As the couple returned to the throne room, Rapunzel was met with a pleasant surprise. There were three people standing in the room that she hadn't expected to see.

The first was Lance Strongbow, Eugene's ex-partner in crime. He was a tall man with dark skin and broad shoulders. His red over shirt complimented his complexion and his one earring gave him a roguish look. His mischievous smirk didn't help make him look any more innocent.

The second was a short girl with black hair held up in a bun. She went by the name of Angry, despite her finally revealing her real name, Kiera. Her almond shaped eyes constantly held a sharp and deadly look. However, she had a similar mischievous smirk on her face like Lance.

Last, but not least, was her adoptive sister, Catalina. She was formerly known as Red, but she only let Lance call her by that name, wanting to be known by her birth name. She was taller than Kiera and had ivory skin. Her face was splattered with freckles much like Rapunzel. Her ginger hair was held back in a thick long braid to avoid getting tangled when she turned into her werewolf form.

"Guys!" Rapunzel exclaimed, immediately pulling them all into a hug. "You didn't tell us you were coming?"

"Do we need permission to see a couple old friends?" Lance teased.

"Of course not!" Rapunzel chuckled. "How's it been going? Are you girls adjusting to living with Lance alright?"

"We know he can be a handful to watch." Eugene winked.

"Ah-ha..." Lance passed him a look in mock of being offended.

"It's going well so far," Catalina chuckled.

"We're currently making adjustments so that Cat and I can have our own rooms," Kiera added.

Rapunzel looked at Lance, who mouthed the word 'bickering'. She chuckled. The girls were close and inseparable, but they were getting older and needed their own privacy. It was normal for sisters to bicker anyways, much like her mom and Aunt Willow. Although she heard that not all siblings were at odds to their extent.

Sometimes she wished she had her own siblings just to know what it would be like. She liked to think that she and Cassandra were like Angry and Catalina. Sisters in everything but blood, and truly, they were. But Cassandra didn't seem like she thought the same, although they didn't get enough time to talk everything out before she left. It made her heart ache whenever she thought about it. There was no way she would have stopped her from leaving, especially now that Cassandra looked to finally be happy when she rode off on Fidella and towards another adventure.

"So how have you two been doing? The big day's in a week." Lance passed Eugene a wink.

"Uh... Busy..." Rapunzel admitted.
"But busy good," Eugene added. "I don't think I've anticipated a day like this my whole life."

"Aww." Rapunzel gave her fiancée a teasing grin. She leaned and the couple pecked each other on the lips. The other three 'yucked' in unison, making the two chuckle.

"Anyways, would you girls like to help us with last minute decoration plans?" Eugene asked.

"Yes!" Catalina nodded enthusiastically.

"I guess," Kiera muttered.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Rapunzel said.

"Nah, it's fine." Kiera shrugged.

"Lance?" The queen looked at the former thief.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to supervise the food. Make sure it's going according to plan." The man passed them a wink.

Rapunzel laughed. "You should try the cakes. We didn't try them all."

"Don't mind if I do!" He turned and left before anyone else could react.

"So what's first?" Catalina asked.

"Well, when Nigel gets here, we're supposed to talk about tablecloths. Apparently some of them got lost while getting transported and there isn't time to get more," she explained.

"Just have some tables without," Kiera said.

"Well..." Eugene was cut short by the door opening.

"Good, you're here." Nigel came over. He was a tall man with a thin frame. His nose looked too big for his face as Eugene had said. He kept his brown hair tied back in a yellow bow. The man always made sure to keep good posture, especially since he was next in line for the throne if something were to happen to the royal family. He kept his dark eyes trained on his clipboard. He was quickly flipping through the pages.

"Those aren't all the things we need to deal with today, is it?" Eugene's shoulders slumped.

"Yes-" Nigel said.

"Nigel, Eugene has Captain of the Guard duties and I have to do my royal job too. I don't think we're going to have time for that."

"Why don't Kiera and I do it?" Catalina suggested.

"What?" Nigel and Kiera both said in unison. The first in horror and the second questioning her sister's judgment.

"That would be a great idea, if you girls don't mind." Rapunzel exclaimed. "And Nigel, you can run their ideas by us tonight, but I think they'll do amazing."

"Yes!" Catalina pumped her fist. Kiera shook her head, but shrugged.

"But... Fine..." Nigel's expression said everything he wanted to say, but he was learning that it was a waste of time to argue with the princess. Especially when she had already set her mind to something.

Rapunzel clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Yay! You two girls can have some bonding time."

"Like we can't have bonding time back at the treehouse?" Kiera muttered, crossing her arms.

The conversation was interrupted by the doors swinging open again. Rapunzel turned towards it, surprise crossing her face. It was Stan. The man had paused at the door, holding the door frame for support. He was panting heavily as he held up a finger, asking for patience on questions. The room was politely silent as the guard regained his breath.

"Princess! Captain!" He gasped out.

"Stan? What is going on?" Eugene stepped forward, offering to help the man stand on his own two feet.

"It's the Saporians..."

"What about the Saporians?" Rapunzel's voice turned serious, her gaze sharpening.

"They're gone."

The two words felt as if they had slapped her in the face. She wasn't scared of them. They were easily taken down and Andrew wasn't much of a threat to her, but Varian? The boy pretended as if Andrew never happened, but she knew better. The man was still fresh in his mind. Luckily, this time she would be there for him. He wasn't going to be alone and Andrew wasn't going to get near him. Not while she lived and breathed.

"Stan, prepare a search party using Squad 7," Eugene ordered and Stan ran off to do as bidden.

"Wait. Where's Varian?" Rapunzel cut in.

She saw her fiancée's face grow a little pale. It was obvious that he had thought of the potential danger their Royal Alchemist could be in. He clenched his fists, but passed her a reassuring grin. "He's probably tinkering in one of his labs. I'll look for him."

Rapunzel turned to Nigel and the girls, following Eugene's example by giving a smile. "You three can go ahead. Everything is going to be just fine."

"Right. Just a few rats we gotta trap. No biggie," Eugene added.

"We're not five, you know," Kiera retorted. She set a hand on her hip. "But I appreciate your attempt to sugarcoat the situation."

"Your highness," Nigel cut in. "Would it be possible that the boy could have released them?"

Confusion swept over Rapunzel. "What boy?" She noticed Eugene shoot Nigel a dark glare and she realized who he meant. "Varian?"

"The boy did once-"

"Varian would never do that!" She shrieked how could you-"

"With all do respect, your highness. You didn't let me finish. There are multiple reasons why he could have. And even if you firmly believe that the boy has changed, could you be so sure that the relationship between him and Andrew could be forgotten so easily. After all, you were not here during their time together," Nigel retorted.

Rapunzel suddenly felt the urge to punch him. It wasn't an urge that she got often, but the one thing to trigger her was for someone to talk bad about the people she cared about. Rationally, Nigel did make a point, especially for someone who didn't know Varian. But she knew Varian. Apart from Eugene and Quirin, she could argue that she knew him better than anyone. And, for a fact, she knew that Varian would never go near Andrew or even be associated with the man.

To Nigel, Varian was an ex-criminal with a violent past. And it was true that Varian had caused destruction and could have hurt many people with his actions. But that wasn't Varian anymore. Nigel was stuck in the past, keeping it tied to her friend. Even if Varian had proven that he had truly seen the errors of his actions and was capable of helping Corona in so many ways.

But Nigel was a very opinionated person who spoke what exactly was on his mind. Perhaps that's why her father chose him. He was honest, but, more than often, far too honest for Rapunzel. Not when their views clashed so often.

Before Rapunzel could truly react to Nigel's remark, there was a loud cracking noise as if the ground were cracking open. Suddenly, she felt herself hit the ground as her world started to shake. She felt Eugene put his body over her head to protect her from any potential debris from the ceiling. Be helped her stand back up to move under the doorframe and wrapped his arms around her body, his hand holding the back of her head.

Catalina pulled Kiera under Eugene's throne and she was able to squeeze under Rapunzel's. Rapunzel, for the first time since she cut it, wished she had her indestructible hair back. She could keep everyone in the room from getting crushed by the castle if it were to fall.

No sooner had she thought that was when the earthquake stopped. She peeked over Eugene's shoulder and into the throne room. To her relief, the girls were unharmed. Nothing had fallen other than a lot of dirt and dust. Something that only needed to be cleaned up and not rebuilt again.

"What was that?" Kiera gasped as she got up from underneath the throne.

"An earthquake," Eugene replied. He slowly loosened his grip on Rapunzel.

When her brain finally caught up with the events, she ran over to the girls and pulled them into a hug. At first, she thought it was just the girls shaking from the scare, but then she realized that she was trembling herself. She felt Eugene set a protective and comforting hand on her shoulder, which she sank into.

She looked over at Nigel who was sitting in the middle of the room, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. Maybe she'd continue the conversation with him later, but there were more important matters at the moment. She needed to figure out how many people got hurt and how much destruction had been caused.

"Do earthquakes usually crack like that?" Rapunzel inquired suddenly.

"I don't know," Eugene admitted.

"Is Lance ok?" Catalina cut in.

"I... I'll go check up on him and bring him," Eugene promised. He turned and ran to find his friend in the kitchens.

"Nigel-" Rapunzel began.

"I'm checking on the King and Queen," he said as he started to shakily stand on his feet. Rapunzel nodded. At least she could count on his loyalty to her parents regardless of their odds.

"If you see a guard, send them to check on Varian," Rapunzel said. She wanted to go find him herself, but right now she needed to be with the girls. "Tell them to make sure he's ok."

Nigel merely nodded, which was more than she had expected from him.