"You know, two years ago, I’d call fighting jackal monsters on the back of a speeding carriage whilst a rhinoceros chases the people I love absolutely bonkers. Now I call it Tuesday," Eugene said as they walked towards the Great Tree. Rapunzel laid her head on his shoulder.
Cassandra walked past them towards Adira and Quirin. "Adira! Who was that man that attacked us? And don’t give us any of your cryptic runaround talk." She crossed her arms.
"His name is Hector, and I don’t think I appreciate your tone."
"Adira," Quirin began.
"Oh!" Cassandra scoffed sarcastically. "I’m sorry I gave you the impression I care about the things you appreciate."
"All right, all right." Rapunzel cut in. "Let's not argue. Who is Hector?"
Adore sighed. "He’s a member of the Brotherhood, a group of warriors sworn to keep any and all away from the Dark Kingdom."
"Dark Kingdom? That’s where we’re headed," Varian asked.
"How many are there in this Brotherhood?"
"Four," Quirin said.
"But none of the brothers is as dangerous or sadistic as Hector. And this is his domain… Apparently. The Great Tree."
"If we knew he was here, we would have warned you," Quirin added.
"And how do you know so much about all of this?" Cassandra set her hands on her hips.
"Let’s just say some of us in the Brotherhood disagree on a couple of things," Adira said as she and Quirin took off their gloves, revealing the symbols on their hands.
"So, you're not actually brother and sister?" Rapunzel asked.
"Well, not much differently than you, Blue Stripe, and Short Hair are siblings. We may not be related by blood, but we are siblings regardless."
"All right, so we have to get through a crazy rhino guy’s house to get to this Dark Kingdom?" Eugene asked.
"Guys, we barely got away from this Hector with our lives, and now we’re going to trust her and go through his home turf?" Cassandra pointed out. "I don’t like it."
"Well, like it or not, it’s our only choice," Adira said. "We can lead you through and maybe we can talk some sense into our brother."
"Cass, let's put it to a vote. Will that make you feel better?" Rapunzel asked. "Those in favor of letting Adira and Quirin join for the Great Tree, raise your hand."
Eugene, Lance and Rapunzel raised their hands. Varian hesitated, but he did as well. Andrew merely set a hand on Cassandra's shoulder rather than voting, but she knew that he would have voted in agreement had she not expressed her point of view.
"It looks like the vote was out numbered, Cass. Is that ok?" Rapunzel said hopefully.
"Fine…" Cassandra said with a sigh. "Let's go."
"What is this place?" Rapunzel gasped in awe as they entered a room inside the tree.
"All these, the paintings…" Cassandra mumbled.
Varian lifted one of the pieces of the scroll and the sun and moon painting aligned. "Someone was studying the Sundrop and the Moonstone in here."
"What does it mean?" Lance asked
"No one knows for certain," Quirin said. "Many spent their lives trying to translate these words." He gently set a hand on the wall. "If Ulla were here, she'd be rambling about all the possibilities..." He chuckled.
Varian tilted his head, but he decided not to say anything.
Rapunzel lifted up a scroll. "Look someone translated part of it."
"Is that Mother's handwriting?" Cassandra pointed.
"Oh, you're right..." Varian said. "But... This paper is so old... What does it say?"
"Wither and decay. End this destiny..." Rapunzel read.
"Oh, good thing I don't say it," Varian joked. "Not that I'm sure it would even work anymore."
"Break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free," Rapunzel continued.
"Raps, we know the incantation. You don't have to read it off," Cassandra said.
Rapunzel: Wither and decay
End this destiny
"Rapunzel, what are you doing?" Varian took a step back when his sister dropped the scroll and her eyes began to turn black as did her hair. "Rapun-Agh!"
"Varian!" Cassandra caught him before he fell.
Break these earthly chains
And set the spirit free
The spirit free...
"Blondie, stop!" Eugene cried.
"Raps! It's killing him!" Cassandra screamed, holding Varian who was struggling to breathe.
"I can't!" Rapunzel gasped, breaking the chant long enough, but was forced back into it.
Quirin was first to think, tackling Rapunzel so that she fell into the water. She gasped as her hair returned to its golden color. Her green eyes fluttered open. She jerked into a sitting position. "Varian?"
"Rapunzel!" Eugene was at her side in a second. "Blondie are you ok?"
"Yes-" She looked over at her brother and sister. With all a small gasp, she rushed to his side where Cassandra had laid him on the ground. "Varian!"
"...Ow." Varian opened his eyes, his voice laced with sarcasm. Although it was weak.
Cassandra laughed with relief and Rapunzel pulled him into a hug. "I'm so sorry! I had no idea that I could even use that incantation!"
"Mother always forbade it, and now we know why," Varian mumbled.
"What happened?" Cassandra asked. "Why did it do that to him? Just him?"
"Because the princess's powers were reawakened by the Moonstone," Quirin said suddenly. "Did she not gain them again due to touching the black rocks?"
"Yes," Rapunzel said.
"So you have a little bit of the Moonstone magic in you then. It appears that when you use the magic of the Moonstone rather than Sundrop, you drain the power out of Varian."
"So it won't actually kill him?" Rapunzel asked.
"No. You were killing him," Adira said. "You see, Varian must reunite with the Moonstone in order to separate his life from its power. Unlike you, his mother did not eat a flower while she was pregnant."
"We don't know why my son has his powers, but suggest not saying any of the incantations until we know he's safe from harm," Quirin said.
"That sounds like a good plan," Rapunzel agreed.
"Can you stand up?" Cassandra asked. "No, forget it." She picked him up in the bridal style against his protests. They left the room and came to a good area to camp.
"This looks good," Adira said.
"Whoo! Woah. It's a long way down…" Eugene said, looking over the edge.
"I guess this means we're at the halfway point," Andrew replied.
"I don't think camp's a good idea. We need to get out of this tree as soon as possible," Cassandra insisted, holding Varian still.
"I'm not sure that's your best call, short hair," Adira retorted.
"Cass, it'll be ok."
"Rapunzel, this place is not safe. And I don't trust what else this tree has to offer."
"And thankfully, we'll be here to prevent anything," Adira said.
"You stay out of this, Adira!" Cassandra snapped.
"I think you should calm down."
"You know what I think? I think you're just this random woman! Who do you think you are just jumping in and out of our lives whenever you feel like it? Who are you to have any say in what we decide? You weren't there! Me and my siblings have been through hell and back and all without your wise judgement or protection! We don't need you! You're not a part of this group. You're only here out of obligation. So just shut up and let us handle what we've done our whole lives. Make things work."
"Cass…" Varian croaked. She stopped to look down at him. "Can you argue quieter please? My head hurts…"
She sighed. "Sorry, Varian."
Rapunzel set a hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "Varian needs the rest. Let's camp now. We'll be just fine. We've handled worse than this dumb tree. It'll be ok."
Cassandra looked at Varian. She sighed again. "Alright." She set him down. "I'll take the first shift then."
"Ok. I'll take it with you-" Rapunzel offered.
"No, you get your rest," Cassandra said.
"Alright. I'll take the next shift then."