Chapter 32

They stay at Varian's for a few more days after that. Without the threat of Donovan coming after them, or the guard finding them all the way out here, they realize there's no rush in leaving just yet.

Everyone is exhausted - physically and emotionally. They all could use a good rest, considering they'd hardly slept the night of the battle. They spend a lot of time talking after that, mostly catching up with each other about all that happened.

They get their meals in too, much to Varian's encouragement. He does everything he can to help them get back on their feet. He makes sure they have everything they need for their travels – supplies, food, and medicine for Rapunzel.

After all the time they share together at Varian's, it actually starts to feel like the five of them have formed some sort of broken family – having all shared the same trauma of that night, and came out the other side of it together.

The isolation of the lab is nice. There's nobody else out here for miles. It's rewarding after all they had endured, and not to mention the most peace that any of them have felt in a long time.

As much as they'd all love to stay, sooner or later, they realize that it's time to move on.

Lance figures he should return to his ship and crew. Rapunzel and Eugene are ready to start their future together with their child. And Cassandra - she wants to see the world, with the guard no longer weighing her down.

So, as the four of them stand on the front porch of Varian's lab late one morning, with their bags packed and a good night's rest in their systems, there's a sense of wistfulness between them.

"Well. I guess this is goodbye," Varian sighs, standing outside the open archway of the front door.

The air is warm. Birds are singing their morning songs. The sky is clear and blue, with the sun beaming down onto the pavement.

"I know I've told you this already, but there has to be something else I can do to thank you," insists Rapunzel, standing in front of him.

"No, really," Varian holds his hands up in protest, "Like I said, a few new friends are all I could've asked for."

"You sure you don't wanna come with us?" Lance asks from next to her, "There's always room on my crew for one more."

"Yeah. I've got my work cut out for me here," he scratches the back of his neck. "But if you're ever in the area again, my door is always open for a visit."

Rapunzel steps forward then, pulling Varian into a warm embrace. "Thank you again, Varian. You're a good friend," she murmurs over his shoulder. She can't say it enough.

He wraps his arms around her too, "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're okay."

She pulls away, clasping her hands in front of herself. Her eyes are glistening, and a fond grin lingers on her lips.

Eugene step forward next. "Thanks, kid. For everything," he briefly ruffles Varian's hair with his hand.

"You be careful with those experiments of yours," advises Cass, standing further away with a hand on her hip. There's a teasing smirk on her face as she says it.

Varian chuckles softly, "I'll try."

After that, the four of them turn their backs, and make their way down the staircase.

With a faded grin and a warming heart, Varian watches them as they leave, wishing them well on their travels.

King Frederic stares down at the sheet of parchment on the desk in front of him, scribbling his signature onto it with deep concentration.

He puts it aside and pulls another one from the pile next to him, repeating the process. He does it hastily and mindlessly, having been required to sign many other documents as part of his duties as king.

It's midday. The castle is quiet. All that can be heard is the sound of the papers shuffling.

The study he's in is a small room with floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall, encasing the mahogany desk and chair in the centre of the room. A glistening chandelier hangs from the ceiling, painted with intricate golden patterns. There's a wide archway in front of him that leads out into the hallway of the castle.

For a while, Frederic loses himself in thought until someone clears their throat from within the room, breaking the silence.

When he looks up, he notices the Captain of the Guard standing in the doorway, with his posture rigid, and his hands clasped behind his back.

"Pardon my interruption, Your Majesty," he greets.

"Captain," Frederic blinks in shock, eyeing him curiously from across the room. "You have returned. I did not expect to see you so soon."

Everyone knows he and the guard had been gone for weeks, travelling overseas in search of the missing princess. If he is here now, that can only mean one thing. Frederic can't help the sudden hopefulness in his chest just from the thought of it. "Have you found her?"

The captain looks away awkwardly. "Not… exactly. I mean, no. We haven't."

Frederic's eyebrows crease low over his eyes, wondering why else he would be here. "What do you mean?"

"Something has… changed," reveals the captain, "I thought it imperative to inform you that…" After a hesitant moment, he pulls his shoulders back confidently, brushing aside his personal feelings on the matter, "Cassandra has resigned from the royal guard. She won't be returning to Corona."

Frederic can't say he ever expected to hear those words, considering how hard he knows the girl had worked to achieve her position on the guard. "Cassandra? But why?"

"It is of my understanding that her leaving was an act of sympathy for Rapunzel. And Flynn Rider," explains the captain, albeit nervously to have to be the one to reveal this news to the king. He doesn't expect Frederic to have a calm reaction. "The three of them have been in association with each other. It is presumed that they have gone into hiding… together."

And suddenly, all Frederic can do anymore is stare at the other man in bewilderment at the mere mention of Rapunzel.

"I understand I shouldn't have returned here without the princess, and I deeply apologize for that," the captain walks further into the room, approaching the desk. "But I will not repeat the same mistakes I have made, by prioritizing my career over Cassandra. If my daughter has been deemed an offender of the law, then I refuse to be the one to pursue her. Therefore… I respectfully resign my position as a member of the royal guard." With an orderly nod, he removes his helmet from his head, and places it on the desk in front of the king.

Frederic glances down at it, at a loss for words. The room falls silent as a million thoughts race into his head all at once.

Rapunzel… she's alive. He hadn't been sure of it. No one had. Sightings had been reported of Flynn recently, but the girl he was seen travelling with was not confirmed to be the lost princess. Some had believed her to be dead long ago, though most held on to hope.

But it seems the rumors are true, after all. She is out there, somewhere. And she's still travelling with him, after all this time.

And now Cassandra is gone too, just like Rapunzel. Frederic knows how close the two girls had been growing up. He doesn't doubt their reasoning for leaving must be related, if he is to believe what the captain is telling him. The only difference being that it happened two years apart.

To Frederic, it's as if everything is spiraling out of control, slipping out of his grasp. But he realizes that no matter how hard he tries to always be the one in power, he can't. This was inevitable, as was Rapunzel running away all that time ago.

He can't be the one in control all the time. Not over something like this. It reminds him of what he had already begun to believe, long after Rapunzel left - that he had failed her.

He is the reason she left in the first place. He missed his chance to redeem himself to her. He has nobody to blame but himself. For any of this. It seems it had only taken Cassandra leaving too for him to fully realize it.

Because how could the captain respect his own daughter's wish to leave, to such an extent that he is willing to give up his entire career for her, yet Frederic cannot do the same for Rapunzel?

In this moment, he has never felt more ashamed of himself for that.

The king sighs softly, sounding almost emotionless. "There is no need for that."

The other man pauses, taken aback by that statement. "Sir?"

Frederic rises to a stand, his chair scraping along the floor, "Enlighten me, captain." His fingertips remain pressed against the surface of the desk, eyeline lowered in thought. "Is my daughter safe?"

The captain glances away briefly in confusion. He isn't sure why Frederic is asking this, but thinks better than to question his king. Aside from the threat of the guard, he has no reason to believe otherwise. "I, uh… I believe so, Your Majesty."

Somehow, Frederic's pleading gaze reflects all the despair and grief he has felt since Rapunzel had first begun to slip from his fingers, even long before she left.

"Is she happy?" he asks, his voice soft and desperate.

The captain hesitates. He isn't sure it's his place to answer a question like that, but can understand why the king would want to know. The captain would wonder the same thing if it were his own daughter.

Then he remembers Cassandra telling him that Rapunzel was happy, and that's part of the reason why Cass couldn't turn her in. Though he doesn't know all of the details of where Rapunzel is, and what her life is like now, he figures that's at least something that Frederic would appreciate hearing.

"Y-yes," informs the captain, "She is."

Though it warms Frederic's heart to hear that, it breaks it all the same. Because now he knows the truth.

Rapunzel and Flynn – they had run away together. That day, after the thief was meant to be executed in the square. He'd disappeared from his cell the same night that Rapunzel did, never to be seen again.

And if they are still travelling together after all this time, it can only mean what Frederic had been too afraid to acknowledge – that they are in love, and had both escaped Corona because the world wouldn't allow them to be together otherwise. Because he wouldn't allow it.

Frederic lowers his head then, gaze falling and shoulders shrinking in a defeated way. He exhales softly, briefly closing his eyes. "Then I have no right to try and take that away from her."

The idea of it makes Frederic crumble – knowing that his little girl is all grown up. The same little girl that had once loved her own father just the same, and replaced him in a way.

But mostly, it reminds him of when he himself had been a young teenager, naïve and free-spirited, with the woman he can now call his wife.

It was so long ago, but Fredric remembers it as if it were yesterday. He loved Arianna more than anything in the world. He always will, just like Flynn must love Rapunzel, and she him.

A part of Frederic doesn't want to admit it solely because it hurts him to have to let Rapunzel go. To trust that she is safe and well taken care of in the arms of another man. To accept that she isn't coming back, because her heart has chosen otherwise.

But Frederic loves his daughter more than words can express. And if she is happy being out there in the world with Flynn, then that is all Frederic can ever hope for. He has no right to take that away from her. Not when he has already taken so much. It has been his biggest regret.

Despite his aching heart, Frederic raises his chin with all the regality and composure of any king, and locks eyes with the man across from him. "You will remain as captain. And you may tell your officers that I have decided to permanently lift the bounty for both the princess and Flynn Rider," he commands, his tone remaining level. "Since they are no longer wanted by the kingdom of Corona, then neither is Cassandra."

The captain only stares back at him in shock, lips parted and mind scrambling.

"After that," the king continues, "Consider your mission complete… captain."

A few stunned moments pass by. Then the captain closes his hanging jaw, and steps forward to retrieve his helmet from the desk. He tucks it underneath his arm, puffing out his chest in a satisfied way. He masks the relief on his face, knowing that his position on the guard will remain his own, and Cassandra is no longer in danger of the law.

"Understood, Your Majesty. Thank you." With his hands clasped behind his back, the captain briefly bows his head, before turning and disappearing through the doorway.

A/N: 2 more chapters left!