As Cassandra stares at the potion, Varian sits next to her. "You know you'd feel a lot better if you just tell her," he says.
"Not this again..." Cassandra mutters. "I appreciate your help, but everything is working out fine! In the morning she'll drink the potion, and remember everything."
"She may be naive, but she isn't stupid," Varian continues. "I'm really surprised she hasn't already figured out something's up..."
As if on cue, Rapunzel stomps over to them. "You're not taking me back to the tower, are you?" She says furiously.
"Oh no..." Varian shudders.
"What are you talking about?" Cassandra asks.
"You said we were heading north, but we're not." Rapunzel stomps closer. "I chart stars, I know."
Cassandra chuckles nervously. "Rapunzel, look. I-I can explain."
"And why don't I remember drawing this?" Rapunzel reveals the drawing she made a couple days ago of Cassandra with claws, fangs, and an angry face. Cass stares down at the ground.
"I completely forgot she had that in her pocket..." Varian whispers to Owl.
"You did use some kind of magic on me, didn't you?" Rapunzel shouts, jerking the book from Cassandra's hands.
"No, no. Raps, that was the ruffians!" Cassandra says. "I saved you from them, remember?"
Varian shakes his head, not believing that Cassandra is still trying to keep up the lie.
"Maybe you did, but only because you wanted my hair for yourself!" Rapunzel says. She turns to Varian and adds, "You seemed so sweet! How could you be like this? I'll bet this is your magic book."
"I don't work with magic!" Varian insists.
But Rapunzel no longer believes him. "And to think, I risked my life getting you guys that spice!" She tells them. "Mother was right about everything!" She quickly whips her hair at them, and in a flash all they can see is blonde. Then everything goes dark.
Varian opens his eyes slowly. The sky is still black, so he knows he hasn't been out for long. But as he comes to, he realizes that he and Cassandra are currently hanging upside-down from a tree... tied together with a rope. Owl is hovering nearby, staring at Cassandra judgmentally.
"Well, this is just perfect," Varian says sarcastically.
Cassandra huffs. "Okay, okay. So I shouldn't have lied to her!"
"Oh, ya think?!" Varian says as Cassandra cuts them free with her dagger. She lands on the ground gracefully, as Varian plops down on the ground with thud!
"Set the sarcasm aside," Cassandra tells him, helping him up. "We've got to find her before she gets herself into trouble!"
The two of them rush through the woods together after the princess. Before long, they hear the voices of Eugene, Lance, and Shorty calling out her name. Varian figures they must have had a run-in with her.
Cassandra approaches them and quickly explains, "No time for details. We have to find Raps, she lost her memory. She thinks she never left the tower. We'll cover more ground if we split up."
"Geez, you said all that in one breath!" Varian remarks as they all split off alone to find the princess. Except for Eugene, who still seems confused.
"Oh boy, that's a lot to take in... I'm gonna need a moment," Eugene says. He pauses for a few seconds then adds, "No, strike that. That moment's not helping."
"Eugene! Focus!" Varian yells at him.
"Right! We need to find her," Eugene says, snapping back to reality. "But hey, this is fresh-out-of-the-tower Rapunzel, right? She's inexperienced. We've got the upper hand!"
Or, so he thinks. After only a few minutes, Rapunzel has tied Shorty to a tree and has trapped Eugene and Lance. She has them wrapped up in her hair, hanging upside-down over a river full of piranhas, when Cassandra and Varian find them. All they had to do was follow the sound of Lance's fearful squeal...
"Let Pascal go, or I will drop you!" Rapunzel threatens Eugene and Lance.
"Look, Sunshine, Pascal's just fine!" Eugene tells her. "But he's not with us, he's actually looking for you."
"No!" Rapunzel shouts. "I don't believe you! Mother said everyone is a liar and a thief out here, and she was right."
"Rapunzel!" Cassandra says as she and Varian approach the princess.
Rapunzel spins around to face them. "You! You two lied to me, too! Don't try to deny it."
"In my defense, I tried to convince Cass to tell you the truth," Varian says.
"Is it possible for this conversation to happen when we're on the ground?" Eugene asks in a panic as the piranhas jump around in the water, too close to his and Lance's heads.
"If I get out of this, I promise I will never eat another fish as long as I live!" Lance swears. "Except for tuna... and salmon." But when a piranha leaps out of the water and attempts to bite his finger, he screams and adds, "Okay, just tuna!"
"Alright, alright!" Cassandra says to Rapunzel. "Yes, yes... You're right, Rapunzel, I did lie. I did use magic on you. And this potion will bring back your memories." She holds up a vial of the potion 'soup' she made.
"Memories?" Rapunzel says.
"I erased some of your memories," Cassandra explains. "I didn't mean to, I... Look, I'm not big on talking about feelings, and I didn't want to tell you how mad I really was about what happened at the Tree. So, I kept it all in... until I lost my temper."
Owl lands on Cassandra's shoulder approvingly, and Varian smiles at her proudly.
"And how do I know you're not just lying again?" Rapunzel asks.
"Friends just have a way of knowing," Cassandra replies with a loving smile. She holds the potion out to Rapunzel, who hesitantly steps toward her. As she does this, Eugene and Lance begin to rise higher above the water and away from the piranhas.
"Oh, thank goodness," Eugene says.
"So long, evil fishes!" Lance adds.
Rapunzel takes the potion from Cassandra, and offers her a smile. But the branch her hair is tied around breaks from the heavy weight, and Eugene and Lance begin to fall towards the piranha-infested water below. They scream, but Varian throws his new solution at them and the protective bubble surrounds them. They bounce onto shore, where Varian releases them.
"Told ya you'd feel bad about doubting it," Varian tells them with a smug smirk.
"I've never been more happy to be proven wrong," Eugene says with a relieved smile, placing a grateful hand on Varian's shoulder.
Rapunzel finally drinks the potion, and to everyone's relief her memories come flooding back. Everything is almost back to normal.
"Now, can someone explain all of this in detail please?" Eugene asks. "Starting with why Hair Stripe vanished into thin air..."
Later the next day, the gang have finished fixing up the caravan. As the guys and horses work together to put the two halves back together, Rapunzel and Cassandra sit side-by-side nearby, finally talking through everything that's happened. Things seem to be getting a little heated at first, but eventually they calm down and before long they are smiling at each other once again. They embrace, and it seems like they have finally made up.
As they prepare to continue their journey, Cassandra pulls Varian aside. "Hey, kid. I just wanted to say... I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You were right all along. But thanks anyway for, you know, still helping me out. Even though you didn't agree with my methods."
"Of course, Cassie. I'd do anything for you," Varian blurts out.
Cassandra rolls her eyes as a light blush spreads across his face. "You've gotta stop doing that." But she chuckles as she says this. "Come on, let's hit the road."
Varian smiles, but he is still slightly worried. He means it when he says he'd do anything for her, and after today he realizes that means even doing things for her that he doesn't exactly approve of. After all the horrible things he has done in the past, he hopes his feelings for her don't eventually cause him to backslide into being that terrible person he once was. Because sometimes, when you want to please someone badly enough, things that are considered wrong can still be so tempting...