Twisted Destiny

Surprise

The Captain had been shocked to find out what happened to Nigel, but felt relief that the Saporians, who were now on their side, were already working on freeing him from, as the Saporian Kline had put it, "the confines of his own mind". He didn't understand it, he wasn't sure he wanted to, so he focused his efforts on making sure the Royal Guard was ready in case of an attack.

Juniper, to his surprise, volunteered to help train the Royal Guard. Speaking of surprises, he had found out the following people were royalty:

Eugene Fitzherbert, though apparently his real name was Horace Lune, not that he'd ever, ever go by that name. He was, apparently, Prince of the Dark Kingdom.

Andrew and Juniper Sapor were the Prince and Princess of Saporia. Luckily, they didn't seem to bear him any ill will for what Andrew had experienced at the hands of the Royal Guard.

Also, good news, they'd found a way to free Varian's father! And boy was that an awkward interaction when he came to the castle on business. An interaction that mostly consisted of him staring the Captain down and saying "You're lucky that Varian is so forgiving" before he walked on.

Speaking of which, said alchemist was apparently working on some secret project and wasn't to be disturbed, and he was perfectly happy with delaying their meeting considering the last time they met, he'd been leaning on the King's shoulder with a sly smile as King Frederic ordered people to the mines.

It had been a month since his return to Corona, and he had gotten used to Juniper's rather brutal training methods, even admired them. He was therefore surprised when she got startled by a crow slamming into her.

"Agh!" She stumbled back and groaned. "Hamuel? Hey, buddy."

The crow cawed at her, then flew off to land on the shoulder of a large and imposing man.

"Your Majesty!" Juniper walked over to greet him. "We didn't get notice you'd be arriving."

"I wanted to surprise people. Is Princess Rapunzel around?" He asked, looking around.

"She's with her parents. Want me to tell Eugene you're here?" Juniper asked.

"Ah, actually, I don't want him to know yet. Show me to her?" The man asked.

"Of course, right this way." Juniper walked him in.

"That's Eugene's dad." Pete offered helpfully before The Captain could ask.

...Ah.

--

"Edmund!" Rapunzel greeted as he came in with Juniper. "It's so good to see you!" She walked over and hugged him and he chuckled.

"How is the search going?" King Frederic asked.

"Er, it's...going." King Edmund sighed. "She's slippery, like an eel." He glanced away. "I hate eels." He then looked back at them and cleared his throat. "I'm here because I have something important to tell you all."

--

Rapunzel couldn't believe it. Eugene's birthday was in exactly two days, and it would be his first birthday celebration since he was sent away as a baby to save his life. She had to make it big and perfect! And definitely a day to remember.

Most of all, she had to make sure that everyone important to Eugene was there. So, off she strode to the Demanitus Chamber, wanting to deliver the news in-person.

She was surprised to see Varian and Andrew coming up through the tunnels. "Oh! Are you all done?" She asked.

"Andrew insisted I get some sunlight." Varian sighed. "I'm about as done as I'm gonna be, I guess. It's time for a break while I puzzle this last part out."