Reunion at Sea

Strategy

The air was tense in the throne room as they all gathered. Varian and Elsa both looked exhausted and everyone else looked and felt stressed. Eugene cleared his throat. "So, uh...long night?"

"Couldn't sleep." Varian said grimly. "He could've attacked again at any time."

"Well, uh..." Rapunzel clasped her hands together. "Let's go over the attacks last night. So, we got attacked by a bear, she's in the stable now."

"We got the baby." Ruddiger said quietly, his expression furious. "Melina sent the two of them to attack us at the same time, and then Frederic attacked Old Corona."

"You said he 'attacked', what do you mean?" Anna asked.

"He came to Old Corona with an army of illusional soldiers he created." Elsa explained. "We did not realize their true nature until we were fighting them and they kept reappearing. Then the former King made to strike me and..." She looked at Varian.

"I impaled him with a black rock." Varian said grimly.

"You—what—but you said—is he dead, then?" Eugene asked.

"No." Elsa shook her head. "He himself was only an illusion. He magically projected a life-like image of himself to our location with his soldiers and challenged us to a battle, knowing that he had an unfair advantage from the start."

"He was testing us, seeing what we could do from the safety of...wherever he is." Varian scowled.

"About that," Rapunzel said, "I have a hunch on how he gained these new powers."

"What's your hunch?" Varian asked.

"Varian, do you remember when we were put into that strange dream world?" Rapunzel reminded him. "Ruddiger, you remember, right?"

Ruddiger's eyes widened. "I get it! You mean that, even with her gone, they were able to use the altar in The House of Yesterday's Tomorrow to turn him into a Disciple, thanks to you two powering up that statue!"

"Whoof, that's a mouthful." Anna remarked.

"Yeah, I know." Rapunzel giggled. "But, uh, yeah. That's my theory. So, we just need to find where the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow is and then we can strike them in their own home!"

"Which is...a bad idea." Ruddiger sighed. "But, we can at least watch the place to attack them when they come out."

"Why is it a bad idea?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because, you may recall that Tromus has full control of that place and he most likely wants you two back on those alters. If that statue had turned completely green, Zhan Tiri would have been set free of her prison." Ruddiger said firmly. "And that is the last thing we want to happen. With Zhan Tiri around, all her Disciples will be stronger and she will be a force you don't want to reckon with."

"Right...right." Rapunzel nodded. "Okay, so...what's our plan?"

"Right now, we stay where we're safe and recover from the recent attacks." Ruddiger said firmly. "We know Melina is around so her sister, Selina, is probably around somewhere too; spying on us as we go to and from our homes. The Feathers aren't a concern, so we shouldn't have to worry about anyone being turned into animals. We don't know if Frederic can project into the Wards, but Lucas can't get past them. So, our biggest concern right now is Melina."

"Okay, great. What does she look like?" Eugene asked.

"Like a little girl with light-purple hair." Ruddiger said casually. "Usually in some fancy dress and pigtails. Her hair is pretty long. Also, her eyes are purple. And she's always carrying some kind of teddy bear. She's pretty much stopped aging, physically, at twelve. That's how old she was when she and her sister sold their souls to Zhan Tiri."