Moon and Stars [Sporadic Updates]

Zia and the Moonstone Incantation

Varian sat on a tree stump, watching Cassandra try out her powers. He felt confused, scared, and alone. He hadn't meant to attack Adira. He hadn't meant to get the moonstone. But here he was, exiled with Cass out in the woods, all because he broke the moonstone.
Cassandra stood next to a tree, and tried yet again to force black rocks out of the ground.

"It's not working." she growled with frustration. She looked at Varian. "Hand over your half of the moonstone. It was meant to be mine, and I will finally have its full power."
Varian put his hand protectively over the stone embedded in his glove. "No."

"Come on, it's not like you wanted this power. It happened to you by accident." Cass told him.

"It may have happened by accident, but I still have it. It's not like I could just give it to you and go back home. I committed treason by attacking the princess."

"You attacked Adira." Cassandra said. "Besides, you know Rapunzel will forgive you. She knows the truth."

"Not everyone will see it that way." Varian told her sadly. "They still don't completely trust me after I kidnapped the queen."

Cass heaved a deep sigh. "I understand. You don't have to give it up."

Varian was surprised. Cass was perfectly capable of taking the stone from him if she really wanted it. And Varian knew that she did. It was strange that she was letting him keep it.

"Okay..." Varian said. In truth, a tiny part of him did want the moonstone. Instead of being powerless and unable to defend himself and his loved ones, he now had the power of the moon on his side.

"Besides, I was prepared to be all alone out here by myself." Cass said suddenly, staring at the starry sky. "It'll be kinda nice to have someone that will have my back, someone I can figure out my powers with."

Varian turned and smiled at her. "Me too. I didn't ask for this, but I'm here now, and I'd rather have someone with me than be alone."

Cass started to try and raise some black rocks again and Varian sank into his thoughts. He knew Rapunzel would forgive him. He knew Eugene and Lance probably would also. But the people of Corona wouldn't. Varian had asked to come with Rapunzel on this journey because he didn't want to face the stares, the whispers, and the distrust of the townspeople. His father loved him, yes, but Varian's reputation brought down his father's. People were reluctant to hire him sometimes because of what Varian had done. Mostly, he was respected though, because Varian had been the one to trap him in the amber. They felt sorry for him, having such a disastrous son.

He hoped the quest to follow the black rocks and find Rapunzel's destiny would make everyone trust him if they were succesful. But now that was ruined, accident or not.
Varian was jolted from his thoughts when a voice called, "Cassandra, Varian."
It wasn't any voice he recognized. It seemed sympathetic but manipulative at the same time, young and old in unison, and full of a sort of suppressed power.

A small girl stepped out from the trees. She looked sort of like a doll, with big eyes and petite but not necessarily pretty features. Her face looked old, but she was small in stature. Her hair was pulled into two buns on the top of her head, and she wore a dress with a ruffled collar. A strange beaded crown thing circled her head, with a shiny gem hanging from it at the girl's forehead.
The weirdest part? The girl glowed ghostly blue and floated about a foot off the ground.

"You!" Cass said. "What are you doing here?"

"You know this ghost?" Varian asked Cassandra.

"Yes, Cassandra knows me." the ghost girl said. "But I never told you my name. I am Zia Ri."

The name felt oddly familiar, but it didn't make any sense. Varian had definitely never heard of this ghost girl.

"I showed Cassandra the truth about her past." the ghost girl continued. "And showed her that the moonstone was her destiny. But I didn't tell her that you were also destined for this power."

"I- I'm destined for this?" Varian asked. "It was a complete accident!"
"There are never accidents with this sort of thing." Zia said.
"So my destiny was half of the moonstone? What a great destiny." Cass said sarcastically.

"You will get your full power." Zia promised. "You just have to be patient. Everything will make sense in due time."

Varian wondered how that would happen in that due time, but he didn't ask. For now, he and Cass were in this together.

"Right now, I am here to teach you how to use your powers." Zia Ri said.

"And why are you doing this?" Cassandra asked. "We're perfectly capable on our own."

It made Varian's heart glow a little when Cass said we.

"Yes," Zia said. "But I saw you struggling to activate your powers just now. To fully control the black rocks, you need this."

Zia held up a replica of a piece of the Demanitus scroll with an ancient inscription on it. "This is the Moonstone Incantation. If only we could decipher it, you would have your power over the rocks." Zia smiled. "That is, if you will accept my help."

Cassandra bit her lip. "Varian?"

Varian looked at her in surprise, but quickly answered, "She's offering us help, Cass. We wouldn't have figured this out on our own. I think we should accept her offer."

Cass nodded reluctantly. "Fine. How do we decipher the incantation?"

"I think I have an idea." Varian said. "The princess set me on the task of deciphering the scroll back at the castle, and I was close to a breakthrough when we went off on the quest. If we could get back to my lab in Old Corona, I could get my research and finish figuring out what the incripstions mean."

"Perfect!" Zia said, clapping her hands together.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning." Cassandra decided. "For now, we need some sleep."

Varian scooped together a pile of leaves to lay on top of, and was reminded of how Rapunzel would pile her hair underneath her and lay on it like a beanbag. He felt sad that he was betraying her, but he was beginning to get excited. There were so many possibilities with his new powers, and he was ready to learn all he could about them.

He glanced over at Cassandra, who was leaning against a rock. Zia was nowhere in sight, but Varian figured she'd show up tomorrow. He didn't know how or why she wanted to help them, but any help was appreciated by Varian in these kinds of things. Magic wasn't Varian's strong suit, and Zia seemed to know a lot about it.

Varian closed his eyes, and soon he slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.