Adira didn't plan things carefully. Her way of doing things was to jump right in before she changed her mind and started to have doubts. Her brothers at one time or another had all accused her of being reckless.

Edmund thought that because she acted without thinking things through that she didn't truly care about the consequences that followed. Quirin believed that she just forgot to think about those around her. And Hector had always had the gall to laugh and say that she was reckless because she had a death wish.

As though he was one to talk.

Her brothers didn't understand her at all. Adira may not always stop to consider the consequences of what she did, because she was far too aware of the potential consequences if she didn't do something. And even if things went wrong, she stayed around to clean up any mess that might follow.

And Adira was always thinking about those around her. She only jumped head-first into situations for the sake of others. Running after coin-purse thieves when she witnessed an incident in the streets. Traveling across the world to find the legendary sundrop, just because there was the possibility that it could save her people. Forming this massive lie about her nephew. Adira did all of it because she cared. So what if she didn't wait around to talk to the victims and offer flowery, comforting words that meant nothing? She fixed problems, all for the happiness of other people. How could Quirin say she didn't care?

And Hector…Hector…

Adira wondered if her brother knew that most people were not like him. That they didn't view life as nothing more than just a series of days with scattered happy moments throughout. That most people didn't pray for their inevitable end to come just a bit sooner.

Adira wished her brothers understood her. That they knew how hard she worked, and just how much she cared, but it didn't matter if they did or not. She'd never let their judgement stop her before, and she wasn't going to let them stop her now

Adira had a plan. It was probably a reckless one, and her brothers would never forgive her if they knew what she was up to, but none of them were here. Edmund was hiding away in his kingdom, just him, his isolation, and his martyr complex. Hector had already given up, so as cruel as it was Adira didn't care what he had to say about this, even if he was able to voice his opinion.

Quirin was around, and he was keeping a close eye on her, but he was also a busy man and a father who was looking out for his son. It was all too easy to evade him.

Adira would have loved Quirin's help, but she'd already asked too much of him. He'd almost ruined his relationship with his son because he'd done her a favor that had lasted for ten years. She didn't want to get him involved. He would probably be very useful in this particular venture, because he had connections in this kingdom that Adira didn't. But she could figure it out without his help.

So even though Adira wanted to just jump right into her plan to save her brother, she waited for just a little bit longer. She wanted to get Hector back, but not at the cost of losing the rest of her family. So she waited, just a few days, until they'd all calmed down enough that they could at least pretend that they were normal.

Adira didn't let any more tears fall. She didn't cling to Varian or Quirin like she was afraid she was going to lose them at any second. She pushed back her fear. There was no point in grieving Hector, because she was going to save him. Adira just acted the same as before, and when Quirin saw that she was acting normal, he followed her lead.

Varian looked a little lost. He'd stared at them both with wide eyes as Adira and Quirin made small-talk during breakfast, and he had reluctantly followed their example.

Adira knew that the boy needed to talk to someone. That he needed more than to just pretend that everything was okay. She wished she could give that to him, but Hector was her priority at the moment. The most she could do for Varian was make sure he didn't get involved any more than he already had.

"Brother," Adira addressed Quirin as he was tidying up from breakfast and getting ready for the rest of the day. "Do you know where everybody else in Old Corona relocated to?"

Quirin's mouth thinned. From the way he was looking at her it was clear that he had an idea of why she was asking. But he didn't call her out. Quirin just sighed and looked out the window. All of Old Corona was still covered in black rocks. The place had been devastated.

"They've found refuge in a few different nearby villages." Quirin said. "Some of them are talking about leaving the kingdom entirely."

"You should take Varian and look in on them." Adira said. "Stay away from home, and stay away from the capital."

Quirin narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you planning, Adira?"

"You're better off not knowing." Adira said. "Trust me, just for today."

Quirin gave her a long, careful look. She was sure he was going to deny her, but finally he sighed.

"Be careful." Quirin said. Adira felt like she could breathe properly.

"Thank you." Adira said.

"Whatever you're doing, talk to Varian before you start." Quirin said. "He can't have any more of his family disappear without a word."

Adira wanted to say that she had no intentions of disappearing, but she wasn't a fool. Despite what Edmund used to say of her, Adira had thought about the consequences of her actions. She'd thought about it very carefully. She'd weighed the risks, and thought it was worth it. But Quirin had a point. Adira knew that there was a high chance that she wouldn't be able to remain a free woman in Corona after today.

She had come to terms with it. Saving Hector was well-worth it. But Varian deserved an explanation.

"I'll talk to him." Adira said. The teenager would probably demand a more in depth explanation than what his father had accepted.

Quirin nodded his thanks and turned his attention back to finishing off the chores. Adira left him to it and she went outside. Varian was sitting on the ground, drawing a picture in the dirt with a stick. Adira sighed and sat on the ground next to him.

"What's on your mind?" Adira asked.

"Take a guess." Varian said moodily. Adira hadn't been spending much time with Varian lately. She wondered if he had this kind of an attitude for a while now, or if he was tuning in to his inner Hector as a way to cope.

"Things will get better." Adira said. Varian shot her an annoyed look. "And I'm not just saying that because that's what adults are supposed to say when things go bad. I'm saying it because I'm going to personally see to it."

Varian's glare softened to a cautious, almost scared look. "What are you doing?"

"You're better off not knowing." Adira said. "But I'm going to get Hector back."

"But at what cost?" Varian turned to face her completely. "If I'm better off not knowing, does that mean it's something bad?"

"Most people would say so." Adira said. "But for the sake of my family, I couldn't care less what people might think about me."

Varian's brow furrowed. "When you say you're doing something bad, do you mean you're doing something criminal?" Adira didn't answer. She wasn't going to drag Varian and Quirin down with her. Plausible deniability. "Aunt Adira, this kingdom is harsh on criminals." His voice lowered. "One of our neighbors was struggling a few winters ago, and when they were in the capital they stole something, just some bread to feed their family, and none of us have heard from them since."

"I have no intention of being locked up for the rest of my life." Adira said, though she didn't say that she had accepted it as a possibility. Varian needed reassurance, not the truth. Not this time. "But I need to save Hector. If my brother's okay, that's all that matters at the end of the day."

Varian sighed. "But I want you to be okay too."

"I'll do my best." Adira said. That was the truth. "But if the worst happens, I need you to promise me that you'll take care of yourself, take care of your dad, and stay out of trouble. Don't try to do something like what I'm about to do."

Varian frowned. "How can I promise that when I don't know what you're going to do?"

"Varian," Adira said sternly. Varian sighed and nodded.

"Fine." He said reluctantly. That was all Adira needed.

"Thank you." Adira said. She stood up. "And I'm sorry. For all of this."

Varian gave her a sad look. "So am I." And it wasn't clear if he was sorry because he was blaming himself, or if he was just sorry about the situation in general. Knowing Varian, it could be either.

Adira nodded and turned away. She started the journey to the capital. It would take her a few hours to get there, and several hours to get back. She had to trust Quirin to get Varian away from Old Corona by then.

Adira took this as an opportunity to meditate and focus. She missed Hector and she wanted him back, but she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. She needed to concentrate and be calm, or else she would falter and fail. She couldn't afford to do that.

When Adira meditated like this, time passed like it was nothing. She soon got to the capital. Adira focused completely. She was calm. She was tough. She was ready to do what was necessary. Nothing was going to stop her.

Everybody in the capital was happy and cheerful, and if Adira didn't have good control of her own emotions she would feel an overwhelming disgust and frustration about it. How dare these people be so happy when her brother was trapped and might as well be dead. Why did they get to live their lives as normal when the people of Old Corona had been threatened and plagued by the black rocks?

The people in the capital were oblivious to the suffering and fear that came with life. They'd lost their heir and princess, and they'd created a festival around it. Adira didn't like how pessimistic the people of the Dark Kingdom could be sometimes, but they seemed to be more grounded in reality than Coronans were.

Adira made her way to the castle, and it was evident that the guards were impossibly incompetent. Even with a paranoid and protective king, and a magical princess who had already been kidnapped for her powers, it was far too easy for Adira to break in. She was effortlessly able to enter the castle without even needing to track the shifts and patrolling patterns of the guards. She could just walk right in and get into the room located directly beneath the princess' bedchambers. This room wasn't even locked, and this was just sad.

Adira went out the window and climbed up to the balcony of the room above. She could hear the princess humming to herself. As Adira let herself into the room she immediately noticed that there were no guards around, or even handmaidens. The princess was alone.

Did her parents want her to get kidnapped again? Adira doubted that there were even guards outside her room.

The Sundrop was painting an impressive picture on a large canvas. It looked like the view from the tower that she had been held captive in for her whole childhood. Adira recognized the scene. When she'd first started seeing black rocks around the kingdom she had known it had something to do with the Sundrop, and she'd started investigating.

Adira knew that Rapunzel's hair had grown back, though the magic had changed. She suspected that the rocks were making their way to the capital, drawn to the Sundrop's power. Adira had done what she could to learn about the Sundrop, and that involved going to her hidden tower. Just from visiting there Adira knew that the princess had been an intelligent and creative, but very lonely, young woman.

Adira had watched the Sundrop from a distance, trying to figure out what she was doing about the black rock situation. Surely she knew that they were destroying her kingdom because of her. It didn't take long for Adira to realize that no, Rapunzel didn't know that, because she didn't know that the black rocks had spread to her kingdom at all.

The king was keeping her in the dark, treating her like a child who was too fragile to handle the truth. Adira had judged King Frederic harshly about it, but now she didn't know if she had any right to. After all, hadn't she done the same thing to her brother?

Adira didn't know what the king thought he was truly accomplishing by lying to his people and brushing a problem under the rug, but it wasn't her problem. These weren't her people, and it wasn't her kingdom. All she cared about was her family. Now that they were in trouble, and the princess had the powers to do something about it, it was time to finally introduce herself to the Sundrop.

"That's an impressive painting." Adira said. Rapunzel gasped and whirled around, wielding her paintbrush as though it was a dagger. This girl wasn't a warrior, but she had a fighter's spirit. She'd been a victim for long enough, and her spirit wasn't going to let that happen again without a fight. It was rather admirable.

"Who…how did you get up here?" Rapunzel's voice was cautious and nearly threatening.

"I climbed up the wall." Adira said. "The guards here aren't very good." She let herself into the room. Rapunzel took a step back and hardened her gaze. Adira raised an eyebrow at her. Fighting spirit or not, unless Rapunzel was ready to jab that paintbrush into Adira's eye, her 'weapon' would do her no good.

"I'm not here for a fight." Adira said. "I'm here to ask for your help."

Rapunzel's gaze and posture softened, though she didn't lower her brush. "Help with what?"

"It's rather complicated." Adira said. "I believe you're familiar with the black rocks. Large. Glowy. Probably have an air about them that make them irresistible to touch, at least for you."

Rapunzel's eyes flashed with familiarity and she brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "What about them?"

"I hail from the kingdom that the black rocks came from." Adira said. "They devastated my home, and they've started to do the same to yours."

Rapunzel paled. "What?"

"They've been spreading." Adira said. She'd been tracking their progress personally. "The village of Old Corona has been almost completely destroyed, and it's not the only one." It was just the only one she cared about.

Rapunzel looked a little faint. She sat on her bed. "How could I not know?"

"It's not your fault." Adira said. "Your father has gone to a lot of effort to keep you from knowing. He was trying to protect you." She wasn't trying to reassure the Sundrop, she was trying to bring out that fighting light in her eyes. Adira couldn't help but feel victorious when Rapunzel's eyes flashed and her mouth thinned.

"Protect me." Rapunzel sounded angry. That was just what Adira needed. The princess who was known for acting recklessly because she was sure she was doing what was right. "Our kingdom is in danger. Our people are in danger, and my dad's trying to protect me." She sounded like she was in disbelief, and there was a barely restrained fury in her voice. Good.

Rapunzel put her brush down, not caring that she got paint on the bed. It probably hadn't been the first time. She stood up and stepped closer to Adira. "How do we stop the rocks."

"We can't." Adira said. "But you can. Their source is a power that is equal and opposite to your own. Your magic was a blessing from the sun. The black rocks are a curse from the moon. I believe that you have the power within you to control, or at least contain, the black rocks. I think that's why they're seeking you out. Because the moonstone knows that it needs to be balanced out, and the Sundrop is the one who can do it."

Adira would give Rapunzel credit where it was due. While Rapunzel had looked overwhelmed with concern at the news of what was happening to her kingdom, she was nothing but determined now. Even if she hadn't known that the black rocks were still out there, she had to subconsciously have been drawn to them.

"Can you show me the black rocks?" Rapunzel asked. "I need to see the damage for myself."

That was what Adira had hoped she would say. "Come with me to Old Corona. I'll show you what the black rocks have done, and I'll show you how I think you can fix it."

"Okay," Rapunzel said. Just when Adira was starting to think that this was much easier than she thought it would be, and things wouldn't go so badly, Rapunzel continued talking. "Let me get Cass and Eugene. They can-"

"Absolutely not." Adira said. Rapunzel had started to step towards the door, and Adira stepped in her way, blocking the exit. "With all due respect, your highness, I don't think it would be wise to involve anybody else."

Rapunzel frowned at her. "Why not?"

"Your handmaiden may be your friend, but she's also practically a knight of the realm." Adira said. She'd seen that much through her observations. "It's her job to keep you safe. If your father kept the black rocks a secret from you for your own safety, do you not think that she might try to do the same?"

"Cass wouldn't do that." Rapunzel said sternly.

"You didn't think your father would, but here we are." Adira said. Her hand was twitching slightly. If she couldn't persuade Rapunzel to join her alone then she would have to take drastic measures, and that was where things could go badly in the end.

Rapunzel may think that her friends could help and that they'd support her, but they would be horrible friends if they truly stood by and let her do what Adira was going to ask of her. Rapunzel didn't know the risks. Adira herself didn't know the risks, but she didn't have a choice. She needed to ask Rapunzel to use the decay incantation.

She didn't know as much about it as Hector did. Adira had been convinced that nothing good could come from the destruction of the moonstone, so she hadn't learned about them. But Hector had once told her that the decay incantation was a way to harness the plague powers of the moon. Adira didn't know the limits of the incantation, but Hector had made it sound like it could destroy the strongest and thickest of materials. If that wasn't strong enough to break through the amber, nothing was.

There was no guarantee that the Sundrop could use the powers of the moon, but Adira had to believe she could. If this didn't work then Adira would have very little options remaining before her, and she didn't think anybody in her family would ever forgive her for her backup plan. Rapunzel was the moonstone's opposite and equal. If she could draw the black rocks to her and practically summon them, then why shouldn't she be able to harness the plague?

But Rapunzel couldn't follow through with this if her friends deemed the situation too dangerous and tried to pull her back.

"Your highness, I know you don't know me, but I need you to trust me." Adira said as genuinely as she could. "For the sake of your people and my family." Rapunzel stared at her for a long moment, reading her. Adira had a fierce emotional mask, but she let it waver for once. She didn't know the princess, but she knew that she was a highly empathetic person. Letting down one's walls, showing vulnerability, that was the key to getting the princess to help her.

Sure enough, Rapunzel's gaze softened. She still looked hesitant but she nodded. "Okay." Rapunzel said. Adira felt relieved, but also a little guilty. She knew how to take advantage of what little she knew of Rapunzel's nature. She didn't like to use people this way, at least not so blatantly, but she didn't have a choice. She needed Hector back, and if that meant using the truth to manipulate the princess into agreeing to something that she didn't completely understand, so be it.

Adira would do anything for her family. They were all that mattered to her anymore.