Jaiden slowly cracked her eyes open. The sight that greeted her brought a small smile to her face.

Zhan Tiri was nowhere to be seen. Jaiden thought it safe to assume that she was gone for good. Where the demon had been a moment earlier, now floated a beautiful blue and gold gem. Light of the same colors surrounded it, blue and gold swirling together as if embracing.

As Jaiden watched, the light came closer and closer to the gem until it was condensed in one pulsing sphere. Then, with a loud whoosh, a beam of light shot upward towards the sky, carrying the gem with it. Jaiden peered up and caught sight of a new twinkling star in the fading light of the setting sun.

She brought her gaze back down to earth. Gazing around, she realized all the rocks, black and yellow, had disappeared, not only from the courtyard, but from the entire kingdom. Looking out over the island, she thought of how strange it looked, with no rocks sprouted in the streets, no wall surrounding the kingdom.

Jaiden felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her dad smiling at her. With a grin, she hugged him tightly. Then the two walked over to the rest of their group.

Jaiden looked around and realized something.

"Where's Cassandra?" She asked her dad. He glanced up and scanned the courtyard, only just now realizing she was missing.

"She's gone," Jaiden heard someone say behind her. She turned to see Varian walking up to them. "She ran off," he continued. "I saw her slip away. She was too far away for me to stop her."

Rapunzel and Eugene were standing nearby. They evidently heard Varian's words.

"Why would she run off now?" Rapunzel mused.

"I have an idea of why she would," Varian replied. "I think she was ashamed. She did...a lot of things to this kingdom. Now that her power is gone, she won't know what to do."

Jaiden looked at the ground. For her entire life, the Dark Queen had been someone to be feared. Now that she had seen the girl hiding behind the mask, she didn't know how to feel about her.

"We have to look for her," Rapunzel said fervently.

"No," Varian said firmly. "At least for the time being, she'll just want to be left alone. We can look for her later, but not yet. She won't want to see anyone. Believe me, I speak from experience."

Rapunzel looked distraught. "But how will we know-"

"We won't for sure," Varian said, "but I believe that Cass will come back. When she's ready."

One week later

Jaiden stood on the base of the steps in the courtyard, watching Rapunzel address her people for the first time in ten years. The princess strongly believed that the kingdom could rebuild itself, and the people had agreed with enthusiasm Jaiden had never seen before. The courtyard was crowded with people, and Jaiden couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

Her dad gestured at the crowd, saying to her, "That's some Coronian-level cheer right there. Think you can handle it?"

"I think so," Jaiden laughed. She turned her face upward and grinned at the shining sun. There was not a cloud in the sky, and Jaiden felt she would never tire of looking up to that bright star.

She glanced at Rapunzel and Eugene on the balcony. The princess stood near the railing, smiling, with Eugene at her side. Jaiden's gaze traveled farther down to Varian and his dad, standing in the crowd, laughing. She could see, even from here, the sparkle that had quickly returned to the alchemist's eyes. As she watched, Ruddiger, who was perched on Varian's shoulders, reached out and swiped an apple from a nearby cart.

Shaking her head, she turned her eyes to the horizon. The wall was gone, the world was open to her. Jaiden loved the newfound feeling of freedom that had recently overtaken her mind.

She found herself thinking of Cassandra. She didn't know what the people here thought had happened to their queen, but she knew they were glad she was gone. Rapunzel and Varian both had faith Cassandra had changed, seen the error of her actions as soon as Jaiden had tied her in the light and darkness ropes. Jaiden wasn't sure, but she did trust them. It was like Varian had said. She believed Cassandra would return to Corona.

When she was ready.