Reunion at Sea

Into the Dark Kingdom

"Alright." Rapunzel sat next to Varian and they put the four pieces of the scroll next to each other. "That's all of it, then. Now we just need some glue--whoa!"

Varian gasped and watched in awe as the pieces fused together to make one whole scroll. "'I'm no sorcerer', he says. What a big liar." He grinned and looked it over. "Wow...this...wow. I really need my notes, I...wow."

"You seem excited." Rapunzel nudged him with a grin.

"I am! Assuming I survive the Mad King, I'm gonna have plenty of time to look this over." He chuckled and rolled it up before putting it in his backpack. "Right, is everything else all packed up?" He asked, standing up.

"Everything but your stool." Lance said, swiping it up and taking it inside.

Adira walked over to Varian. "Don't be afraid. Hector and I will protect you." She assured him.

"Afraid? Me?" He gave them a wide grin. "I just crossed a bridge over a boiling pit of acid, I'm not scared of any Mad King!"

"You're doing that fake-cheerful thing again." Cassandra said, walking past him.

"Hehe...yeah." Varian nodded.

"Next stop?" Rapunzel prompted.

"The Dark Kingdom!" Everyone replied, and they all got in and set off.

--

"Yah!" Eugene said as Maximus and Fidella ran along. Next to them, Varian and Hector were having a race with Ruddiger and Callan as their mounts, which Varian had insisted was Ruddiger's idea - he apparently liked being big and fast. Actually, Eugene had joined the race, which is why Maximus and Fidella were running at all.

Rapunzel climbed up onto the skylight and joined Adira on the roof, holding her hair back as they ran along. "Hey, there it is!" She yelled, pointing ahead of them.

Ruddiger skidded to a stop at the end and let out a triumphant roar, with Callan coming up just behind him.

"Yes, yes, you win, you win." Eugene said as Varian did a victory dance on Ruddiger's back.

"What did you do to those bimberries?" Hector laughed.

Varian hopped down and hugged Ruddiger, then looked out at the castle in the distance. "Whoa..." He breathed. "That's it?"

"That's it." Hector nodded. "We can't bring the caravan, too big, so let's secure it so it doesn't roll away."

"Yep." Varian walked over as Eugene hopped down and they started to hammer hooks into the ground before they used rope to anchor the caravan.

"Why can't we bring the caravan?" Rapunzel asked.

"Like I said, too big." Hector looked at her. "Or rather, the rocks are too big."

"Ohhh." She nodded. "Okay."

They finished securing the caravan and then Eugene got on Maximus, Rapunzel got on Fidella, while Cassandra got on with Hector and Shorty on Callan. Varian got on Ruddiger with Lance, while Adira insisted on walking instead of riding with someone, and the birds flew overhead.

"Shouldn't he have changed back by now?" Eugene asked.

"Oh, we adjusted it so it lasted longer." Varian said. "Or rather, Ruddiger did it in the middle of the night while I was asleep. Apparently, since Demanitus blew his cover, he's acting like a human when I'm not looking now, and acting a lot more intelligent than before."

Rapunzel giggled. "Well, let's see how long it lasts. Everyone ready?"

Owl and Cleo lifted off the caravan and circled over them.