"So, what do you think?" Rapunzel asked eagerly.
Donella looked up from the scroll she'd had shoved into her hands. "...Why are you asking me?"
"Because Quirin never hides anything from him anymore and I want it to be a surprise for Varian. And, well, I figure you might know what he might like or not like of these ideas." Rapunzel said enthusiastically.
"You would be better off asking Gothel or Clyde. I haven't seen him since the night I told him his mother was dead, remember?" She rolled up the scroll and handed it back. "Besides, I hear that Gothel loves to spoil him with surprises, so she'd be the best option. Now I have to get back to work."
"Oh...okay." Rapunzel nodded. "You will be attending, though, right?"
"Yes, of course." Donella waved her off and walked away.
"Right...ask Gothel." Rapunzel sighed and walked down the hall.
After proving her allegiance, and with Varian's insistence, Gothel had been allowed to wander around certain parts of the castle that were open to non-royals, and she had been most often seen haunting the hallway that led to the dungeons, near Varian's room and lab.
And, as she thought, the ghostly woman was lingering by the door to his lab, where the Brotherhood were all positioned inside, though Cassandra was inside working with Varian and all the people with him. Donella had arrived before Rapunzel and was showing Anna how to correctly fit two pieces together.
"I've never had a head for engineering." Gothel admitted, and Rapunzel looked at her with surprise. "Alchemy, that's easy, but engineering...it's not something I've ever been able to figure out. In fact, it went over the heads of most of us, whenever Regulus and Zhan Tiri would talk about it. I never understood it when Demanitus tried to teach me, either."
Rapunzel giggled a bit. "Well...it's not hard. I mean, I figured it out."
"Yes, but you've always been more...creative than I am." Gothel shrugged.
"Why don't you go inside?" Rapunzel asked.
"There's far too many people in there already and I would have to shift form to handle anything." Gothel looked at her. "And you? Are you here to help?"
"Aaactually," Rapunzel started to fuss with her hair nervously, "I'm here to find you. I want to talk to you about something, uh...secret."
Gothel looked surprised, but nodded. "Alright."
Rapunzel smiled and turned to go and Gothel drifted after her. They headed for Rapunzel's room and she hesitated outside the door, even when Rapunzel beckoned her in. "Come on, I wanted somewhere really private." She said, and Gothel looked around before floating into the room. Rapunzel closed the door and walked over to sit on her bed. "Come and sit down."
She floated over and sat down on the edge of the bed, her hands clasped in her lap in a strange show of vulnerability that Rapunzel was still getting used to.
"What did you want to talk with me about so secretly?" She asked, looking at her.
Rapunzel smiled and pulled out the scroll she'd shown Donella. "Varian's birthday is coming up, and I want to surprise him with a party. Which of these ideas do you think he'd go for?"
Gothel looked at the list thoughtfully. "Well, while he may be a young man, he is not a child and...some of these ideas may insult him. I know he likes plays, but he is very judgmental about them and unless you pick some decent actors, he will get up onto the stage and play the offended role himself. He can and will one-man-act the entire play."
She looked up at her. "Honestly, Rapunzel, I think a small celebration with just his friends and family would be enough. He hasn't celebrated his birthday in several years, after all, and you don't want to overwhelm him."
Rapunzel sighed. "You're right." She looked at her list, then looked at her. "What do you suggest we do, then? I still want it to be a surprise party."
"Well, we can still have one, just not a big one. A simple celebration in the ballroom, perhaps. Or, you could respect the fact that he does not want to celebrate his birthday and just give him a gift and perhaps bake him a cake without making a big deal of it. He's stressed enough as it is, what with his recent captivity. Don't give him more to stress over, he mourns on that day."
"Oh..." Rapunzel nodded. "Okay, then. I'll...just give him a little gift, then. Right."
"That's for the best." Gothel nodded. "Of course, if you really want to celebrate it, you should definitely talk to him and not surprise him."
Rapunzel pouted, then nodded. "Okay. I'll defer to your judgment on this, since you...know him a lot better than I do. Thank you, Gothel, for your advice." She cleared her throat. "Uhm...was there anything else you wanted to talk about, while we're here?"
She looked thoughtful. "...You've been skipping sleep."
Rapunzel jolted. "Uh, what? I-I haven't—"
"I have seen you out on your balcony at night. Is it because you're worried? Or is your new role too much for you? Dear, you're starting to get bags under your eyes." She reached out a hand to cup her cheek and Rapunzel tensed before relaxing and sighing. "You know that you can...rely on others, right?"
"I just...I'm scared. An attack could come from anywhere, anytime. They don't even have to attack themselves, we could get another bear attack, or a dragon or something. That Melina is...terrifying."
"Yes, so much power in such a little girl." Gothel sighed. "Zhan Tiri favored the children and gave them the best abilities."
"What did she give you?" Rapunzel asked.
"Nothing. I allied with her, but I refused to sell my soul. That's why I aged, remember?" She smiled bitterly. "I learned only the most basic of the abilities the others had, and they teased me relentlessly. That, and they teased me about my...well, I dated a lot in my time. I was always careful, though, Cassandra is my only child...by birth."
Rapunzel didn't want to argue that she was her only child at all, not when they were having such a calm discussion. "Teased you?"
"Lucas sang a mocking song about me once, and they all joined in. They would pull pranks on me." She sighed. "Sometimes, I wondered why I stayed with all those children."
"Why did you?" Rapunzel asked.
"Because Zhan Tiri promised that she would get me unlimited access to the Sundrop Flower and I would live forever. In the end, she did keep her word. She sent me to guard the Flower while they fought Demanitus and then it was only me. Well...and Regulus, but he wasn't himself anymore." She sighed heavily. "I don't know if it was desperation or the isolation that drove me mad. Perhaps both. The longer I lived, the more afraid of death I became."
She clasped her hands in her lap again. "But...that was another time. I am no longer...like that. All I want is to help...and, afterwards, to rest in peace."
The door opened and Pascal came into the room. "Rapunzel, are you—oh!" He froze in place and closed his eyes, like he was trying to turn invisible.
Rapunzel smiled and got up. "Pascaaaal, it's okay. She's on our side now, remember?"
He opened one eye and then looked at Rapunzel. "Well, uhm, Varian was looking for you. He said that Kline wants you guys to continue your training now that he's back."
"Training. Right." Rapunzel nodded. "Well, uhm, this has been a good talk, Gothel, but we should all be going now."
Gothel rose from the bed and drifted out of the room. "If I see you up all night again, I will find Varian's sleeping dust and use it on you."
Rapunzel pouted. "I'm fiiiiine." She insisted.
"You were up all night again?" Pascal looked at Rapunzel.
–
"Rapunzel, there you are." Varian greeted as she joined him and Kline in the courtyard. "Let's get going."
"Right." Rapunzel nodded. "Training, yay! Oh, Varian? I've been wondering, what do you want to do for your sixteenth birthday?"
Varian sighed, glancing away. "I don't want to think about it, honestly. I'd rather it just pass on by without a peep."
"Not even a cake?" Rapunzel pouted.
He sighed. "You really want to celebrate it, huh? Fine, a little cake, a small gathering, presents, but that's it. Nothing fancy."
"Define 'small'." Rapunzel said carefully.
He sighed heavily, looking exasperated. "You..." He shook his head. "Small. Small enough to fit in the airship we took back here."
"Right." Rapunzel nodded. "Small."
–
"So, what is the plan now?" Frederic asked as he moved his pawn forward.
"We lie low and let them rest for a while. I've been thinking over our options." Lucas shrugged as he picked up his king. "Melina can't keep sending animals, because they'll just stop them every time without hurting them. We can't enter the Ward ourselves, so we need to go expand our reach and seek out old allies that wouldn't be affected by it. The problem is, we don't know right now who is still out there to contact and who would still be willing to work with us. It's been a long time, after all."
He put his king back down and moved a pawn forward. "There's a lot to think about, so let's take some time to relax, practice our magic, and let them gain a false sense of security."
Frederic pursed his lips. "I suppose if that's what we have to do."
"With the help of Gothel and Regulus, we've lost too many of us already. Regulus got cocky and didn't go with the plan to attack and make the Sundrop fight back with her power, thus freeing Zhan Tiri. So, we have to achieve that goal another way." He smiled at Frederic. "Once she is free, she can help you remove the Sundrop's power from your daughter, severing Varian's connection to her."
Frederic nodded. "Yes, I remember."
"Lucas!" Melina came into the room. "What's our next move, huh? I'm getting so bored~!"
"Well, our next move is to look up some old friends. Ones that the Ward can't affect." Frederic said calmly. "Until then, we lie low. We don't want that woman to come in and shoot us, do we? That's why we moved the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow out of Corona for now?"
She nodded. "Regulus looked like he was hurt so bad..." She sighed sadly and hugged her stuffed rabbit tightly. "I miss him."
"I miss him, too." Lucas sighed. "But, sadly, he is lost to us, as long as they have that infernal music box. I didn't count on the little bird pulling a trick like that."
"Bird..." Melina gasped and clapped her rabbit's paws together. "I got it! I know who we can ask to help us! I'll go have Selina make sure they're still in the area!" She turned and ran out of the room.
"What? Who?" Frederic asked.
Lucas chuckled. "We'll find out, I suppose."
–
While they were making good progress overall, they were unfortunately forced to evacuate the lab after Olaf spilled something that caused an explosion. Thankfully, it was on the OTHER side of the lab from where they were working.
"Of course, he had to cause a mess after Varian left." Cassandra said, rolling her eyes.
"Sorry..." Olaf said sheepishly.
"So, what now?" Anna asked.
"Well, with the fumes in there," Ruddiger pointed to the closed doors, "it's not safe for us to be in there. I'll go in and air it out after an hour, but we're going to stay away from it for now. Time for a break."
"Well, then I'm going to go and get some sword practice in." Cassandra stretched. "Dad, you coming?"
Hector shrugged. "Sure, sounds fun."
"Have fun!" Anna called after them. "Come on, Elsa, let's go see if we can find Kristoff and Sven. And maybe we can have tea with our aunt!" She walked off and Elsa followed her, Olaf at her heels.
"So, Hugo, wanna go grab a bite?" Clyde suggested.
"Sounds great." Hugo nodded, and they walked off together.
"See you around." Cassandra said, hen walked off with Hector.
They went out to the training ground and started to spar, Hector using two blades and Cassandra one. He had asked her once if he should go easy on her, and she had told him not to, because she couldn't improve if everyone held her hand. He seemed impressed by that, and had instead been harder on her, teaching her Brotherhood moves that she'd seen Adira use but hadn't been able to figure out herself by watching her in battle.
They often had an audience of the Royal Guard, but this time they were on patrol and so weren't here to watch. Instead, they had a silent observer and they both noticed her but didn't stop until Hector had beaten Cassandra and offered her a hand up after retracting his blades.
"Looks like your mother came to watch." Hector remarked.
Cassandra waved to her and she rose from her seat and came over to join them. "Hey, stranger, where have you been?" She asked jokingly.
Gothel tilted her head slightly, thinking. "Well, earlier I was outside the lab, then Rapunzel asked me for advice on how to celebrate Varian's birthday, and I've just been wandering after that."
Hector chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you wandered our way. We...haven't spoken since before...you know..."
"Since before Princess Anna was abducted, which led to Regulus returning and Varian being abducted and controlled by him." Gothel nodded. "Yes, I recall."
"Well, do you want to talk some more?" Cassandra asked. "I mean, we haven't...you know, really discussed everything. I don't think you've even met my other dad yet."
Gothel sighed. "That will not be a pleasant meeting, I am sure, but none of the consequences of my crimes, aside from you, have been pleasant."
Cassandra nodded. "...Do you think you and Varian might've still met, if you didn't kidnap Rapunzel?"
"Oh, most likely. We met because I was coming into the Kingdom from a trip and got caught in a storm. I asked for shelter, and grew close to Varian during that first night." She sighed. "I may have even asked for Quirin to watch you, or have someone watch the cottage, while I was away. But...well, 'shoulds' and 'woulds' and 'mays' are all well and good, but they aren't going to change a thing about the past."
"Did you and Quirin ever...?" Hector started.
"Oh, no. I did ask, but he refused. He said he was a married man until the day he saw his wife's body." Gothel assured him. "And he refused to be unfaithful."
"Honestly, I was surprised he had a kid at all. Well, until I learned about the arrangement with the Moon." Hector shrugged.
"Hey, I could've had a step-brother if you did." Cassandra chuckled. "Maybe he wouldn't have flirted with me if we were."
"When did Varian flirt with you?" Gothel asked, surprised.
"During a science expo. He had this whole hero-worshiping puppy-crush on me after I saved his life when his invention blew up Old Corona by accident and it was kind of awkward." Cassandra shrugged. "He got over it, though, thankfully, and is now dating his friend Clyde."
"He's a much better match. You're much too old for him." Gothel nodded firmly.
"Let's change the subject." Cassandra cleared her throat. "I saw you with Quee—Uhh, Lady Arianna yesterday, what was that about?"
"A heartfelt talk, with apologies...forgiveness...and she wanted me to tell her everything she missed in Rapunzel's life. We had a very long discussion over tea and cake, I have never been in my Disciple form so long." Gothel sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "But...it was nice, spending time with her. Rapunzel has a wonderful mother. I wish that things had been different. I could have offered to be a nanny or something...I didn't have to kidnap her, but I was so...so possessive of the Flower, I didn't even see Rapunzel as a person, I was...so twisted."
"Being her nanny would have been the smarter choice." Cassandra nodded. "You could use her powers to keep you young and no one would be the wiser. You'd even get paid for it."
Gothel chuckled bitterly. "I was a daft, old fool, wasn't I?"
"Hey, we all make mistakes." Hector shrugged. "What's important is that you recognize that and make amends, right?"
"Right." Cassandra smiled.
–
As much as Rapunzel really wanted to throw a big party for her friend, she knew that she had to respect his boundaries and not make a big deal of his birthday. She talked with him about it fully and they decided to have a small gathering the weekend before, instead of the day-of, when he and his father had a tradition of sitting quietly with a single candle in their darkened home.
So, she decided to talk to Quirin and see if he had any ideas for the party, pulling him up to her room to have a private chat.
"You want to hold a party for Varian's birthday?" Quirin asked with surprise. "Does he know?"
"Yes, we're going to to hold it on the weekend before." Rapunzel nodded. "So, what do you suggest we do?"
He sighed. "...I don't know. We've barely celebrated it, ever since he was a young child. He wouldn't even accept any gifts without crying, so I stopped. He acknowledged he'd aged and that was enough for him."
"That's so sad..." Rapunzel frowned. Even in the tower, she had celebrated her birthday with Gothel. "Didn't Gothel ever get him a gift?"
"She always got him gifts when she came back into the Kingdom, but she respected that we wanted no guests on that day and made sure she was still out of the Kingdom so we wouldn't be burdened by her presence." He hummed thoughtfully. "Though, that was what she told us, but she might have been staying in the tower with you, instead."
Rapunzel rolled her eyes back thoughtfully. Was Gothel in the tower with her on that day every day? She couldn't remember.
"So, uh...what did you do before, uh...you know..." She asked awkwardly.
"Oh, you know...cake, presents, local children coming in to play games and visit...we haven't done any of that since that day." Quirin glanced away. "But, if Varian is willing to try having a party again, then go ahead. I will...be there."
Rapunzel nodded. "It must be so painful...not having a body to bury."
Quirin started to tremble and then he brought a hand to his face. "She's not dead. It's so much worse."
"What?" Rapunzel asked in surprise.
"Donella told me the truth finally...that she's not dead, she's...changed. Been transformed into...into a dark spirit. And the only way to bring her back...is to sacrifice Varian." He looked at her, looking pained. "I've hated that woman all these years for letting my wife die, and she lied to us to protect us! To protect Varian! I hated her for doing the same thing I was doing, when I was protecting Varian from the Moonstone!"
Rapunzel was stunned by this revelation. "...Oh. Does...Does Varian know?"
"I don't know how to tell him." He admitted.
She reached out and gently took his hand. "Oh, Quirin...I'm so sorry that you've been bearing this burden in silence so long."
"Donella was bearing it longer." He sighed. "Ever since she told me, things have...improved between us. She's been telling me about all I've missed, since we weren't exchanging letters, and she told me about how she adopted Hugo. She's...an amazing woman, and I knew it before, but..." He chuckled a bit. "I wonder if Frederic knows she's involved yet? That might be interesting."
"Why would that be interesting?" Rapunzel asked.
"Well, because he used to have the biggest crush on her, despite the fact she only likes women." Quirin smirked.
"Wha—huuuuh?!" Rapunzel's jaw dropped. "I didn't know he ever liked anyone that wasn't mom!"
"Well, he never dated anyone but Arianna, no, but he still had a crush on Donella. She turned him down pretty hard, said that unless he magically turned into a woman, she wouldn't even consider a date." Quirin chuckled. "She was so mad at me when I first started to date Ulla, because she loved her, but stood aside when Ulla fell for me."
"That's so sad but so romantic at the same time!" Rapunzel clasped her hands together over her heart.
"Yes, she told me that I 'better take care of her, or else'." He chuckled a bit.
They heard a knock at the door and then Lady Caine looked in. "Yoooo, Your Majesty? We've got an anxious kid wondering where you took his dad and, also, I'm back from Equis with support."
"Oh, right! You went to Equis with Andrew and Juniper to talk to King Trevor this morning!" Rapunzel got up. "I...forgot about that."
"Yeah, it was Juniper's idea, since Equis has their own magical defenses and we need all the help we can get." Lady Caine shrugged, then chuckled at her confused expression. "Oh, come on, no one told you that the soldiers of Equis are trained in magic, both defense and offense?"
"Nooo...they didn't." Rapunzel looked dumbfounded. "It's not in any of the books about it."
"Yeah, but you'd think your dad would've told you, at least." Lady Caine shrugged. "Ah well. Anyways, he's agreed to send reinforcements to combat the demons."
"Well, you've come back just in time!" Rapunzel said cheerfully. "We're holding a birthday party for Varian this weekend! His actual birthday is actually the day before, but he doesn't want to celebrate on the actual day."
"Huh. Well, you want to come and greet King Trevor?" Lady Caine nodded to the hallway.
"Right, I'll go." She got up, then stopped when Quirin gently took her wrist and looked at him.
"Your Majesty...please, don't tell Varian what I told you. Any of it." He pleaded.
She smiled. "My lips are sealed."
He nodded, then got up and followed them out.
–
Rapunzel decided that it would be best to have the party in the throne room instead of Varian's home, because they didn't want to risk him being outside the Ward for even a short while and Ruddiger was afraid to use any of Regulus' abilities, like his teleportation.
She'd invited King Equis to stay a few more days to attend the party, but he had insisted he had to get home and prepare for the upcoming battle, but wished Varian well and gave him another large sack of gold and silver coins as a gift before he left.
"Why does he keep giving you coins?" Eugene had asked as Varian waved to the man as he boarded his boat.
"Hey, coins can be used on lots of useful things, like alchemy supplies, clothes, food, you know. Lots of things. It really came in handy when we were on our trip, didn't it?" Varian had reminded him.
"Heh, yeah." Eugene had nodded.
The day before the party itself, Rapunzel didn't see Varian or Quirin around, but she did see the Brotherhood outside of Varian's room and they had motioned for her to walk on.
"I wish I could do more for them..." Rapunzel had said to herself as she walked away, leaving them to mourn.
Now, the day of the party, Rapunzel was looking over the preparations, hoping that Varian was really okay with this and not just saying it because she had been so insistent.
"Wow." She turned to see Varian walking into the room with his usual entourage. "Looks pretty good."
"It's just something simple and small." Rapunzel smiled sheepishly. "Is this...okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine." He assured her. "Look, uhm...I'm sorry that I was so...dismissive and exasperated about your idea before, but I really do appreciate you celebrating my birthday with me, and for respecting that we were mourning on the actual day-of."
Rapunzel smiled. "I'm glad, I was worried you only agreed because I kept insisting." She pulled him into a hug.
"Heey, where do we put the presents?" Anna asked as she came in with the rest of the Arendelle crew.
"Over on that table there!" Rapunzel pointed to it. "Monty, Lance, Eugene and Attila will be coming soon with the birthday cake. I told them nothing too fancy, as you asked."
Varian smiled. "Thanks."
"Heeeey, is it time for the party?" Hugo asked as he came in with Donella.
"Just about!" Varian said, smiling at him.
"Where does this cake go?" Eugene asked as he came in with Lance, Attilla and Monty, pushing a covered cake on a cart.
"Oh, over here!" Rapunzel said, directing him to a table.
"Are you sure you're alright with this, Varian?" Clyde asked, taking his hand gently. "Having a party, surrounded by people, cake, presents..."
"I'm okay with it." Varian assured him. "I took the time yesterday to mourn, and now I'm going to celebrate aging. Mom would want me to, especially since dad and Donella have made up." He glanced away. "Though...I feel like there's something I'm not being told about why they made up after all this time."
"Wasn't it just became she made up for not saving her by helping stop Regulus from making you attack Ingvarr?" Clyde shrugged.
"Hm...maybe. Or they just talked it out and he forgave her. Maybe I'm just too suspicious." He shrugged.
"Well, you're sixteen years old now." Clyde nudged him playfully. "Don't be so suspicious all the time."
Varian nudged him back with a grin. "Yeah, yeah. Can you blame me, though, all I've been though?"
"Mm, true. Still..." He kissed him.
Varian laughed a bit when he broke the kiss. "'Still' what?"
"Don't worry about it. It's your special day!" He poked his nose. "Be happy and enjoy yourself!"
"Varian, come and blow out your candles, everyone is here!" Rapunzel called.
Varian smiled and squeezed Clyde's hand and kissed him sweetly before they walked over to the cake, which was a simple chocolate cake with sugar décor in the shape of filled alchemy vials and it all smelled delicious.
"Make a wish and blow out the candles!" Rapunzel said eagerly.
–
Make a wish, huh? The only thing he wished for was for all this demon business to be over before Yuletide. Honestly, before Rapunzel's next birthday would be wonderful, too, so she could actually have a peaceful birthday that didn't have anyone ruining it in one way or another.
And for him and his father to live happy, safe lives from now on, of course, but that might be pushing the wish a little.
He made his silent wish and then blew out his candles and everyone clapped before he was ushered over to the presents while the cake was cut and served.
Honestly, it felt kind of surreal. He really hadn't had a party, or been to a party, like this since he was four years old. In fact, being around parties at all made him feel really melancholy, so he usually avoided festivals, too.
But, he'd come a long way. He'd attended festivals with his friends, been to parties, social gatherings, and was now having a birthday party, something he thought he'd never be emotionally strong enough to do again. He'd really come a long way, and he smiled brightly as everyone encouraged him to open his gifts.
–
After the party, everyone gradually wandered to their rooms for the night, and Varian wandered to the dock to sit and enjoy the sound of the water. He hummed to himself as he played with the water, raising it out of the water and making it float around his hands.
"You seem to have adjusted well to your powers." Gothel said, floating over and sitting next to him. "Should you really be alone out here?"
"I'm in the Ward." Varian assured her.
Gothel sighed. "Yes, but it is not only my 'brothers' and 'sisters' you should worry about. With your powers being so public, any criminal could knock you out and take you away before you could scream."
"I can handle myself." Varian chuckled and lowered the water he was playing with back into the sea. "But, if it will ease your worries and keep you from losing your ghostly hair from stress, I'll head inside where there's people." He grinned and she rolled her eyes.
"That would be appreciated." She got up and so did he and they started to head back inside the castle. "Besides, your family will worry over you." She chuckled. "By the way, did you really have a crush on Cassandra before?"
Varian blushed and stammered. "I—uh—it was very brief! A-And I didn't know she was your daughter at the time!"
"I'm just teasing, dear, don't be so serious." She chuckled. "Clyde is a much better match for you, though."
"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "And, anyways, it was less of a crush and more of a hero-worship. She saved my life! And it faded quickly, pretty much the day of the blizzard it just...you know, died. And instead were replaced by trust issues."
"What about Flynn Rider?" She asked slyly.
"I will say nothing on that topic." Varian said, blushing.
"Oh my, you still like him?" She chuckled.
"I'm dating Clyde, so it doesn't matter." Varian waved it off.
"Of course." She smiled and then they headed inside, Varian opening the door open for her.