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Chapter Text

It was life after happily ever after, and it was every bit as wonderful as Rapunzel had hoped.

It was a busy time, of course—there was so much to do in rebuilding the kingdom, and it was heavy work. But she walked through the days with a song on her lips and a spring in her step, reveling in the life that was hers.

Eugene was at her side, and together with the council they began the slow process of restoring Corona to its former glory. There were bridges to repair, roads to pave, archways to rebuild, and a royal wedding to plan, all matters on which the council gave their eager and enthusiastic input. There were also matters of diplomacy to handle, as the various kingdoms sent envoys to renew relations between their states and Corona’s new monarch.

But she also managed to find time for herself, to rest and recharge. Life fell into a comfortable pattern, days of work followed by evenings of play, responsibility followed by relaxation. And she found she could do it all, and do it well.

It helped that there was no magical threat looming over her, threatening her. Just gloriously ordinary problems.

Though some of those ordinary, mundane problems were no fun at all. It was an unusually chilly morning in early December when she woke to her entire body aching, her breath stuttering and raspy, her chest sore. She had felt a little off the evening before, a tickle in her throat, a heaviness in her limbs, but now her head was pounding, a chill sweeping through her as sat up in her bed, and she pulled the warm blanket more tightly around her shoulders as she tried to process what was happening.

Fortunately, just then there was a knock at the door, and Faith entered, carrying Rapunzel’s morning tray of tea.

“Faith,” Rapunzel croaked, the name catching in her throat, triggering a cough that once begun refused to end, until she was gasping, tears running from her eyes.

“Your Majesty!” Faith squeaked, rushing toward the bed with her tray. She quickly set the cup in Rapunzel’s shaking hands, helping her to drink the soothing green tea with honey, which helped settle the cough.

“Rapunzel, you’re sick,” Faith declared softly but firmly. “You stay in bed, and I’ll go find the doctor.”

“Sick?” Rapunzel murmured, holding the cup close, letting it warm her fingers. And then the situation seemed to finally penetrate her foggy mind.

That was what this was. She was sick.

Being sick was very unpleasant.

So she didn’t protest when Faith took the cup of tea and placed it on the nightstand, insisting that she lie back down and rest. And soon one of the palace doctors was there, with a very worried-looking Eugene looming behind him.

Doctor Wilson felt her forehead and neck and looked down her throat. He listened to her chest with a stethoscope and took her temperature. And then he declared that she was suffering from the rather nasty flu that had been going around and should keep to her bed until her symptoms improved.

And since Rapunzel’s entire body felt like a leaden weight, she happily complied with the doctor’s orders.

She stayed in bed for three days, something that had never happened before, but she had plenty of company and care during those feverish days. The doctor came by frequently, to give her a bitter tincture and ensure that she wasn’t getting any worse. Pascal curled up next to her on her pillow, chirping encouragingly at her whenever a cough would seize her. Both Faith and Laurel doted on her, bringing her tea with honey whenever she needed it, keeping her hair braided and out of her way, changing her bedding and helping her into a fresh nightgown whenever the sweat would soak through. Her mother came by frequently and would sit by her bed, reading out loud to her from a book or singing softly. And Eugene was there as often as he could manage, curling up next to her when her symptoms were particularly bad, warming her with his own body when she felt the fever chills sweeping through her, rattling her very bones.

And then, on the fourth day, she felt well enough to get out of bed. She walked shakily across the open floor to her desk, seating herself and opening her journal, scanning through her most recent entries as if to remind herself of life before her illness. And then she began to write, in a mostly steady hand.

I don’t like being sick, she inked at the top of a fresh page. Before the words had dried there, she began to paint a small picture beneath them, of her in bed looking miserable, with Pascal gazing at her with big sorrowful eyes.

She recovered quickly after that, with only a lingering sore throat and a cough that lasted a few days more. But no sooner was she back at work, than Eugene was sick with the same flu. Rapunzel was horrified that she had passed her illness on to him, but he had merely smiled tearily in between coughs as he assured her that it was normal to get sick every now and then, and he was overdue in any case.

“Don’t worry,” he croaked, “I’ll be back on my feet in no time.”

At least his illness gave her the chance to return the favor and take care of him, sitting at his bedside and making sure he got enough fluids and rest. She held his hand as she sang to him, the familiar strains of the Healing Incantation.

And she could have almost sworn that it eased his symptoms, if only a little.

In any case, he recovered within a few days, and they were back to their daily routine of running a kingdom and the guard, respectively, and planning a wedding and a honeymoon, mutually.

So in spite of the occasional setback, like a bad flu, Rapunzel’s days were full of purpose and sunshine, with her future shining bright before her. She felt herself walking toward it as if on air, excited to see what was in store.

The passage of time was marked by events big and small. Birthdays and celebrations, quiet evenings with Eugene or her parents or her friends, council meetings, and the occasional visit to one of the outlying villages of her kingdom, to see how her people fared.

But one of her favorite markers was the letters she received.

Letters from Cassandra were unfortunately few and far between. Rapunzel received a second letter, months after the first, but the details in it were sparse, and as Cassandra had no permanent address, Rapunzel was unable to send a reply.

But Varian quickly became a regular correspondent. After having received his first letter announcing his arrival in the Ingvarri capital, she received new ones roughly every month. He would detail his projects, his plans, his progress toward achieving his goal of perfecting his hot water system. He would talk about comfortable evenings with his father (who arrived in early November), invitations to royal functions at the palace (usually from Princess Arngjerd), and an opportunity he had been offered to attend the Royal University of Dronningsberg that spring, for an advanced conference on engineering that looked simply fascinating (his words).

There was also the odd complaint. Frustration when he made a mistake, like the one leading to a small fire in the royal lab, which was quickly contained but nevertheless embarrassing. Discomfort with the weather, the cold and snow and wind, which began already in November and only intensified as winter wore on. And occasionally a longing for home, for hot chocolate (which was hard to come by in Ingvarr, for some reason), and for the company of faraway friends.

Rapunzel would take her time carefully crafting her replies. She would tell him about the happenings in Corona that she thought might interest him, anything from a new flavor of taffy at Monty’s shop, to the Meridiemian airship mechanist who had decided to stay and work for the Coronan Crown to helping maintain their two captured ships. She also told him with great excitement about the new recruits to the royal guard, one of them being Samira, the young woman who had served as Nigel’s messenger and brought Rapunzel the warning when Varian had been taken by the king. Samira had passed the tryouts with flying colors, as had another woman, whose size, strength, and determination had dwarfed that of every other wannabe recruit. Eugene had hired them both without any hesitation.

Rapunzel also told Varian of all the goings on with their friends and acquaintances, from Lance and the girls, to Laurel, to Nigel, who had started playing chess with the guard named Corwyn, to Mrs. Crowley, and many others. She even included well wishes from her mother, who hoped that Varian was happy and doing well in his new position. And of course, she told him all about Eugene and his adventures as captain in his endless quest to keep Corona safe.

And she couldn’t help but write about the glorious weather. About the sun shining down from a clear blue sky, about the mild fall and milder winter, and how it only snowed one day, in late December, and how the glittering white blanket of snow was gone by the afternoon. With every letter, she sent a seasonal flower—the petals of a late-blooming rose in November, a small sprig of mistletoe and berries in December, a pressed early snowdrop in January, and so on, along with a thin block of cocoa for hot chocolate, wrapped in cloth and tucked into the folds of the pages.

As she also enjoyed studying the blueprints in the Demanitus Book, she would often send him a rough sketch of one of the devices, along with her guess as to what its function was. It amused her immensely to see his long impassioned replies, especially on the occasions when she guessed wrong.

It didn’t hurt to remind him of everything waiting for him in Corona.

Besides, it was important for her to get an idea of the technology that was now available for the benefit of her kingdom, and so she kept the book in a safe next to her bed for the occasional late-night perusal. The information on power sources was especially interesting to her, as she wanted to expand Corona’s fleet of airships, which were currently prohibitively expensive for everyday use.

Something to consider, to close the vast distances of the Seven Kingdoms, making faraway friends and family easier to visit…

It was March when Rapunzel made her first attempt to lure Varian back to Corona. She asked him whether he would be able to attend the wedding (the invitation had been sent months ago), and told him, half in jest, that she would have his lab ready and waiting for him if he decided to stay after the wedding and accept the position as royal engineer.

She did not expect a positive answer, as it had only been nine months since he left, but even so, she thought it would be good to remind him that the offer was still on the table. But when she did receive a reply two weeks later, she was disheartened to read that not only had he rejected her offer, but he would be unable to attend the wedding, for which he apologized profusely. The engineering conference that he was to attend was scheduled to begin April 5th and last until the 30th.

I am so sorry, Rapunzel. I wish I could be there, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. And you’ll be so busy with all your royal guests, you won’t even notice my absence. I wish you and Eugene all the best and will visit as soon as I can.

She felt disappointment wash over her, her breath hitching as she read the apologetic words. She had been hoping to see him, and now that hope was soundly shattered.

Still, he had a point. She would be quite busy at the wedding, being the bride and all, and would be obligated to socialize with all her guests, meaning her attention would be spread very thin. And it was a long way to travel to barely see her and Eugene. With that comfort in mind, she took a deep breath, pushing her disappointment down as she continued to read the letter. Apparently Cassandra had gotten in touch with him regarding a dragon problem, for which he had given her some advice and his pair of night vision goggles.

Which was mildly frustrating, Rapunzel had to admit to herself. It meant that Varian had been able to send Cassandra a letter somehow. Maybe through Owl.

Rapunzel was careful with her reply, assuring Varian that though she would miss him, she understood why he couldn’t come to the wedding. She also slipped a small note into the letter, asking him to pass it on to Cassandra if she should contact him again. Then Rapunzel enclosed the usual thin block of cocoa, alongside a freshly pressed apple blossom, taken from the orchard in Old Corona.

And so the days passed, hurrying toward April and a royal wedding.

The first of the wedding guests arrived on April 3rd and continued to stream into the palace over the next several days.

Rapunzel’s aunt Willow arrived first, bringing along her niece and nephew, Princess Elaine and Prince Lucas of Mitbier, who were both 15 years old and very eager to meet their cousin, the Queen of Corona. Rapunzel was thrilled to meet her new relatives, only sorry that it hadn’t happened sooner, and promising them both that once everything settled down, she and Eugene would make sure to visit them in Mitbier.

King Edmund came, of course, arriving once again on one of the airships, along with Hector (Adira had stayed behind to manage the fledgling kingdom). And to Rapunzel’s surprise, Quirin came as well, bearing greetings and a gift from his son. He arrived on the same royal Ingvarri ship as Princess Arngjerd, who had come on behalf of Queen Malmfrid.

Rapunzel was thrilled to see them all, especially Arngjerd, even as she began to truly understand how little of her time was her own this close to the wedding.

“A wedding, especially a royal wedding, is more for the guests than for the bride and groom,” Arianna explained to her one evening, two days before the big event. “You worry about yourself right now. Your guests are all having a good time, I can promise you that.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Rapunzel replied with relief, leaning against her, feeling warm and loved, cocooned in the arm that curled around her.

It wasn’t just Ingvarr, representatives came from all the royal families of the Seven Kingdoms, as was tradition for a royal wedding. The elder Princess of Pittsford, the Duchess of Quintonia, the Queen of Koto (who was a special friend of Arianna), along with an army of earls, viscounts, and assorted lords and ladies, all representing their kingdom or duchy or principality, arrived one after the other. Even King Trevor was there, unwilling to miss an opportunity to see and be seen, his presence a constant thorn in Eugene’s side, with the captain making sure to post extra guards to watch the Equisian monarch and all members of his retinue for the duration of his stay.

The one major exception to the parade of nations was Bayangor. Rapunzel had been informed a few days before the first guests arrived that the Bayangoran queen would not be attending the wedding as she had previously pledged to do, as her family had suffered a recent tragedy. The young Prince Arun had been kidnapped by a person or persons unknown, and not yet recovered.

Rapunzel had of course informed the Bayangoran ambassador that it was perfectly understandable that Queen Isara would not be attending the wedding while her son was missing, and expressed her hopes for a speedy recovery of the lost prince. She had looked to where her mother was seated to see her blanched face, the hands that flew to cover her mouth at the horror of a stolen child.

But then, the very day before the wedding, as Rapunzel was standing in her wedding dress, tailors bustling around her for the final fitting, Nigel entered the room to inform her of the arrival of Queen Isara of Bayangor and her son, Prince Arun.

Rapunzel hurried to the reception hall as soon as she was properly dressed, to greet the queen and her son. Her parents were already there, with Arianna clasping Queen Isara’s hand in hers, and Frederic resting a heavy hand on his wife’s elbow as he leaned forward to talk to the young prince, who was probably no more than ten years old.

They all turned as Rapunzel entered, the boy’s face lighting up as he saw her, and he turned to whisper something to his mother. She shook her head at him, though her smile was fond, and his gaze turned back to Rapunzel, a slight pout to his lips as he clutched what looked to be a ball wrapped in golden paper to his chest.

“Queen Isara,” Rapunzel gushed as she crossed the room, to welcome her to Corona. She was introduced to Prince Arun, who bowed very properly at the waist before straightening back up, dark eyes shining under a mop of glossy black hair, smiling as if he had a secret to share.

“Can I tell her now?” he asked his mother eagerly as he rotated the golden ball, or perhaps it was a large egg (up close it looked more oblong than round), between his hands. “About my rescue?”

“Remember your instructions. You tell her when you give her the gift. And you will give her the gift after the wedding ceremony.”

“Aww,” Prince Arun pouted, and Rapunzel had to restrain herself from echoing the boy’s disappointment. She had to admit she was very curious about the story of the prince’s rescue, especially with the child’s eagerness to tell it, and to her specifically. And what was the connection of the rescue to the gift? And was the gift the gold-wrapped item he was clutching so protectively in his hands?

But she didn’t have time to reflect on the mystery for long. After expressing her relief that Prince Arun was safe, and her gratitude that Queen Isara and her son had taken the time to come to the wedding despite their recent ordeal, she left the pair to her parents and Nigel. She still had a lot to do before she would be ready for tomorrow’s ceremony.

When she would be married. To Eugene!

If there was a feeling of mild apprehension, or maybe even fear deep inside her, she pushed it even further down as she went about the day, focusing instead on the excitement that gave her feet wings as she flew through the long corridors of the palace, flitting from one task to the next.

And then the night passed, the next day, April 10th, arrived, and she was standing in the entryway to the great hall, awaiting the change in the organ music that would signal the beginning of her promenade down the endlessly long aisle toward the dais where she and Eugene would be married.

It was like something out of a dream, the sun pouring through the windows of the great hall, lending a golden light to the very air around her. She floated above the wide purple runner, past rows and rows of benches with people all turning to stare at her, smile at her, so many faces flashing past as she walked forward, one step at a time toward the distant dais. A long veil, fastened to the delicate tiara on her brow, trailed behind her in a way that was comfortingly familiar, like dragging 70 feet of golden hair. Her bare feet were covered by the hem of her ivory gown, shimmering with golden embroidery, the split skirt revealing a delicate mauve underskirt. In her hands, she carried a cascade bouquet of white lilies and pink lilacs.

And there on the dais, waiting for her, was Eugene.

Her heart beat faster as his eyes locked on her across the distance, and she could see the love, the happiness shining in them. He seemed to radiate light, wearing a white vest with gold piping over a white shirt, a white and gold sash with the Coronan sun draped across his chest. His pants were a deep gray with blue piping along the outseam, ending in exquisitely polished tall black boots.

He was so beautiful, and he was hers!

It felt like an eternity passed as she crossed the space between them, the organ music filling the room, her heart pounding in her chest. As she reached the end of the rows of benches, Laurel was waiting to accept her bouquet of flowers. And then Rapunzel was climbing the steps to the dais, and Eugene was there to meet her. He inhaled sharply as she placed herself across from him, his shoulders rising and falling in a stifled bounce of excitement that nearly melted her where she stood.

The officiant, a tall man wearing a white mitre and robes decorated with golden embroidery and a purple and gold cape, began to speak, though Rapunzel could barely make out the words through the roaring in her ears.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today—”

She knew she was smiling too hard, but so was Eugene, their gazes locked on each other. All fear, all nervousness that she may have been harboring fled as she stared into those warm brown eyes brimming with adoration and love.

There was one hiccup in the otherwise perfect ceremony. Max and Pascal were the ring bearers, and as Max’s hooves sounded across the steps, Rapunzel was surprised, or rather, shocked, to see them. The two of them appeared to be covered in black tar as they approached, Max carrying the purple and gold pillow in his teeth, Pascal perched on the pillow, wearing a sheepish expression as he gestured to the rings at his feet.

But the oddness of their appearance was forgotten as soon as Eugene snatched the rings from the pillow and turned back to her. The look of confusion vanished as he gazed at her, replaced by confidence as he threaded the ring on her finger where it belonged. She cast it a quick glance, overjoyed to have it back, before slipping his ring onto his finger, and they clasped each other’s hands as the officiant spoke the final words.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss.”

Rapunzel stared at Eugene, and he at her, the incredulity in his eyes mirroring her own. She bounced lightly on her feet, reaching up to clasp his cheek with her hand, and then the incredulity melted away and they were kissing as the great hall erupted into cheers.

They paraded into the banqueting hall arm in arm, Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene, seating themselves side by side at the center table, facing out across the room from their matched pair of towering chairs.

It was difficult to eat the rich food as it was placed in front of her, giddy as she felt. Her stomach churned and fluttered with every stolen glance at her new husband, resplendent in a new coronet made especially for him, a gold circlet with crenellation that ended in points, with square yellow diamonds encircling the base. The wide hall was a roar of celebratory voices and laughter, so many people crammed into the space it was almost—but only almost—suffocating.

Flashes of faces appeared before her, congratulating her and Eugene. Her parents. Edmund. Quirin and Hector. Nigel. Lance and the girls. Mr. Baynard. Lord Durbin and Lady Clarissa. Monty and Feldspar and Mrs. Crowley. And every royal and diplomat in attendance on behalf of their respective nations.

It was dizzying, overwhelming. And yet, somehow, she made it through the ceremonial meal, through the speeches and toasts and well-wishes. And when it was over, but before she could rise from her seat, compelling the entire room to rise with her, the young Prince Arun appeared at the side of her chair, the golden orb held tightly in his hands.

“Your Majesty, I have a gift for you!” The young prince beamed as he held the gold-wrapped present toward her. “From Sir Cassandra.”

She blinked at the boy as she processed what he had said.

“From Sir Cassandra?” Eugene repeated incredulously, wrapping an arm around Rapunzel’s shoulders as he leaned to look over at the eager young prince.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Rapunzel reached to accept the gift as understanding dawned. “It was Cassandra who rescued you,” she concluded, a slow smile breaking across her face.

Prince Arun nodded enthusiastically and launched into the tale as Rapunzel listened with rapt attention, the gift with the crinkly golden paper held tightly in her lap. The boy had been walking alone in an inner courtyard of Bayangor Castle when a massive dragon (“Green, with shiny scales!”) had dropped from above, scooped him up in its talons and launched back into the sky before he even understood what was happening. They had flown for hours, far into the mountains, until they reached an enormous cave, its entrance hidden behind an outcropping of rock.

“Strange behavior for a dragon,” Nigel opined, his hands clasped behind his back where he stood across the table, with Edmund chiming in in agreement from Eugene’s other side. Rapunzel shushed them both.

The boy continued, describing how he had been carried into the cave, which was dimly lit by a natural skylight from above, allowing beams of sunlight to illuminate a vast pile of treasure, gleaming gold and silver, rubies and diamonds. The dragon had deposited him next to the treasure, before folding its massive wings and lumbering back to the entrance to the cave, dropping down and stretching itself lengthwise across the opening, effectively blocking any way out.

Prince Arun admitted, looking down at the floor as if ashamed, that he had cried, being all alone with a dragon and far from home. But he smiled when Eugene assured him that he would have done the same thing in his situation.

The boy hurried through the rest of the tale, the events tumbling from eager lips. As it had turned out, Arun was not alone. A group of bandits, two men and a woman, were living in the cave, and had been less than pleased to see that the dragon, which they controlled with a magic collar, had brought them a child instead of treasure. They had argued over what to do with him until one of them recognized him as the youngest prince of the land, at which point their argument only intensified.

One of the men had wanted to exchange Arun for even more treasure. “He’s worth double what we already have! We could retire and live the rest of our lives in luxury!” The woman had argued it wasn’t worth the risk, the royal guards would be bound to be hunting for the prince. They should release the boy and the dragon, and flee to Pittsford with the treasure they had already stolen.

The last one, an older grizzled man, had argued for killing the prince, to keep him from ratting them out, and Arun had curled up in a ball where they had chained him to the wall, hiding his face in his arms and doing his best to stifle his frightened sobs.

Which was when Cassandra had revealed herself.

She had been hiding in the cave for the past several days, lurking in the shadows as she assessed the situation with the dragon and the bandits. She had not expected the dragon to return with a kid, as she said, but it had been helpful—the argument between the bandits over what to do with Prince Arun had revealed a lot of information she had needed to proceed, though not exactly how they were controlling the dragon.

There had been the sound of glass shattering, and abruptly two of the bandits were pinned to the floor by a sticky pink substance. The third, the older man, had leaped out of the way and immediately swerved to charge at Cassandra with a sword. The clash between them was thankfully short if brutal, ending with the man pinned to the ground, the knight’s sword at his throat. And then Cassandra had struck him on the head with the pommel of her blade, knocking him out.

“That sounds like our Cassandra,” Eugene commented with a grin.

The fight had not been over yet, as the dragon had lifted its massive green head, its baleful eyes fixing on Cassandra as it let out a snort, a puff of fire, and rose slowly, cumbersomely, to its feet. The gold chain around its neck had seemed to glow with an unnatural light, and Arun had looked to see the robber woman, still stuck in the pink substance, touching a similarly glowing bracelet on her wrist as she muttered words under her breath.

Cassandra had clearly noticed it too, her gaze darting between the woman and the dragon. And then she had acted, turning to run to the far side of the cave as the dragon’s eyes followed her, the beast moving toward her with heavy steps that reverberated through the cavern. Reaching the wall, she had picked up her bow, trained it upon the approaching beast, and fired. The projectile had been impossible to follow in the dim light, but it struck true, the dragon rearing back as a burst of green smoke exploded in its face. The dragon had shaken its head, making a distressed groan, before it began to totter on its feet, stumbling forward a step, then two, before crashing resoundingly to the ground.

Next, Cassandra had bound the unconscious man, who had just begun to stir. She then extracted both the magic bracelet and a set of keys from the woman, who had protested vehemently, but quickly surrendered both objects when the point of a sword was held to her heart.

Cassandra had then knelt at Arun’s side and told him her name was Cassandra. The young prince had struggled to speak as she unlocked the cuffs from around his wrists, freeing him, but was eventually able to reciprocate by telling her his name.

“She saved me,” Arun declared, gratitude shining from wide brown eyes. “She brought me home. And then my mom knighted her. She is an honored knight of Bayangor!”

Rapunzel felt her heart fill with happiness at the thought of Cassandra at long last finding the adventure and recognition she deserved. And to top it all off, she had saved this boy from bandits who meant him harm.

“I love a story with a happy ending,” Rapunzel hummed as she reached out to clasp the boy’s hand in hers. “Thank you for telling it to me!”

“She said you’re her very best friend, and that you’d want to know.” Prince Arun’s eyes darted to the gift in the queen’s lap. “She asked me to tell you. And give you her present.”

“Oh,” Rapunzel breathed, her hand tightening around the crinkling paper that covered what felt like a smooth orb beneath. It wasn’t standard procedure to open presents in the banqueting hall, but it was the reception for her wedding, and she decided she would make an exception for this gift. Finding the edges of the paper, she began to open it.

“That can’t be all there is to the story,” Eugene insisted as he leaned forward, looking past Rapunzel to the boy who was eagerly watching the slow process of unwrapping the gift. “What happened to the bandits? And the dragon?”

The prince quickly explained that Cassandra had used the bracelet to commune with the dragon somehow. And then she had freed it, removing the chain around its neck and standing back as the beast had incinerated both the collar and the bracelet with its fiery green breath. Once the bandits were all bound, the dragon had delivered them to the closest garrison along with a note from Cassandra. She and Prince Arun had then loaded their pockets and sacks with as much treasure as they could carry, including an important ceremonial scepter that Arun knew his mother would want returned.

It had taken them five days of hard riding to make it back to the Bayangoran capital, but Arun thought it a fun adventure, riding behind Cassandra on her sturdy mare as they made their way down the mountain and through the many valleys, her owl swooping overhead and keeping a sharp eye out.

The boy’s explanation ended just as Rapunzel pulled the last layer of paper away from the object it had been concealing. Her breath caught in her throat, a tiny gasp, at the beauty of what she held in her hands.

It wasn’t a ball, or an egg, but a dome of clear glass, its bottom flat where it rested on the palm of her hand. Inside the glass, perfectly preserved, was a flower she had never seen before, with eight large fiery-red petals forming the outer rim, an inner layer of curled bright yellow petals, and a central carpel (was that what that part of the flower was called?), like a fuzzy orange coin.

“It’s a dragonfire flower,” Prince Arun explained breathlessly. “Sir Cassandra picked it just for you.”

“It only grows in the Windfell Mountains of eastern Bayangor.” The calm voice belonged to Queen Isari, who had appeared behind her son as he was telling his story. “We had it preserved in glass, to present it to you. Sir Cassandra wished you to have it, as a memento.”

“It’s—” Rapunzel paused for a moment as her voice wobbled. “It’s beautiful,” she finally said, running a finger over the smooth glass, beneath which the flower burned like a flame. “Thank you so much.”

The boy looked down at his feet, biting his lip as if suddenly embarrassed. “There is one more thing, Your Majesty. I promised Cassandra to—to give you a hug. From her.”

“Oh,” Rapunzel laughed. She pushed back her chair, placing the glass flower on the table before leaning toward the young prince and sweeping her arms around him. He let out a breathy giggle as she pressed him close to her heart, bringing his small arms around her waist to hug her back.

“You can rest easy now, knowing you’ve accomplished your mission on Cassandra’s behalf,” Rapunzel said earnestly as she released the boy. “Thank you again, Prince Arun.”

The boy’s grin was wide, but then it faltered as he looked past Rapunzel to where Eugene was seated. “Um—there’s one more one-more-thing. Cassandra asked me to give a message to King Eugene.”

“Yes?” Eugene questioned, the word almost a sigh.

The prince hesitated, glancing behind to his mother, and then back to Eugene.

“Don’t be shy,” Eugene coaxed, smiling encouragingly at the boy. “Trust me, I expect nothing less from Sir Cassandra. You can let me have it.”

“Uh.” Prince Arun took a deep breath. “Cassandra told me to say, ‘You’d better not mess this up, Fitzherbert.’”

There was a ripple of laughter around the table, from Edmund, Quirin, and Hector, from Rapunzel’s parents, from Lance and the girls who were watching from the neighboring table, even Nigel snorted with amusement. Eugene simply shrugged.

“Is that all? Honestly, I expected worse.” His smile was easy as he leaned closer to the young prince. “Message received. I have no intention of messing this up, and you can tell Sir Dragon Lady I said so if you see her again.”

The tension in the boy’s frame eased, his shoulders sinking as a smile crept back onto his face. Rapunzel glanced from the boy to the queen standing proudly behind him, grateful that they had come, that they brought this moment to her, a feeling of closeness to Cassandra even with her far, far away.

And she realized that someone else would appreciate it as well.

She leaned over the armrest of her chair to get closer to the young prince, speaking low in a conspiratorial whisper. “Do you know who else would love to hear your story?”

Prince Arun’s eyes widened questioningly, and he shook his head.

Rapunzel pointed across the grand hall to a far table, to where she could just see John, seated alongside King Trevor, Lawrence, and the Princess of Pittsford. “Do you see that man over there, in the red vest? That’s Cassandra’s father. He would love to hear all about Cassandra’s heroic deeds.”

There was a nod, and a solemn expression settled across the young prince’s features. “I will go now and pay Cassandra’s father my deepest respects,” he declared, the royal formality making him sound older than his ten years. “Thank you.” And with that, Prince Arun gave a low bow and said farewell, before turning to stalk determinedly across the hall toward John’s table, his mother following on his heels after a respectful nod to Rapunzel.

“Looks like Cass has a new fan,” Eugene hummed in playful exasperation as they watched Prince Arun introduce himself to John with a deep bow, with the former captain looking mildly befuddled.

“I’m so happy she’s doing well,” Rapunzel murmured in reply. On the table in front of her, the beautiful flower encased in glass seemed to burn with bright colors, and Pascal, who was studying it curiously, reached out a gentle claw, tapping the clear dome. He looked up at her with an approving croak, and she patted her friend affectionately on his little green head before carefully lifting the glass flower in her hand and placing it in her purse.

The rest of the festivities went by in a blur of activity. There were so many people to meet and greet, so many dances to dance, and one massive eight-tier wedding cake with pink fondant to cut.

And then, after darkness had fallen and the full moon was rising above the mountains in the east, Rapunzel and Eugene stood on the balcony of her tower room, their hands clasped together and bound by a silver ribbon. As moonlight poured down upon them, Edmund spoke words of blessings, which were repeated by Hector and Quirin in a deep rhythmic chant. It was not a second wedding, but rather a ceremony to receive the blessings of the moon upon their marriage, to give it the “strength to endure, as the moon waxes and wanes, as the tides ebb and flow.”

It was a beautiful and simple ceremony. And when it was done, the three men left, leaving Rapunzel and Eugene alone in the moonlight.

He reached for her, brushing a strand of hair from her face as he leaned in for a kiss.

Warmth coursed through her, and she clung to him, even as she could feel the exhaustion of the long day bearing down on her. She was happy, and nervous, and unsure of how things would be now, if they would be different or the same, and could one simple rite really change anything between them?

But somehow, he seemed to know, to understand. He broke away and smiled at her, his soft, charming smile, and then he clasped her hand and drew her toward the door. Once inside the tower room, he helped her with the dozens of fiddly buttons on the back of her wedding gown, while she unpinned her hair, removing the tiara and placing it on her vanity. This was followed by the simple diamond earrings from her ears, and the diamond necklace around her throat.

She giggled nervously as he climbed into bed after her, drawing the covers up around them both. Once he settled against the pillow, she curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder, her arm draped comfortably across his bare chest.

“So what happens now?” she asked quietly. It was the first moment since they were officially married that she had a chance to talk to him one-on-one, and she wondered if he was as excited, as hopeful, as nervous about the future as she was. But then she felt herself blush, realizing that what she had asked could be interpreted in several ways.

It was silly, it wasn’t as if she had never been alone with him before…

“Whatever you want to happen,” he replied softly. "I am yours, always."

It was as if the words broke a spell, disbanding the nervousness that had clutched at her breast for the past several days. She pushed herself up on her elbow to look down at him, so beautiful in the dim light of the bedside lantern, and she leaned down to press a kiss against his lips.

Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close and deepening the kiss. And she knew, she just knew that everything was going to be fine.

As it was a royal wedding, the celebration lasted for a full week, after which Rapunzel and Eugene (and Pascal, of course) left for a much-needed two-week vacation, or rather honeymoon, at the royal chalet on Mount Celia.

When they returned to the palace, they moved into the royal apartments, which had been vacated by the former king and queen. It was far more space than Rapunzel thought they needed, but still, it was nice to finally live together, to share a space with her husband! And with the apartments being located on the fourth floor and not up an unending flight of stairs to her tower, they both had an easier time getting to their respective workplaces.

Their personal rooms were completely redecorated, partially with items that Eugene and Rapunzel brought from their previous bedrooms, but mostly with gifts that had been given them for the wedding—fine vases, paintings, ceramic statues, and of course the dragonfire flower, which sat on Rapunzel’s desk, a beautiful reminder. Her other favorite gift was a wall clock in the shape of a sun, wavy golden rays radiating outward from a smiling face, that she hung in her personal sitting room. Varian wrote that he had found the clock in one of the storage rooms of the Coronan palace, initially thinking it was gold-plated and of modern design. But upon closer examination, it had turned out to be made from 20-karat gold and far older than he had thought, likely made in the time of Herz der Sonne by someone who was familiar with Demanitus’ work, making it a fun challenge for him to restore to working condition.

And to Rapunzel’s delight, twice a day, at noon and midnight, it would play a tune, a tinkling melody that, upon listening closely, resolved itself into the Herz der Sonne Waltz. The first time she happened to hear it, as she was reading quietly beside Eugene on a sleepy Sunday, it startled them both and they looked around to discover the source of the sound.

“The Herz der Sonne Waltz!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “I didn’t know the clock did that! Oh, that’s so sweet!”

“I think that kid is trying to murder me from afar,” Eugene grumbled, though his tone was playful as he went on to tell her about a music box that Varian had repaired for Roland, playing the same waltz and bearing a less than flattering figurine of his handsome self. She giggled at his description of the figurines, assuring him that she was sure music box Rapunzel loved music box Eugene, in spite of his deficiencies.

With the wedding behind them, life settled back into a routine. The May Day Market and the Lantern Festival (her 22nd birthday) came and went, and then it was glorious summer, with both crops and people flourishing under the bright sun. And as the final repairs of the main gate and bridge were complete, Rapunzel and the council approved further building projects, the most important of which was a new prison, with better and more humane facilities for both the inmates at the guards, to be built on the mainland, and far away from the palace.

And it wasn’t just Corona that was rebuilding itself in the aftermath of the black rocks. It was three weeks after Eugene’s birthday, and ten days after his royal coronation, when a message came from the Dark Kingdom, bearing greetings from King Edmund, along with a request for aid in the form of food and supplies. People were beginning to trickle into the kingdom, some of them the original inhabitants returning to their old homes, though many more of them were younger sons and daughters who were looking to settle their ancestral land in hopes of building new lives for themselves. And some were people with no former connection to the kingdom at all looking for new opportunities.

King Edmund welcomed them all. Fledgling villages were beginning to sprout up around the capital, and farmland that had lain fallow was once again being plowed and sown. But it was a slow process, and the king feared that the first year’s harvest would not be enough to keep everyone fed and in good health through the winter. Any aid that Corona could lend them would be most welcome.

Eugene was of course determined to help. Several ships were loaded with all the wheat and oats they could spare, as well as blankets and basic fabric for clothing, to set sail for the eastern port city of Sotah in Koto, where the supplies would be loaded onto wagons and carted the rest of the distance, a mere 100 miles, to the Dark Kingdom capital of Petram. And in early September, when the first of the fall harvest was being collected, Eugene had barrels of grains, vegetables, and fruits loaded onto both the royal airships, as much as their weight limit would allow. And then he kissed Rapunzel goodbye and boarded the larger of the two ships, to head out on Corona’s first official state visit to the reestablished Dark Kingdom.

It wasn’t until early November that Rapunzel looked to the east (as she had done every day for the past two months) to see two black dots against the gray sky, growing larger as they approached, revealing themselves to be airships. As soon as she was sure it was them, she dashed down to the kitchens to order a lunch to be prepared and served in one of the smaller banquet halls, in preparation for the return of King Eugene and his valiant crew.

And Eugene arrived, looking more like a Dark Prince than a Coronan king as he swept down the gangway toward her, a brown fur cape wrapped around his shoulders, closed with a pin bearing the mark of the Brotherhood. Beneath the cape, he wore a high-necked tunic in a purple so deep it was almost black, cinched with a belt with a purple amethyst encrusted on the buckle, over black pants and boots. But his scent was familiar as he crushed her in his arms, and the smile was all Eugene as he gushed about how much he had missed her, how much he adored her.

He was bursting with excitement, with love, and with tales of the Dark Kingdom. “Varian was there,” was one of the first things Eugene told Rapunzel as he was helping himself to a plate of buttered noodles, and she felt a surge of envy as she urged him to tell her all about it. Eugene was happy to comply, warning her that there was a lot to tell, as well as an important matter to discuss, but he would get to that.

It had been an edifying visit for Eugene. Edmund had proudly shown Eugene around the important sights, starting with the castle, which was in the process of being restored. He took him around the city that spread through the valley beneath the castle, which had been partially rebuilt. And they even rode through the countryside, where fields of crops were now dotting the landscape and small villages were nestled alongside winding dirt roads. Eugene had met many, many people during his stay, from court officials (consisting of a trio of Dark Scholars, as well as Hector and Adira), to castle servants and guards, to the regular citizenry who were building homes in the city, all excited to be a part of rebuilding the Dark Kingdom now that the black rocks were gone forever.

With the supplies that Edmund had so kindly received from Corona and several other of the neighboring kingdoms, he was confident that his people would be well-fed and clothed through the winter. And they had received other forms of aid as well, in the form of building supplies and a team of masons from Koto, wagons full of farm equipment and their accompanying horses from Neserdnia, and most recently, a team of engineers from Ingvarr.

The engineers had arrived three days after Eugene did, and he made a point of meeting them alongside his father. He had been fairly sure that a certain alchemist friend of theirs would be on board the impressively streamlined airship, and he had not been disappointed.

“You should have seen the look on Varian’s face when he saw me,” Eugene laughed, the expression in his eyes fond. He went on to describe it—how Varian had stopped dead in his tracks halfway down the gangway of the ship to stare in astonishment, a grin breaking out on his face as he pulled away from Quirin, pushing through the other engineers to run toward Eugene. Varian had caught himself before dashing past his boss, Emil, who was at the head of the procession, falling in behind him as they approached the dais upon which Edmund and Eugene were standing.

There had been a short exchange of pleasantries, with Edmund welcoming Emil and his team to the Dark Kingdom, and Emil expressing his gratitude for the welcome and conveying Queen Malmfrid’s regards, all while Varian had struggled to stand still, his hands fidgeting at his sides as he cast impatient glances up at Eugene. But as the formalities had ended, and Emil and the others began to move toward the stairs, Varian had hesitated, blinking upward as if he was suddenly unsure.

And then Eugene had stepped forward, holding his arms wide, shattering the official solemnity of the moment. The grin had reappeared on Varian’s face, and he had leaped up onto the dais to run headfirst into Eugene’s chest.

Rapunzel smiled at the mental image, wishing she could have been there.

Eugene went on to describe the next few weeks, how Varian had spent the days working with the engineers, channeling geothermal power from the lava chambers beneath the castle to heat not only the castle itself, but the homes in the surrounding town. Winters in the Dark Kingdom tended to be cold, and with so many people there wasn’t enough wood to heat every home, a problem that would be neatly alleviated by using the land’s abundant geothermal resources.

The evenings had been spent together, with Eugene and Varian exploring the many rooms of the castle—the library, the archives, the towers, the hot springs carved from the solid rock and also heated by geothermal energy. They had frequently been accompanied by Hector, who seemed oddly delighted to lecture them on Dark Kingdom history as he showed them around the many maze-like corridors that wound through the dark interior of the mountain. When they weren’t exploring, they would play games in Edmund’s favorite parlor, staying up late to hear stories from the various Brotherhood members. And one of the first evenings had been spent celebrating Varian’s 18th birthday, all of them together, which had made the kid choke up with emotion as he hadn’t spent a birthday with family since his fourteenth.

Eugene had also had many talks with his father when the two of them had been alone. Edmund had shown his son his mother’s study, her library, her favorite room with a view perched at the very top of the castle’s tower, all while describing the person she had been and how much she had loved her son.

Rapunzel gazed at Eugene, noticing how at ease he was as he spoke, the affection in his voice for his parents. It seemed like the visit had been good for him.

They finished the meal in pleasant conversation, with Rapunzel, Nigel, and Lawrence updating Eugene on everything he had missed while he was gone. Once it was over, Eugene took his wife by the hand as they walked back to their apartments. He was eager to freshen up from the trip and change clothes, which had Rapunzel remarking that his outfit suited him, even if she preferred him dressed in more Coronan-style clothing.

“You should see the crown my dad made me wear,” Eugene laughed. “Black onyx, with spiky points at the front and tiny amethysts all around the base.” He was contemplative for a moment. “They really have a theme going in the Dark Kingdom.”

“Well, we put suns on everything,” she responded, smiling.

As soon as he was washed and changed into his favorite blue jacket over a white shirt, he sat down next to her with a sigh. “So. There’s something we should discuss.”

“Yes?” she asked, pulling her knees beneath herself as she reached for him, feeling the warmth of his hand in hers.

As it turned out, the Brotherhood members, the Dark Scholars, and King Edmund had all cornered Eugene one evening to discuss the matter of the kingdom’s dynastic succession. Technically, Eugene was the heir apparent to the Dark Kingdom, but he was also the King Consort of Corona. This complicated matters, as they were not interested in uniting the two kingdoms.

So they had a proposition to make, and they were hopeful that Eugene and Rapunzel would approve it.

Rapunzel listened intently as Eugene explained the details. In order to separate the heirs of Corona and the Dark Kingdom, King Edmund and his advisors proposed that the first child born to Eugene and Rapunzel be designated the heir to Corona with all that entailed, including being given the Coronan dynastic name of der Sonne. The second child, however, would be declared the heir to the Dark Kingdom, and would be given the dynastic name of Tenebris, which was Eugene’s, Edmund’s, and his mother’s before him.

“Honestly, Sunshine, I had no idea my family name was Tenebris, until that moment.” It was an attempt at a joke, but Rapunzel could tell that Eugene was nervous, uncomfortable for some reason.

“Are you—okay with giving up your claim to the Dark Throne?”

A hand reached for hers, gripping it tightly. “Absolutely. I never wanted the throne, and I have no intention of living in the Dark Kingdom without you. Just being parted from you these past two months was more than I could bear.”

She felt herself melt a little at his reassurance, as his absence had been hard on her too. But then she pulled back. “Wait—are they asking us to hand over one of our—our children—to them?” She felt her face redden, realizing that she and Eugene hadn’t really discussed children at all, other than that one time in the House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow when they had had to parent Lance, Cass, and Shorty, who had been deaged into little kids. And now, they were talking about their theoretical future children as if they were pieces on a political chess board—

“No, of course not,” Eugene declared firmly. “I would never agree to that, and my dad wouldn’t ask that of us!” He went on to explain what they had discussed—that the child would have a Dark Scholar as one of their tutors while being raised in Corona. They would spend every other summer in the Dark Kingdom with their grandfather, alongside any siblings, to be educated on their history and culture. And when they reached the age of majority, they would be offered the throne.

It was a lot to take in, but in the end Rapunzel agreed that it could work, though she intended to bring the matter before the council, to iron out any legal details and hear any objections before it was settled.

“We have plenty of time to decide,” Eugene said soothingly as he placed an arm around her and she settled against his shoulder, content to have him home with her. He was right, they had time.

And there were other, more immediate matters occupying her thoughts.

Eugene had brought back several items from the Dark Kingdom—a small jewelry box carved in amethyst from King Edmund, a black onyx brooch depicting a crescent moon that Eugene had bought at a local market, and a long letter from Varian, among other things. It was a relief to receive the letter as she hadn’t heard from him in several months, but at least now she had an explanation for why, with his assignment in the Dark Kingdom.

It was as she sat at the desk in her parlor, reading the letter while the golden sun clock ticked and tocked above her, that she decided to make a second attempt to offer Varian the position of Royal Engineer of Corona. The letter he had written was bursting with excitement at visiting the Dark Kingdom and spending time with Eugene and their family, and regret that she had not been there as well. And she thought she caught, thrumming between the neatly written lines, a familiar pulse of homesickness.

So she wrote, filling the pages with appreciation for his skills, his innovation, his loyalty. She thanked him for all his previous work on Corona’s behalf and hoped that he would be willing to return. She mentioned the power sources described in the Demanitus Book, and that she would be interested in adapting them to power the airships, if that was something he thought he could do.

And then she carefully wrapped a bar of cocoa in a clean cloth, alongside three pressed purple aster flowers she had picked from the palace gardens the previous day.

It took three weeks to receive a reply, and in the meantime she was feeling rather hopeful. She would sit in her parlor with the Demanitus Book, pointing out several of the more interesting devices to Eugene as she gushed about how a particular machine or other could revolutionize their lives!

“I’m sorry, Blondie, but I fail to see how a device that burns slices of already baked bread will revolutionize our lives,” Eugene quipped as he looked over her shoulder, one hand cupping his chin.

“Well, maybe not that particular machine.”

But Rapunzel was once again disappointed when the long-awaited letter finally arrived. Varian was apologetic, but he was not in a place to leave his position at the moment, though he appreciated her kind words and offer.

It was enough of a blow that Rapunzel decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. She placed Pascal on her shoulder, determined to get out of the palace for a while and take a walk through the city. It was late November but the weather was mild, the fall flowers still blooming as she strolled down the winding streets. Without conscious thought she found herself entering Heroes’ Square, to see the gleaming marble monument towering in the center of the square, bearing the likenesses of her and her friends.

Her own statue was directly facing the cobbled walkway as she approached, the massive amounts of hair pooling at bare marble feet. Eugene was standing on her right-hand side, looking dashing and heroic as he always did. And on her left stood Cassandra, her hand on her sword, her glare an unspoken challenge.

Rapunzel felt a smile tug at the corner of her mouth as she halted her steps to contemplate the marble woman standing proudly above her, Owl perched on her arm. She hadn’t heard from Cass since the wedding, but according to Eugene, Varian had. Cassandra had apparently shown up unannounced at his house in Ingvarr, asking him if he’d be willing to resupply her with a few of his alchemical weapons, and Varian had been happy to oblige her. She had stayed with him and Quirin for a few days while he gathered the supplies she had requested, and then she had gone onward to Galcrest for a mission that awaited her there.

Galcrest was very far away, and very cold, colder than Ingvarr. Rapunzel hoped Cassandra was dressed warmly…

She took a few more steps around the monument, to look up at Varian’s statue. She smiled again as she studied the familiar features, feeling a pang of gratitude and wistfulness.

It was quiet without him in the palace.

She stood for a long moment, contemplating the triumphant pose, the proud tilt of the chin, the hand holding the power crystal high in victory. And then she tore her gaze away and took a step, and then another, until she was standing in front of Lance’s statue, and she realized that she missed him too, missed hearing his jovial laugh every day. But at least Lance she could do something about.

“What do you think, Pascal?” She reached up to pat the chameleon on her shoulder. “Should we visit Lance and the girls this Saturday? It’s been a while since we’ve been to Old Corona.”

Pascal croaked his approval of the plan.

Yes. That was just what Rapunzel needed. A break from palace life to visit some old friends…

With a sigh and a last glance at Lance’s open, friendly face, she began to walk, ambling past Eugene’s statue and then her own, completing the circle before stepping onto the path that led away from the monument.

Winter passed, and then it was spring, and before Rapunzel knew it, she and Eugene were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. The traditional first anniversary gift was paper, which was an easy choice for her. She spent several days carefully painting a watercolor picture of the two of them in a meadow of spring flowers, which turned out rather well, she thought.

His gift to her was a love letter, painstakingly written on fancy rose-scented paper, and she loved every word, every beautiful metaphor. He wrote rather well, but that didn’t surprise her. He was quite the storyteller, after all.

Their first year of marriage had been an unqualified success, and she was looking forward to many, many more.

But even as Corona, its people, and its rulers thrived, there were distant rumblings of trouble on the horizon. Eugene received word that the King of Meridiem Island, ailing but still alive, and sore at having lost his chance for immortality (in addition to two irreplaceable airships), was looking to enact vengeance on Corona. And King Trevor of Equis was getting bolder with his attempts to acquire the Demanitus Book, as Eugene’s men captured several Equisian agents as they attempted to break into the royal vault. When confronted, Trevor denied that they were his agents, but immediately followed up with an offer to take the book off Rapunzel’s hands, as Corona had neither the capacity nor the will to properly curate such a treasure, in his humble opinion.

Eugene was more annoyed than concerned by the rumblings, but even so he increased recruitment, for both the guard and the fleet. He also talked of making a diplomatic trip to Ingvarr, to negotiate a trade agreement for blue gas, the fuel of the Ingvarri airships. It would be a more efficient power source for their own airships, and would go a long way toward increasing Corona’s defensive capabilities.

“That might be a good idea,” Rapunzel mused. “But why would you have to go, when we can send an ambassador?”

“Because Queen Malmfrid likes me,” Eugene retorted with a sly wink.

It was eventually decided that Eugene would sail to Ingvarr with Liam and a platoon of guards in early October. They would train with the Ingvarri forces for two weeks, fostering cooperation between the two kingdoms, while Eugene was in talks with the Ingvarri queen, working out a deal for the coveted fuel.

But Rapunzel was acutely aware that this was a short-term solution. Even with a favorable trade deal for fuel, it would be costly and leave them dependent on Ingvarr. And with the Demanitus Book, Corona could develop its own efficient fuel, its own technology, and avoid the need to trade for the strategic resource.

Corona needed its own staff of royal engineers—or at least, they needed one.

Rapunzel hesitated as she sat at her desk, carefully considering her words, how she could best present the offer to Varian to induce him to accept.

It would be the third time she made the offer since he had left Corona.

She was abruptly struck by a memory of standing in the swirling purple dreamscape alongside Zhan Tiri. “This will be your last chance to convince him,” the little girl who had turned out to be a demon had said.

“Why is this my last chance? Is that a magic rule? I only get three tries?”

She knew she was being silly. This wasn’t at all like back then, when she had been so desperate to bring Varian home and he had been too angry, too frightened to trust her. There was no limit on how many times she could offer him the position of royal engineer, and when he wanted to accept, he would.

And yet—

I can’t wait for him any longer, Rapunzel thought to herself. This is too important for Corona’s security, for our future...

The words, when they finally flowed onto the blank page were impersonal, formal, listing pertinent details such as salary, work expectations, vacation days, and living arrangements. She refrained from any personal details, except for a simple message stating that she hoped he would accept the offer, alongside a pressed purple pansy flower, to match the clip that was currently in her hair. Beyond that, she would leave it to Eugene.

If Eugene couldn’t convince Varian to accept the position, no one could…

She handed Eugene the letter as he stood packing his things, and he took it, staring at it for a moment before placing it on top of the pile of clothes in his trunk.

“Not a very thick letter,” he remarked as he turned to her with a wan smile.

“That’s because it’s up to you,” she replied softly. “You have to convince him to come home.”

“So no pressure, huh?” He rose cumbersomely to his feet from where he had been kneeling in front of the trunk, straightening to his full height to look down at her with an expressive sigh. “I want the kid home as much as you do, Sunshine, but—he might not be ready yet. Then what?”

She was silent for a long moment as she pondered what to say. She didn’t want Eugene to think that she had given up, and she hadn’t, not really, but Corona needed an engineer if they were to move forward—

“Rapunzel,” Eugene goaded as the silence stretched on, “You know I love you more than life itself, but I’m not kidnapping anyone, not even for you.”

“Eugene, don’t be silly,” she groaned, for once not at all amused by his joking manner. “If Varian says no, I want you to ask him if there is anyone he would recommend for the position. Someone competent, who can be trusted with the secrets of the Demanitus Book, and who would like the job of building a royal engineering corps from scratch.”

It seemed that Eugene had not expected that. His eyebrows flew upward, his mouth opened and closed in surprise. And then a sly smile spread across his face. “I think that’s the right call.”

“You do?” she breathed, relieved.

“Yes. Much as I want Varian back, he’s not the only engineer in the Seven Kingdoms, not by a long shot.” Eugene took a step toward her, reaching out to clasp her hand in his. “I think we need to use every advantage to safeguard Corona, and the Demanitus Book might just be the greatest advantage we have. But to fully utilize it we need an engineer.”

“Oh, good,” Rapunzel sighed as she fell toward him, leaning her arms against his chest. “I was worried you would think I was giving up on Varian.”

“Not at all,” he murmured into the top of her head as his arms closed around her. “You’re being practical about this. Besides,” he added, and there was laughter in his voice, “if anything is going to convince him to accept, it might just be the thought of someone else taking his position, and using his book.”

“I hope you’re right,” she murmured in reply.

And then, after much hugging and waving, the Bergamot and two sister ships sailed out from port, taking Eugene with them, and Rapunzel was left behind once more. She climbed the stairs to her old tower room and its balcony, where she watched the ships until they disappeared over the horizon.

Two weeks to sail to Ingvarr. Two weeks there. Two weeks to sail home.

The days passed slowly, filled with council meetings, audiences, and sessions poring over the royal accounts. The kingdom was doing well enough, but rebuilding was costing them, and the royal coffers were emptier than Nigel thought prudent. It didn’t help that there had been a raid on one of the northernmost villages a few weeks back, just as the barley had been harvested. No one had been badly injured, but they had lost almost their entire crop, and the village leader had requested aid from the capital to replenish their stores.

And with such matters Rapunzel was kept busy, meandering through the days as she meandered through the corridors of the palace, until four weeks had gone by.

The letter from Eugene finally came that evening, as Rapunzel was sitting in her parlor with Lady Clarissa, Prudence, and Euphemie. Rapunzel leapt swiftly to her feet, skipping around the parlor table to where Nigel was standing in the doorway, the coveted letter in hand. She grabbed it from him, opening it hurriedly as she stalked back to her chair. Dropping onto the soft cushions, she spread the lined paper out on her lap.

Rapunzel, was written at the top, in Eugene’s cherished handwriting.

The letter was frustratingly short, mostly filled with assurances of his love. There was a brief outline of the deal he had managed to broker with Queen Malmfrid, as well as a report on the progress the guards had made with their training. There were also descriptions of meetings with the Ingvarri captain of the guard, with Princess Arngjerd, with Varian and Quirin, though Eugene didn’t go much into detail, saying only that he would tell her more when he came home.

She rubbed at her eyes, feeling a sting of disappointment prickling them. But as she opened them again to cast another glance at the letter, past Eugene’s name signed with love, she saw the postscript, scribbled almost as an afterthought at the very bottom of the page.

It simply read: Alchemist acquired.

All at once she exhaled, the breath she had been holding escaping in a rush of relief, of gratitude. She reread the terse statement, assuring herself that she hadn’t misinterpreted its meaning.

“Good news, I take it?” Nigel droned from where he was standing at her side, while her friends leaned forward, their expressions openly curious.

“The best,” she breathed, and she felt the smile as it bloomed across her face.

The wait seemed even longer after that, especially as the estimated day of the expedition’s return came and went without any sign of them. It was another four days of restlessly pacing the balcony, in between her duties, of course, before she saw ships on the northern horizon. It was another few hours after that before she was sure they were her ships and she ordered the carriages brought forth and readied.

And then finally, finally, she was standing on the pier, the mild November breeze blowing her skirt around her ankles. There had been no formal announcement of King Eugene’s return, but even so a crowd of onlookers had gathered behind her, watching as the Bergamot slid into its berth, its purple and gold flag flying from the mast, declaring to all that the king was on board.

The gangway was lowered, and Eugene appeared, striding down with his long loping steps. The moment he reached the bottom and set foot on the pier, Rapunzel rushed to meet him, and he swept her into an embrace, crushing her to him.

And just behind him—

As soon as Eugene had murmured how much he had missed her into her ear, squeezing her one more time as she echoed his words, he stepped to the side with a wide grin, allowing the slim figure behind him to step toward her.

Varian.

Her hands flew to her mouth, covering the sharp inhale, the ridiculous smile that erupted as she looked at him, from the messy black hair of his crown, the familiar goggles in place, to the long dark brown coat he was wearing, to the stylish leather boots on his feet and the raccoon peeking around his legs, and back up again.

“Your Majesty,” Varian crooned, and his smile mirrored hers, even as there was something mischievous, teasing, in his blue eyes. “It seems that you can’t get by without me, so here I am.”

He’s matured, she realized, and that shouldn’t have surprised her, and yet it did. His face had lost some of its roundness, his cheekbones were more prominent. He had grown about half a foot, and though he still wasn’t tall, he was taller than she was, standing roughly at Cassandra’s height if she had to guess. And he carried himself with a measured air, an easy confidence that had been lacking before.

Somehow, in the two and a half years since she had seen him last, he had grown into a young adult.

“So here you are,” she agreed with a hum that was crackling with laughter, with happiness. And then she bounced toward him, her hands wrapping around his neck even as his arms closed around her, and they were hugging and laughing as she welcomed him home.

The Sunshine Kingdom continued to grow and thrive. With the new airships that were built and the new efficient fuel created from Corona’s ubiquitous green crystals, developed under the guidance of the royal engineer, they were easily able to defend themselves from the occasional attack by other less-than-friendly nations. What was more, the fuel (which Varian had dubbed green slurry), became a profitable export, filling the royal coffers with gold and ensuring that Rapunzel could continue to be a generous queen, providing for the needs of her people.

Varian continued to research other forms of energy, believing that Demanitus’ crystal energy was the way of the future, being both more compact and less explosive than liquid fuel. With Rapunzel’s approval, he invited his former mentor, Enid the Crown Engineer of Ingvarr, to join him in developing the power source. At first, they passed letters back and forth, exchanging information and ideas. But eventually their collaboration required more than letters, and Enid arrived on a ship, along with three of her apprentices, to join Varian in his much expanded lab. Together, they were able to develop a rudimentary yellow power crystal, though Varian said it wasn’t nearly as compact as the crystal Demanitus himself had created, and which Varian had used in the attack on Zhan Tiri. Even so, Enid appeared to be quite content when she and her apprentices finally departed, both with the work they had done and at having avoided the worst of the harsh Ingvarri winter.

Once they were gone, Varian began to express a certain amount of dissatisfaction with working alone. “There’s so much on my plate, Rapunzel,” he complained to her one evening at dinner, “there’s enough work to keep several engineers busy for years, especially with the water heater project I’ve got going. I’d like to hire an assistant. Or maybe two.”

“Sure, kid,” Eugene quickly agreed after an exchange of glances with Rapunzel. “But only if you promise to spend less time in the lab and more time delighting us with your charming company.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure,” Varian agreed with an airy handwave, though his nonchalant words and gesture were negated by a quickly-suppressed smile.

There was another advantage to having Varian home again, besides his charming company, as Eugene had put it. Cassandra, whose continuing adventures across the Seven Kingdoms had become almost legendary, would occasionally contact Varian when she was in need of further supplies. And since Varian was now living and working in the palace, it meant that letters from her friend were more frequent. Rapunzel was even able to send letters and small gifts in return, tucked into boxes of alchemical supplies that were shipped to Koto, or Pittsford, or whatever kingdom Cassandra happened to be visiting at the time.

It soothed the ache in Rapunzel’s heart, to be able to send replies to Cassandra’s infrequent letters.

And maybe, one day, Cassandra too would come home.

Time had dulled the ache somewhat, but not erased it. And with every year that passed, Rapunzel couldn’t help but think, four years more, three years more, and at the last count, two years more, until Cassandra could return.

She had so much to tell her…

But Rapunzel had more than one way to count the years. And as March faded into April, her fifth wedding anniversary with Eugene was rapidly approaching.

And she had a lot to tell him too…

The traditional gift for the fifth anniversary was wood, which was perfect for her purposes. After a delightful evening of dinner and the now traditional boat ride under the stars, and accepting the beautifully carved linden wood bowl he gifted her, she brought him back to their apartments. She felt her nervousness rising as she led him into the adjacent room from their bedroom, one that they had primarily used as a dressing room until now. Holding up the lantern she was carrying, she brought him to the center of the moonlit space, where two wooden pillars rose from a flat base, and suspended between them, a rounded cradle with whorls and swirls carved into its wooden sides.

As the lamplight fell upon the shining dark wood, the soft purple mattress, she heard the sharp intake of his breath.

“Is that—” he began, and then fell silent as he stared at the crib, his eyes widening with sudden comprehension.

“I suppose it’s not really a present for you specifically,” she mused, wondering if she should have gotten him something in addition to the announcement she was making, and if it would bother him that she hadn’t. But then he turned to her, and the expression on his face was one of pure wonder, of happiness, of love.

“Rapunzel—is it true?”

She nodded, her head bobbing as a tentative smile stretched itself across her face.

With a loud exhale, he dropped to his knees before her, startling her and making her think he had somehow fainted from the news. But his arms wrapped around her and the side of his face pressed against her abdomen as he let out a short burst of a laugh, hugging her gently.

“How long?”

“The doctor says I’m about three months along,” she replied softly, her fingers carding gently through his hair. “We weren’t really sure until a few weeks ago. I haven’t had any of the common symptoms, no morning sickness, I’ve just been tired. And my dress is getting a bit snug.”

He huffed a laugh, his breath warm against her belly. “We’re going to be parents.” He laughed again as he pulled away to look up at her. “Suns, Rapunzel, we’re going to be parents!”

She laughed breathily as he stumbled back onto his feet, his hands settling on her cheeks, his eyes lingering on hers, until he moved in for the kiss.

The announcement of the queen’s condition was met with great joy from the populace, though there was an undercurrent of worry, a hope that this royal pregnancy would be easier than the last, which had borne forth Rapunzel herself but been the start of so much woe.

But Rapunzel wasn’t worried. Not even when she was informed that she would need to add a second crib to the nursery as she was carrying twins, a complication that had the doctors and midwives concerned. Somehow, she knew all would be well as she floated through the palace corridors, her hand on her growing belly as she sang the Healing Incantation under her breath.

Eugene was the most considerate husband during this time, attentive and loving. She noticed that he began to ease up on his captaincy duties as her pregnancy progressed, spending more and more time with her as he passed his duties on to Lawrence. Eventually he informed her that he intended to step back fully and allow Lawrence to take over his position as captain.

“I can be the king, I can be the captain, and I can be your loving husband, all at the same time,” he explained to her, “but I don’t think I can be all those things and a father to twins. I want to be there for our children.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” she replied, and a warm smile spread across his face as the nervous ridge of his brow relaxed. It made sense for him to step back now, as the guard had become a well-oiled machine under Eugene’s seven years of service, and Lawrence was more than qualified to take over the reins alongside Max.

“But I’ll still be asking Lawrence to update me on a regular basis,” Eugene added, and Rapunzel nodded her eager agreement.

They walked together through the subsequent days in a cloud of anticipation. And then, one evening in early September, Rapunzel felt the distinctive pangs that signaled the onset of labor. It was a whole month earlier than expected, but the doctor assured a nervous Eugene, whose tight smile concealed the worry he was trying to hide, that this was perfectly normal for twins.

The boy was born as the sun shone from its zenith in a clear blue sky, something that was viewed as an auspicious sign by the people who had assembled, awaiting news of the birth of Corona’s royal heir. But Rapunzel didn’t care about that as she held him to her breast, gazing into murky blue eyes that blinked as they strained to look up at her, a fuzz of pale downy hair on his newborn head.

The girl took longer, so long that the doctors and midwives began to worry, palpating Rapunzel’s abdomen with tense expressions as Eugene sat at her side, clenching her hand in his. But Rapunzel was not the least concerned as she held her baby close, singing the Healing Incantation over and over as her son drifted off to sleep.

It wasn’t until darkness had fallen and a full moon rose above the mountains in the east that the girl arrived, squalling and healthy as Rapunzel had known she would be. It seemed almost too fortuitous, as Quirin later told Eugene, the full moon hovering on the horizon at the moment of her birth as if she was destined to be the heir to the Dark Kingdom. But once again, Rapunzel was not thinking of the baby’s future as she held her close, looking down at the infant with the tiny patch of dark hair on the top of her conical head, her squinting eyes the same murky newborn blue as her brother’s.

The infants, being royal, made their first public appearance at only a few hours old. Rapunzel was cleaned and dressed in a frilly nightgown, her hair loosely braided, and led to an adjoining parlor with a formal four-poster bed. She sat upright in the bed, a bundled sleeping baby on each arm, as the double doors to the parlor were thrown open and the people who had been eagerly waiting in the antechamber filled the room.

She smiled sleepily, happily, as she watched them all file in—her parents, Lord Durbin, Lady Clarissa and numerous other council members, Lance and the girls, Captain Lawrence, Mr. Baynard, Faith and Laurel, and many many more, turning into a blur of joyful faces around her. Quirin and Varian were there as well, with Quirin having arrived from Old Corona to formally witness the birth in King Edmund’s stead, who was not scheduled to arrive in Corona for another two weeks.

“I present to you all,” Nigel proclaimed proudly from his post at the foot of the bed, “Prince Helio Alexander Fitzherbert der Sonne and Princess Selena Eleonora der Sonne Tenebris.”

Rapunzel looked up to where Eugene was standing at her bedside, smiling so widely she thought his face would crack, and she felt herself mirroring his happiness, even as she tightened her arms around the precious bundles on her lap. Helio and Selena—their sun and moon. Perhaps the names were a bit obvious, but it felt right, almost as if fate had decreed it.

The birth of the royal children changed everything for Rapunzel and Eugene. And what was more, it brought them to a better understanding of their own parents. Rapunzel’s parents were frequent visitors to the royal nursery, and she could have sworn she caught her dad crying as he held little Selena in a rocking chair one afternoon, even as he swiftly wiped his eyes at her approach. Her mom cried too, a soft quiet mist, as she held her grandchildren, staring at them both as if she could never see her fill of them.

And Rapunzel, now having children of her own, was finally able to begin to comprehend the nightmare her parents had endured when they lost her. The very thought of losing her children was an unimaginable dark abyss, and gave her a newfound understanding of how her father could have gone so astray. It went a long way toward mending the fraught and damaged relationship she had with her father, and to a lesser extent her mother.

Edmund too, when he arrived, seemed to be fighting back tears as he took turns holding his grandchildren, carefully supporting them in his lap with his arm, while Eugene looked on with a gentle smile. Edmund droned on and on about Eugene as a baby, talking about how much his children looked like their father, especially Selena.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I sent you away,” Edmund mumbled, his voice choked with tears, and Eugene merely sighed and assured his father that all was well now.

And every day, the babies continued to grow, fascinating Rapunzel with their changes. They really did look like their parents, with Helio’s wispy hair slowly turning into blond locks that curled around his ears, his murky blue eyes darkening to a vivid green. It pinged a quiet note of unease in Rapunzel, to see how fair the boy was, when the only blond baby in the family for generations had been her, and that had been due to magic. But Varian reassured her that blond hair could be hidden in a family tree for generations, and there was nothing inherently magical about the color.

Even if it looked an awful lot like the exact shade of gold her hair had once been.

Selena grew to look more and more like Eugene, her eyes darkening to the same hazel brown as her father, her patchy wisps of hair turning into wavy locks in a reassuring non-magical shade of medium brown.

Or so Rapunzel thought.

The babies were six months old, and she had just returned from a council meeting when she scooped Selena away from her nursemaid, carrying her over to a chair to feed the wriggling, cooing baby. As she placed the infant at her breast, curling around her to gaze down at the top of her head, the bright March sun fell upon a lock of hair that shimmered weirdly in the light. Teasing the lock away from the rest of the baby’s hair with gentle fingers, her breath seized in her chest.

There was a streak of blue in her baby’s hair!

She stared down at the happily feeding baby, willing her lungs to start pumping again. The wispy lock of hair was an electric blue, like Cassandra’s had been, like Eugene’s had been in the brief time he wielded the Moonstone shard! There could be no explaining that anomaly away, no rational reasoning from Varian about how blue streaks, like blond hair, could lie dormant in a family for generations and then suddenly pop up out of nowhere—

Varian—

She felt her heart rate settle, her breath release as she thought of the alchemist. Varian has a blue hairstreak, it probably doesn’t mean anything serious, she realized.

But even so, she had to get to the bottom of this. She asked Faith to go find both Eugene and Varian and ask them to come to the royal nursery as soon as possible.

Eugene was the first to arrive, and though his eyebrows rose at seeing Selena’s blue lock, he didn’t appear to be particularly perturbed by it. “The Moonstone is gone, Sunshine,” he stated soothingly, “I doubt it has anything to do with this.”

“But what else could it be?” she retorted worriedly. “And Helio—his hair is the same color as mine when I was the Sundrop! How can it be anything else?”

Eugene brushed fingers through his ordinary and yet flawless hair in contemplation, but before he could come up with an answer, the door opened again and Varian entered. His hair was damp (courtesy of the palace showers, no doubt), his clothes fresh and clean as he made a point of never entering the nursery in his work clothes, always showering and changing beforehand, “to keep the babies safe,” as he said.

Rapunzel didn’t wait, but hurried toward the alchemist, placing her daughter in his arms, as if that would help him to see it better. “Look, Varian! She has a blue hairstreak, like yours! What does it mean? Is it the Moonstone?”

Varian’s eyebrows rose in curiosity as he carried little Selena toward the window, shifting her awkwardly in his hold as he did so, never quite having gotten the hang of handling the babies, usually preferring to let their parents hold them. But now he held her close, staring at her intently as she cooed and babbled brightly up at him.

After a long pause, he frowned. “Honestly, I have no idea what this means.” He looked up to meet the young mother’s worried gaze. “But the Moonstone is gone, Rapunzel. It can’t come back.”

“Where did your blue streak come from?” Eugene asked curiously from where he was seated in a rocking chair, a fussing Helio held against his shoulder.

“Not the Moonstone, I know that,” Varian replied, sounding outraged at the very thought. “My parents hadn’t been anywhere near the Dark Kingdom for almost ten years when I was born!”

“Is it common for the Dark Kingdom people to have blue hair?” Rapunzel wondered, suddenly hopeful. Maybe it was just a weird side-effect of Eugene’s heritage. And maybe Helio’s hair was just a hidden family trait that had coincidentally popped up now.

Maybe…

“I don’t know,” Varian answered with a long sigh. “But my dad would.”

It was determined then and there to send for Quirin. He arrived the next morning, entering the nursery alongside Varian. And unlike his son, when Rapunzel handed him the baby, he held her easily, confidently, like a man accustomed to handling babies.

He gazed down at the infant, an unnaturally soft expression in his dark eyes. “The princess has been marked by the Moonstone,” he rumbled affectionately. “Not surprising, considering that both her parents have wielded its powers.”

“Wait—so this is because of the Moonstone?” Varian tugged at his own blue lock. “Does that mean you, or Mom, wielded the Moonstone?”

Quirin lifted the infant high in the air, causing her to laugh, her limbs to wriggle with excitement. “No. I was exposed to its powers when King Edmund attempted to destroy it. Your mother and I assumed that was why you were marked, my son.” He lowered the babbling baby, placing her back in her mother’s arms.

“But the Moonstone is gone,” Rapunzel declared as she hefted the baby protectively to her shoulder, repeating what both Eugene and Varian had said to her earlier. “Its powers are gone.”

“Its effects may linger in the world for generations to come,” Quirin mused, a pensive look in his eyes. “But worry not, Your Majesty. It’s merely—cosmetic.”

“So we don’t have to worry about the hair color being tied to any—powers?”

Quirin went on to explain that as far as he knew, the hairstreaks had never been connected to any of the actual powers of the Moonstone. “When Cassandra wielded the Moonstone, it colored her hair as a manifestation of its power, that’s true. But her hair reverted to its normal color once the power source was gone. The same with the Sundrop and your hair, Rapunzel,” the man continued, nodding in the queen’s direction. “The hairstreaks have a different origin. They are merely marks left behind from the proximity of the stone’s power, like a ring mark left on a table from a coffee mug.”

“What about Helio?” Eugene asked, holding the baby boy out toward Quirin. The man adeptly accepted the charge, grasping the boy between his massive hands as the infant smiled and cooed up at him.

It seemed so obvious to Rapunzel now, that the color was from the Sundrop.

“I don’t know as much about the Sundrop,” Quirin stated, his eyebrows low as he studied the infant prince. “But I imagine it’s the same as with the Moonstone. The Sundrop may have marked the young prince, due to his mother's long exposure to its magic. Or he may simply be a blond child.”

Eventually, Rapunzel was put at ease. It did seem likely it was a cosmetic change, one that wouldn’t harm her children. Varian made an amused comment about learning something new every day as he pulled at the blue streak in his hair, and Eugene joked that there were two Hairstripes now, and that was just confusing for everyone.

With Helio’s full head of golden hair, Rapunzel wondered if she had somehow passed her Sundrop shard on to her son. But as the weeks passed, she could still feel it deep inside her, feel its incrementally tiny effects as she sang the Healing Incantation to lower a fever, or soothe an infant with teething pains.

Her children would be fine.

“It’s the risk we take when we choose to have children,” her mother told Rapunzel one day as she sat in the window, the twins in her arms. “They will bring joy, and they will bring sadness. We don’t know what lies in their future, what their strengths will be, their weaknesses, their sorrows. All we can do is love them, and hope everything turns out all right.”

And somehow, those words were a comfort.

June came, mild and fragrant, bringing an explosion of roses in the palace gardens and a date, a specific date that had long been on Rapunzel’s mind.

The seventh anniversary of Cassandra’s exile.

It was not as if Rapunzel expected Cassandra to show up that very day! And yet, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed as the summer evening drew to a lingering close, the sky darkening without any sign of her friend, her sister.

She waited impatiently the following day, thinking that perhaps Cassandra had entered Corona late in the evening and had been unable to make it to the capital before nightfall. But that day passed as well, and still she did not appear.

Eugene did his best to reassure Rapunzel, telling her that “the dragon lady will make her dramatic appearance when she’s ready. Probably at my birthday party, if I had to make a guess.” Varian too tried to reassure her, saying that it had been a while since Cass had asked for any new supplies, so they were bound to hear from her sooner or later.

But still, Rapunzel was worried. Had Cassandra changed, in all the time she had been gone? Would she even want to return?

Five more days passed, and it was the evening of the summer solstice. Varian had plans, as he often did, going out on the town with a group of his friends. Eugene would be spending the evening with the twins, as Helio was still recovering from chicken pox, something that made the boy very cranky and unwilling to put up with anyone else, with the exception of Rapunzel.

And Rapunzel had spent the majority of the day with the babies, singing herself hoarse, and needed a break. She kissed Eugene on the forehead, promising to be back soon, and then headed out the door with hurried steps, leaving behind the whimpering cries of poor little Helio, so miserable as he clung to his father’s chest, while Selena, having recovered from her own bout of the illness, babbled contentedly where she sat on her play rug, a selection of simple toys in front of her.

After finding a snack in the kitchens for herself and Pascal, Rapunzel decided to climb the steps to her old tower room. Her former bedroom had become a frequent source of solace for her, whenever she needed to get away and spend some time alone. She had set up her art studio there, as the towering balcony was an ideal place to paint on a sunny day or a clear evening, whether the scenic view of the mountains and the sea, or the infinite landscapes of her imagination.

The room was cast in shadow as she entered, the curtains drawn, and she crossed the space to open them, to let in the light of the setting sun. But before she had reached the other side, Pascal squawked a warning, and she spun on her heel just as she heard a sound, the thud of a person leaping down from the rafters above her. She snatched the whip that still hung within a hidden fold of her skirt, unleashing it upon the shadowy figure that now stood between her and the door.

She heard the person grunt as the whip wrapped around them and she yanked them forward, bringing them to their knees.

“Easy, Raps,” a familiar voice rang out, “it’s just me.”

Surprise, shock, tore through Rapunzel as she squinted toward the kneeling figure, to see black hair framing a pale face, a familiar sarcastically raised eyebrow, the reassuring grin…

“Cassandra?”

“Hey, I’m glad to see you got some use out of that thing,” Cassandra replied, nodding toward the whip that wound around her torso, binding her arms to her sides, “but do you think you could release me?”

Something in the sarcastic quip seemed to unfreeze Rapunzel’s limbs. She relaxed the tension she was holding in the whip and flicked it gently, causing it to release and fall away from her friend. She quickly rolled it back up and rehung it at her side.

And then, just as Cassandra regained her feet, Rapunzel closed the distance between them to fling her arms around the other.

“Oof,” Cass groaned, though Rapunzel could hear the amusement in the breathy sound, “it’s good to see you too, Rapunzel.”

“Cass, I—” Rapunzel’s breath caught in her throat, and she was unable to speak as she simply held on tightly. After what was probably a full minute, with Pascal chirping happily as he scampered between one shoulder perch and the other, Rapunzel took a deep breath and pulled away, though not letting go fully, her hands trailing down Cassandra’s arms to clasp her fingers in hers.

“Why are you here?” Rapunzel was finally able to ask, though she realized immediately that it came out wrong. “I mean, why are you here, specifically, in this tower?”

There was an uncharacteristically soft smile on Cassandra’s face. “I was hoping to run into you here. And also, I wanted to see if you ever got around to replacing that painting of me.” She jerked her head upward to the domed ceiling. “I see you did.”

Rapunzel’s eyes flew upward, to where the painting was half-hidden in shadow. But she didn’t need to see it fully to remember every detail, every brushstroke, every vivid color. She had painted Cassandra as she had looked on the day she left Corona, gazing proudly to the left, to an unseen horizon, with Owl soaring above her. Glancing between the painting and its inspiration, her mind darting between her memories of Cass then and the Cass that stood before her now, Rapunzel noticed the subtle changes that seven years had wrought.

Cassandra’s hair was longer, just touching her shoulders, which she complained about when pointed out, insisting that she needed to find a barber as soon as convenient, even as Rapunzel said she liked it. Her tunic was still green, though it was a darker shade than it had been previously, a slightly different cut. The Cassandrium necklace was still around her neck, though it looked like it might have been broken and repaired, with some of the surrounding beads missing. And her face, so loved, so dear, was the same, though there were fine lines in the corners of her eyes, her cheekbones more sharply defined than they had been before.

“I hope you like it,” Rapunzel finally said in reply.

“I love it.” Cassandra took a step back, clearly studying Rapunzel in the same way she was studying her. “You look good, Rapunzel.” There was an inquiring croak from beneath Rapunzel’s braid. “And you too, Pascal,” she added, reaching out to pat the little beast. “You are one hardy chameleon.”

“You look amazing, Cass,” the young queen gushed. “I’m so happy you’re back. How—how long do you plan on staying?” The words tumbled out, fearful of the answer.

“Depends,” Cassandra answered slyly. “I don’t like being bored.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can find something to keep you busy,” Rapunzel chirped as she bounced on her toes. “Captain Lawrence has been complaining about a band of highwaymen in the Neserdnian borderlands. Or, or, there is the treasure map we found last week, hidden behind a throne room wall, that supposedly leads to Herz der Sonne’s lost treasure! We haven’t had the chance to go looking for it yet, but now that you’re here, maybe we can have a treasure hunt, together!”

Cassandra smiled. “Maybe a short break first. I want a few weeks to relax and get my bearings.”

“Of course.” Rapunzel grinned in return, ecstatic at the very thought of Cassandra staying for even a few weeks. She was home at last, and for however long that lasted, Rapunzel would be content.

“Welcome home,” she hummed, so happy she laughed out loud.

“Thanks, Raps,” Cassandra breathed, her smile brightening. “It’s good to be home.”