The secret of the Moondrop

Chapter 7: Action

Rapunzel's POV:

Their journey had finally come to an end.
There they where, in the Dark Kingdom, home of the opal containing the moondrop power.
Adira guided them through columns of dark rocks, each one narrower than the last one.
"Jeez, guys, I don't think Hookfoot and I are going to fit through that" Lance said as he pointed to the space left between two rocks.
Hookfoot looked down at his own stomach, looking slightly offended. "You're probably right" he nodded with resignation.
Cassandra put one hand on one of the rocks impatiently.
"Then you'd better return to the caravan, we'll tell you what happened when we come back"
"If we come back" Eugene added cheerfully.
"Quit talking and move it!" They all heard Adira calling.
Rapunzel wasn't very comfortable with splitting up the group, specially since they all were in a banned kingdom corrupted by black rocks. But eventually, she accepted it. There's not gonna be anything there anyways, she found herself thinking.
After two hours of walking between black rocks, as in Rapunzel's dream, they reached the palace. Adira was more than surprised with what they found.
"The place is almost demolished!" She said breathlessly while gapping at the main hall.
"Wasn't it supposed to be that way?" Rapunzel asked.
"Well, yeah, but that was after king Edmund tried to touch the opal" Adira explained, she pointed at the cracks which covered most of the floor, walls and columns. "Those weren't there the last time I came here"
Eugene touched the cracks of the floor, looking with narrowed eyes at the symbol carved on the rock: a circle with three lines.
Rapunzel knelt next to him. "What's wrong?"
Her boyfriends eyebrows furrowed. "I think I've seen this symbol before"
Cassandra snorted, her arms crossed.
"Duh, it's the same symbol tattooed on Adira's hand, genius"
Adira waved from the distance.
"No, I've seen it in other place..."
Rapunzel tilted her head. "Now that you mention it, it does look familiar"
The lady-in-waiting sighed and walked behind Rapunzel.
"Varian's dad!" The princess suddenly exclaimed. "That's it! He also had the symbol tattooed on his hand"
Eugene's eyes widened. "You're right!"
Cassandra was the least impressed. "And what does that exactly prove? He may have just tattooed it because he thought it looked good"
"I don't know" Rapunzel stood up "Quirin always looked pretty mysterious to me"
Adira's head shot up from behind a column.
"Wait, what!?" The tall lady asked surprised "You know Quirin?"
The three of them exchanged glances.
"Well, we knew him before he was encased by the rocks" Eugene blurted.
Cassandra nudged him in the ribs.
"Ouch" he protested.
Rapunzel saw the worry and concern in Adira's eyes and decided to tell her.
After telling the whole story about Varian's betrayal and Quirin's imprisonment, Adira just stared at Rapunzel with wide eyes.
"So... you're saying Quirin has a son, who is also nuts and tried to destroy Corona?" she mumbled.
"Basically" Eugene nodded. "Although I would rather describe him as insane..." he stopped himself after receiving Cassandra's venomous glare.
Adira shook her head slowly. "Oh no, this is bad" she muttered while walking back and forth the room "this is REALLY bad"
"What is bad?" Cassandra asked.
Adira ignored her and practically run through a hall, after a while, Rapunzel heard her scream.
"WHAT THE HECK?!"
The three of them run to meet her at a wide and dark, in the middle of it, a hollowed rock with a black cristal inside of it remained untouched.
"I...I don't get it" she stammered.
Rapunzel put a hand on her shoulder, only to then remember Adira didn't like physical contact. But she didn't pull away or say anything, she just stood there looking at the rock.
"Is it supposed to be like that?" Eugene asked, earning another death glare from Cassandra.
"I don't feel... anything" Rapunzel said.
Everyone stared at her, including Adira.
"It doesn't work anymore, it has lost its power" the warrior said "Quirin was the only one who could have entered here besides me" her face fell "he... he betrayed the Kingdom"
The princess extended her arm and carefully took the opal lying inside the meteorite. Nothing happened at first.
Cassandra raised an eyebrow at the useless stone.
"Do you think Quirin...?"
Rapunzel suddenly felt her vision cloud, everything around her turned into a big black blur.
And that was when she heard her. And saw her.
The blond girl backed down at the sight of her worst enemy. The woman that had used her for eighteen years, making her believe she loved Rapunzel.
"What's wrong Rapunzel?" She said with a mockery tone "Didn't you miss me?"
Rapunzel gulped. Suddenly everything started to click, the voices had been Mother Gothel all along! That's why they sounded so familiar and terrifying.
"You...you are supposed to be dead" she stammered.
Gothel giggled as she advanced closer to Rapunzel. "I am dead, my dear" she said matter-of-factly "But don't worry, I'll be back as soon as you two meet"
The princesses eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Who are you talking about?"
Mother Gothel put a hand on her shoulder. A cold death hand that made her shiver.
"I knew you were stupid, but I thought it was obvios enough for you to guess" she answered with pretended pity.
Rapunzel pulled herself away from Gothel, widening her eyes when her hand passed through the witch's body. But that only lasted a second, she then furrowed her eyebrows and pointed Mother Gothel with her frying pan, trying to look as intimidating as possible.
"Tell me who the moondrop is!" she said commandingly.
The witch laughed with delight.
"You're sure you wanna know?"
Rapunzel nodded angrily.
Gothel's body turned to a dusty smoke and then reformed right next to her, Rapunzel tried not to squirm when Mother Gothel started whispering cold words in her ear.
"Varian is the moondrop"
Then everything turned black.