The royal couple glanced at each other before they slowly lifted the lantern. Slowly, they made their way to the lantern and lit it. The single lantern was there waiting to be lit and to fly freely through the air. The king slowly smiled before they proceed to go out onto the balcony. There was always still hope of her coming back. She understood as well of how lonely and sad for the years of their child being gone. He glanced up through his tearful eyes as the queen tried to smile at him. His wife frowned deeply and placed her hand gently on the side of his face. He had been clinging to that last shred of hope that she would return. Being without his daughter for eighteen years was just too much. Tears were in his eyes and he felt like he could not go through with this. The queen was straightening out her husband’s robes when she glanced up and took notice of how depressed he was. Meanwhile, inside the palace, the king and queen were preparing for the lantern ceremony. Jack was taken aback from her statement before he smiled gently, “No problem.” The two shared a look before she spoke up again, “Thanks for being here, Jack. You get to go find a new dream.” He chuckled and Rapunzel laughed as well. Jack shifted his blue eyes back to the sky, “Well, that's the fun part, I guess. She slowly smiled back and then questioned, “And what if it is? What do I do then?” He didn’t want her to be down about this, so he had to tread his words carefully. Rapunzel had made it clear that this was very important to her and he respected that. There was a pause before the golden haired girl finally answered, “I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky,” she then turned her soft green eyes to the winter spirit, “What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?” Jack stared in surprise, “Terrified? Why?” Rapunzel bit her bottom lip and whispered, “I'm terrified.” He turned and noticed she had a sad look on her face. Speaking of, he heard a deep sigh coming from his right. But this day was special for Rapunzel as well. Tomorrow was his last day and he was going to miss it. He managed to play around among people like he always dreamed. This is one of the best days of his life. Jack stared up at the moon and a smile crossed his face. The moon shined down on the couple and there was nothing to do but wait. The chameleon got on his hand and he allowed him to sit on a small knob of the boat.īy the time Jack had pushed the boat out a ways from the kingdom, night had fallen. “I figure we could use a good seat to see the lanterns.” Jack answered as he put his hand up to his shoulder where Pascal was currently perched. Max smiled and began to eat the apples gratefully, “Where are we going?” Rapunzel questioned curiously as she glanced back at her companion. Feeling a little sorry for the stallion, the winter youth threw a bag of apples to him, “Here, Max, my treat,” Max saw the apples but he gave Jack a look, “Hey come on, I paid for them, really.” Jack shrugged as he continued to push the boat out. Since Max could not come along, he stood at the deck.