Page 26

EPILOGUE

T here wasn’t a single rotten tomato in sight as Father and I stood in front of our kingdom’s subjects two months later for my coronation ceremony. There were no sunken eyes or hollowed cheeks and for the first time in my memory, people cheered as we arrived and took our places on the raised dais.

Griffin, who had been found guilty of all charges, was sent to a prison work camp for the rest of his life. It had been Pollox’s idea to send him, and he had even volunteered to take him, as long as I came along and we could exchange flirtatious conversation …while Griffin was forced to listen, suspended in a wire cage dangling from Pollox’s claws.

After Griffin’s trial had concluded, Father had lowered the taxes, I renegotiated trade agreements with surrounding nations, and Pollox had taken it upon himself to enchant innumerable tables to ensure everyone was well-fed. He took me on regular flights around the kingdom to assess the needs, but never shifted in front of anyone else so that the people were convinced I truly had tamed the dragon but was engaged to the roguish looking sorcerer that sometimes accompanied me to events.

Father, smiling broadly, raised his hands to the crowd to quiet the cheering. “It has been two months since my daughter tamed the dragon,” he announced. “And now that she is engaged, it is time for her coronation.”

Applause broke out again, sounding a hundred times louder in the wide courtyard where sunshine caught the dragon statues’ eyes and cast beams of red and orange light over the crowd. Many in the crowd stared at Pollox, who was sitting behind us. Father waited until the clapping had subsided before continuing in a somber tone. “I was not the king I had hoped to be, and it isn’t enough to simply apologize. My daughter and her fiancé have done more for Rookwyn in these last months than I ever have during my reign as king, and it seems only fitting that I pass the kingdom onto them. Bring the bishop forward!”

Bishop Aldric stepped up, draped in flowing gold vestments, his aged hands steady as he lifted a small vial of anointing oil. His voice echoed across the silent crowd, “In the name of the sovereign lineage of Rookwyn, we anoint thee, Rapunzel, as rightful ruler and protector of this land."

The oil was cool as it touched my forehead, and I closed my eyes, absorbing the weight of the moment. My heart pounded beneath the heavy velvet of my coronation robes—a deep, vivid blue embroidered with gold thread.

The bishop turned to the assembled nobles and lords, his voice rising with solemn authority. "Who here bears the crown of Rookwyn?"

The chamberlain stepped forward, bearing the golden circlet on a silk cushion. The crown gleamed in the bright sunlight, its many gemstones winking like a thousand tiny stars. Hushed whispers broke out among the crowd, all eagerly awaiting the final moments of the ceremony.

I lifted my chin as Bishop Aldric took the crown in both hands. He studied me, as if weighing my soul, then raised the crown high for all to see. "Let it be known that this day, before the eyes of all this kingdom’s subjects, Rapunzel is crowned Queen of Rookwyn."

With steady hands, he lowered the crown onto my head. The weight of it pressed down like a promise, like a privileged responsibility. I rose to my feet, spine straight, my heart a steady drumbeat in my chest. I turned to face my people—lords and ladies, knights and courtiers, all watching me with expectation.

For a breath, no one spoke. Then, a single voice rang out from the crowd.

"All hail the Dragon-Taming Queen!" Their cheers rang through the air, but I heard only the quiet thunder of my own heart. My subjects all looked at me, yet my gaze was only for Pollox, who smiled proudly. My father may have once claimed the title of Dragon King, but Pollox was the true dragon king—not because of a crown, but because of the way he watched over me, over all of them, with a quiet, protective devotion. They would never know they had already been claimed, not as conquered subjects, but as treasures in his hoard—his to guard and care for. And I, above all, was his most beloved prize.

Our hoard’s future was bright.