"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.
"You two watch the caravan." Hector told his bearcats. "Protect it from robbers. We'll be back for it."
They nodded and started to circle the caravan dutifully.
"Right." Varian looked towards the castle. "Off we go."
--
"You weren't kidding." Rapunzel said as they carefully weaved around huge, sharp, black rocks that were littering the path to the dark kingdom. "There's no way the caravan could fit in here, even if we split it."
"Let's stop for a break." Eugene suggested. "Ruddiger looks like he's about to change back."
"That true, Ruddiger?" Varian asked him.
Ruddiger nodded and he and Lance got off, just as Ruddiger started glowing and reverted back to his smaller form. Then he climbed up onto Varian's shoulders and gave an exhausted yawn.
"We'll rest for a bit, and then Lance will ride with me, while Varian rides with Rapunzel." Eugene suggested.
"Sure you two lovebirds don't want to ride together?" Cassandra smirked as she got down off of Callan.
Hector got down and set Shorty on the ground before pulling out a snack for Callan.
They got out treats for the horses and Ruddiger and then sat down to eat a packed meal.
Eugene sighed and walked over to look at the castle, then pulled out the warning again, his lips pursed. Should he tell them now? Maybe it would be best to wait until after, they had so much on their minds right now. He looked over at Rapunzel and Varian sitting and eating together with Pascal and Ruddiger and realized that he'd come to care for Varian almost as much as he did for Rapunzel. He wasn't sure when it happened, sometime between the Glass Sipper and now, but he'd really grown to care for the kid. The thought of him being hurt by the Mad King upset Eugene as much as it did Hector and Adira.
"What's this?"
He gasped as Hector swiped it out of his hands. "Whoa, hey!"
"'Where love has been warped, a great darkness will rise in the land of the light'. What's this?" Hector asked curiously.
"What?" Rapunzel looked up.
Eugene sighed. "It's a fortune I found in the jewel Demanitus gave me." He explained. "I intended to show you guys after we finished up here."
"Speaking of finishing up, I think it's time we walk on." Cassandra suggested.
"Okay, let's mount up." Rapunzel said, and they all cleaned up from their food and got onto the horses and Callan.
Adira was looked around on alert. "Everything okay?" Varian asked her.
"I'm looking for the--" She stopped. "There." She pointed ahead of them. "The ravens have seen us."
"Ravens?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yes, the ravens." Adira told them. "They--"
"Hey!" Eugene yelped as something hit his face, then dropped into his lap. "Uh, what?"
A raven was looking up at him, looking dazed, and then he squawked excitedly and hopped up onto his shoulder before nuzzling him. "Uhhh, can someone get this crow...raven...whatever he is off me?"
"I don't know, he seems to like you." Varian chuckled.
Adira's eyes were wide and Hector was cringing. "Sister, that's not..."
"It is." Adira sighed. "Hello, Hamuel."
He squawked at her, then flew off Eugene's shoulder and circled her before hovering in the air with an accusing look before he lifted into the air and then more ravens were coming at them.
"Uhhhh, RUN!" Rapunzel cried, and they rode down towards the Dark Kingdom, evading ravens trying to peck at them, with Owl and Cleo trying to fight them off.
"Wonderful! Even the birds in this kingdom are hostile!" Eugene said as they weaved sharply around the black rocks, causing a few of the birds to slam into them.
"What do they want?!" Rapunzel cried.
They reached the dead land and kicked up dust. Varian groaned in pain and wavered before he suddenly fell off of Maximus.
"Kid!" Eugene pulled to a stop and got off Maxmus to kneel next to him. "Varian!"
"Varian!?" The others pulled to a stop and dismounted and created a protective circle around them.
"My head..." Varian groaned and unfastened his gloves, pulling them off. As soon as he did, his hairstripe started to glow, as well as his eyes and fingertips. The ravens halted their attack, then flew off towards the castle.
"What was that?" Cassandra asked.
"They recognized what he is." Adira said as she sheathed her sword. "They've gone to tell the King."
"Hey, has anyone seen that weirdly-affectionate one?" Eugene asked as he helped Varian get up. "Here." He picked up his gloves for him.
"Uhm...yeah, just...can you put them in my bag? My head doesn't feel like it's going to explode right now." Varian said, brushing his glowing hair out his face.
"How do you feel?" Rapunzel asked him.
"Like..." Varian smiled a bit. "Like I've finally come home after a long, long time away. The piece of the moonstone inside me senses the Moonstone in the castle."
"Well, let's get to reuniting them." Eugene smiled, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Ready to ride on?"
"Yeah." Varian nodded.
They all got on their mounts and headed on towards the castle, Adira walking alongside as before.
"So, who's Hamuel?" Rapunzel asked.
"He's the King's favored raven. Crow. He's half and half, actually." Hector explained. "He leads the Raven Brigade, and reports to the King directly. He probably took off to tell him we're here while they were all attacking us."
"So, why was he so excited to see Eugene?" Rapunzel asked.
Adira and Hector both shrugged.
"Whatever his reason, it doesn't change our quest." Cassandra said firmly. "We press on. The sooner we get through this, the sooner we can all feel at ease."
"Yeah, uh, how?" Varian asked as Maximus stopped short. He and Eugene climbed down off it. "Oh, that looks pretty deep."
"Look at all those rocks, too." Eugene cringed. "There's no way we can safely get down there, not to mention that it'd break the necks of our mounts."
"Hmm..." Rapunzel walked over and looked down. "Yeah..."
--
Hamuel flew to the castle and in through a window. He stumbled a bit on the windowsill and hit the ground, then climbed up onto his perch with a grumble before settling down and cawing with exasperation.
"The interlopers still approach?" A large man in the shadows asked.
He cawed again, ruffling his feathers.
"Then, we have work to do." The man grabbed an axe on the wall bearing the Brotherhood symbol and left the room.