We're still in Vardaros... Is all Varian can think. He had hoped that, after inspiring the citizens to put faith in their city once again, he and the others could ride off in the caravan and continue their journey following the black rocks. But no, Rapunzel still had one more thing she wanted to do for the people...
"I can't express just how much this time in Vardaros has meant to us," Rapunzel announces to a small gathering of people. "We may have come here as strangers, but I like to think we're leaving as friends. So in the spirit of that friendship, we would like to share a Corona tradition with all of you. I am proud to announce... the first annual Vardaros Goodwill Festival!" She pulls on a rope, dramatically unfurling a colorful banner with a cute gopher painted on it. But instead of applause like she was expecting, the few people stare at her, seeming uninterested and bored.
"Boo!" One guy even shouts.
"Yeah, I got booed at last year's festival too," Rapunzel tells Vex, slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry, this is gonna be fantastic!"
"Wait, someone in Corona booed you?" Varian says, surprised. "I thought everyone in Corona loved you! Who would do that?"
Rapunzel looks away from him. "I'd rather not talk about it," she says, folding her arms.
"It was Monty," Cassandra answers quickly.
"No, Uncle Monty?!" Varian is shocked. "I can't believe he would do that. He's the best! Once when I was little, I got lost in town and he gave me this huge lollipop to cheer me up until my dad found me."
"Yes, well, not everyone has to like everyone!" Rapunzel says, stomping away.
Varian glances at Cassandra in confusion, but she just shrugs. "It's best not to ask about it," she tells him. "The two of them have issues no one else understands."
The gang walk throughout the city, pinning up flyers advertising the Goodwill Festival.
"It's great that you wanna do this Raps," Cassandra says as she puts up another flyer, "but this town isn't like Corona. They don't feel the need to celebrate something every six seconds!"
"You should really listen to Cass," Vex says, sounding bored as she leans against a barrel. "Vardarans aren't really the 'goodwill' kind of crowd."
"I hate goodwill, ya clod!" An old lady shouts as she passes by.
Rapunzel rolls her eyes. "I know people here are a little rougher around the edges, but they deserve to have a good time."
"Are you sure everyone shares your idea of what makes a good time?" Cassandra asks. "Look, not one person has signed up for the Gopher Grab. Which might not be a bad thing, since we don't have a gopher!"
"Actually, she might have a point Princess," Varian says. "I mean, I enjoy the Goodwill Festival as much as anyone. But it is a Corona tradition. Others might not feel the same about it."
Rapunzel looks down at her feet, obviously beginning to feel discouraged.
"Hey hey, don't feel bad!" Eugene says. "And don't worry about the gopher thing. I've got my two best gopher hunters on the job! I'm sure they're out there snaggin' a gopher as we speak... Probably."
"You are referring to Lance and Hook Foot, correct?" Varian says, raising an eyebrow.
Eugene sighs. "Yeah... You know, we may actually wanna cancel the Gopher Grab?" He tells Rapunzel.
"It'll be tough finding a gopher out here," Vex says. "This is sneezeweasel country."
"I'm so sorry, what's a sneezeweasel?" Cassandra asks.
Varian has heard of sneezeweasels before. He does a lot of reading, and comes across all kinds of interesting things. He is about to explain to Cassandra exactly what they are, but to his surprise Shorty speaks up first:
"It's a mammalian omnivore indigenous to this region, who's primary diet is gophers, foxes, and voles," the bearded man says, belching up pieces of a flyer that he evidently ate.
"Wow, that's... surprisingly accurate," Varian says, scratching his head.
"Um... Shorty, how do you know so much about sneezeweasels?" Eugene asks.
"I used to be one," Shorty replies with a chuckle.
The old man really worries Varian sometimes.
"Look!" Rapunzel suddenly shouts with a gasp. "Someone's signing up for the Gopher Grab!"
They all turn to see a man step up to the signup sheet. He grabs the quill, and stares at the paper.
"And you thought the good cheer wouldn't catch on," Rapunzel says, nudging Cassandra.
"Actually, he's stealing your quill," Vex says.
Sure enough, the man takes off running with the quill. Cassandra growls angrily.
"Hey!" Cassandra shouts. She runs after the man, and tackles him to the ground. "You want that pen so bad, then sign up!" Owl flies over to where she has the man pinned, holding the signup sheet in his talons.
"Okay, okay! I'll sign up," The man cries in defeat. He writes his name on the sheet as a murmuring crowd of people begins to gather around the scene.
Varian stares in amazement. Cassandra never ceases to impress him. And scare him...
But Rapunzel doesn't look so impressed. "Uh, Cass... We're celebrating goodwill, remember?" She says as the man gets up from the ground, and runs away sobbing.
Cassandra seems happy that her actions have drawn a crowd. "Anyone else wanna wrestle me for the pen?" She announces. "You lose, you sign up!"
The crowd grows excited, volunteering to fight her.
"Okay then, who's next?" She asks eagerly.
Suddenly everyone rushes toward her at once, but her fists are ready...
"Captain, I know why you wanna see us," Rapunzel says, having been called to the sheriff's office by Quaid. "And I'm sure it wasn't Cass's intention to injure sixteen people..."
"Uh, it was twenty-three," Cassandra corrects, smiling proudly.
Varian smirks. "Yeah, and it was awesome!" He holds his hand up to Cassandra. "Up high!" But when she folds her arms and looks away from him, he lowers his hand. "Okay then... Right, no high-fives."
Rapunzel ignores them and continues talking to Quaid. "It's just that—"
"Rapunzel, I haven't seen folks that excited in years," Quaid interrupts. "Nice job! When you told me about this goodwill nonsense, I thought there's no way that this feel-good garbage is gonna fly here." He leans back in his chair as he smiles. "But that's before I saw what Cass had up her sleeve."
"She is pretty amazing," Varian agrees, blushing slightly as Cassandra gives him an annoyed side-glance.
Rapunzel chuckles nervously. "To be clear, that wasn't an official festival event."
"Well, it should've been!" Quaid says.
"You should have Cass plan all of your events," Vex suggests.
Rapunzel ponders this. "Actually, that's not such a bad idea." She turns to face Cassandra. "I mean, I know this party stuff isn't your strong suit, but it would be fun to work together. What do you say? You wanna be my co-planner?"
Cassandra scoffs. "Me, co-planning a festival?" But after thinking it over for another moment she adds, "Hmm, why not?"
"Great!" Rapunzel says.
"Can I help?" Vex asks.
"Of course you can," Rapunzel replies.
"I was actually asking Cass," Vex says.
Cassandra puts her arm around Vex, and the two of them exit the sheriff's office. Rapunzel and Varian exchange glances, and then follow after them.
**********
"Hey Varian, I need to run some event ideas by you!" Cassandra says, popping her head into the guys' side of the caravan.
"Not now Cass, I'm actually kinda busy..."
The truth is, Varian would love nothing more than to help Cassandra out with her event planning. Any chance to spend time with her is definitely a temptation. But ever since Quaid gave him those bee pheromones, he has been attempting to create a new mood elixir. He wants to make something similar to Xavier's mood potion, the one that caused so much trouble between Rapunzel and her friends when Maximus and Pascal accidentally used too much... and the one he himself modified into a truth serum. Only this time he is making it less concentrated, less dangerous and hence less likely to have an accident like before. Essentially, he hopes whoever drinks it will be instantly happier for a few hours, and the pheromones are a key ingredient for this.
But for some reason, he can't seem to get the combination just right. Theoretically the pheromones should help increase the happiness felt when drinking the potion, but anything else he mixes in with them causes the exact opposite effect... terrible anger and irritability.
"Suit yourself," Cassandra says with an indifferent shrug. She exits the caravan, leaving the door open, and heads back into town.
"Okay Ruddiger, let's see how this one works out," Varian says, giving his raccoon a sip of his latest attempt. Ruddiger appears happier for a split second, but then he leaps onto Varian's head and angrily tries to tear his goggles off. "Alright, alright!" Varian shouts, grabbing Ruddiger and placing him back down on the floor. "I get it! This one doesn't work either... Come on Varian, get it right!"
As Varian sits down and looks over his notes, Ruddiger grabs the elixir and runs out of the open caravan door with it. By the time Varian notices, the raccoon is already too far gone. "Ruddiger, no!" Varian yells, rushing out of the caravan and following the trail of tiny paw prints into town.