Aquaria was walking around the city of Corona, waiting for news on if they found Varian. She was getting so worried about him with each passing day.

She went to see Xavier and sat down on one of the stools.

"Ahh, princess, what brings you here?" Xavier looked over at her.

"I'm just wandering around. Rapunzel is at her new painting class. I'm waiting for any word on Varian," she said softly and the man hummed. "He still hasn't come back and I'm getting worried..."

"Hmm, it reminds me of the legend of the missing heart," Xavier said and Aquaria hummed softly.

'Here we go again...' She thought to herself.

💧

Aquaria was sitting on her balcony, painting a picture of Varian, Ruddiger, Quirin, and herself. She missed Varian so much, but she knew he would show up. She was excited for when he did return.

As she painted, she saw Cassandra and Eugene running out of the corner of her eye.

She hummed and jumped off the balcony, summoning some water to catch her. She landed on the ground gently and ran to find the two.

When she found them running towards the stables, she tried to catch up with them.

They came out of the stables with Max and Fidella, nearly running Aqua over.

"Woah! Squirt! What are you doing out here?!" Eugene asked as he looked at her. Pascal was sat on his shoulder, looking at the young princess curiously.

"I was wondering the same thing. Where are you going?" Aqua crossed her arms over her chest.

"Janus Point. Rapunzel is in trouble," Eugene said and Cass facepalmed.

"Great, now she's gonna wanna come with us. You could've said something like, going out for a race or I don't know, said something stupid like you usually do!" Cassandra grimaced at Eugene.

"Well, I'm coming now so you can't stop me," Aqua said as she climbed onto Max's back behind Eugene, smiling at Pascal.

"Let's just go! Raps needs our help!" Cass groaned and they took off to save the princess.

💧

When they got to Janus Point, the sight was honestly impressive, terrifying but impressive.

"Oh! You are just a terrible teacher!" Eugene exclaimed.

"Let her go, Sugarby!" Cassandra demanded and Sugarby looked over.

"Please, Sugarby was merely the vessel I chose to suit my purpose," the old woman said as her eyes glowed green and she burst into a ghostly form. "I am Sugracha the Eternal and I can take so many forms!"

"Uh, any chance we can stick with the sweet old lady form? Cause I'm kinda missing her already," Eugene said quickly.

"Eugene, Aquaria, you get Rapunzel to snap out of it," Cassandra ordered before she snapped the reigns on Fidella. "I'll handle the witch!"

Sugracha just smirked as she shot a blast of green energy at Cassandra and Fidella, immobilizing them.

Eugene, Aqua, and Max went after only to be shot with the beam as well.

"Blondie! It's me!" Eugene struggled against the magic.

"Eu-Eugene?" Rapunzel stuttered as she turned around, the magic losing its hold on her.

"Yeah! It's us, Rapu- woah!" Aqua shrieked as she, Pascal, Cassandra, and Eugene were lifted off their steeds. They all panicked as they were flown over the edge of the cliff, suspended in the air over the rocky water.

"Well, way to handle the witch, Cassandra!" Eugene looked at the lady in waiting.

"You were supposed to help Rapunzel!" Cass shot back.

"Now is not the time to point fingers!" Eugene turned away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Guys! Stop it!" Aqua shouted before lowering her voice so Sugracha couldn't hear her as she spoke, "I can't use my powers right now because of her magic, but if she is going to drop us then we would be released and I will be able to catch us. Just calm down."

Eugene frowned, but nodded before he looked back over to Rapunzel and the old lady. "Rapunzel, you've got to stop! I know you can hear me! Please!"

Rapunzel was noticeably struggling against the magic's grip on her and she won.

"Difficult choices are what make us who we are," Rapunzel said before she dug the back of her paintbrush into the canvas, ripping it down the center of the painting.

"No!" Sugracha shouted as everything started to disintegrate. "What have you done?!"

The magic wore off, allowing Max and Fidella to run at the old hag. As the portal in the sky was closing, Max kicked Sugracha into the portal before it closed completely.

However, when the magic dissipated, Cass, Eugene, Pascal, and Aqua were dropped.

"No!" Rapunzel shouted but Aqua was able to use the water to catch them. She brought the four of them up and Rapunzel breathed in relief.

Once they were on solid ground, Rapunzel hugged Eugene tightly before he gently kissed her lips.

"It's good to have you back, Blondie," Eugene said softly with a loving smile.

"It's good to be back, Eugene," Rapunzel said as she smiled back.

"I just thought of a great idea for the mural! Come on!" Rapunzel turned to leave with everyone.

"Oh? Oh, now? Not-not later, you know, when it's light out," Eugene watched everyone walk away. "That's fine. I'm not gonna question the creative process."

Aqua giggled and put a hand on his shoulder. "You definitely shouldn't question it. Come on," she said before running to catch up with the others.

💧

Aquaria was waiting with her parents and sister for the Griffin of Pittsford to arrive. She fiddled with her necklace and sighed softly. She had noticed Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra acting strange, but she decided to ignore it.

"Boring," Rapunzel groused after she yawned.

Aquaria was taken aback, but just stayed silent as the coach pulled up.

"May I present, the Griffin of Pittsford."

The Griffin stepped out and Aquaria looked at the short man curiously.

"Your excellency, we're beyond delighted you could join us," Frederic said as he approached the man.

"'Beyond delighted?' What is that supposed to mean? Like surprised? You think I wasn't gonna show up?!" The Griffin got defensive immediately. "What do you take me for, some kind of jerk?!"

"Uh... um, no, I simply meant that-"

"Or maybe you didn't think I could get here! Corona's not the only place that has horse and carriages, you know! Pittsford's got those things in spades!" The Griffin cut off the king.

Aqua held her tongue, but Rapunzel didn't.

"Whoa, insecure much, half-pint?"

The Griffin's face went red with anger.

"Rapunzel! I'm so sorry, she's-"

"Oh, that's our Rapunzel. Always quick with a joke," Arianna said quickly as she put her hands on Rapunzel's shoulders. "Why don't you go see to getting this evening's festivities rolling?"

"Ugh, whatever," Rapunzel scoffed before walking off.

"Of course, you must know that, um, 'half-pint' is a um, term of endearment in Corona. You must have a half-pint of liquid gold running through your veins," Arianna fibbed and Aqua cringed inside, but nodded with a forced smile.

"I knew that. You think I didn't know that? What am I, uncultured?"

"Of course not! Let's just go inside and enjoy a pleasant meal," Frederic said before they all went into the palace.

💧

"And now, the event's master of ceremonies, Eugene Fitzherbert!"

Aquaria sat awkwardly at the table and kept playing with her necklace as Eugene came out nervously with a weird machine.

"Uh, ladies and gentlemen," Eugene started as he began to pump the bellow on the strange contraption. "Let's get this peace party started..."

No one looked impressed and Aquaria noticed something was very wrong.

"So um... let me start again... Ladies and gent- woah!" Eugene pulled out a confetti cannon and fired it, blowing him backwards.

"You know what? I have had it with this phony banquet! We are only doing this to be nice to you, Griffin! But you need us! We don't need you!" Rapunzel hopped over the table and stomped towards the Griffin.

Aquaria's eyes widened and she looked at her mother in shock.

"So, why don't you just suck up your pride and accept Corona's help?"

The Griffin's face became redder than a tomato.

Just then, Max and Pascal ran through the door. Aqua watched as Max skidded to a stop and sent Pascal flying with the purple vial which went into the fog machine.

Arianna gasped and held Aquaria tight as purple smoke filled the room.

Aqua started to cough as she felt tingly inside.

"I think I feel normal again!" Rapunzel said when the smoke cleared.

"And so do I!" Eugene said excitedly.

"No one cares how you feel," Cassandra said with a grin.

"And so does she!" Eugene smiled brightly as he grabbed Rapunzel's hand. "Win em back, Blondie!"

"Yeah, do your thing, Raps," Cass said encouragingly and Eugene kissed Rapunzel's temple.

"Thanks guys," Rapunzel said softly before stepping into the middle of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, have I got a funny story-"

"Ah, boo! Boo!" Arianna shouted and grabbed her cake in her hand, eating it as she sat back in her chair.

"Mom?" Rapunzel looked at her with worry and Aquaria slammed her hands down.

"This whole thing is stupid! You're all stuck up morons! Can we just leave already?!"

"Aqua... oh no... the vapor reversed everyone's personalities..."

"Get out of my way!" Aquaria stormed out to go to the training field.

She yelled in rage as she attacked the training dumbies.

"All of this is stupid! Stupid banquet! Stupid Griffin! Gah!"

She could tell that she was out of control, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

After a few hours of her abusing the training dumbies, the effects of the elixir started to wear off and she was exhausted.

Rapunzel ran out to find her and smiled. "Aqua! Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah... I'm so sorry... I don't know what happened... I just felt so angry..."

"It's alright. It was partly my fault. It's a long story, but for now, let's get you to bed. You look exhausted."

Aqua nodded as Rapunzel picked her up and she passed out almost immediately.

💧

Aquaria woke up to chittering and saw Ruddiger on her chest. She gasped and sat up, running a hand through his fur.

"Ruddiger? What are you doing here? Where's Varian?" Aqua looked hopeful and Ruddiger just took off towards her balcony.

Aqua followed the raccoon, not caring that she was in her nightgown still.

She jumped from her balcony and let the water catch her. She kept running after Ruddiger until they got to the shoreline. She saw Varian and gasped.

"Varian!" Aqua ran to him, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried about you! Where did you go?! Why didn't you come to find me?! The guards said you weren't in your lab or your home and my father won't let me go to Old Corona anymore!"

Varian only hugged her gently and frowned. "I've been hiding... they want what I have, Aqua... I-I figured out the secret behind the rocks! I-I know how to save my dad!"

"What do you mean? Did you get him free from whatever you said he was in?"

"Not yet. I need your help with it. I need the sundrop flower," Varian said and Aqua looked at him in shock.

"The sundrop flower? But it's gone and even if it was still in the kingdom, my father would have it heavily guarded!"

"I know, I know. That's why we have to sneak into the royal vault and steal the flower!" Varian looked at her desperately.

"Varian, I... I can't steal from my father... that would be treason! I want to help you! I really do! But there has to be another way!" Aqua shook her head as she pulled out of his arms.

"No! Aquaria! There is no other way! Please! Why won't you just help me?!"

"I-I... I want to, but I can't steal the flower, Varian... not even for you..." Aqua frowned and Varian glared at her.

"I can't believe I actually thought you cared..."

"I do care, Varian! I really want to help, but I won't commit treason and risk my place in my family! More importantly, I can't risk you getting in trouble! I'm sorry, but I just can't. Please understand that!" She gripped his hand and looked at him sadly.

"I can't understand it! Just get away from me! I thought I could count on you! I trusted you with everything! I can't believe that I actually liked you!"

Aquaria's heart clenched and she froze for a moment. "Y-you don't mean that, Var..."

"Yes! I do!" Varian pushed her away from him and ran off, leaving Aqua standing alone on the shore.

Tears trickled down her cheeks and she hugged herself.

"H-he doesn't m-mean it... he's just m-mad..." Aqua trembled slightly as she looked at the water.

She turned to go home, crying softly as she thought about what she had done. She really did want to help Varian but stealing was too much. Plus, if they got caught stealing the flower, she was terrified to think about what could happen to him.

She used her magic to summon the water, lifting her back up to her room. She cried as she curled up in her bed, not able to fall back asleep.

🧪

"Why won't she help me?! After everything we've been through! I thought she would have my back!" Varian paced his cave and tears trickled down his cheeks.

Ruddiger scampered up Varian and nuzzled against his cheek.

"My own girlfriend won't help me..." Varian clenched his fist. "I need to get the graphtyc from my lab and I need to get the flower... with or without Aquaria..."

He scribbled a message to Rapunzel, connecting it to a lantern with the key to his graphtyc. He couldn't get into his lab since there were guards all around his home.

He snuck up to the statue of Rapunzel, setting the lantern by a pile of gifts that people had left early for the princess's nineteenth birthday.

He quickly fled and went back to his cave. He sat down in the corner, holding the drawing of him and Aquaria.

"I hate her..."