EPILOGUE: 'Cinnamon Sparks or: Thanks for making me do the things you made me do'

I think, it has been the fifth or sixth day after the black rocks had been destroyed and we returned back to the castle of Corona. I'd been shut in my room for some time, trying to distract me by painting some new pictures onto my bedroom walls.
After our return, Eugene and Cassandra, who had both been arrested during the time, I had been away from home, had become free again and I was happy, that both of them were quite alright. But although, they had both forgiven me for leaving them alone, I felt guilty towards them for quite a long time, still…

The good news of the rocks having been destroyed had also spread very fast. And soon, there had been some smaller and one big festival all over the country to celebrate, that the evil threat had been banished successfully.

Afterwards, things had returned to normal for everyone pretty soon. That is: For everyone but my friends and me. Eugene and Cassandra didn't talk about it very much, after I had told them, what had happened at equinox on the plateau. But, as far as I was concerned, I still felt like something important was simply missing. Actually not inside my head but more inside of my heart…

Then, one day, when I had been just about to paint another star onto the moonless sky in a corner of my room, something had come flying right through the open window of my chamber…

When I had turned to the small glowing object, I had realized, that it was one of the flying lanterns, which were really popular in our kingdom.

I put down the brush and went over to catch the unsteady flying little thing. After having actually caught the lantern, I had found out that there was a little paper fixed to it. I took it and after having unfolded it, my heart simply skipped a beat when I recognized the quick and unsteady but, yet pretty accurate handwriting on it…

'Dear Princess Rapunzel', it read, 'First of all: Please do NOT mistake this letter. I guess, we're still not friends (Although, I'm quite sorry for not being able to write to you earlier.)…'

I couldn't help but start to chuckle, while I was reading on.
Of course, I thought smirking, We're no friends at all. Never…

'Anyways: I have to thank you. Not only for helping me to get out of the dungeons back then. Or for not letting me die once or twice on the journey that followed…

I know, I might not have the right to ask you for another favor, but, I guess, I still have to do so.

I think, you might remember Horst and his friends? Some of them have been caught by the guards and thrown into the dungeons underneath the castle recently. And, well, as they have been quite nice towards me after picking me up from the branch of a tree -Where I had landed after I let go of your hair (Sorry for that, too. But I wanted to make sure, that this time you'd really keep your promise…) - I thought, I'd owe them the favor to ask you, if you might be able to help us a little…'

I read the letter to its end and put it into a drawer of one of my cupboards.

Of course, I'd do him at least this one little favor! It was actually nothing, compared to what he had done for all of us…

That was what had happened already three days ago.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The guards really sounded quite excited while they ran down the hallway towards the throne room.

I couldn't help but starting to chuckle, after they had run past the place, where I had hidden behind the pedestal of a column.

"What? That's just impossible!"

My father sounded frantic, when he heard the news, the guards brought to him after the doors of the throne room had shut behind them.

"But it's true, your majesty: All of the new prisoners are just gone!"

"And, without any trace of violence, you say? No destroyed bars, no missing stones, no tunnels or even broken locks?"

"Nothing. It's almost like… like someone had used a key to open the doors…"

"A key, you say?"
I imagined to hear my father sigh out loud.

"A key… -Well, then we'll simply have to accept the fact, that they got away, I guess…"

"But-"

"I said: We will simply have to accept it…"

I smirked because I knew that my father knew, that I was listening closely to what he was saying. And I also knew, that he knew, that I had something to do with this 'mysterious' jailbreak…

Smiling and innocently whispering, I left my position and returned inconspicuously to my chamber.

Yes, yes. A key…

So the wooden copy of the dungeon key, which I had managed to steal from the key chamber, had reached him just in time. Great!

Wondering, if he had used some alchemy on it to strengthen it and make it really usable, I closed the doors to my room. And, when I turned, there was – to my surprise- another flying lantern waiting for me.

Carefully, I cupped the object into my hands and examined the bottom of the lantern.

"So, you're back once more?", I asked while untying another letter which had been fixed to the glowing object.

'Dear Rapunzel'

Huh? No 'princess' this time? I started chuckling again.

'Thank you for actually helping me, getting Horst and the others out of the dungeons. And sorry for not visiting, but – as you know – the current circumstances didn't allow us to stay at Corona Castle for too long…

Please, take back the key which you have duplicated so really exactly and put it into some fresh water. Then wait a few seconds and see what will happen next…

It's not too much, but I hope, you'll enjoy it, for it's the only thing, I can actually do at the moment, except for writing you 'Thank you' another thousands of times and that you should absolutely continue to be as you are: An intelligent and goodhearted person and a really brave princess, that would do would face even the darkest of adventures to keep her kingdom and family save.'
A little fluttered, I had to read the final part of the letter twice, to make sure, I could believe my own eyes. Was he really calling me a good person? Even though, I still hadn't been able to keep my biggest promise towards him until now?!

He was. And this gave me the strength, I needed. The strength to continue finding a possibility to keep the promise I had made over a month ago. The strength to find a way to finally free Quirin.

'I hope, we'll meet again someday somewhere and until that day, just let's make sure, nobody will put us somewhere we don't want to be anymore, okay?

See you soon, Rapunzel – Oh! And – by the way: Greetings to Cassandra and Mister Ryder!

(You wouldn't even want to imagine, how long Horst and the others have been getting on my nerves until I finally wrote that down! Haha!)

Goodbye, princess. And: May the light of the sun and the moon always be with you…

Love,

VARIAN'

I smiled. And after finishing the letter, I took the little key, which had been fixed on the back of the paper.

I put it into a glass of fresh water, as it had been written in the letter, and then I waited curiously for what would be going to happen…

First, there was nothing special about the whole thing. But then, after almost a minute had passed, the key slowly began to react to its liquid environment…

Even more curious, I watched the small object starting to disperse itself. And, when its original form had finally vanished completely, it set free the scent of something that smelled like cinnamon – and an uncountable number of of little light spots that were swirling through the air around me like thousands of little fireflies - and then out of my window into the starry night.

-THE END-