The moment Rapunzel was in the castle gardens, she took off her shoes and sighed. The grass beneath her feet calmed the tension she hadn't realized she was carrying, and the notes from the symphony in the ballroom were far enough away that the notes felt like a lullaby carried by the wind.
Music was all she had left of her gift, and when she sang, the vibrations in her chest was the closest she came to feeling whole. Not having her power was like missing a limb, constantly leaving her off balance in the strange new world she lived in.
Finding the tallest tree, she climbed it, leaving the world she'd spent so little time in behind and opening up room to think in ways she struggled to when she was on solid ground. With her back to the castle, she looked over the streets of Arendelle, aglow with candlelight now that the sun had set and the courtyard where the people of the town still gathered celebrating their new queen.
Rapunzel knew she should get back to the party for no other reason than to observe Arendelle's queen and princess behaving the way Rapunzel should. They'd spent their entire lives knowing who they were and who they were destined to be. Surely they didn't feel the need to run and hide…ever.
Voices on a balcony behind Rapunzel told her that she was not as alone as she'd thought. Peering through the branches of the tree, Rapunzel saw Princess Anna and Prince Hans. They seemed like old friends, making Rapunzel wonder if she would have grown up playing together with them as children like the boys and girls in the streets of Corona did with each other.
Though she couldn't hear what they were saying, Rapunzel didn't want to intrude on their private conversation; so she reluctantly scaled back down the tree, picked up her unwanted shoes, and made her way back to the party.
Queen Elsa stood alone near the orchestra.
Rapunzel took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. It was now or never.
Elsa seemed distracted as she approached her.
"Congratulations on your coronation," Rapunzel said.
Elsa gave her a tight smile, said "Thank you", and then looked away from her back towards the ballroom entrance as if she were waiting for someone else.
One benefit of spending her entire life alone was that Rapunzel could keep up a conversation with a doorknob if she needed to. "I am Princess Rapunzel of Corona."
Elsa's eyes narrowed at the ballroom entrance, still hardly recognizing someone was attempting to speak with her. "That's nice," the Queen said.
Then again, a doorknob had better conversational skills than the woman in front of her. It was both absurd and maddening at the same time, and suddenly, she didn't care what Queen Elsa thought of her as long as she knew she existed.
"Not that I've spent much time in Corona," Rapunzel said. "I was locked in a tower for most of my life by a woman I thought was my mother but turned out to just want me for my powers."
Rapunzel's words had their desired effect.
Elsa slowly turned to look at her, and Rapunzel knew she had the queen's full attention. "You have powers?" she asked Rapunzel, looking her up and down.
Rapunzel tried very hard to not judge the queen for skipping over the "locked in a tower" portion of her trauma dump.
"Not anymore," Rapunzel said.
"How did you get rid of it?" Elsa asked.
"I sacrificed my power to save a dear friend."
If Elsa could tell she had offended Rapunzel, she didn't let on. Two men, one short and chubby, the other tall and thin, approached them, not so patiently waiting to meet the new Queen.
"Tell me your name again," Elsa said.
"Rapunzel, Princess of Corona. Maybe you and your sister could come for a visit?"
"We don't visit people," Elsa said, not offering an explanation, "but please write to me and describe exactly how you got rid of your magic."
Rapunzel knew then and there that she would do no such thing. "Congratulations again," Rapunzel said and then left the Queen to her other guests.
"There you are!" Eugene said, twirling Rapunzel around in a way that usually would have made her laugh but tonight left her dizzy. "What do you think of the party?"
"It's…stuffy. I don't think anyone will notice if we leave early."
"Least of all, the Queen," Rapunzel added silently.
Eugene tugged at his collar like the little boy had earlier that day. "Yeah, it is a little warm here."
They were almost out the door when Princess Elsa's voice rose above everyone else's. "Give me my glove!"
Rapunzel and Eugene turned to see Anna clutching at one of Elsa's long blue gloves in her hand.
The entire ballroom grew still as the party turned interesting.
"Elsa, please! Please, I can't live like this anymore!"
After a long pause, Elsa said, "Then leave."
Rapunzel knew she should look away, but the pain the two sisters were causing each other rooted her in place.
"What did I ever do to you?" Anna shouted as her sister tried to retreat.
"Enough Anna," Elsa said over her shoulder, still trying to end the fight by walking away.
"No, why?!" Anna continued, "Why do you shut me out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?"
Rapunzel leaned closer, interested in hearing Elsa's answer. Maybe it would explain how or why she could so casually decline an invitation to Corona.
"I said ENOUGH!" Elsa spun back towards her sister and as she did, deadly splinters of ice flew from her hand, creating an enormous spiked barricade between herself and everyone else.
Eugene's arms wrapped protectively around Rapunzel even as she tried to get closer to the action.
"Monster!" The Duke of Weselton squealed.
Elsa burst through the doors, and Anna chased after her, leaving the ballroom in shock.
Rapunzel gently touched one of the spikes, and a hum like a distant memory vibrated through her. Turning her palm over, she stared in shock when, for the briefest of moments, her hand shone with the Corona emblem.
Queen Elsa had magic…magic that was somehow tied to what Rapunzel had lost.
"A party and a show," Eugene said, not noticing what had just occurred. "What a night, huh?"
"I have to find her," Rapunzel told him.
"Find who?" Eugene asked.
"Queen Elsa," she said, leaving no room for debate as she ran after the queen.