The Third Power: TTS AU

Chapter Thirty-Four

Mari liked to think of herself as a very calm, very levelheaded, very reasonable person. She liked to be fair. She liked to give second chances. She liked to see the best in people.

She'd never found herself to so greatly misjudge so many people.

And the worst part was that it was all on her. She knew trusting Rapunzel and her friends wasn't going to be a great idea. Optimism was so inconvenient sometimes.

She found herself again silently hoping that Varian was okay in the cave, that Rapunzel had stopped before truly descending into the cavern.

"You're going to end up walking a new path under the city if you keep pacing like that," Zhan Tiri - or, as she'd tricked the children into calling her, Eclipse - commented.

Mari halted in her tracks, if only to glare at the demon. "Maybe it would be worth it, so I could get the princess out of the cave," she replied shortly.

Zhan Tiri regarded her with a tilted head and a smile. "I thought only Varian could enter?"

"At least I know where to stop," Mari said. She folded her arms tighter, creating a heavy, almost comforting weight on her chest. "The last thing I need is Rapunzel seeing what's down there."

"Why?" Zhan Tiri asked. Her voice was laced with a little too much innocent curiosity to be genuine.

Mari almost managed a smile. "Why would I tell the demon hellbent on claiming as many divine gifts as she can?"

Zhan Tiri chuckled. She floated closer to Mari as the mermaid went back to her steady walk in front of the tower. "I have no interest in taking your little pearl. My focus is entirely on the sun and moon, don't you worry."

Mari looked down to her feet. "Just you being here makes me worry. I don't care what you say about protecting Cassandra. You're a liar. How long until you betray her?"

The hurt look on the demon's face was very convincing. Nice to see her acting skills could develop within seconds.

"You don't know as much about me as you like to think," Zhan Tiri snapped. She took a quiet breath, and her next words were more controlled. "You've been down here guarding your treasure for years. Your little link with Varian doesn't tell you what's happening in the world."

Mari nodded. Zhan Tiri wasn't wrong. But...

"You don't think I'm that oblivious do you? You think I don't know what you did to Luna?"

Zhan Tiri opened her mouth to reply but no words came. She closed her mouth again, for once at a loss for words.

"Forcing her out of... of existence like that..." Mari gripped her arms tighter. This wasn't the time to think about that. "I hope you're happy." She didn't hold back the growl that came with the words.

Zhan Tiri's expression hardened. "I am very happy with my choice," she said matter-of-factly. "Luna was already dying. I did her a favour."

"You only killed her to take her place," Mari hissed. "Don't make it sound like you were doing something honourable."

They lapsed back into quiet.

Mari had to keep it together until Varian came out.

—————

Keira rammed herself into the cell door again. It had to break at some point! How strong was the rock down here?

"Give it a rest kiddo," Eugene told her from the next cell over. "We're trapped. For now." He sighed and leaned back on his bed.

"How can you be so calm right now?" Keira growled at him as she resorted to kicking. Damn those merfolk for taking their weapons. "Rapunzel is up there and V could get the stone at any minute. You do remember why we're here right?"

"Of course we do," Lance told her. He was just as relaxed as Eugene, if not more so. He looked ready to go to sleep. "We're going to get Varian, take him back to Corona, and undo whatever spell Cassandra has him under."

"So why are you two so okay with just- just lying there?" She was just about ready to start screaming. They were wasting time down here! And the fact that Catalina was the first of them to be taken for questioning was not making this any more bearable.

"You girls were thieves," Lance said. "You never did heists? Stake outs?"

Keira blinked.

Oh.

"Right," she murmured as the realisation struck. "But that's a dumb method for this. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"And we will," Eugene assured. "Being taken for questioning should give us all a bit of time to learn the guard rotations. Once we figure those out, we're getting out of here."

"Did you memorise the route we took to get here?" Keira asked.

Eugene shrugged. "Roughly."

Keira sighed. "We're doomed." She resigned herself to the wait with on final kick to the door before sitting on her own bed.

She hoped the wait wouldn't be long.