The Return of the Sun

Morning broke over Corona, but the sun did not shine.

Instead of the golden warmth that usually bathed the island kingdom, a suffocating, unnatural fog had rolled in off the lake. It wasn't weather; it was an exhalation. It clung to the cobblestones and choked the spires of the castle, smelling of sulfur, old dust, and wet rot. The joyous noise of the festival had been replaced by a terrified silence, punctuated only by the clanking of metal and the skittering of claws.

We docked the small rowboat at the royal quay. The wood bumped gently against the stone. Rapunzel stood up. She winced visibly, her hand going to her lower back, her legs trembling slightly. The sheer intensity of our night in the boat, the relentless stretching, the rimming, the fucking, had left her body tender and altered. She wore her purple dress, but the innocent girl who had left the tower was gone.

She stepped onto the dock, her stride wide and stiff, but she didn't complain. She gripped her heavy cast-iron frying pan with white knuckles, her green eyes scanning the mist.

"It feels... wrong," she whispered, the hair on her arms standing up. "Like the air is holding its breath."

"It’s the darkness," I said, summoning The Solar Zenith. The Keyblade hummed, its light cutting a swath through the grey fog. "The Heartless are here in ****."

"But why?" Rapunzel asked, staying close to my flank. "I thought they hunted me? I was out on the lake."

"They hunt hearts, Rapunzel. But they are drawn to darkness like moths to a flame." I looked up at the castle, shrouded in the thickest part of the storm. "Someone in this city has a heart so full of greed, fear, and possessiveness that it's acting as a beacon to them. A tear in the world that lets them in."

Rapunzel’s eyes widened. She knew. "Mother," she breathed.

We moved into the Lower City. It was a war zone. The vibrant market stalls were overturned. Armored Knights, Heartless inhabiting empty suits of mail, marched in lockstep down the main thoroughfare. Neoshadows flattened themselves against the walls, sliding like oil, waiting to pounce.

"We have to reach the Castle," I commanded. "If we cut off the source, the horde will scatter."

We fought our way up. Rapunzel was magnificent. She had no combat training, no magic, just eighteen years of pent-up energy and the absolute certainty that she was protecting her new life. When a Soldier Heartless lunged at her, she didn't scream. She pivoted on her sore heel and swung the pan with both hands. CLANG. The heavy iron connected with the Heartless's skull, sending it flying into a crate of apples where it dissolved into smoke.

"Nice swing," I commented, slicing a Neoshadow in half with a horizontal cut.

"I read a book on leverage!" she shouted, breathless but fierce.

We pushed harder. The resistance grew thicker the higher we climbed. The darkness was **** to protect its host. At the gates of the castle courtyard, a massive Large Body blocked the path, flanked by archers on the walls.

"Get behind me!" I roared, preparing a Reflect spell.

Suddenly, a white blur shot past us. Maximus. The Royal Horse, battered but unbroken, charged the Large Body. He didn't stop. He turned his shoulder and slammed into the round Heartless with the **** of a battering ram, knocking it backward. He spun and kicked a Soldier into the castle moat.

Maximus looked at us. He snorted, tossing his mane. He saw Rapunzel, the Lost Princess, and he saw me, the man who had fought beside him in the alley. He whinnied, rearing up to signal the path was clear.

"Thank you, beautiful horse!" Rapunzel cried.

We stormed the Castle. The corridors were empty of guards; they had been overrun or barricaded in the barracks. The air grew colder with every step, the smell of rot intensifying.

We burst into the Throne Room.

The massive double doors slammed shut behind us, sealed by magic. The room was dim, lit only by a circle of cold, violet fire surrounding the two thrones. Huddled on the thrones were the King and Queen, clutching each other, terrified.

And standing before them, pacing like a caged animal, was Mother Gothel. She looked hideous. Without the regular doses of the song, her age was catching up to her rapidly. Her hair was frizzy and grey, her skin sallow and wrinkled. But worse than her age was the aura around her. Shadows coiled around her ankles. Her ****, suffocating need to own Rapunzel had corrupted her heart completely, turning her into a living magnet for the Heartless.

"You!" Gothel shrieked when she saw us. Her voice was cracked and ****. "You ungrateful, wretched child! Look what you've done! You ran away, and the world fell apart! I told you! I told you it was dangerous!"

"The world isn't falling apart because I left, Mother," Rapunzel said, stepping forward into the violet light. Her voice was steady, ringing with the authority of a woman who had found her own power. "It's falling apart because you won't let go."

"I am protecting you!" Gothel lunged, a jagged dagger appearing in her hand. "He has ruined you! Look at you! You're disheveled! You're bruised! You walk like a... like a common trull!"

Rapunzel stopped. She looked down at her legs, at the soreness I had gifted her. Then she looked up, a cruel, proud smile touching her lips. "I don't walk like a trull, Mother. I walk like a woman who belongs to a King."

She gestured to me. "I belong to him. Not you. Never again you."

Gothel screamed, a sound of pure, shattered ego. The shadows in the room surged, forming claws that reached for Rapunzel. "If I can't have you, no one will!"

Gothel charged, the darkness lashing out. I moved. I didn't use the Keyblade to strike her. She was frail; the darkness was holding her together. I raised my hand. "Gravity: Crush."

A sphere of black-purple energy slammed down on Gothel. She hit the floor hard. The dagger clattered away. The violet fire around the thrones flickered and died instantly as her concentration broke. She was pinned to the marble, gasping for air, her limbs splayed, utterly helpless against the weight of the spell.

The silence that followed was deafening. The King and Queen slowly stood up. They looked at the witch pinned to the floor. Then, they looked up. They saw the girl. They saw the long, golden hair trailing twenty feet behind her. They saw the green eyes, the Queen’s eyes.

The Queen gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Tears instantly spilled over. "Rapunzel?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Rapunzel dropped her frying pan. It clattered loudly on the stone. The adrenaline faded, leaving only the daughter. "Mom?" she choked out. "Dad?"

The Queen didn't walk; she ran. She sprinted across the Throne Room and collided with Rapunzel, pulling her into a bone-crushing embrace. The King was right behind her, wrapping his massive arms around both of them, sobbing openly. Eighteen years of grief washed away in a single moment.

I stood back, leaning on my Keyblade, watching the reunion. As the family held each other, I felt a shift in the fabric of the world. The "Heart" of this world wasn't an object; it was this connection. The reunion unlocked the final seal.

I raised the Keyblade toward the vaulted ceiling. A beam of pure, white light shot from the tip of the blade. It punched through the roof of the castle, shooting straight into the sky. Outside, the clouds ripped apart. The fog burned away in seconds. The darkness that Gothel had summoned shrieked and evaporated, dissolved by the overwhelming power of the Light returning to the Kingdom.

Through the windows, sunlight flooded the Throne Room, bathing the Royal Family in gold.

The doors burst open. The Captain of the Guard and a squad of soldiers rushed in, swords drawn. They saw the King and Queen safe. They saw the Lost Princess returned. And they saw the witch pinned to the floor by my magic.

"Seize her!" the King roared, pulling away from the hug to point at Gothel. His voice was terrible, the voice of a father who had lost eighteen years. "Take her to the deepest dungeon! She is never to see the sun again! She rots in the dark!"

Guards swarmed Gothel. I released the gravity spell, and they hauled her up. She was limp, defeated, muttering madness to herself. As they dragged her past me, she looked up. Her eyes were full of venom. "You..." she hissed. "You stole my flower."

I leaned in close, so only she could hear. "I didn't just steal it, Gothel. I plucked it. I watered it. And I made it bloom."

She screamed in incoherent rage as they dragged her away.

The Kingdom was saved. The Princess was home. But the story wasn't quite over. There was one last loose end to tie up in the dungeons.