Twisted Destiny

Nothing Left

Rapunzel and the others were quickly brought back to the castle for treatment. With the combined work of Jared, Kline and Clementine, they were all patched up and quickly healing before dawn broke the next morning.

"It's not the Sundrop Flower, so it's not instant, but they should be feeling better soon." Kline assured the concerned King and Queen of Corona. "Have you seen any sign of the boy yet?"

A guard came running in. "Your Majesty, a guard in the dungeons reported that he was threatened by Cassandra last night and gave up the handcuffs and that collar we used, uh, w-when the kid was in prison."

"...She must have him and his raccoon, then." King Frederic said grimly.

"W-We have to...get him back. Before she...she hurts him." Rapunzel said as she slowly pushed herself out of bed.

"Absolutely not." Kline pushed her back down gently. "You still have a few more hours of healing left. Sundrop or no, you are still weak. While you recover, we can organize a proper rescue party."

King Edmund ran into the room and knelt next to Eugene's bed. "Horace, are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'll be okay." Eugene groaned, then looked past him. "Quirin...I'm sorry. She took him."

Quirin paled, then looked at King Edmund. "We must call the other two here."

King Edmund nodded. "Send Hamuel."

Hamuel flew from King Edmund's shoulder to Quirin's and then they left together. King Edmund sighed and looked back at Eugene, taking his hand gently. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop her..."

"No, dad...if she took you from me...if it was you in this bed instead of me..." He clutched at his hand tightly. "I just got you back, I'm finally knowing you after...years. I couldn't bear to lose you to her!"

"And I couldn't bear to lose you." He pulled Eugene into a tight hug.

Rapunzel watched the scene with tears in her eyes, then gasped as her father held her just as tightly. "Dad..."

"We will get him back." He said softly. "I won't leave him to suffer from the black rocks again."

She nodded, holding him tightly. "We have to."

"Hey, uh, guys?" Lance stepped into the room. "There's...a new addition to the Kingdom. Big...tall...black...kind of creepy to look at..."

"What do you mean, Lance?" Rapunzel asked.

He shifted a bit. "The search party found a big, black tower where Gothel's tower once stood and there's broken handcuffs and chains wrapped around a pillar outside of it."

Clementine sighed. "That would be where the boy is, then."

"Good." Andrew groaned a bit as he got up. "We can heal fully while we plan how to get inside that thing."

--

"Did you...have to make this place so big?" Varian asked as he was forced to climb a higher flight of stairs than he ever had. The spiral staircase was making him dizzy, and he was pretty sure it was her firm grip on his arm that kept him from tripping and falling on his face at this point.

"Be quiet." Cassandra said. Her other hand was occupied by a cage that housed Ruddiger, after he'd attempted to attack her face just before they started up these stairs.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" Varian frowned.

Cassandra ignored him and looked to the side a bit. "And then what?" She asked the air, and Varian looked at her with confusion before he cast his gaze down to the cuffs binding his gloved wrists tightly.