Ever since the incident, Varian became desperate to do everything in his power to make his father proud of him.

The now fourteen-year-old princess was accepted by the kingdom after they found out about her magic, although Aquaria hadn't seen Delta in almost a year.

Aqua was coming home one night and she looked for her parents. She went to their room and saw her mom crying in her dad's arms.

"Mother? What's wrong?" She quickly ran over and hugged her mom.

"Your sister's crown has been stolen and tomorrow is her birthday... we were going to give it back to her once she returned, but now it's gone just like Rapunzel..." Arianna cried and Aquaria frowned.

"We will get the crown back, my love. Rapunzel will return soon," Frederic comforted.

"It's been eighteen years, Fred. What if she never comes home to us? Would she even want to come back to us? What if she has a family that she loves and doesn't want us?" Arianna desperately wanted her baby girl to return home. She had missed her growing up, but she still wanted her back.

"Don't say stuff like that, mom. Rapunzel will come home. I know it," Aqua said as she tried to get her mom to feel a bit better.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I know you're both right. I just really want her to come home..."

💧

A few days passed and Aquaria hadn't left the palace. She normally didn't leave the palace around the time of her lost sister's birthday.

She was sitting on the ground with a book while her mother gently brushed her hair. Frederic stood by them, looking out of the window with a sigh.

Suddenly, a guard ran into the room with a stunned look. He said nothing and just nodded.

"Well?"

"Rapunzel... sh-she's here!"

Arianna stood immediately in shock.

"Where?"

As soon as they were told that she was on the main balcony, the two royals ran to see their daughter. Aquaria ran after them, excited to meet her older sister.

When they opened the doors to the balcony, Aquaria looked out to see a tall girl with short jagged brown hair and beautiful green eyes. Beside her was Flynn Rider which she knew immediately since he had basically become Varian's hero.

Arianna approached Rapunzel and reached out her hand, gently caressing her cheek before they hugged each other tightly. Aqua ran over and joined the hug. Rapunzel looked up at her father and he smiled before taking his family into his arms.

They melted to the ground in a family hug as they cried together, all happy tears. Arianna looked up at Flynn and reached out for his hand before pulling him into the hug as well.

"We missed you so much, Rapunzel," Frederic said softly and Rapunzel smiled brightly.

"I'm so glad I'm home. I love you guys so much," she said happily before looking at Aquaria. "I have a sister... I've always wanted a sister..."

Aqua smiled as she looked up at her older sister. "I've always wanted to meet you."

"What happened to your hair, Rapunzel? It used to be golden blonde," Frederic asked curiously and she let out a little laugh.

"It's a long story but my hair turned brown when Eugene cut it," Rapunzel said and Aqua looked at Eugene.

"I thought your name was Flynn Rider. At least you look exactly like him," she said and he chuckled nervously.

"Well... that was a fake name... my real name is Eugene..." Eugene said with a nervous smile.

"Cool!" Aqua smiled bright.

"But talking about hair, how did you get your hair like that?" Rapunzel asked Aqua curiously as she gently felt Aqua's soft hair.

"Well it was brown but then I overextended my magic I guess and now it's white with blue streaks," Aqua explained and Rapunzel looked shocked.

"You have magic?"

"Yeah, I can control water. I'm not actually your sister. I mean, I am, but I'm adopted," she said and Rapunzel smiled.

"That's amazing! I have the coolest little sister ever!" Rapunzel hugged Aqua tightly.

Arianna and Frederic smiled, happy to see the two getting along so quickly.

💧

There was a festival that went on for a week to celebrate the return of the lost princess. The whole kingdom rejoiced.

Aqua never saw Varian at the festival though and she wished he had come with his father.

The day after the end of the festival, she rode Fidella over the bridge to the mainland and went to Varian's house. She didn't see him in his house so she went to his laboratory which had moved to a new building since he had so much stuff now in his lab.

"Varian? Are you in here?" She called as she went in, stepping over the tripwire that was for the critters that tried to get in.

She saw her best friend passed out at his desk and she frowned.

"You've been staying up again, haven't you?" She asked softly, knowing that he wasn't going to answer her since he was out cold.

She sighed softly and picked him up. He wasn't too heavy so she managed to get him back to his house and up to his room.

She laid him in his bed before taking his goggles and gloves off, setting them on his nightstand. "You don't need to keep doing this, Var... we're already so proud of you..."

She gently kissed his cheek as she tucked him in before leaving to go back home.

When she got back to the castle, Rapunzel saw her come in.

"Where were you?" She asked curiously.

"I went to check on my friend. He never came to the festival so I wanted to make sure he was okay," Aquaria explained and Rapunzel giggled.

"Aww, I didn't know my sister had a boyfriend," she teased and Aquaria's face went red.

"I-it's not like that. We're just friends. He's my best friend in the entire universe," Aqua clarified quickly.

"You definitely like him though," Rapunzel said with a grin.

"No, I mean... I love him, he's the only friend I have and he makes me really happy, but I don't like him in that way," Aqua said, never having thought about the fact that she may have feelings for Varian.

"It's okay. I'm just teasing you," Rapunzel said with a light laugh before Cassandra walked up.

"Rapunzel, it's lunchtime. You too, Squirt," Cass said to the two princesses.

"Race ya?" Rapunzel grinned at Aqua.

"You're on!"

They took off running and Cassandra rolled her eyes before following them.

🧪

As the months passed, Varian had come up with a new invention that he was sure would make his father proud. He kept it a secret from everyone, even Aquaria.

"It has to be perfect... then my dad will be proud of me and I can impress Aquaria..." Varian muttered to himself as he worked.

He thought about his best friend who he hadn't seen as much. It hurt him and he thought it was his fault because of how many inventions of his had failed lately. He feared that maybe she just didn't want to hang out with him anymore. He was sure that if she saw how successful his new invention was, she would want to hang out with him all the time again.

He sighed softly and looked at the picture Aquaria had drawn of the two of them. "Maybe she found a new friend... what if she doesn't want to be my friend anymore?"

He looked down and shook his head. "No, Aquaria would never leave me... we're partners... best friends forever..."

He no longer felt like being in his lab. He went home and Quirin frowned when he saw his son looking so upset.

"Varian? What is wrong?" He asked his son.

"Nothing, dad. Just tired..." Varian lied but Quirin knew something was wrong with his son.

"Varian, you are my son. I know when something is upsetting you," Quirin said as he walked over, hugging him close.

"I miss Aquaria... it's like she doesn't want to see me anymore..." Varian murmured as he hugged his dad.

"Oh, Varian, Aquaria would never not want to see you. She's a princess and she's older now. She has responsibilities," Quirin said to comfort his only son.

"You're right. I didn't even think of that. Thanks, dad," Varian said with a smile.

"I'm always here for you, son. I love you," Quirin replied.

"I love you too, dad," Varian responded happily.

💧

Aquaria had noticed her sister acting weird at her coronation, but she never expected to see her with seventy feet of golden hair.

That night, Aqua went into her sister's room.

"Rapunzel?" She said softly and saw her sister on her balcony.

"Aqua, hey," Rapunzel turned and came back into her room.

"I heard what dad did."

Rapunzel looked down and sighed softly.

"He's just worried about you. When I was growing up I only had one friend but only got to see him once a year, on my birthday. When I was eight I snuck out to see him and I started to sneak out a lot so we could play. When dad found out, he told me that I wasn't allowed to leave the palace. He then said that no citizens of Corona could come to my birthday, only castle staff and nobles. I knew that I would never get to see my best friend ever again and it really hurt so I ran away... I went to the kingdom of Arendelle but when I came home, I knew that dad had just been trying to protect me. He's doing the same for you. He doesn't want anything happening to you."

"I know... I just wish he trusted me..." Rapunzel murmured.

"I understand that. He will learn to feel more comfortable with you going out beyond the walls. He has gotten strict though since you came back. I haven't been able to see my friend much because he won't let me leave the castle," Aqua said softly.

"Why don't you ever say his name?" Rapunzel asked curiously, never having asked what his name was.

"Because you'd tease me about him more if you know his name... and Cassandra doesn't like me talking about him in the palace. She doesn't like me going to see him," Aqua said with a light blush.

"Why not?"

"It's a long story but basically she thinks he's dangerous." Aqua sighed and looked down, knowing that Varian meant well. It's not like he purposely made his experiments fail.

"Well I hope to meet him one day," Rapunzel said with a smile. "Now we should both go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Yeah. Goodnight, sis," Aqua said as she hugged Rapunzel.

"Goodnight, Aqua," Rapunzel said softly with a smile as she hugged her little sister.