Does the moon long for morning

The rocks

The ride back to the Isle of Corona was mostly silent. The horses' hooves clattered against the ground, kicking up dust while sunlight filtered through the leaves, creating dappled patterns on the path.

The warm weather should have made for a pleasant ride, but the trio was too lost in their thoughts to enjoy it.

Eugene, unsurprisingly, was the first to break the silence. "Now, I never had parents, so I'm not entirely sure, but I'm about seventy percent certain it's not normal to leave a ten-year-old alone for weeks at a time."

Cassandra pressed her lips into a thin line. "No, it's definitely not normal."

"Mother—I mean, Gothel—left me alone all the time when I was young," Rapunzel added quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Eugene's expression softened. "Oh, Sunshine, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," she replied quickly, though her eyes betrayed a deeper pain. "It's just that I keep discovering new ways she hurt me. My childhood was a lie, and all those moments I thought were happy—"

"Look, Raps, it's okay to have mixed feelings about your past. I know I do," Cassandra interjected, trying to reassure her.

"But if Varian is having a childhood like mine—"

"He's not. He's fourteen, incredibly smart, and most importantly, he's not locked up in a tower. He has neighbors and friends—people who know him and can make sure he's safe. He's going to be okay."

"Yeah, you're right, Cas," Rapunzel said, "He's fine. He's going to be okay."

Cassandra shot her a reassuring smile, and they continued on their way.

———

Varian had been nervous when a member of the royal family, her boyfriend, and her handmaiden showed up at his door. For a brief second, he thought the princess was there to drag him to some deep dark dungeon where he'd be forgotten and left alone to rot there for the rest of his life.

Which was ridiculous because he was pretty sure that wasn't even the princess's job.

Still—despite the three being weird but nice, Varian wasn't surprised or even disappointed when they didn't show up the following Wednesday. It was for the best anyway, considering his mum didn't come home until Thursday morning.

Varian was down in the lab when she arrived, so he he didn't hear her open the large front door and drop her bag next to it.

"I'm home." She raises her head after she goes unanswered, her voice lingering in the empty air.

Ulla checks the kitchen and the bedrooms first before heading down to the place she probably should have looked in the beginning.

"Varian?"

His head snapped up, blue eyes meeting blue, and he broke into a grin.

"Mom! You were supposed to be here yesterday—did something happen?"

"No, nothing like that," she replied, ruffling his hair with a smile. "We took the scenic route. The poppies are in bloom, and I just couldn't resist." She settled beside him, glancing at the cluttered lab table. "Now, tell me all about what you've been working on."

And so he does. It was routine at this point, his mother goes off to explore and learn knew things, comes back, asks him what he's been up to, pretend nothing has changed, and then she is off again. They've been doing it for years now and varian settles into it like an old skin.

Once he's done ranting they switch roles and suddenly it's Ulla telling him what she's been up to. She is all large movements and excited gestures as she describes her travels.

Varian could only nod, already used to his mother and her constant need to keep moving. He wondered if he was similar to her in that way.

He listened intently, wide-eyed as his mum described her travels; the magic, and science, and knowledge she had found while she was away.

A sense of longing grew inside him. An itch forming in his hands, heart, and clawing up his throat. He took a deep breath and forced the feeling down. Two more years. He only had to wait two more years until he could join her.

The conversation is eventually moved upstairs and they prepare a late breakfast as they continue talking. It's only when they are seated and digging into oatmeal heavily doused with milk and brown sugar does Varian bring up the topic that's been worrying him for the past few days.

"So, mum, the princess's hair grew back the other day."

"Really? Does anyone know why?" Ulla looked at him expectantly, her own bowl of oatmeal forgotten and cooling on the table.

"No, not yet. She actually came over asking for 'the wizard of old Corona.'"

"What did you tell her?"

"That there was no wizard, obviously. I did convince her to let me run some tests on it though, and the results were fascinating! Logically, it should be imp-"

"You let them inside?" Ulla interrupted, her tone suddenly sharp.

"Y-Yes?" Varian blinked, taken aback by her reaction.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Just letting random people into our house? Letting the princess into our house? Something could have happened to you, and you would be gone, Varian!"

The boy shrunk in his chair and stared down at what was left of breakfast. He wasn't very hungry anymore.

"Sorry. I won't do it again," he mumbled.

Ulla sighed, her expression softening slightly. "It's fine. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know."

"And really, Varian, how do you expect me to ever take you out on journeys with me when you make such stupid decisions? It's ridiculous."

"I know. Im sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sorry for snapping."

They cleaned the kitchen up in silence.

———

Not to far away something dark starts to spread into edges of the small village.

Rocks, jagged and sharp erupt from the earth and bring a chill to the warm spring air. They cut through the nearby foliage and just so happen to disturb a sleeping raccoon.