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"Let's elope!"
"W-What?"
"You and me. We can make a new life together, somewhere else."
"Rapunzel, that's crazy."
"Oh. Oh! That's crazy?! What's crazy is me having to marry some prince I've never met. Cass, I've been thinking about this ever since my dad told me I'd have to marry Prince Eugene. And I've never been more sure about anything in my life. You're the one I want to be with. Forever."
"Raps-"
Rapunzel leaned into her neck, wrapping an arm around each shoulder as she fought to stay standing. "Please," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion, "I don't want to do this."
Cassandra wrapped her arms around her best friend. "It'll be okay, Rapunzel. This is all just a formality, right? You're only married on paper."
"Only on paper, hah!" she choked out a laugh, before sniffling. "You know there has to be a big ceremony and reception and the whole kingdom will be invited. Both kingdoms. It's going to be a nightmare. But it doesn't have to be. You and I, we could-"
"No," Cass cut her off, a little harsher than she intended to. She squeezed Rapunzel tighter to try to make up for it. "I can't. My life is here. Your life is here. I mean, what about your parents? What about Corona? Marriage or not, you're the future ruler of this kingdom. They need you here, Rapunzel. Someday, everybody is going to look to you to guide them and take care of them. You can't just abandon everyone-"
"I don't care!" Rapunzel wriggled out of Cassandra's grasp, pushing her away. "I'm not going to marry some stranger!"
"Raps, you have to. It's your duty as princess."
"I didn't ask to be born a princess!"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure it's so hard to never have to put in a hard day's work or risk your life to protect your country! All you have to do is stand up, sign a piece of paper, and eat some cake. How difficult is that?"
"You don't understand what this is like!"
"Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't have any idea of what it's like to have everything in life handed to me. To never have to work for the things I want. To never have to fight to earn the respect of my peers. To never have to prove myself or my worth. I wouldn't know what that's like."
"So run away with me!"
"You think it's that easy? You think you can just run away from all your responsibilities? This is exactly the problem! All you care about is yourself and how you feel."
"Don't you want to leave behind all those people who never treated you right, Cass? We can get away from it all if you just-"
"Don't act like you want to forsake Corona for my sake," she turned away. "If you did, you'd have suggested it a long time ago."
Whatever retort Rapunzel had caught in her throat, quashed by the weight of the truth. There was nothing she could say to convince Cass to join her in escaping a life tethered to someone she didn't even love. She folded her arms across her chest, turning her back to Cassandra and subconsciously mirroring her pose. They could both be equally stubborn, but, with Rapunzel's emotions all askew, Cassandra's silence won out.
Rapunzel started to walk off, to where, she wasn't sure. With a last glance over her shoulder and a final frustrated huff, she resigned to losing the argument. For now.
"...fine."
"Fine."