Reunion at Sea

Into the Great Tree

"You know, Princess, I'm starting to think 'trust me' is what you say when you have a plan no one will be happy with, so you don't want to actually explain it." Varian said flatly.

The plan, it turned out, was to get wrapped up in magical hair and let the caravan drop off the cliff. Varian suddenly understood why she said to secure everything. They might have a chance of not being destroyed this way. As for the riders and horses, they were currently dangling from a branch as big as the caravan sticking out of the wall, at least 100 feet above the ground, and with only her hair to keep them from falling to their deaths.

"Seriously, there had to be an easier way for us to hang out together. Am I right?" Lance said to Adira, who was hanging next to him at the bottom of the chain of hair and people.

--

After getting back up, they headed for the Great Tree on foot. "So, who is Adira?" Varian asked as they walked. "And you still haven't introduced us." He looked at Cassandra.

"Right..." Cassandra sighed. "Adira, this is Varian. You might know him as the mastermind behind The Battle of Old Corona. He's also the son of Quirin of Old Corona."

Adira nodded. "Yes, I got his name when you all yelled it for your enemy to hear."

"...Right." Cassandra sighed. "Varian, this is Adira, our infuriatingly cryptic guide towards the Dark Kingdom. She's the one who told us what sent the rocks."

"Adira, hey--" Lance started, and she fast-walked away to get ahead of everyone.

"...Wow." Varian snickered. "I, uh, don't think she's interested, Lance."

"She's just shy." He assured him.

Cassandra rolled her eyes with a smirk, then looked thoughtful. "Hey...earlier, you called me 'Cassie'."

Varian glanced away. "It was slipped out. Don't think anything of it." He fast-walked to catch up to Rapunzel and Eugene, who were leading the group.

"So, you ready to go into a big tree?" Eugene asked playfully.

"As ready as I was for nearly being crushed by a falling caravan while running from a wild man on a rhino." Varian said, chuckling.

"Yeah, wow. You know, two years ago I would've called fighting jackal monsters on the back of a speeding carriage whilst a rhinoceros chases the woman I love absolutely bonkers. Now? I call it Tuesday." Eugene chuckled, then stopped short as they all looked up at a large doorway into the tree.

"Time for some answers." Cassandra said, walking up to them and nodding to Adira, who had sat down to sharpen her black sword while Lance attempted to flirt with her.

"Right." Rapunzel nodded and they all walked over to her. "Adira, wait. Before we go on, we have some questions. Who was that man that attacked us?"

"And none of your usual cryptic runaround this time." Cassandra said firmly.

Adira sighed. "His name is Hector." She gave Cassandra a sharp look. "And I don't think I appreciate your tone."

Before Cassandra could reply, Varian stepped between them. "Okay, so now we know his name. Who is he, and how do you two know my father? What is that emblem?" He gestured to the emblem on her clothes of a circle with three lines cutting through it.

She looked at him with a pained expression. "He never told you?"

"My father made it a point to hide everything from me, even affection." Varian said with his false-cheerful voice.

She looked to the side, then sighed again. "Alright. I'm sure he intended to tell you at some point, but he's always been... difficult." She cleared her throat. "The three of us were members of the Brotherhood, a group of warriors sworn to keep any and all from the Dark Kingdom. Two decades ago, something terrible happened and we all went our seperate ways, with Hector choosing to stay in this tree to continue the mission, while I sought out the Sundrop and your father...well, I don't really know. He said something about a mission and then left. I didn't hear from him again until...well, now."