And if you of you guys are fan artists you guys can draw out your favorite scene in the book or a cover for the sequel for free. I'll give you guys a shout in either book on my Wattpad account and AO3 account too. But I want to amke it clear that this is optional and free, not to make me pay for so much for a simple piece of fanart. Thank you.
After a long journey, the group finally reached the Dark Kingdom. The caravan stopped just seconds from a steep drop and beyond that was a cluster of black rocks all pointing to the Dark Kingdom. Everyone files out of the caravan to get a glimpse of the Dark Kingdom in the distance. But in doing so, the caravan rolled down the hill and fell off the cliff, shattering into millions of pieces. "And there goes our ride," Eda complained.
"It served us well," Lance stated.
"All of my clean clothes were in there!" Shorty says.
Lance puts his hands on his hips. "Shorty, you didn't have any clean clothes."
Shorty scoffs. "Well, not with that attitude, I didn't."
They all roll their eyes at him, but Rapunzel turns around to once again face in the direction of the Dark Kingdom. She shuffles closer to the edge of the drop and stops to gaze at the foreboding sight in the distance. Cassandra notices and walks up behind her. "Your destiny awaits, Princess."
"You sure you're ready for this?" Eugene asks, joining them.
"I just wish I knew what this is," Rapunzel replies as Varian and Hunter approach them and stand beside Cassandra. "I mean, Demanitus said if I don't grab the Moon Stone, the black rocks will destroy everything. But... I have no idea what to expect to happen to me when I do."
"We'll be right here with you, Rapunzel," Varian assured.
Cass, Eugene, and Rapunzel went ahead of the group toward the kingdom. Lance, Shorty, and the horse chased after the trio until it was just Varian and the witches. Varian had this weird feeling in his stomach. He knew that he had a small amount of power from the moonstone but he wondered if he should be the one to grab the moonstone instead of Rapunzel. Hunter took his boyfriend's hand and promised him they would all be there if the choice came. With that, Varian and the others mounted their palismen and flew after Rapunzel and her friends.
Their bond was strong; Varian couldn't imagine what he would do without Hunter, Luz, or the others by his side. When the witches reached the bottom of the hill, they saw that Rapunzel and her friends were eating apples from the trees. Varian walked over to Eugene who was reading a small piece of paper. When Eugene saw Varian, he quickly hid the piece of paper but Varian had already seen it. "Eugene? What was that?" Varian asked.
Eugene pulled the piece of paper from Demanitist, "When Rapunzel enters the Dark Kingdom, one of her team will turn against her." Eugene said, reading the paper. "I don't know Varian. Demanitus has been right about everything so far."
"You going to tell her?" Varian asked.
"No, I won't tell her. Do me a favor and let's keep this whole thing to ourselves." Eugene stated.
Varian nodded and then walked towards Hunter who was staring at the photo he had gotten from Demanitus. Varian could tell that something was off. He tried to ask Hunter what was wrong but Hunter shook away his doubts and told Hunter that he was just thinking. But Varian had already taken a glimpse at the photo and saw Demanitus as a human. Varian asked to see Hunter's photo in his hand. Hunter handed the photo to his boyfriend to get a closer look at it. He saw that the photo had a human Demanitus, Hunter's uncle, and a guy who was all too similar to Hunter.
"Who is that guy with your uncle?" Varian asked.
"I don't know," Hunter answered. "What's weird is that he looks like me."
"Maybe he's your dad," Varian suggested.
"I'm not sure. I've never met him. As far as I know, my uncle is my only family." Hunter stated.
As they continued walking down the path to the kingdom; Rapunzel and Eugene were discussing the warning from Demanitus. Eugene suspected Cass because she hurt her hand back at the tree to save Rapunzel. Before he can complete his sentence, a raven flies out of nowhere and collides with Eugene's face. It falls to the ground and flops around at his feet, cawing manically. "What is that bird doing?" Eugene says, as the rest of the gang come up behind them and stare at the insane bird in shock.
"Uh, maybe you should try asking his friends," Gus said, pointing up to the sky.
A feeling of dread fills Varian as he gazes up and sees a huge flock of ravens coming straight for them. "I already have a strong dislike for this kingdom!" Varian shouts as they all scatter to escape the attacking birds.
The ravens chase the gang, attempting to peck and scratch at them. Rapunzel uses her frying pan to shield herself from their blows, but the others aren't so lucky. During the attack, Lilith notices a pattern in the flock's formation, they all seem to be following a specific lead bird. "Rapunzel!" Lilith shouts, "That bird right there is the leader!"
Owlbert heard Lilith; he flew up to the ravens and got them to chase him. Owlbert guides the birds toward the tree that Willow has ascended. She used her magic to create vines to be used as a net, and the entire flock flew directly into it. She then wraps her vines around them, sprints away from the rest of the gang, and sets the birds free in the opposite direction. The ravens fly away with multitudinous cawing. "Wonderful... Even the birds in this kingdom are hostile," Eugene remarks, dumping the first raven who collided with him out of his boot. It flies away, but not before crashing into a tree first.
"Are all birds like this in the Human Realm?" Gus asked.
"No. But that is one messed up raven." Luz commented.
"It's gonna take a lot more than a bunch of birds to stop us!" Rapunzel shouts out.
They tried to press on but in front of them was a deep chasm that blocked them from the Dark Kingdom. They stare out at a deep chasm ahead of them. The Dark Kingdom's castle lies just beyond it. Lance gazes over the edge. "Yep, that is a loooong way down." His voice echoes out across the chasm.
"Maybe we can fly everyone over on our palismen?" Amity suggested.
"Not with the extra people," Eda stated. "And if those crows or ravens come back, we'd be taking a nose dove into a pit of spikes."
As they all glance around, trying to come up with a solution, Varian believes he sees a rope of some sort strung across the chasm. "What's that?" He asks, pointing.
The gang sees the rope too, and runs along the side of the chasm until they find where the rope begins. They discover that it is actually a cable with a gondola attached to it, that goes all the way to the other side! The only problem is, that the gondola looks old and decrepit, like it might fall apart at any minute. "Way to go, Varian!" Rapunzel says eagerly. "We can get across now!"
"Uhhh..." Hunter remarks hesitantly, "Are we sure that thing is safe?"
"Come on! Who's afraid of a little old gondola?" Rapunzel said, still optimistic.
The others all raise their hands immediately, but Rapunzel ignores their negativity. "Yeah, high-fives! I love these attitudes!" The princess says, slapping each of their hands.
"Blondie, that thing's a good fifty yards out there," Eugene points out.
After a brief silence, Cassandra steps forward and says, "I can get it."
The gang watches Cassandra nervously as she ambles across the cable that stretches over the deep, dark chasm. Taking each step carefully and slowly, she holds her arms out on either side of her for balance. For a second, Cassandra began to wobble, losing her balance, she fell to one side. The others gasp, but thankfully Cassandra catches herself by hooking the backs of her legs around the cable. Grabbing onto the cable with both her hands, her legs still wrapped around it too, Cass begins to slide along the cable. She finally reaches the gondola and disappears inside it.
"Wow, that takes a lot of guts," Rapunzel says in amazement.
"I guess she really does have your back," Eugene says. That is until he had a moment of realization. "Unless she's planning on taking that car to the other side of the chasm and leaving it there. Then you'd have no way of getting across!"
The gondola creaks and begins to move in the wrong direction. As it slowly inches toward the other side of the chasm, Rapunzel and Eugene gasp. But then, the gondola stops and then begins to make its way towards them. Rapunzel and Eugene sigh with relief. Everyone climbs the platform to the gondola as Cassandra pulls it in. She pops her head out the window and stares at the others, but when they still don't enter she opens the door. "Um, did you want me to get the door for you, too?" She says, sounding irritated.
Rapunzel approaches Cass and throws her arms around her. Cassandra seems confused, but her face softens. The others hop inside the gondola, and they begin making their way across the chasm. However, they hear a loud thud! coming from above as the gondola quakes. Staring up, the gang realizes that there is a hatch in the ceiling of the gondola. Eugene opens it up, and gasps when he sees a large man standing on the roof of the gondola, wearing a bear mask and donning an axe. Before the stranger can chop them with his axe, Eugene slams the hatch shut and backs away, arms in front of Rapunzel protectively.
"Can we not go just one place without some weirdo jumping out of nowhere?!" Hunter shouted.
The stranger continues swinging his axe in an attempt to get inside the gondola. "Lance, Eda, Cass, you guys keep cranking!" The princess tells them. "Get us across this as fast as possible."
They immediately comply, and begin to crank faster. Hunter used Flapjack to teleport himself up to the top of the gondola to fight off the stranger. All of his training as the Golden Guard paid off when dealing with that stranger. Rapunzel, Amity, Eugene, and Varian flew from the windows on Sapphire and Ghost to help Hunter. Hunter got hit and landed on his back. The man is towering directly above them, his axe at the ready. Rapunzel quickly whips her hair up at him, knocking his axe out of his hands. It slides across the gondola, and the stranger chases after it. He picks it up, but Rapunzel wraps her hair around his feet and pulls herself up.
Angered, the stranger grunts as he attempts to slice Rapunzel's hair off his feet with his axe. But he gasps in surprise when all this does is break one end of his weapon. Taking advantage of the stranger's momentary distraction, Eugene leaps up and tackles him. But the man grabs Eugene, rises him up, and kicks him across the gondola. Eugene breaks through the old wooden boards but gets stuck in the hole, unable to move. The stranger rears his axe back, preparing to strike, but Rapunzel wraps her indestructible hair around the axe and pulls with all her strength, keeping the man from hurting Eugene.
But through the hole that Eugene created above them, the others see the masked stranger use his axe to chop at the cable holding up the gondola.
"Guys," Rapunzel says to them, peeking down through the hole. "Uh, I'm not trying to rush you... Go faster!"
"You heard the princess!" Eda shouted as she, Cass, and Lance pumped the gondola faster. But the cable has already begun to fray. All of a sudden, they hear another shout in the distance. Seemingly out of nowhere, Adira comes sliding down the cable and does a flip onto the gondola, her black rock sword at the ready. She knocks the stranger over, who had Rapunzel and Eugene cornered.
"Aunt Adira!" Varian hollers excitedly.
"Where did she come from?" Cassandra wonders aloud with irritation.
"Like an angel, she fell from heaven," Lance says, a smitten smile on his face.
"Less flirting more pumping!" Eda shouted.
"And now Adria's here. Because why wouldn't she be?" Eugene complained.
As the stranger attempts to attack her, she simply dodges each blow with leaps and flips. She endeavors to land her own blow with her sword, but the man flips it out of her hand with his axe. It flies off of the gondola and stabs directly through one of the black rocks below with a flash of blue. Without her weapon, the stranger manages to kick Adira off the gondola. The masked stranger strikes his axe at the frame connecting the gondola to the cable. This causes the gondola to flip on its side. While Lance clutches the crank so as not to tumble out the windows.
Gus, Willow, Lilith, Luz, Eda, and King got on their palismen then Willow and Gus helped Lance and Cass onto their pailsmen. Pascal and Ruddiger jumped onto Luz and Eda's backs. Above them, the gondola finally arrives at the other side of the chasm. Rapunzel grabs Eugene and swings onto the side of the gondola which is now the top. Amity, Varian, and Hunter were on their palismen
She looks inside and sees everyone clinging on. She swiftly helps all of them up, as the cable continues to fray. "Rapunzel, you and the others go," Eugene says. "I'll hold off Mr. Personality."
"But—" Rapunzel begins to say, as the others stare at him worriedly.
"I said, go! Now!" Eugene shouts emphatically, as the relentless stranger comes up behind him.
After a moment's hesitation, Varian and the others comply. But Cassandra has to physically grab Rapunzel and drag her along with them. "Cassandra, wait!" Rapunzel protests, but Cass pulls her off of the gondola to the safety of the cliff. From there, they watch as the stranger towers menacingly over Eugene. "Alright, what do you say we call this one a draw?" Eugene says, holding up his hands defensively.
Hunter couldn't stand by and watch Eugene get killed. Hunter hugged Varian tight and instead of leaving the gondola, he stayed to help Eugene. But just as the man is about to attack him, the cable snaps in half and the gondola drops taking Eugene, Hunter, Flapjack, and the masked stranger with it. "Eugene!/Hunter!" Rapunzel and Varian scream in unison.
They all rush to the edge of the cliff and stare down, but the gondola has already disappeared into the thick mist. Eugene and Hunter were gone. Tears stung Varian's eyes as he kneeled by the edge sobbing while Ruddiger wrapped himself tighter around his shoulders.
Down at the bottom of the cliffs, Eugene was knocked out unconscious from the crash. Hunter and Flapjack were ok, there were a few scrapes but nothing serious. The cable cart crashed onto a ledge so they were safe from being impaled by the black rocks. Hunter found Eugene on the ground outside the wrecked cable cart. "Oh, that was thoroughly unpleasant." Eugene groaned in pain.
Hunter helped him up but they weren't alone; the man in the bear-skinned hood lowered his axe near them. Hunter had his staff at hand, ready to fight. But the man removed his hand from the axe handle. The man removed the bear-skinned hood revealing his human face; almost similar to Eugene's but older. The man claimed to be Eugene's biological father. Eugene was stunned for a moment before laughing at how this was ridiculous. But the man walked passed him and Hunter, seeing Adria's sword. The second he grabbed it, he swung it at a black rock, chopping a piece clean off.
Hunter looked at Eugene who was stunned. The two of them followed the man into the caves. Little did they know, Adria was watching them from the cliff wall she grabbed onto to prevent herself from falling.
Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, the others still believed that Hunter and Eugene were gone. But Rapunzel refused to believe that either of them was really gone. "This is not how our story ends." She said, standing up, her fist clenched determinedly. "We're going back to get them."
"No need," they hear Adira say. She pulls herself up over the edge of the cliff, brushes herself off, and strides through their group as if nothing happened. "They're fine. They made it safely into the cave below. I saw it."
Varian sniffled and wiped away his tears. "You saw Hunter and Eugene?"
"That kid's been through more scrapes than Luz. He's not gonna back down from a fight." Eda claimed.
"Come on," Adria says, continuing towards the castle. "Fish Skin and Cardial didn't risk their lives so that we could waste time talking."
But Rapunzel lassos her hair around Adira, stopping the woman in her tracks. "Just a minute, Adira," the princess says furiously, "You knew that knight back there. In fact, I'd bet you know a lot of things you're not telling us. We're not going another step until you start giving us answers!"
Adira glances at her guiltily, then lowers her eyes. "You're right, Princess. It's time you heard the whole story."
Adria began to tell the group the story of the MoonStone which was almost similar to the story of the Sun Drop. A single drop of moonlight fell from the heavens forming an opal that had the power to destroy any who sought it out. Over the centuries, the opal's defenses grew into a kingdom that had a generation of kings and queens who swore to protect the opal from any outsiders. But Edmund, the man that attacked them and the last of the dark kings tried to end this legacy and destroy the stone. That didn't go so well, costing him his arm and his wife. In the fallout, he commanded his subjects to leave and never return; including his newborn son.
He then sent his most trusted soldiers into the world to keep this power secret. These knights consisted of Quirin, Hector, and Adria called the Brotherhood. Adria refused to believe that such darkness could exist without a light of equal power somewhere in this world. After years of searching, she had found the Sun Drop. "Ok, Miss Dark Knight. If that's true, then explain Varian's sudden magic." Eda challenged.
"When Edmund tried to destroy the stone, its power split into two. The opal remains in the castle but its opposite took on another form. I'm not sure where though. The Moonstone's opposite power was awakened shortly after the sundrop was found." Adria explained.
Varian looked at his hair stripe and then at Sapphire. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Was I... born with these powers?" Varian hesitantly asked.
"From what Quirin had written to me, yes. The Moondrops' power formed a flower that your mother used to save you. When Quirin saw the magic give you that blue hair stripe, he notified me. The Moonstone longs to be whole again. Only you two can restore balance to all things," Adria stated.
"If you've known this all along, why have you been so cryptic?" Rapunzel asks.
"While I'm certain bringing the Sun Drop and the other half of the Moondrop to the Moon Stone will neutralize its threat," Adira replies, "I'm not sure what will happen to you both," Adria replies.
The others looked at Rapunzel and Varian; completely speechless about the possibility of losing them. But Rapunzel wasn't going to just quit after coming so far. Adria leads them to a narrow aperture, lined with black rocks jutting out from every direction. Varian began making his way after her, taking care to avoid the sharp tips of the rocks. Max and Fidela had to stay back because they couldn't fit through. Shorty stayed behind to watch them; Varian had Ruddiger stay behind just in case along with King who volunteered to stay back. Soon it was just; Rapunzel, Cass, Lance, Eda, Luz, Varian, Amity, Gus, Willow, and Lilith left with Adria.
Meanwhile, Eugene was still getting used to the truth; he was a prince and Edmund was his biological father. Hunter kept his guard up around the king; he still had some trust issues with royalty thanks to Belos. Edmund brought the two of them to a dining hall. The room was completely dark with black rocks sticking out from the ground and doors. As the three of them walked down the steps, Hunter had Flapjack on his shoulder, looking around. "So tell me Old Brooding Armor Guy. What makes you think we're related, anyway?" Eugene asked.
Edmund got a little too close to Eugene's face, "It's your eyes. I can tell a lot by looking into a man's eyes." Edmund then looked at the raven perched on a rock "Also my ravens have been following you since you left." Edmund then pulled out a bunch of wanted posters of Eugene when he was Flynn Rider; each with a bad nose. "These don't do your nose any justice."
"That's what I've been screaming!" Eugene complained.
Hunter looked at one of the posters and couldn't help but laugh. "Wow. And I thought Eda's wanted posters were bad." Hunter commented.
"Yeah yeah. Laugh it up." Eugene said, sarcastically.
Edmund had prepared a little feast for him and his son to enjoy. Hunter stood outside the dining hall; he had a feeling that this reunion had to have a catch. Edmund had the habit of saying what he was thinking out loud. Eugene wanted to go find Rapunzel and make sure she was ok. But Edmund wanted her to stay away from the moonstone even though Eugene argued that Rapunzel was the Sundrop. Edmund refused to listen; Hunter got a little annoyed. "Look we have to. She is the Sundrop. The Moonstone is also calling Varian. He has a piece of its power." Hunter explained.
Edmund nearly did a spit-take hearing that. "What?'
"Varian. A sixteen-year-old alchemist with a blue hair stripe. Quirin's son." Eugene bluntly explained.
This came as a shock to Edmund. He was close friends with Quirin but he had lost contact with him after the fallout with the moonstone. So to learn that his child had some of the moonstones' power was news to him.
Back with the others, they had trekked along the narrow path bordered with black rocks, the gang could finally see the castle's entrance ahead of them.
"We're here," Rapunzel announces.
"Well, almost," Varian adds.
"Be on your guard," Adira tells them. "The path is lined with lethal, inescapable traps."
"Eh, I know a thing or two about traps!" Luz stated with confidence.
Luz walks forward, but the step rumbles below her foot. Varian reacted quickly pulling Luz back just as a cluster of spikes extended out of the ground. But the spikes immediately disintegrate right before their eyes. "Deadly traps, huh?" Eda laughed.
"Okay, so I oversold the traps a little," Adira admits. "They're old."
Suddenly, Rapunzel's hair begins to glow brightly. It floats up above her head and swishes back and forth. "Whoa!" The princess exclaims as everyone stares at her in wonder and shock. The same thing was happening to Varian's hair stripe, it started to glow, making Sapphire chirp frantically. But then both Varian's hair stripe and Rapunzel's hair cease glowing and return to their normal state. Lilith adjusted her glasses looking completely fascinated by the reaction. "Amazing. The moonstone must sense its other half and the sundrop is close causing the reaction." Lilith explained.
Rapunzel determinately stomps forward, and the rest follow after her until they finally arrive at the large double doors leading into the castle. Cassandra, Lance, and Adira work together to pull the crank that opens the doors. As the chains rattle, Rapunzel steps closer, Varian standing beside her for moral support. But as the doors open, everyone catches sight of Eugene standing in the doorway, looking crestfallen. "Eugene?" Varian says warily, a warning bell going off inside of him. He does not like the expression on Eugene's face.
But Rapunzel didn't see it; she was so happy to know that Eugene was ok. "Eugene!" She gasps eagerly. "Oh, Thank goodness you're okay! I was so..."
The end of her sentence trails off as she steps toward him, and he instead takes a step back. Finally, she notices his downcast expression. "Eugene? What is it?"
"I'm sorry, Rapunzel," Eugene replies, refusing to meet her eyes. "But I won't let you in."
Varian stepped forward, "Where's Hunter?"
"I'm sorry."
Those were the last words Eugene had said to them. A noise comes from inside the castle. The familiar swish! of the sword of black rock, and it is slicing through chains, the same chains that are pulling the door open. With the chains broken, the door slams shut before any of them can enter the castle. Varian begins to shake with frustration and anger, as Rapunzel bangs on the door shouting Eugene's name.