateful for the reassurance.
"I just hope my powers can calm down," Harmony looks at her left hand, frowning a little. "I don't wanna risk anyone's lives like I did last night. I swear, I never knew about that kind of power..."
"Hey, it'll be okay," Rapunzel places her hands on her shoulders. "We'll get through this. Princesses by chance..."
"And sisters by choice," Harmony whispers with a weak smile.
"I can't wait any longer," The thief with a skull mask shakes his head impatiently. They had been sitting in the cell for what seemed like hours now. Not to mention, it was cold and damp.
"This better work, Pocket."
"Don't you worry, boys," Pocket smirks a little. "Lady Caine will not disappoint."
Cass nods from the front doors, the princesses taking a deep breath. This was it...the moment of truth.
"Okay..." They return the nod and the doors open, allowing them to see practically everyone from all kingdoms there. Their parents are at the end of the room, waiting patiently. Eugene glances behind him, smiling at the sight of his girlfriend.
"Wow..."
They stand there for a few seconds before holding their heads up high, walking forward. Rapunzel struggles to move in the shoes, cringing. Then her wig starts moving on its own and she has to balance herself out to catch it. Harmony places a hand on her back, trying to usher her forward as her wig is slipping as well.
Harmony tries to keep Rapunzel to go straight, but she sways back and forth.
"How embarrassing for them," The Duchess of Quintonia whispers to Eugene. "This is going to take forever..." Then she silently leaves the room undetected. Rapunzel straightens her wig as Harmony finally gets her moving forward.
The Duchess walks down an empty hallway, opening her fan to reveal blueprints. "Hello? Can anyone help me?" She walks up to the guards standing in front of a door that leads to the dungeons. "Silly me, I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere."
"I'll be glad to help you, madam," One of them walks up to her.
"Oh, you're too kind!" She kicks him down and knocks the other guard into a wall, rendering both of them unconscious.
The thugs hear the door open, looking up to see the Duchess. The biggest one walks up to her. "Hey, Madam Poppycock? The party's upstairs."
She grabs him by the collar and pulls him into the bars. "Meet Lady Caine," Pocket stands up with a small grin.
"Y-You're a lot stronger than you look," The thug stammers to the 'Duchess.' She releases him and pulls off the wig.
"I'm a lot of things." She opens up the door with the keys she stole from one of the guards. "Let the show begin..."
Another guard arrives, pointing his weapon at him. "I'm gonna need you to step back into that cell, pronto," He warns them and the other thugs step out, surrounding the annoyed Lady Caine.
"That there is a nice suit." One of them cracks his knuckles, and the guard looks at himself, dropping his weapon in fear.
"The wearer of this crown is a shining example of the promise that is Corona," The officiant starts off as the princesses finally reach their parents. "An ambassador of good will to those visiting from afar, and an inspiration to those fortunate enough to live within their borders."
The two turn around, giving a thumbs up to Eugene. Cass walks down the runway, the two pets appearing from her shoulders. Suddenly, they notice Pocket disguised as a guard at the double doors sneaking in.
"But above all, the chief responsibility of the crown is to keep the people of Corona safe," Pocket uses the weapon to lock the door. "From dangers, near and far."
Pascal taps Cass' cheek with his tail, Daisy pointing in the opposite direction with her wing. Cass glances at another entrance of the throne room.
"And there are many."
A large thug also wearing a guard uniform steps up. "This mandate is not to be taken lightly."
"Go find Max," Cass whispers to the two. They jump off her shoulders and she reaches the front. "There will come a day when the walls that surround Corona are threatened by malfeasance."
Cass looks at Eugene and then glances at the fake guard, causing him to open his mouth in alarm. "A day-"
"Attention, please!" A woman's voice calls out rather rudely.
"Lady Caine," Eugene whispers in realization. The thugs storm in and Lady Caine pulls out her sword. This causes alarm in everyone, causing them to run as the gang start chasing after them. Eugene glances around the room and Cass rushes past the crowd. Pocket blocks the front door and they start grabbing guests, taking them hostage.
"Release my guests immediately!" Frederic demands to them.
"What's the matter, Fred?" Lady Caine taunts him. "Am I ruining your little girls' perfect day?"
"The Duchess?" Rapunzel asks in confusion, raising a brow.
"Oh honey, I am no duchess," Lady Caine smirks right in her face, Harmony glaring at her.
"I don't understand," Rapunzel shakes her head, still baffled.
"Rapunzel...she made it up. There's no Duchess of Quintonia, is there?" She narrows her eyes at Lady Caine.
"Oh, we got a little genius here, huh?" Lady Caine points her blade right at the princess' neck. "And the same one who told me off earlier...but of course you wouldn't understand, Rapunzel." Cass and Eugene give her a glare. "Try to follow along. This...is all your fault!"
"What?" Rapunzel demands to her. She's never even met Lady Caine before. Harmony moves the blade away while gritting her teeth.
"We've never met you before today."
"You see, after your untimely...disappearance," Lady Caine rolls her eyes at the word, "Your father locked up every criminal in the kingdom, including a simple petty thief," She flicks the sun and moon symbol from the king's neck. "My father." She walks past them and they stare at her. "I saw him thrown into a cage and hauled off like some animal, never to be seen again...so...I thought I'd come back and return the favor," She points her sword at Frederic, who watches as a carriage is brought in. The banners drop and Lady Caine gestures to it. "Load 'em up, boys!"
They grab the guests and haul them into the carriage. "Your turn, your majesty," Lady Caine calls out teasingly. He hugs his daughters, signaling that he won't go. "Oh, come now, you didn't think we'd leave our prized pig in the pen, did you?"
Harmony's left hand trembles as they take away Frederic. "Dad?" Rapunzel calls out.
"Girls, stay back," He warns them.
"But-"
"No! There's nothing either of you can do. As your father and your king, I command you to stay put." The door shuts and they look on in horror. Eugene is about to step in and help when a blade is shown to his face.
"Don't be a hero, pretty boy."
He glances at the princesses, who nod in unison. He then looks to Cass, who looks back to the two. They take a deep breath, hoping that their father won't be angry...
"Sorry, Dad," They reach up to their wigs, slipping off their shoes at the same time. "We can't stay put."
"Girls!" He shouts and the blonde hair flies around, the brown bun being removed by Harmony. They stand between the thrones bravely, stepping forward as everyone stares.
"That's my girl," Eugene smirks at Rapunzel happily.
"Let. Them. Go," Rapunzel demands, walking past her shocked mother...but then it turns into a proud smile.
"Trust me, Lady Caine, you don't wanna mess with us," Harmony removes her glove, showing the moon symbol. She just laughs at them.
"It's amazing what you can hide under those wigs, aren't they, princesses?" She walks up to the carriage, taking a hold of one of the bars. "Come on! Let's move out," She waves for them to leave, but Rapunzel throws her hair, grabbing hold of the door. Harmony holds out her hand and a black rock bursts out from in front of the carriage, causing it to be tilted forward. The door is popped open and Lady Caine groans, landing on the floor.
"Now, you're just making me angry."
"Good. Because we're just getting started," The two say in unison with narrowed eyes.
"Everyone, out of the carriage," Harmony waves them forward and they do as told, now finding her a protector instead of someone to fear.
"Get those people back here, now!" Lady Caine demands, her minions running forward. The sisters run up to their father.
"Rapunzel, Harmony, your hair and powers!" He exclaims in surprise.
"We know," Rapunzel starts off as Harmony pushes the woman gently. "We'll talk about it later."
"Get Mom and get somewhere safe," Harmony orders him and they run off.
"Girls!" He shouts at them.
"That's my cue," Eugene slams two thugs into each other, grabbing the sword.
"Well, my last day on princess duty," Cass throws off her headdress, grabbing a candle holder. "Might as well go down fighting."
Harmony looks around and sees a quiver equipped with arrows. She kicks it into the air, letting it fall around her back.
Three thugs surround a group of guests, one of them spinning an axe. A golden rope of hair catches it, taking the weapon out of his hand. He looks to see the older princess.
"Leave them alone!" She grits her teeth and traps him into a bundle of hair. Frederic is about to stop her when Arianna places a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to let them fight.
"So, you sure you can handle yourself?" Eugene asks Cass as they're back to back.
"Oh, I'll manage," She smirks, spinning her weapon and knocking a criminal off his feet. She then grabs another's arm, tossing him to the floor. Eugene ducks from a sword, jumping onto a large pot of flowers. Lady Caine growls and the door is being pounded on from the outside. The real guards are trying to ram it open.
"Get that door open, now!" The Captain orders, watching as they hit the doors with a ram. Eugene kicks a thug from behind, jumping onto another's back. He steps down and ducks his head.
"Heads up!" A guard goes flying above his head, courtesy of Cass. Rapunzel smiles before seeing two other guests in trouble.
"Harmi!" She yells and Harmony readies two arrows towards the ceiling. She pulls them back and fires, watching it break apart, landing on the two thugs' heads, disorienting them. Rapunzel grabs them by her hair and jumps, sending them onto the ceiling. Lady Caine casually approaches Cass, who readies her 'weapon.'
"Aw, cute," She attacks first, Cass backing away until the woman knocks her off her feet. Cass grits her teeth, taking her weapon again. Lady Caine pulls out two fans, spinning around. The princesses run up to a guest in trouble, Rapunzel grabbing a post with her hair and running along the wall. She flies around and kicks them away, the man looking up in shock. They fall into the flowers and Rapunzel stands up, only to have her hair pulled by a thug.
"Rapunzel," Frederic murmurs in worry. She sees a familiar weapon hanging from the caravan.
"Hey," The thug looks downwards to see a smirking Harmony, who punches him in the face, distracting him for only a second. This gives Rapunzel enough time to snatch the frying pan, letting it fly into her hands.
"Since when could you do that?" Rapunzel chuckles to Harmony in shock.
"Hey, you learn a lot of things stuck in one place for years," Harmony smirks up at her. Eugene is fighting a big thug with a sword until it's knocked out of his hands. He glances at his opponent with nothing to fight with until Rapunzel flies past him, placing the frying pan in his hand.
"Thanks Blondie." He uses the pan as a makeshift sword, surrounded by three of them now. He glances around and throws the frying pan, knocking all of them out with one throw. "Ha ha! Now this feels good!"
Cass is still battling it out with Lady Caine, catching one of the fans and throwing it away. Glaring, Lady Caine rushes forward, but Cass gets the best of her, eventually knocking her onto the ground and trapping her arm with her weapon.
"Stay down."
Rapunzel lands near her sister, both of them staring at the woman. "You have no idea who you're dealing with!" She spits at them.
"Believe us, we've dealt with much worse," Rapunzel glares down at her.
"Now surrender, Lady Caine, because we both know you won't be getting away with this," Harmony narrows her eyes.
She frees her arm and backflips towards the front doors. "You think this is over? Ha! I promise you, I'll be back!" She gets the weapon out, which allows the guards and Max to ram down the door, pushing her to the ground.
"Oh," Eugene tsks at her. "Lady Caine, it's impolite to leave in the middle of a party."
"You think you'd know that," Cass mocks her, causing the two princesses to laugh. They walk to Max and the crowd starts to cheer, clapping for their bravery. The four stand there proudly, Max whinnying at them. Lady Caine and the other prisoners are arrested.
"Nice to see ya. Thanks for coming! Nice suit, buddy," Eugene calls out to various guests. "Happy Coronation Day, folks!"
Arianna runs up to her daughters, hugging them both. They open their eyes, frowning as they see their father standing there...and then they're face to face with him later on into the night, both of them silent as Harmony fidgets with her hands.
"So I'm trying to understand this," He speaks up after a few seconds, "You both snuck out last night, went beyond the walls of Corona, where you two touched a mysterious rock, that somehow caused your hair and your powers to return?"
"...Yes," They both say, cringing in shame.
"And you acted alone?"
"Look, we know you're angry, but can't you see? We're okay! We're more than okay, we-"
"Girls," He interrupts the oldest, standing up. They open their mouths at him, wondering what he was going to do... "There's something I need to tell you both." He approaches them and they stare at him with worried looks. "I love the both of you. The night you were taken, Rapunzel, a part of me died, the best part of me. For 18 long and agonizing years, I swore that if somehow, someway, by some miracle the fates decided to show mercy and return you to me, I would never let anything happen to you again, or to my other daughter. And now that these have returned," He lightly touches their hair, "The very reason you were snatched away from me in the first place, I'm afraid I'm left with no choice, sweethearts."
He turns their back on them, putting on his crown. "As of tonight, I'm forced to exercise my martial right as king to forbid you from leaving the walls of this kingdom without my consent."
"Father!" Rapunzel shouts in protest.
"But Papa, these black rocks, I was the one who created them, and no one ever told me! Why couldn't you talk to me and inform me I could do this? W-Why didn't you say anything?" Harmony stammers sadly.
"And know this," He shows their crowns to them. "This is the last time we will speak of mystical rocks or magic of any kind to anyone," He puts the accessories into their hands. "Is that understood?"
Harmony's eyes water as his lack of cooperation. "There is so much more to us than you think," Rapunzel's voice breaks and they leave the room, running past their mother. She stares at Frederic in concern and he just closes his eyes.
Rapunzel paints her father's sad face in her journal, sighing a little as she sits on her bay window. The door knocks and she shuts her new journal.
"Come in..."
Eugene opens the door. "I believe somebody ordered room service," He smiles gently, holding up a cupcake.
"Eugene," She smiles softly at him. "How did you know?"
"Eh, I had a feeling." He then drops the smile, "Look, I just wanted to clear some stuff up," He joins her at the window, placing the cupcake into her hands. "I haven't had a chance to apologize for putting you on the spot with that proposal."
"Well, looking back, storming out of the room probably wasn't the best reaction," She gives him a weak smile, taking a small breath. "So I'm...I'm sorry."
"No, no, don't apologize," He tells her, "Look, I'll admit, I don't quite understand why you said no..." He sees her guilty look and places his hand on top of hers. "But I promise to do everything I can until I do."
He gives her a gentle smile and she returns it, holding his hands. "Thanks, Eugene."
"In the meantime, we'll stay right here and take things slowly. I miss this," He touches her hair and she grips his hand.
"Hey, promise me one more thing."
"Anything," He grins at her.
"That you'll be patient with me."
"Absolutely." They share a brief kiss. "Goodnight Rapunzel."
"Goodnight Eugene..."
She watches him leave the room and he closes the door.
Arianna is talking to her youngest daughter, hugging her. "Everything is going to be fine, Harmony."
"Mama, I wish someone out there would get me," She murmurs, looking out the window. " Don't get me wrong, I love Rapunzel and the others, but they're all older than me and I feel like a child compared to them. I wanna meet someone my age who won't be scared of me, who likes the same things I do, and understands what I'm going through."
"And everyone so far only has two of those traits...right?" The woman asks softly.
"Yeah," She chuckles a bit, playing with one of her bangs. "Does my hair look...weird to you?"
"No, sweetie," Arianna holds her cheeks. "You're beautiful no matter what you have. And I'm sure you'll find who you're looking for soon enough."
"Thanks. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," The queen kisses her on the forehead and leaves.
Once she's gone, Harmony puts her face into her mattress, hiding it with her arms. She lets out a sigh, looking at her left hand. Well...at least she had some control on them for a little while...but that just left her with a bunch of other questions. Why wouldn't he say anything? What is he hiding? And did she ever show black rocks at some other point? So many things to wonder about...
Back to life happily ever after
Rapunzel opens the window to her balcony.
Stuck inside once again and I'm gazing out
She looks out at the sky, frowning a little.
True, I'm in here with those I hold dear
She glances to her mural.
Surrounded by their love
Rapunzel closes her eyes.
And for some, that's more than enough no doubt
Harmony crosses her arms on the bannister of the window, sighing.
Back to life happily ever after
She lightly touches her blue bangs.
Trapped in castle walls again and I'm missing out
Harmony looks at her shoes and slips them off, feeling the cold floor.
She's back with us once more
The princess lifts up her skirt, wiggling her toes.
And I'm beyond feeling, but it's not enough for me...
The wind blows in both of their hair, their journals opening up to the blank pages. The sisters watch as it goes back to the quote from their mother. The two smile as they remember what it means, stepping onto their balconies.
But we've got the wind in our hair and a fire within
Cause there's something beginning
Embracing the open air, they spin around, Harmony's skirt flying.
I've got a spring in my step, and each one that I take, it's a new horizon
I've got a mystery to solve, and excitement to spare
That beautiful breeze blowing through
We're ready to follow it who knows where
And we'll get there, we swear
With the wind in our haaaaair!
As they belt out the last note, their hair goes flying next to them, Rapunzel's hair flowing from the tower.