Suddenly, Briar opens her eyes and sits up in shock. Briar lets out a grunt and groans as she feels her head in pain.
"What happened?" Briar asks herself, and rubs her head, "And my head feels like it's going to split open."
She suddenly remembers, "Riddle..."
Briar looks around the area, but she doesn't seem to see Riddle. In fact, she can't see anything here.
"What is this place? Where am I? And where is everyone?" Briar asks herself, and stands up on her feet.
She then calls out, "Ace?! Deuce?! Grim?! Seriea?! Jasper?! Tanzanite?! Trinket?! Guys?! Riddle?!"
She looks around as she calls out, "Where are you?!"
Suddenly, Briar finds herself in some room of some kind. There is a table with some chairs, and some glass windows. It's hard to see very clearly, but Briar can see silhouettes of two adults. One of them is a man and the other is a woman. There is one more person in the room, and it is a child. The boy is young and has fair skin, neutral red hair, and bluish-gray eyes.
Briar looks at the boy, "That face and that hairstyle... he looks so familiar.
Suddenly, the silhouette of the woman says,Happy eighth birthday, Riddle. This year's birthday cake is a low-sugar recipe made with nuts and lecithin-rich soy flour to improve your cerebral function.
Briar gasps in surprise and says in thought, "That's Riddle... when he was a child.
"Thank you. But, Mom..." Young Riddle says, sounding a bit nervous.
He then says, "Just once, I'd like to try one of those tarts covered with bright-red strawberries..."
But his mother sternly says, "Absolutely not! Those tarts are monstrously unhealthy. I might as well feed you poison! Even just a single slice would exceed your recommended daily intake of sugar. Now, dinner tonight will be a tuna sauté rich in DHA and omega-3 fatty acids. Now that you're eight, your caloric intake should be 600 kilocalories per meal, so don't eat more than 100 grams of it. Understood?"
"Yes, Mom," Riddle replies, and is very disappointed.
Just then, the entire scene disappears.
And then, Briar hears Riddle's voice, "I'd always... wanted to try one of those tarts... with the bright-red strawberries. The local cake shop had them in the window.... They shined at me... like forbidden jewels."
Suddenly, the Briar finds herself in the scheme background, and young Riddle is with the silhouette of his mother. Riddle appears to be reading and writing as the woman educates him.
Riddle's mother says, "That's enough classical magic study for today. Your homework is to read the first fifty pages of the philosophy of language book referenced in today's magical philosophy texts. You may now have one hour of independent study before your potionology lesson."
"Thank you, Mother," Young Riddle replies.
"I need some time to prepare the lesson materials. I will see you in one hour, okay?" Riddle mother adds.
Then the scene disappears again.
And then hears Riddle's voice again, "I was studying every possible subject, scheduled down to the minute. When I didn't understand something, the lesson was extended until I did. That was my 'normal.'
Soon, the scene of Riddle's home appears again. Only this time, they hear a knock at the window.
Riddle asks, "...Is someone knocking on the window?"
Suddenly, they hear another familiar voice, "Whoa, he heard us!"
Then another familiar voice says, "Hey, come play with us!"
Riddle looks at the window and asks, "Who are you?"
Soon, Riddle sees two more kids, and so does Briar. One boy has a familiar fair-skinned boy with short dark green hair and wears glasses. And another familiar boy with short choppy purple hair and ears on his head, even a tail. Briar soon realizes who those boys are.
The young cat boy says, "I'm Che'nya, and that's Trey. Let's all play croquet! Oh, but it's LOTS of fun!"
But Young Riddle says, "I can't. I'm supposed to be doing independent study, and I have a lot of homework to do."
"'Independent study,' means you pick what to do, right?" Young Che'nya replies, "My grandpa says play is a form of study!"
Just play with us for a little bit!" Young Trey says.
"...O-okay... Just a little, though!" Young Riddle says, reluctantly.
"Hey, what's your name?" Young Trey asks.
"R-Riddle. Riddle Rosehearts," Young Riddle answers.
Then the scene disappears, " I had the best time... playing with Trey and Che'nya. We did so many things I'd never done before. They taught me lots of things I didn't know. After that, I snuck out of my room every day... To play with them.... during independent study time."
Suddenly, another scene appears, and she finds herself outside and sees the three friends.
"Whaaat? You've never even tried a strawberry tart? They're out of this world," Young Che'nya asks, surprised.
"Yeah. My mom says sugar is basically poison," Young Riddle says.
"I mean, you probably shouldn't eat too much of it, but calling it 'poison' is kinda...yikes. You know, my family runs a cake shop. Let's go get a tart right now!" Trey says.
However, young Riddle says, "Really? But...I shouldn't."
"Just one slice. It'll be fine," Young Tray says.
But Young Che'nya says, "One slice for YOU, maybe. I want a whole one!"
Then the scene disappears once more, and Riddle's voice appears, "A bright-red strawberry tart on a white plate... To me, it shined more brightly... than any gem could... That first bite was so sweet. It tasted... like nothing I'd ever eaten before... With each bite, I became more... entranced... .and completely lost track of the time."
Suddenly, the scene appears back inside Riddle's home, and young Riddle is facing the silhouette of his parents.
Riddle's mother says to him, I cannot believe this! Not only are you cutting independent study time, but I find you eating a mountain of sugar?! Those two hoodlums must have incited this behavior. You must never play with them again!"
"I'm sorry, Mother! I promise, it will never happen again," Young Riddle says in sadness.
Then his mother scolds him, Be quiet! You've broken the rules, and I'll not hear another word from you. Clearly, you're not able to handle the freedom of independent study. I need to keep a closer eye on you."
Then the scene disappears again, seeing this, and the other scenes, Briar is starting to understand what they are and what has happened.
"These are Riddles' memories. So, this is what happened to Riddle, and how he's been feeling all this time," Briar says to himself.
Just then, she hears Riddle's voice again, "Because I broke the rules, my favorite part of my day was taken away from me. I vowed to never break my mother's rules again. After all, she was the most accomplished mother in the city, and therefore, the most correct."
And so, Briar decides to follow the voice to find Riddle, believing he must be around this place.
She walks through the darkness as she continues to hear his voice, "But Mom... Why? Why does my heart hurt so much? I want to eat a tart! It's my birthday, so can't I have some just this once? I want to play outside all day long! I want to make lots and lots of friends!"
And soon enough, Briar ends up finding Riddle sitting in the middle of the darkness as he wraps his arms around his knees. And judging by the outfit, Riddle is still in the overbloat state, though not hostile anymore, he looks depressed and upset.
Briar continues to hear him say, "Tell me, Mom, please... What rule do I need to follow to make this pain go away?"
And soon, Briar
Suddenly, Briar says, "There is no rule for that, Riddle?"
Riddle lifts his head and looks around, "Wh-who's there?"
"Riddle, it's me!" Briar calls out.
Riddle turns his head to see Briar staring before her.
"Briar, Hawthorne, um right?" Riddle asks.
"Yes, it's me. Are you okay?" Briar asks.
Riddle sadly sighs and says, "No... I'm not."
"It... it's okay, Riddle. I uh, saw everything," Briar says.
Riddle sadly sighs, "I see..."
Briar then sits down to Riddle and says, "After seeing what happened... I've finally understood why you've acted that way. Why did you become so strict with rules and all that? But listen, Riddle... following the rules isn't really all that bad. Sometimes rules are there to keep people healthy, or to keep people from getting hurt or doing something stupid. However, if the rules end up bringing harm to others, eventually it's going to lead to real trouble. And you can't force them to follow those kinds of rules, even when they end up breaking it by accident."
"But... I can't just ignore the rules..." Riddle says.
"I know, I suspect one of the reasons is because of your mom, but you're not your mom, and she's not you. I think it's time you start living your own life, and start following your own rules. If you want to eat a strawberry tart or a mont blanc, then you do it. If you want to have fun with us, then do it. And if you want to have friends, then make some," Briar says.
Riddle sadly sighs, "I don't know. All my life' I've been following the rules, so that I can have a purpose in life. Without them... I... I don't know what to do... I don't even have any friends... I'm always alone."
"No you're not," Briar says.
That causes Riddle to become surprised and look at Briar who is giving Riddle a gentle smile.
"Because from now on, I'll be your friend," Briar happily says.
"Briar," Riddle says, a little surprised.
Then Briar happily says, "And there's also Grim, Sereia, Tanzanite, Jasper, Trinket, Ace, and Deuce, even Trey and Che'nya. I'm sure they'll become your friend if you let them."
She giggles and says, "Besides, I think you still owe someone an apology."
Riddle then gives Briar a calm smile and says, "You're right."
Briar then reaches her hand out, "Come on, I think I know how we can get out of here. But you're going to have to trust me."
Riddle then nods his head and takes Briar's hand and they both stand up on their feet. Then, they both take each other's hand. Briar then closes her eyes and soon begins to sing.
Briar:
Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
As Briar sings, the bright gold yellow glow begins to appear on Briar's hand, and the aura begins to surround both her and Riddle's body.
Briar:
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Briar continues to sing as a golden flower appears below their feet as multiple roses of red and white blooms around them. Riddle begins to feel at ease as Briar continues to sing and the gold yellow aura surrounds him.
Briar:
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fates' design
Just then, the black blotting ooze dissolves into gold dust, and Riddle has been returned to his original form.
Briar:
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
And soon, Riddle's is free from the over bloat and back to his original self, and the black ooze disappears completely.
Briar:
What once was mine
Soon, the gold flower below them turns to gold dust as the red and white rose petals circle around them, as the song and the spell continues. Soon, everything fades into darkness, and the two soon black out.
Healing Incantation: Tangled