Face Your Destiny | Tangled Fanfic

Chapter 18: Return

~Rapunzels POV~

As the white faded away, everyone rubbed their eyes, blown away from the flash. Rapunzel had been pushed back by it, and as she finally lifted herself up, she stared into her palm.

The moonstone shone brightly in her hand, glowing shades of blue and white, her hair still gently flowing behind her. She smiled, slipping the small stone into her bag. Just looking around the room she noticed many changes. The rocks had smoothened our and calmed down, as if they could finally rest. The sun was starting to rise and the light glistened through the cracked castle. Eugene came to her side, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Rapunzel." He smiled, as they closed in for a hug.

"Rapunzel!" A deep voice called from behind her. She quickly turned her head to see her dad, sword in hand, arms open. "Dad!" Her grin widened, as she stumbled up, running toward his arms. He seamlessly dropped the sword, bracing her daughter at last after days of worry. The army of guards behind him, still not at complete ease yet, let go a bit, smiling and exchanging looks.

Cassandra was lying on the ground, right where Rapunzel had taken the stone. She slowly got up, blinking and rubbing her head, trying to remember what just happened. She stumbled up, staring at her slightly torn clothes. "What, what happened?" As she said that, two guards rushed to her sides, quickly cuffing her. "What are you-?" "Your under arrest." Her face morphed into shock and confusion, unsure of what was happening. They picked her up, slowly ushering her into a cart behind the army of guards. Rapunzel looked up for a moment, watching her best friend get arrested. She frowned, the thought making her want to cry, but still braced her fathers arms. The captain also watched, as her adopted daughter was taken away for something unimaginable. His sadness turned into rage, as he scanned the room, he found the perfect target.

~Vias POV~

Via finally opened her eyes, pushing herself up from the ground. She scanned her surroundings, finally realizing that things were okay. She looked down to see the darkness in her chest had gone, as well as the pain. She brushed herself off, smiling, until suddenly, it hit her. She turned to see Varian, lying there, just as lifeless as she was minutes ago.

"Varian!" She stumbled over kneeling at his side. "No no no! This can't be happening." She turned him over to reveal a large hole just below his chest, bleeding profusely. She pushed his black hair away, trying to stay calm. His eyes were closed, his expression a hardly noticeable smile. Tears streamed down her face, as she tried to stop the bleeding. Russified has scampered over, nudging at Varian to see if he would move.

The captain, still wondering why her daughter did what she had, felt almost anger just thinking about it. And that's when she saw her. Perfect. "Guards! Arrest her immediately!" He said it with an angry look in his eye, as if he needed someone else to blame. The guards didn't hesitate, after all, she was a known thief in all 7 kingdoms. They quickly marched to her sides, but as they tried to pin her arms, she spun around pushing both of them back.

"Listen here. I don't think you get it." She said, staring at them straight. "I'm not going anywhere until I know Varian is okay." The guards had an almost fearful look in their eye; were they gonna let a child tell them what to do? "Listen here young lady. He will be fine, but if you didn't know this, he is also a criminal. And you will do as the guard of Corona say or else!" His words were sharp, making Via back up a bit.

The captain had an angry look in his eyes, as he gestured for the guards to proceed. This time, they did hesitate slightly, but still went with it. Via didn't struggle, as she was cuffed and escorted away. As much as she worried, Varian has redeemed himself; she knew as long as the princess remembered, Varian would be fine.

At least that's what she had hoped.

~Rapunzels POV~

Meanwhile, Rapunzel still in her fathers arms nearly forgot all of the chaos that just happened, happy to finally be back with her dad.

"Uh Blondie?" Eugene questioned, pointing down at Varian. She gasped, quickly kneeling down just as Via had. She quickly searched around him, trying to see if he was alive. The kings expression slowly changed, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Varian. "Is he..." She trailed off, not wanting what she was thinking to be true.

A guard came over, trying to feel a pulse. After searching for a moment, he nodded his head. "He's still, just barely alive, your highness." "He needs help, anyone?" Rapunzel desperately cried, as many guards came to her aid. "Rapunzel, I know you want to help everyone around you, but Varian-." "Listen Dad. Varian has done some not-so-nice things, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help him. Besides, he helped us today, and that's what counts." She continued to help him, wrapping bandages around his wound. The king opened his mouth to object, but quickly closed it, knowing she was right.

One guard carefully lifted him up, gently putting him on one of the horses. Rudiger hopped up, curling into a ball next to him. He'll be okay Rapunzel." Eugene once again put his hand on her shoulder. Pascal squeaked, curling up on her other one. "We have to go now if you want him to make it." A guard shouted in the mist. Rapunzel nodded, tying her hair back up as she started to walk towards the exit of the castle. Just as they were about to leave the moonstones chamber, a figure came up from the darkness below, grunting.

Rapunzel barely noticed this, flicking her head around to see Adira, slowly climbing out the rocky pit. "Adira!" She smiled running over to help her. Everyone stopped, turning around to see her lift Adira up. "Are you okay?" "I could ask you the same question." Adira smiles, though there were scratches along her face and small tears in her clothes.

"We thought you-." "Don't worry, just needed to get this back." She brandished her blade, looking at it happily. "What happened down there?" Rapunzel asked curious, as they both started to walk towards the door. "Well, when I first went down, things were hard, it being so dark down there." Rapunzel listened closely, wanting to know everything. "I was looking for my sword, till I finally found it. But when I reached for it, a large flash happened. Pushed me back a bit. When I could see again, the rocks were changing, the shrunk down, and the rocks smoothened out. Made it much easier to grab the sword and climb out." She winked at Rapunzel, putting the sword back behind her back.

By now they had left the castle, ready for the long journey back. The rocks that had led them there the first time were gone, many of them still shrinking back down. "Well Adira, managed yourself well down there I see." Eugene laughed a bit, being his usual self. "Yeah well, fish skin, couldn't have done it without this." She pulled out a small purply blue blade from her pocket. Rapunzel gasped, taking it from her hand. "It's Vias dagger!" She exclaimed, looking at the small tool. "Came pretty handy down there, able to cut the rocks with that thing. I need to return it, where is that girl?" She said, Rapunzel giving it back to her. Rapunzel stopped for a moment.

"Wait a second. Where is Via?"