Hey guys! :D

First of all: I wish everyone of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR. (I know: This year almost over again. XD But, as I haven't had the time to tell you earlier, I still want to wish you all the best for 2020. :] )

As I already said in Chapter 10, the story will be at its end quite soon and, well, here we are. This is the pre-final chapter of 'Look what you made me do'.

There will be also a short Epilogue, but as I'm not going to comment it separately, I want to thank each and everyone who simply read, liked, and commented the story so far right now.

Thank you for staying tuned all the time. I'm so happy that you enjoyed reading. And: You're just great! :D

If you do still have any questions, things you want to tell me, or even ideas or wishes, you want me to write about in the future, then don't be shy to tell me right away. :)

Otherwise, I hope, we'll meet again in the next or some other story. So, enjoy reading and simply have a good time. :D

Cya, soon!

Love, Eeva ^~^

CHAPTER 11 (Final Chapter): Equinox

Max was galloping lightning fast and the 'secret paths' (Horst had actually given us a map for!) lead us to our destination in the north within the less of time. When we arrived at the foot of the plateau, where the magic stone was, I felt a cold shiver running down my spine. This was the place, where one false and curious touch had started a catastrophe, no one could have ever imagined the consequences of back then…

We decided to go the rest of the way on foot and leave Max and Pascal nearby as guards, just in case, my father should manage to catch up to us too early…

A short glimpse at the dusky sky told us, that there was still enough time to walk until the day would reach its end and Equinox would be over and relieved about that fact, we continued climbing up our way towards the peak of the plateau. The leftovers of the stone surrounded by black rocks everywhere could be seen really clear from our position, although, it looked a lot more creepy than I remembered. In fact, the whole place seemed a lot darker and more hostile and I almost felt like the day, when I went down to the dungeons to ask Varian for help…

But Varian was pretty normal and – despite, he still did not seem to trust me completely – there was no hostility from his side anymore. Instead, he eyed the surrounding curiosly and also quite fascinated, but also with a trace of sorrow, concerning the enormous number of black rocks, starting to cross our way further up the hill.

"So, here is the place, where it all began?", he asked.

I nodded.

"Well… I clearly have to admit, that his really looks quite like something you actually shouldn't mess with…"

We walked on in silence and, when we had almost made it halfway up the hill, Varian suddenly stopped like he had hit an invisible wall in front of him.

"What's wrong?", I asked, as I had been totally lost in observing the descending sun until now.

"I'm not sure, but: Doesn't that sound like Maximus?"

Both of us turned around and when we spotted the reason, why Max was still snickering like crazy, we both felt a trace of despair rise…

"They've found us. But… How could this ever happen…?"

My voice was nothing more than soundless whispering, when I saw the guards running up the hill behind us, followed by my father, the king of Corona.

Varian bit his lips and said nothing. I knew, he was considering to flee again, but to my surprise, he didn't run away this time.

"That's something, that doesn't matter anymore.", he said, his gaze still stuck on the men who closed up quicker and quicker. "We have to get things done within the next about ten minutes, I guess? So, there won't be any time left to think about if they could find us so fast because somebody told them where we are, or just because of your father knows the secret paths of his kingdom better than we had imagined him to…"

He set his eyes back on me.

"We're almost there, princess", he said and smiled cheeringly while he took the test tube with the moondrops out from his shoulderbag. "Now, it's all up to you, if you know, what I mean…"

"I'll keep them at bay until you've finished what we came for. So, you'd better hurry up, because I don't know, how long I will be able to distract them successfully…"

Varian smiled and handed me the test tube. And before I could protest against it or even tell him, that I already had one of the tubes, he turned away and started running down the hill and towards the approaching guards!

I couldn't believe, that this was happening. But, yet, I also knew, what had to be done. And as fast as possible. Therefore, I forced myself not to run after the alchemist, but to turn towards the plateau again, and quickened my pace until I was nearly running.

This hadn't been part of our plan, after all. But Varian was right: There was no time left to lose. Equinox would soon be over and then everything we did would have been completely in vain…

While I was still running uphill, my fear towards the place had turned into a mixture of worry and a strong feeling of being proud of Varian, who was trying to distract the royal guards and the king of Corona all on his own right at the very moment, just to make it possible for me to reach the magic stone an save my kingdom. I was sure, if his father could see him now, Quirin would have been so proud of his son, too…

Nearly out of breath, I finally reached the peak of the plateau. And, when I walked past the black rocks which were surrounding the old stone like demonic guards, I felt my fear return, little by little.

"Be brave, Rapunzel…", I tried to cheer myself, when I finally stood right in front of the partly cracked stone, which was the source of all our problems.

"There's no way back now. Go on. Save them…"

I opened the test tube, Varian had given to me, took a deep breath - and then emptied it off the reel.

"No! Rapunzel!", I heard my father yell, when my hair finally started glowing as a reaction to the Essence of Darkness. Then, I closed my eyes and put my hand straight on to the surface of the stone. Only to realize, that nothing happened, when I did so.

"What… No!", I gasped and put my hand on the cold gray stone over and over again.

"Why…?"

I felt my heart beating faster and despair rising again inside of me. Could it be, that we were wrong and Equinox was already over? If that was the case, then…

"Come on!", I yelled, hitting the stone with the palms of my hands, "We brought back the light! So, why isn't it just working…?"

"Because, there really has to be a moon!"

Varian's voice made me stop hitting the stone like an idiot and turn over towards the noise instead.

"Stop making that face, princess!", he shouted rather amused, while he was running past the black rocks and straight towards myself. The royal guards not too far away.

"I know, it sounds a little strange, but it's not that difficult at all!"

He managed to evade the rocks, like they were nothing, and, when he finally arrived where I was standing, he stopped running and had to take a few really deep breaths before he could continue explaining.

"Look, princess…", he gasped, still a little out of breath, "You seem to kind of 'neutralize' everything coming from those black rocks. And I'm pretty sure, you're able to do so, because you yourself are the sun. This means: You're magic, trapped inside a person…"

"You mean…"
My eyes widened in disbelief, when I finally understood, what Varian was trying to tell me.

"No, Varian. You can't do this. Remember the rabbit, we had to fight when we met Horst and his friends? We don't know, what the Essence of Darkness will do with you…"

"Well… Trial and error. Isn't that exactly what science is based on?"

Varian grinned, but I could feel the light tension and fear of what he was about to do, when he suddenly took my hand with his, which was actually shaking like a leaf.

"Listen, you don't need to do this, Varian…"

The alchemist shook his head.

"No. I don't need to do this. I have to.", he said, "Now, hand me the other test tube, please…"

"But… - Wait. You… You knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"Actually, I was just assuming it." He gave me a crooked grin and then got serious again.

"But we really don't have the time to discuss these things right now. Summarized, to the most important, there are only three possibilities left, how this might end. First possibility: One of us is going to get seriously harmed. Or could even die. Second one: Both of us get harmed or die. Maybe even just trying... And the third and last possibility – And also the one I'd like to prefer of them all – We do what has to be done together, survive all of this and save Corona."

Varian smirked uncertainly. Then, he sighed and tightened his grip around my fingers a little more.

I nodded.
"Let's take the third one right from the start, okay.", I said and finally handed him the second test tube.

"Great idea, princess.", Varian chuckled, "Then please make sure that – whatever will happen to us in the next five minutes – you don't let go of my hand. Okay, Rapunzel?"

I nodded again, but couldn't help to feel a trace of panic, when Varian finally opened the test tube with his free hand and emptied it without any further hesitation off the reel like I had done a few minutes ago.

First nothing seemed to happen, again. But then, all of a sudden, Varian started coughing and convulsing as if he was feeling pain.

"Varian! Wha-"

"Don't!"

He cut me short before I could even think about saying anything else.

"Just… don't… let… go… of… my… hand…", he pressed and made me tighten my grip once more.

Suddenly, my hair started glowing stronger and I tried to focus on using the energy to make sure, Varian would stay alive and hopefully unharmed…

No matter what had happened one month ago: He wouldn't have to be the one who died trying.

It had to be option number three, and nothing else.

I felt painful, when I saw the alchemist still coughing and trembling from whatever was happening to him at the moment. It looked as if he was really going to die for a few more seconds. But then, all of a sudden, he stopped being unwell and began to steady himself again.

There really has to be a moon…

The words were still running in circles through my mind, over and over again, when I watched in deepest astonishment, how Varian's hair was slowly turning into a bright and shining icy cold blue – just like the black rocks did, everytime, I touched them. The color of his skin had faded completely into an unhealthy pale white and the freckles on his cheeks and around his nose had also turned into little icy blue glowing spots, while his eyes were looking kind of glassy and absent, as if he was looking right through me…

I couldn't help but stare fascinated for a moment at what I saw. But even more than fascinated, I was worried about the boy who really was risking his own life again, to keep his promise and help me to save Corona and its people.

I forced myself to look away and into another direction. And when I finally managed to, I realized, that even my father and the guards had stopped chasing us and were watching everything from a save distance now.

"Ready?", I asked, turning back to Varian again, who now seemed to look at me attentively.

"Ready."

Without any further hesitation, I grabbed the alchemist's other hand, too and put all four of them onto the magic stone at the same time.

"Princess!"

"RAPUNZEL!"

The sound of the swirling wind that followed, as soon as our hands had touched the cracked surface of the stone, wiped away the callings within less than seconds and soon, Varian and I were surrounded by a powerful storm of magic energy and light that was at least three times as strong as the outburst when I had touched the black rocks around the stone for the first time…

"Hold on, Varian!"

I pressed our hands stronger against the cold surface, when I felt Varian getting a little weaker as the storm was now closing in on us, as if the magic stone wanted to protect itself against us…

"I will!", Varian shouted over the enormous sound of the wind that grew stronger and stronger, "if you just don't let go of me now…!"

He grinned but I could already see some exhaustion in his features. Unlike me, he wasn't born with magic and so, already seemed like a miracle to me, that the young alchemist was still alive and even able to talk to me…

"Just a little longer, Varian! It's working!"

Meanwhile, the storm had gotten so loud, that it began to hurt our ears, but some of the black rocks around us already began to crack and then to break apart. Bursting, they scattered their pieces all over the plateau, where the specific parts immediately turned into glimmering black and blue dust, as soon as they hit the ground or anything else.

"It's really working!"

Enthusiastic, I smiled at Varian, who faintly smiled back at me but still was able to stand his ground.

Then, all of a sudden, the magic winds completely disappeared – and the cracked stone underneath our hands began to glow!

If someone had asked me to describe, what it looked like to have the light of sun and moon together in one place: Well, this was basically it.

But, as soon, as the light began to shine, the cracks in the stone got bigger and deeper until the light disappeared again and the stone itself shattered into millions of little pieces scattered by an enormous energy, which simply swept us off our feet, because none of us had ever expected a reaction like this.

"Rapunzel! Help!"

"Varian!"

The explosion had separated us but while I had been lucky enough to land on solid ground, Varian had been blown right over the edge of the plateau!
Luckily, he had been able to grab a strand of my hair during the explosion and therefore shouldn't have fallen all the way down from the top…

I fixed the strand on a normal rock and walked over to the edge of the plateau.

"Varian? Are you alright?", I asked, leaning forward, to look down to where I at least supposed to find him…

"Are they gone?", Varian asked, gazing up at me as he was really hanging just a few meters below, his right hand and parts of his forearm tightly curled with my hair.

The short separation must have broken the magic bond between us, for his appearance had nearly fully returned to normal and so, I could see clearly the hope in his big blue eyes, when he asked me the question.

"Yes…", I chuckled and felt tons of weight falling from my heart right at the very moment, "Yes, they're gone…"

"Well… That has been quite a piece of work now, hasn't it?"

True, Varian sounded quite fatigue, but he chuckled, too, and then we laughed together for a moment.

"So, princess Rapunzel", he said suddenly a little more serious again and then smiled up at me in a way, I first couldn't interpret clearly, "I've kept my promise to help you and save Corona… Now, it's time for you, to keep your promises, too."

We both heard the sound of footsteps coming closer right behind me, but instead of turning towards the guards, I kept staring at the alchemist in mere confusion, when he refused to respond to my efforts in trying to pull him up the cliff.

"Wait. What do you mean?", I asked, even though, I already knew the answer all by myself.

"No. Varian…"

He was grinning sheepishly at me, while slowly trying to untangle the hair around his arm.

"No, Varian! Please don't… I promised you, that you'd stay free… - And this time, I am not going to break my promises. No matter, what consequences it will have… - Please believe me!"

Varian eyed me attentively and chuckled again.

"I know, princess.", he said gently – and then simply let go of the strand in his fingers.

"VARIAN!"

I bend forward, trying to catch him and prevent him from falling further down but was totally unable to reach him. Before I could throw my hair after him, or even jump after him, I was already pulled backwards, away from the edge of the plateau, and so the last thing I saw was Varian falling downward and then disappearing somewhere into the dense treetops below…

"Rapunzel!"

My father's voice and the sounds around me still sounded far away, when I was finally pulled back to my feet.

"Are you alright, dear? Are you hurt somewhere?", he asked and examined me all worried.

I nodded and then shook my head.

"I'm okay…", I lied. My voice was weak and sounded somehow broken, and I felt a strange kind of pain rising somewhere in my chest, while I kept staring at the edge of the plateau, where I just had lost one of my friends.

Again…

With trembling fingers, I patted Pascal's head, who had just climbed on my shoulder and squeaked carefully. Next to me, I felt Maximus's nose slightly tipping against my cheek, and then my father's hand on my other shoulder, when he slowly walked next to me.

"It's not your fault, Rapunzel.", he said gently, trying to cheer me up, "Varian was old enough, to decide things for himself…"

"And I wasn't even able to say 'Thank you' to him for any of it."

I felt still weak and my voice still wasn't anything else than a grating whispering, when I finally managed to turn away from the scenery and walked past my father and the guards, Pascal and Max close by my side, and straight down the hill.

When I took a short look up on the sky, I realized that it was totally covered with stars. But the most amazing thing, that caught my eyes almost immediately and accompanied us for almost two nights on our way back to Corona then, was the most beautiful and brightest shining moon, that could ever light anyone's path back home…