"Wow, that was exciting!" Opal exclaims. She pats Varian's arm gently as she adds, "I'm sorry about your head though, Daddy."

"Thank you, Little Gem, but I was fine," Varian says.

"Yeah, he just took a short nap," Cassandra says jokingly. "But while he rested, I came to a huge decision..."

"Varian? Varian!"

Cassandra shouts at him, but he doesn't budge. Sighing exasperatedly, she grabs the orb and places it inside of his backpack. She lifts Varian up under his armpits from behind, and drags his unconscious body through the exit that was opened by Hugo. Outside, it is no longer raining.

"Looks like Freckles had too much of adventuring," Hugo jokes. He then clears his throat as he adds more seriously, "Really, though, is he okay?"

Cassandra sets Varian up against the trunk of a tree. "This fell on him and knocked him out," she says, pulling out the orb and tossing it to Hugo.

"Whoa!" Hugo catches the orb, his eyes wide. "You guys got it! Nice!"

"That's three down," Cassandra says. "One to go."

     "The balloon isn't far. Abhu's already there. It's a little bit around that way," Hugo says, pointing. "But, uh, looks like your Romeo could use a rest first."

     When Cassandra nods in agreement, Hugo feigns a shocked expression. "What? No biting remark for me? No threat that you'll off me if I ever insinuate you're harboring romantic feelings for Freckles again?"

Cassandra feels frustration and irritation bubbling inside of her, but she no longer has the need to lash out. She did before because she was fighting these feelings so diligently. She still is to some degree, but now she admits to herself that they are real and true.

"I'll let you off with a warning this time. Just... go make sure Abhu doesn't get into trouble," Cassandra tells Hugo. "I'll wait here with the klutz until he wakes up."

"Yes ma'am," Hugo says. "Oh, and this was in the balloon. Thought you might want it." He tosses her bag to her, and then heads back to the balloon.

As Cassandra watches Varian lie unconscious, a warmth stirs inside her chest. His breathing is soft and slow, and his silky black hair is partially covering his face. In this one small moment, she can sense her affection for him deepening. He still sleeps with his mouth open, she thinks with a chuckle as she reaches forward to brush his hair back from his eyes.

But her hesitation once again stirs within her. These feelings have always terrified her, but the fact that they are growing stronger only means she will eventually have to confront this issue head-on. And that is more terrifying than anything she has ever faced.

Now, she feels anger. She is angry with herself! Not angry for having these feelings, as she was in the past. No, now she is angry that she is too cowardly to do anything about them. She will not allow herself to be a coward any longer.

But there's still the matter of, is now really the right time?

Well, this is just great! It's obvious she is struggling to decide what she should do. The last thing she wants is to take away from the focus of their mission, but maybe... maybe it is finally time for her to embrace these feelings.

     Wow... okay, she thinks with a deep, nervous breath. Now that she has accepted this, it is a matter of when and how to tell him. The guy may be a genius, but he is clueless when it comes to this sort of thing. And it's not like she can thrust this on him the next chance she gets. She has been playing extremely hard to get. She still has a measure of pride to uphold. Keep holding it back, she tells herself. Hold it back for a little longer...

     An idea comes to her mind, though. She may not feel comfortable telling him she is in love with him outright, but she can drop a major hint! She reaches into her bag, and pulls out the Cassandrium necklace Varian gave her all those years ago. She hasn't worn it for a while; definitely not since her return to Corona. She clasps it around her neck, and clutches the pendant fondly. Who knew, the day he made this for her, that she would one day fall for that impressive young alchemist who named the element after her? It is an outcome she never saw coming in a million years.

Finally, Varian groans and his eyes flutter open. Her heart flutters, as well. Here we go... let's see how he reacts.

"What... What happened?" Varian asks, rubbing his aching head.

"The orb conked you in the noggin and you passed out," she explains. "I thought you had a thicker skull than that." She smirks teasingly.

"Ha ha," Varian fakes a laugh, unamused. He is about to attempt standing up, when he notices that she is discreetly fiddling with the pendant of her necklace.

"Y-You... You're wearing your Cassandrium," Varian says. She can't tell if he is deliberately keeping his expression unreadable, or if she is just really bad at reading expressions.

"Yeah," she says, desperately trying to keep herself from blushing. A problem she never had before, but that seems to keep popping up when she is around Varian. "I thought it went with my outfit, you know?"

"Uh-huh," Varian says. Does he believe her? Does he suspect anything? She has no idea. But he breaks out in a smile that is enough to make her go crazy. "I-I think it looks nice."

She was not expecting this compliment. "Of course you would. You made it," she says, playing it off.

"No, I meant—"

"Hey, look who's awake!" Hugo says, coming around the corner. "Now we can get going. Achoo is chomping at the bit."

"Why am I not surprised?" Cassandra grumbles. Varian has noticed the necklace. Perhaps that's enough, for now. She stands up, and offers a hand to him. He happily accepts, and the two of them follow Hugo to the balloon.

After taking to the skies, Abhu's eyes land on the Cassandrium. "Hey, isn't that the necklace the dweeb gave you?" He says, jerking a thumb in Varian's direction.

"Dweeb?" Varian repeats. He then adds sarcastically, "Ouch. I'm so hurt by that clever insult."

Cassandra chuckles lightly, but Varian doesn't seem to notice, because Hugo is now pointing to something ahead. "Owl incoming!"

Sure enough, Owl lands on the edge of the basket. "Welcome back," Cassandra says, giving her friend a loving pat and ignoring the expression of disdain on Abhu's face.

"Where's he been?" Varian asks.

"I sent him to deliver a letter to Raps and Fitzherbert," Cassandra replies. Her eyes light up eagerly once she notices the paper tied to Owl's foot. "And it looks like they sent one back!" She smiles as she unfolds the letter, but once she begins to read the smile quickly fades.

"What is it?" Varian asks worriedly.

"The Angst attacked Rapunzel," Cassandra says, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It... It took away her ability to have children."

"What?!" Varian rushes to Cassandra's side to read the letter for himself. His body being so close to hers is a feeling she would enjoy much more, if she wasn't so worried for her best friend.

"Wait, by Raps do you mean Rapunzel? As in, Queen Rapunzel?" Hugo says.

Abhu sucks in through his teeth. "The queen of Corona is unable to bear an heir? That could be problematic..."

"It's more than that, Abhu!" Cassandra shouts. "Rapunzel is probably devastated right now, and I can't be there for her!" She was already guilty about missing their anniversary, but now... Regretful tears sting her eyes.

Varian places his hand on her shoulder, and she finds it more comforting than she thought she would. "Hey, I'm upset we can't be there for Rapunzel too," he says softly. "But she and Eugene know that we have a mission to complete. We're always there for them in spirit."

Cassandra nods, knowing he is right. But that still doesn't keep her from wishing she could be there with them, right now. "There's something else in the letter, too. Apparently Eugene got a weird note from his dad."

"His dad?" Varian says in surprise. "But how? He's trapped in the dome, same as my dad."

"I guess he sent his raven out with it just before the dome went up," Cassandra says.

"Oh..." Varian nods with understanding. "I know that bird. No wonder the delivery of the note was delayed."

"Don't leave us hangin'," Hugo says. "What did the note say?"

     "The note said, 'It's not what it seems'," Cassandra says.

     Varian's expression hardens with confusion. "You're sure?"

     "Yeah," Cassandra says, holding up the letter. "That's what they say here."

     Varian begins to pace. Or, as much as he can in the limited space available in the basket of the balloon.

     "Would you stop that?!" Abhu fusses. "You're tilting the basket!"

     "What's going on with you?" Cassandra asks Varian, concerned.

     "When we were in the minecart, I kept a mental note of the other letters. The ones that were written on the wrong turns," Varian explains. "They also spelled out a phrase: 'Not what it seems'."

     A stunned silence overtakes them for a brief moment, until Cassandra breaks it. "What do you think it means?"

     "I'm not sure," Varian replies. "But it seems that King Edmund may have known more than we realized. Maybe even something that could have helped us."