Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“C’mon, please, Cass?” Rapunzel looked at her freshly re-instated lady-in-waiting with puppy dog eyes.

Cassandra pulled a little face. She almost reached for her hair to tuck it behind her ear, but it was stuffed in her dumb bonnet. “Maybe,” Cassandra said, with a shrug. “We have to get going, Raps. I know you’ve gotten used to how relaxed Tiff is, but I’m sure you remember what it’s like to have me ordering you around.”

Rapunzel just smiled at her, “We’re going, we’re going,” she told her, starting to walk out of the door. “Please just consider it, Cass!”

Cassandra huffed. She looked at the guards in front of the door as she walked past them, longing to be in their position again. Sure, door duty wasn’t the most exciting, but after having a month-long taste of the guard, she found being a lady-in-waiting unbearable. Hopefully she’d be allowed to join the guard full-time sooner rather than later.

Inevitably, when the evening rolled around, Cassandra found herself in her nightgown in Rapunzel’s room, listening to Rapunzel tell her mother about the adventures they’d been on up until a few months ago.

Cassandra was roped into a sleepover with the Queen, her sister, and Rapunzel herself. They had pulled a second bed into Rapunzel’s room to double the size of her already huge bed so they could all fit when they slept. While it wasn’t her idea of a great time, Cassandra knew Rapunzel wanted to include her and distract her from the loss of her guard position. To her credit, earlier in the day Rapunzel also tried to assure Cassandra it wouldn’t be long before she was on the guard again- the trial period went swimmingly, after all.

Presently, Rapunzel was in the middle of a story, talking about a forest they’d spent a night in. Rapunzel’s aunt Willow was listening intently as she ate some bread and cheese. Well, there went the clean sheets.

“And we found out, flying is so much fun,” Rapunzel blabbered on, and Cassandra’s eyes went wide.

“Flying? You mean, in a hot air balloon?” Willow asked, grinning.

“Well-“ Cassandra tried to interject and save face, but Rapunzel was already elaborating.

“Oh, no, we got turned into birds,” Rapunzel explained, and Cassandra covered her eyes with a hand delicately, looking at Arianna’s face as it became distressed.

“Birds?” Willow asked with a laugh.

“Rapunzel,” Arianna started, “you got turned into birds?”

“Oh, haha, um, yes,” Rapunzel said with a little wince. “But we were fine, right, Cassandra? We were super fine. All in all, it was actually really fun!”

“Right,” Cassandra agreed quickly.

Arianna didn’t look convinced, opening her mouth to, most likely, voice her concern. Before she could do so, though, Wilhelmina picked up a pillow and held it like a weapon.

“Pillow fight!” she yelled before walloping her sister.

“Willow!” Arianna yelped.

“Pillow fight?” Rapunzel asked, before Willow turned towards her and slugged her on the side. Cassandra scrambled back on the bed, grabbing the pillow beside her.

“Raps!” Cassandra called, tossing the pillow at her. She then grabbed the next one and, just as Willow landed a hit, she hit Willow in the back, who was now shrieking with laughter.

Laughter bubbled from Rapunzel as well as she hit her mother with a pillow, Queen Ariana lifting her arm to defend the somewhat gentle assault from her daughter. “Hey! I don’t even have a pillow!”

“Cass! Hand mom a pillow!” Rapunzel said as she hit her mother in the head.

“Here, your highness,” Cassandra said, grabbing and tossing a pillow at Queen Arianna as Rapunzel turned to hit Willow again.

“Thank you,” Arianna said smiling. Then, she got to her knees and walloped Cassandra on the side.

“Hey!” Cassandra yelped, and Arianna let out a cackle. “Oh, it’s on,” Cassandra narrowed her eyes, bringing her own pillow down on the Queen’s royal head.

The four of them continued to beat each other mercilessly with Rapunzel’s ultra soft pillows, the air filled with screams and laughter. 

Arianna was the first to bow out of the fight, though she hadn’t given up easily. Then, Willow, which left Cass and Rapunzel to fight until they were laughing so hard it was declared a draw.

“Oh, Ari, your hair,” Willow said with a laugh. Arianna reached over to the beside table and grabbed Rapunzel’s brush with a sigh.

Rapunzel giggled, Cassandra’s hair was also a frizzy mess. She didn’t care to fix it, but she went to grab the backup brush to fix Rapunzel’s out of habit.

“Aunt Willow, why don’t you tell us about of some of your travels?” Rapunzel asked, sitting within reach of Cassandra.

“Oh, sure thing,” Willow said, doing what she could to fix her own hair with her fingers before giving up rather quickly.

Once Cassandra was done with Rapunzel’s hair, she ran the brush through her own hair a few times, then put it away. Promptly, Rapunzel settled in her lap as Willow launched into a story, telling them of all the amazing places she’d been to over the years. Arianna listened attentively as well, holding a pillow in her own lap.

“And then, I was in Arendelle, visiting with our cousin. Queen Iduna was incredibly lovely, and she told me this striking story that I’ve been fascinated with ever since,” Willow went on.

“Oh?” Rapunzel asked, “what’s the story, Aunt Willow, can you tell us?”

“Yes,” Willow said, “but, it’s better when it’s sung. Why don’t we all snuggle up?” Willow asked, looking at Rapunzel and Cassandra with a matronly affection in her eyes.

Rapunzel moved from Cassandra’s lap and they arranged the pillows back on Rapunzel’s bed. Rapunzel settled in the middle with her mother sitting on the outside and Cassandra lying on the other. Willow sat next to Cassandra, her arm on the pillow behind her.

Once the two younger girls were settled, Willow began to sing, “Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory. Sleep, my darlings, safe and sound. For in this river all is found.”

Rapunzel watched her with wonder in her eyes, her mother petting her hair.

Willow continued on, “In her waters, deep and true, lay the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned.”

Cassandra chewed her lip, feeling a bit strange and out of place. It was too sweet, too intimate. Willow turned her gaze toward her and smiled with great affection. Cassandra knew Willow had no children and as far as Cass could tell, Willow didn’t want them. But her gaze was motherly in a way Cassandra felt unrecognizable and inappropriate for anyone to direct at her. She said nothing, but tried to focus on the lyrics of the song rather than the emotion stirring within her, the complex one she got when she wondered just who and where her birth parents were.

Willow turned her gaze to her niece, and then to her sister. For Cassandra, the song offered adequate distraction with its cryptic message. “Yes, she will sing to those who'll hear. And in her song, all magic flows. But can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?”

Cassandra felt a desire to know more about the origin of the song. Was there really a river that would reveal her memories? Would that allow her to know who her parents were? If it were real, would she actually want to seek that knowledge? Well, she knew the answer to that, she would in a heartbeat. But what would happen if she dove too deep? It couldn’t be real, could it?

She noticed Rapunzel snoring lightly next to her as Willow concluded the song, “Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a mother full of memory. Come, my darling, homeward bound. When all is lost, then all is found.”

Cassandra hummed and Willow flashed her one more smile before she put a bit more distance between them, settling on the other bed that was pushed against Rapunzel’s. Arianna placed a kiss on her sleeping daughter’s forehead and then made her way over to the other side of the bed as well.

“Goodnight, Cassandra, dear,” Arianna said in a moderate whisper.

“Goodnight, your highness,” Cassandra replied, voice also quiet. “Goodnight, Willow.”

“Goodnight, Cassie,” Willow said. Cassandra swallowed a grumble at the nickname.

The queen and her sister fell asleep relatively easily, but Cassandra remained lying awake, wonders swirling in her mind. Rapunzel eventually snuggled up to her in her sleep, encouraging Cassandra to fall asleep slowly as the lyrics of the song echoed in her head.

Chapter Text

“Oh Pascal,” Rapunzel murmured, placing the quill in her hand down. Her journal was open on her lap. “Some things never change, do they?”

Pascal made a high-pitched noise in agreement.

Rapunzel grimaced as she looked up from the journal. Her two best friends (besides Pascal, of course) were bickering in front of her.

“You do realize you are older than I am, right?” Cassandra asserted, hands firm on her hips.

“Well, there’s no way to know for sure,” Eugene said, “but thanks for bringing that up, Cassandra,” he said, with a little smirk.

“Oh, as if,” Cassandra said with a roll of her eyes.

“All I’m saying is, another couple years or two, and you’ll be entering old maid territory,” Eugene replied, “it really sneaks up on you, I’m just doing you a favor.”

“Old maid?” Cassandra said, her tone suddenly much colder. In the background, Rapunzel winced. That was not a smart move on Eugene’s part.

Eugene tried to laugh it off, but he could see the fire in Cassandra’s eyes. Boy, she could be scary sometimes.

“Old MAID?!” she repeated.

“Kidding, kidding!” Eugene said, lifting his hands up, “yeah, that was uncalled for.”

“You are just… unbelievable!” she screeched, before turning a heel and storming out of Rapunzel’s room onto the balcony. They both winced as the door slammed shut behind her.

“Hah… oops,” Eugene said, looking at Rapunzel sheepishly.

“That was not very nice, Eugene,” Rapunzel said in a matronly tone.

“Yeah. I should go apologize.”

“Yes,” Rapunzel said, then she scrunched her nose, “you should give it a couple minutes, though.”

“Yeeeeah,” Eugene said.

Rapunzel placed her journal on the arm of her chair. “I’m going to get something from the kitchen, and then, perhaps, bring Max an apple.”

“Okay, Blondie. I’m going to stay and face the wrath of Cass once she comes back, I guess,” Eugene’s shoulders slumped.

“As you should,” Rapunzel said with a laugh, but her smile was gentle. “I’ll be back soon. Pascal, do you wanna stay or go?”

Pascal made a noise and scurried over to the bed. Rapunzel chuckled and nodded, “Got it.”

Eugene sighed, and then went to sit on the edge of Rapunzel’s bed. He knew he shouldn’t push Cassandra’s buttons, and that he had crossed a line. He should apologize- and he would. He was nervous, though, and teasing Cassandra was a bad habit he was in. He thought, maybe, she seemed a little on edge, too… But it was incredibly hard to tell, what with her heart and face being made of stone, after all.  

“Pascal,” he started, letting out another sigh, “I feel like my future is calling!” Eugene said as he slipped his hand into his pocket and glanced toward the door to the balcony. He saw no movement from Cassandra, so he pulled out the little box. “I’m telling you. Tonight, I’m gonna get down on one knee,” he said quietly, but with glee and conviction.

Pascal made an excited noise and scampered up Eugene’s back to peek over his shoulder at the ring.

“But, I’m pretty bad at planning these things out,” Eugene said, his face falling a little. “Historically speaking, anyway,” he added with a shrug of his shoulder. “Third times the charm, though, right?” he smiled at the chameleon on his shoulder. Pascal made a noise of encouragement, or so Eugene thought.

“Heh, maybe I should leave all the romantic stuff to you,” Eugene chuckled. Pascal nodded and voiced his agreement.

“Some things never change,” Eugene mused, closing the box, “like the way that I feel for her.” Eugene looked over, to a portrait Rapunzel had painted recently. The two of them. “So, I’ll commit. I’ll just go for it, and I’ll know what to say and do. Right?” Eugene asked. “C’mon Pascal, the pressure is all on you.”

Pascal made another affirmative, excited noise.

“Thanks for the chat, buddy.” Eugene said. He eyed the door again, and pocketed the box. Cass had been out there for a while now.

-

Outside, Cassandra leaned on the railing of the balcony. She could not stand that vain buffoon. And Eugene really had crossed a line, here. “Old maid,” she scoffed. She was barely on the cusp of 25.  She needed no reminder about what her accomplishments were for her age, not that that was the basis of his insult. Really, it shouldn’t offend her. She didn’t desire, nor require, marriage to a man. In fact, the thought made her shudder.

The thought wasn’t the only reason to shudder, though. A cold breeze surrounded her, and Cassandra rubbed her forearms. “The winds are restless,” she muttered. She wondered if that could be why she was hearing this call.

Truth be told, Cassandra was on edge. Yes, Eugene was an ass, but she was distracted and frustrated. “Is something coming?” Cassandra whispered to herself, peering out across the kingdom. For a moment, she thought she saw a blue light, in the distance. Cassandra blinked, but she could not catch it again. It must have been a reflection somewhere. There were plenty of shiny things present in Corona for something to reflect off, after all.

“I’m not sure I want things to change at all,” Cassandra murmured, folding her arms over the railing and slumping down. Whether the statement was true, Cassandra did not want to face it.

In the courtyard, Rapunzel caught her eye, her long blonde braid bouncing behind her as she headed towards the stable. “These days are precious, can’t let them slip away,” she mused quietly, a soft smile on her face as she watched her friend. She needed to rid herself of this strange, nagging feeling that there was something she was meant to do. Her friends and family were nearby.

She couldn’t freeze the moment, but she could still go out there and seize the day.

Still, Cassandra stayed there for a few moments, lost in thought as she watched people of Corona go about their days.

She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard the door open behind her.

“Hey, Cassandra,” she heard as Eugene’s footsteps approached her. She put a scowl on her face and slowly turned around.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say, back there-“ he frowned, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yes?” Cassandra pressed, eyes narrow.

“I’m sorry, alright? It was totally uncalled for.”

“Whatever, Fitzherbert. It’s fine,” Cassandra said, turning back to the railing.

“I mean it,” Eugene said. While they often argued, their relationship had mellowed, at least somewhat. Spending a long time in close quarters forced to have each other’s back helped them to find a miniscule of common ground. Eugene still enjoyed riling her up, of course, but he wasn’t trying to be malicious. Normally. And it wasn’t as if she never picked fights herself.

“I said it’s fine,” Cassandra asserted.

“Everyone knows that’s Cass for ‘I am not fine.’ Was it really what I said? I didn’t think you even wanted to get married, I’m sorry if-“

“Okay, we’re done here,” Cassandra said, turning around so she could walk past him.

“C’mon, Cassandra,” Eugene said, “I’m sorry. I know I hurt your feelings-“

“Can’t hurt what I don’t have, Fitzherbert,” Cassandra said, with a smirk.

Eugene rolled his eyes at her.

“Seriously. You’re not wrong, what you said isn’t what’s bothering me. And, for the record, I do not want to marry some pig-headed man,” Cassandra looked him up at down with her nose scrunched.

“I’m not going to take that personally,” Eugene said.

“Then you are deliberately misinterpreting my words.”

“Be that as it may… what’s up, Cass?” Eugene looked at her with sincere eyes, urging her to open up.

“It’s nothing,” Cassandra said, shaking her head. She glanced off into the distance momentarily, and wondered if she saw another glint of blue light or not. She told herself she almost certainly had not. “I’m okay, just distracted. I think it’s just the changing season,” she explained.

“Ah, like the change in air pressure? Always gives me a monstrous headache.”

“Yes, exactly. Now can I please leave this interrogation about my so-called ‘feelings’?” Cassandra asked, putting the word in air quotes.

“Yes, ma’am,” Eugene said, and Cassandra breezed by him with a roll of her eyes and a little smirk. Eugene smiled, satisfied that his apology had been sort of accepted and he was in Cassandra’s- well, not her good books, but the neutral ones at least. He escaped her shitlist for another day, that was good enough for him.

--

Later that evening, they found themselves in a rousing game of “Guess the drawing.” It entailed a surprising amount of yelling. 

“C’mon, Cassandra! How is that supposed to represent ice-skating?” Eugene yelled.

Cassandra groaned, using her quill to circle parts of her drawing, “Well this is the ice, and this is the skating,” she explained. When she looked up to blank stares from the other three people plus Pascal, she groaned. “Whatever.”  

Lance laughed and Rapunzel let out a little giggle. “Hey, it’s all in good fun, guys,” Rapunzel reminded them. “But I want to win, so Cassandra, please try a little harder next time,” she said sweetly as Cassandra sat down next to her on the fainting couch they’d pulled to the middle of the room. Cassandra clutched a throw pillow to her chest and gave Rapunzel a pouty glare.

“You’re up, Eugene,” Rapunzel said, smiling. A moment later, she glanced at Cassandra, who was now looking off in the distance.  

“Hey, Cass,” Rapunzel said softly. Cassandra didn’t respond, looking like she was zoned out. “Cassandra,” Rapunzel said, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Huh?” Cassandra blinked. “What is it, Raps?”

“Are you doing okay?” Rapunzel asked. She knew Cass and Eugene had fought earlier and he got to her more than usual, but Eugene had told her everything was fine. Truthfully, Cassandra had seemed a little off lately, though it was hard to tell. She was such a closed book sometimes. It pained Rapunzel, but she realized that pushing Cass often only made her harder to reach.

“I’m fine, Raps,” Cassandra said. Rapunzel fixed her with a skeptical look. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“Like you think I’m definitely not fine and just won’t tell you- it’s not true. I am fine. I have a headache, that’s all,” Cassandra said.

“Hmm,” Rapunzel pressed her lips together.

“The look is getting worse,” Cassandra said. She sighed. “I think it’s just the seasons changing, y’know, the sudden change of pressure. Totally normal stuff. You don’t have to worry.”

“Oh, are you okay? Do you want to go lie down?” Rapunzel said, pressing her hand to Cassandra’s forehead as if she might have a fever.

“I’m okay,” Cassandra insisted, shaking her head.

Rapunzel looked like she was about to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she was cut off by Lance.

“Pascal says time’s up! Girls, you have 30 seconds to try to swipe it from us.”

“Oh!” Rapunzel said. She looked at Eugene’s drawing and made an entirely different face. “Uh, a bear?”

“I guessed that,” Lance said.

“A lion?” Cassandra said.

“No!” Eugene groaned.

“A dog! A wolf! A werewolf!” Rapunzel said.

“Hey, I said that too,” Lance laughed.

“Ugh,” Cassandra bite her lip, “um. A panther?”

“No!” Eugene said.

“Time’s up!” Lance declared when Pascal prompted him with the timer.

Eugene groaned in frustration.

“What is it?” Rapunzel asked, tilting her head.

“It’s the monster under your bed!” Eugene said, pointing to parts of his picture.

“Is that supposed to be a bed?” Rapunzel asked.

“I thought it was a large dog with a stick,” Lance said.

“I know that, because you kept saying it,” Eugene exclaimed, exasperated.

“Well, at least you’re more artistic than as Eugene, Cass,” Lance said with a snort. Cassandra made a little noise in response, but she was, once again, staring off in the distance.

“Okay, my turn!” Rapunzel said, hopping up from the couch. “C’mon, Cass, get your head in the game!”

“Right,” Cassandra said, nodding. She put the pillow she was holding down, scooting forward to watch as Rapunzel drew.

As soon as the timer started, though, someone burst through the door of the room they were in.

“Princess Rapunzel!!”

“Varian!” Rapunzel said, as he stopped short of her and bent forward, hands on his knees. He was panting.

“Sorry,” he gasped, “I ran,” he paused, “all the way here,” he let out a big breath and then stood up straight.

“From where?” Eugene asked.

Cassandra stood up from the couch, walking over to Varian. Lance and Eugene followed suit, but tried not to crowd.

“What is it, Varian?” Rapunzel asked. He took another moment to fully catch his breath, then held his hands up.

“The black rocks are back,” Varian announced, “well, they never really went away, but, they’re bigger, now.”

“What?” Rapunzel asked.

At the same time, Cassandra said, “Come again?”

Varian looked a little sheepish, “The King didn’t mention? Although they initially retreated after I used the amber on them, sometime after you all left, they started coming back. I used more and more amber, but they’ve started coming back bigger, and bigger!” Varian gestured, emphasizing his words.

“What does this mean?” Cassandra said, hands coming to her hips.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Varian said. “But I’m running out of amber. They’re coming back faster and bigger than I have the time to alchemize the solution, and, well, I’m nearing the point where I’m using the components of the amber faster than they replenish. And I am not being responsible for wiping out a species of plant or something, that’s just unethical alchemy.”

“That’s okay, Varian. Obviously, something else will need to be done with the black rocks if the amber is only a temporary solution,” Rapunzel narrowed her eyes in thought. “And my father…?”

“Hasn’t done anything about it,” Varian admitted, voice lowered. “I alerted him, when they came back, a couple of times. He said I should just keep using the amber, but, well. Now that you’re back, I thought, maybe, I should tell you the next time they popped up?”

“I think that was a good call,” Cassandra said, clapping him on the shoulder once. Varian smiled, almost shyly.  

“We have to tell your father to make sure nobody goes near them,” Rapunzel said, looking at Cassandra. “It’s late tonight, but we’ll talk to him first thing tomorrow.”

Cassandra nodded. Eugene piped in with a chuckle, “Wow. What a first week back on the job for the Captain, huh?”

Cassandra made a small noise of amusement. “Would it be Corona without some strange magical happenstance to attend to?”

“Guess not!” Lance said.

“Cass?” Rapunzel said, “I think we should get all ready to sleep now,” she glanced at Eugene for a moment, then looked to Varian. “Thank you so much for coming to me, especially after all we’ve been through. Cassandra will show you to some of the guest quarters for tonight, hm?”

Varian nodded, “Thank you, Princess. And, please know, I’m ready to do whatever I can to help with the rocks.”

“Of course,” Rapunzel said with a small smile.

“Let’s go, nerd,” Cassandra said with a smirk, and Varian groaned.

“Okay, Cassie,” Varian scowled at her, and she stuck out her tongue. The two of them left the room, and Rapunzel went to sit on the fainting couch. She picked up the cushion Cassandra had been holding earlier.

“Well, I’m gonna head out. It was a fun game night, y’know, while it lasted,” Lance said.

“Goodnight, Lance,” Rapunzel said, and Eugene gave him a brotherly hug that involved a punch on the arm.

Walking over to Rapunzel, Eugene felt the weight of the ringbox in his pocket. He was going to wait until after Cass and Lance left to pop the question, something sweet and intimate, just the two of them. The opposite to his first attempt. It felt like it would be ill-advised now, so he simply put his hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder to soothe her.

“Hey, Blondie, how ya doing?” he said.

“I’m okay. Just worried,” Rapunzel said. She hummed, looking in the direction of the window. “What could they mean?”

“I have no clue,” Eugene said, “but we’ll figure it out together, hey? All of us- you, me, Cass, Varian. Maybe even Lance will help.” He heard Pascal scree at him and he chuckled, “and where would we be without Pascal, and Max?”

Rapunzel smiled at him, then leaned up for a brief kiss. He bent forward and obliged, looking at her with a smile when they parted.

“Just when life was feeling a tiny bit normal. We’re back in Corona, we get to hang out at the Snuggly Duckling, Cass is my lady-in-waiting again,” Rapunzel said, and then her eyes went wide with realization.

“What is it?” Eugene said, tilting his head. He lifted his hand from her shoulder and moved to sit next to her.

“I may not know what’s going on with the black rocks, but I might know what’s going on with Cassandra,” she said, then she got up and put the pillow back on the couch. “I’m going to find Cass, okay? I love you,” she said, leaning down to kiss him again.

“Okay,” he laughed, and kissed her back. She started walking as he spoke “I love you, too. I’ll just.. see myself out then,” he chuckled, but it wasn’t quite as humorous as before. 

Rapunzel paused at the door to blow him another kiss, “Goodnight, Eugene!”

Eugene sighed as she left. For a moment, he took out his ring box. Pascal crawled onto his shoulder. “It’ll have to be another night, buddy.”

-

Rapunzel arrived at Cassandra’s room before she was back from escorting Varian to the guest chambers. Rapunzel waited patiently outside of her room, rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Hey, Raps,” Cassandra greeted, a question in her voice.

“Hi Cass,” Rapunzel smiled at her. “Mind if I come in for a bit?”

“Uh, sure,” Cassandra said.

“Is Varian doing okay?” Rapunzel asked as Cassandra opened the door and she followed her in.

“Yeah, he seems fine,” Cassandra said. “Is everything okay with you? Are you worried about the rocks?”

“Well,” Rapunzel started, taking a seat on Cassandra’s bed. “I mean, yes, I am worried about the rocks.”

“What do you think they are?” Cassandra asked, going to sit by the window for a moment. She narrowed her eyes, feeling that strange feeling from before. Truth be told, it hadn’t really gone away in the first place.

“I have no clue,” Rapunzel said, “but, that’s not really why I’m here.”

“Oh?” Cassandra said, still staring out of the window. Rapunzel got up and approached her, placing a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder.

“Cass,” Rapunzel said. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Yes?” Cassandra said, tilting her head. “What’s going on, Raps?”

“I’m wondering what’s going on with you Cass. It’s obvious something is up.”

“I’m fine,” Cassandra said. She stood up, sidestepping Rapunzel, who simply followed her to the bed.

“Are you sure?” Rapunzel said. Cass sat down, and Rapunzel sat next to her, taking one of her hands gently, so Cassandra could pull away if she wanted. Rapunzel looked her dead in the eyes.

“Yes,” Cassandra said, but she averted her gaze a moment later. 

“Okay, um,” Rapunzel started. “I really don’t want to push you, Cass, but I’ve been thinking we should try something new,” she said carefully, looking at Cassandra intently.

Cassandra blinked, Rapunzel’s gaze was intimidating. She absent-mindedly stroked her thumb along the side of Rapunzel’s hand. “Like what?” Cassandra asked, knitting her brows. Her mouth felt drier, with Rapunzel this close.  

“How about, I try to guess what’s wrong, and, if I get close, you can tell me,” Rapunzel said, sucking in a breath. “That way, you don’t have to point blank say what’s on your mind, but it’s still out there. I know you don’t like opening up directly, so maybe this would help!”

Cassandra let out a little nervous laugh. “Okay, well, maybe that could be a good idea. But, there would have to be something that was bothering me for that to work in the first place, so,” Cassandra lifted one of her hands to brush a piece of hair behind her ear, then placed her hand on top of Rapunzel’s. “I’m fine,” she repeated.

Rapunzel just pulled her ‘I don’t believe you’ face. Cassandra made a noise of displeasure in the back of her throat.

“Can I just try?”

“Well, if you insist, but I’m fine,” Cassandra said, looking away.

“Are you still upset that you’re my lady-and-waiting again?” Rapunzel asked, direct. Cassandra’s eyes went wide for a moment. She wasn’t expecting that. “I know we talked about it at the beginning of the week, but we haven’t discussed it since then.”

“Um,” Cassandra said, blinking. Did that bother her? Well, yeah. During their travels together, she’d let it slip in a few ways that she was still less than satisfied with her position as a lady-in-waiting. It wasn’t Rapunzel herself, but the job. She didn’t want to wait on somebody, she wanted to be on the guard. Which, to be fair, Cassandra thought that part was clear enough, but it had really illuminated for Rapunzel how much it impacted Cassandra.

That wasn’t what was occupying her mind these past couple of days, but it was actually a perfect excuse for her attitude. “Yeah,” she muttered.

“It’s okay, Cass,” Rapunzel said, squeezing her hand. “I should have known that would be still bothering you, especially since you were just on the guard for a month. That’s your dream! And now you’re back where you used to be, with no word from the Captain.. that must be really hard,” Rapunzel lifted a hand to rub Cassandra’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Cassandra said, looking down at her lap where her hand was still resting on top of Rapunzel’s other one. “It does kind of suck,” she winced, glancing back up.

“That’s fair,” Rapunzel laughed. “But, hey, it’s not forever! I’m sure your father will let you have a position on the guard again, once he gets back in the swing of things. You did a great job, there’s no reason for you not to be on the guard.”

“That’s the thing, though,” Cassandra said, before she could stop herself. “There has never been a reason I shouldn’t be on the guard. I just don’t get it,” she huffed. “I’m better than half of the guard. And, sure, there are no other women, I get that it’s a weird environment and people might look at me strange. But I did fine the past month. That should be enough proof by now.”

“You’re right,” Rapunzel said. “I don’t know what goes through your dad’s mind,” Rapunzel placed a hand on Cassandra’s chin, lifting her eyes. “You are incredibly brave, and noble, and brilliant and dedicated. You’re the perfect candidate for the guard, and, honestly, you could do anything you put your mind to.”

Cassandra gave a nervous smile, blushing hotly at the praise. Rapunzel’s hand on her face did not help. She then sighed quietly, “Thanks, Rapunzel.”

“I mean it. Every word.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra breathed. “It’s okay. I just have to,” Cassandra paused, her mouth twisting into a tight frown. She grit her teeth, “wait.”

Rapunzel bit her lip. It was unfair. Without a ton of forethought, she said, “Why don’t I talk to my father?”

“Hm?”

“About getting you a position on the guard! He’s the King, he could make that sort of call,” Rapunzel said, smiling widely.

“Oh, Raps, no,” Cassandra said, grimacing. “I want to be a guard of my own merit, not because of… royal meddling.”

“Cassandra, come on. On your own merit? It’s practically criminal that you’ve been prevented from being on the guard. I just said, and you agreed, you are more than qualified. Heck, I think you could be the Captain yourself.”

Cassandra felt herself blush again at the praise her best friend was giving her. Still, she bowed her head and frowned. “Thanks, Raps, but no thanks. As I said, there’s no real reason my dad won’t let me have a position. But, I want him to,” she said, chewing at her lip.

“Ah,” Rapunzel nodded. “Okay. I see.”

“I just-” Cassandra started, then shut her mouth.

“You can tell me,” Rapunzel said, voice quiet.

“What doesn’t he see in me?” Cassandra whispered.

“Oh, Cass,” Rapunzel said, leaning forward to hug her. Cassandra reciprocated. “I’m sure your dad knows your capable… I bet he’s just-“

“Protective?”

“Exactly!”

Cassandra scowled, “But I’ve trained for this for nearly my entire life. It’s unfair.”

“Yeah,” Rapunzel said. “I’m sure he cares about you, and sees how wonderful you are, Cass,” Rapunzel reminder her. Cassandra looked away.

“I just think. If he loved me-” her eyes went wide. “I-I mean, I know he loves me. I know that,” Cassandra took both of her hands to push her hair back behind her ears. “I just don’t understand why he won’t support my… dream.”

“Yeah,” Rapunzel said. “That’s really tough, feeling like you don’t have support. But I’m here, Cass. You have me, and Owl, and Pascal, and Lance. Max. Even Eugene,” at least that last part got a small chuckle from Cassandra. “I’ll always support your dreams. And, if you ever want me to talk to my father, I will.”

“Thank you, Rapunzel,” Cassandra said. She initiated the hug this time, and Rapunzel squeezed her tight.

“Do you have anything else you want to talk about?” Rapunzel asked, pulling back from Cassandra but not all the way. She reached up to run her fingers through Cassandra’s hair.

“No,” Cassandra said, distracted from Rapunzel playing with her hair. It wasn’t a total lie, after all. She didn’t really want to talk about the strange feeling she had. Even if she really should.

“Okay,” Rapunzel said with a soft smile. “I’ll leave you to get some rest, then.”

“G’night, Raps,” Cass said, as Rapunzel got up to leave. Cassandra bit her lip.

As soon as Rapunzel turned out the door, Cassandra sucked in a breath and groaned. “Wait! Rapunzel!” She got up, walking to the door, and Rapunzel looked over her shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Can you come back in?” Cassandra asked, and Rapunzel walked back.

“What is it, Cass? Do you wanna have a sleepover?!”

“No,” Cassandra snorted, “not tonight. I. Um.”

“Cass?” Rapunzel shut the door behind her. She waited, patient.

“It’s probably nothing,” Cassandra said, folding her arms over her chest as she walked towards the window. She opened it, just a crack, and then turned around to lean on the windowsill. “The thing is, there’s not really anything to tell?”

“What do you mean, Cass?” Rapunzel tilted her head. She looked like a curious golden retriever.

Cassandra bit her lip again, “It’s just, I’ve been getting this strange feeling the past couple days. Like… some sort of call? A pull, to go somewhere? I’m not sure where, though.” Cassandra shrugged.

Rapunzel blinked, “A call? Are you hearing something?”

“Not exactly. I mean, there have been times I thought I heard something. Like I said, it’s probably nothing.”

“Cass,” Rapunzel said. “Does it feel malicious?”

“No,” Cassandra shrugged. “It feels neutral. Sometimes almost familiar, even.”

“What does it feel like?”

“I really can’t describe it,” Cassandra said, honestly. “It’s just this feeling, deep within myself, that I should be going somewhere. It’s somewhere specific, there’s something I’m supposed to do, but I don’t know where or what.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel said, nodding.

“I’m not sure how I feel about it,” Cassandra said. “I don’t want to go,” she said. Even as she said it, she felt like it wasn’t entirely true.

“You don’t have to go,” Rapunzel said. “Whatever this is, we’ll just.. figure it out. Maybe it’s something magical, an aftereffect from some of the hijinks we got up to. Like when we were turned into birds. We don’t need to be rash, but, we can get to the bottom of whatever this is.”

Cassandra let out a little snort at the memory of being a bird. Weird times. “Well, maybe that wasn’t the complete truth,” she said, looking down. “Part of me does want to go. But,” she shut her eyes, “I don’t want to leave you. We just got back to Corona a few months ago…”

Rapunzel sighed, her eyebrows worrying. She wasn’t sure how to feel, either.

“You know what?” Cassandra said, gesturing with her hand, “forget I said anything. This is probably nothing. Like you said, I’m not exactly elated to be a lady-in-waiting. This is probably just my own dissatisfaction manifesting into longings for more adventure. I’ll get over it.”

“It’s okay, Cass,” Rapunzel said. “Like I said, let’s not jump to any one conclusion for now, hm? Maybe it’s nothing, maybe it’s something. Whatever we do, we can do it together, okay?” As she spoke, Rapunzel made her way over to Cassandra, cupping her face with her hands.

“Okay, Raps,” Cassandra said. She smiled softly, looking up.

“Is that it, for tonight?” Rapunzel said. “If you have more, we can stay up. I’ll stay up all night with you if that means we get to talk.”

“I’m good,” Cassandra said, her eyes gentle. Part of her wanted to keep Rapunzel there all night, talk to her best friend. Maybe cuddle a little, her mind supplied, and she wanted to blush again. But, that probably wasn’t the best idea.

“Besides,” Cassandra said, “we apparently have some big fish to fry, tomorrow.” Rapunzel grimaced. “Get some rest, Princess.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel murmured. “Goodnight, Cass. I love you,” she said, pressing a kiss to Cassandra’s head.

“Yeah, yeah,” Cassandra mumbled back, her face heating up. She hugged Rapunzel, so she wouldn’t see. Rapunzel gladly returned it.

Once Rapunzel left, Cassandra went to sit on her bed. Telling Rapunzel had done only a little to quell her unease. The feeling was as nagging as ever. She sighed, going to her bed to lie down and shut her eyes.

Roughly 20 minutes later, Cassandra was sitting up again, groaning. She tossed and turned for another for minutes before getting up with a huff.

 “Look,” Cassandra said to the cool air flowing in her room from the window. “I can hear you, but I won’t.”

“I know some look for trouble, but I don’t,” she asserted, going over to the window, feeling the pull outside grow stronger. “There’s a thousand reasons I should go about my day,” she told herself. Even though it was the middle of the night. “And I should ignore your whispers, which I wish would go away,” she hissed.

“You’re not a voice,” Cassandra said, firm. Rational. “Just a ringing in my ears. And if I heard you, which I don’t- I’m spoken for, I fear.” Cassandra smiled at her own poeticism, for a moment. Then she heard it again, the call. Or felt it. There were no words, she wasn’t convinced it was even a real sound. It was a pull. She wanted to go.

“Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls,” she reminded herself. “So I’m sorry, secret siren. I’m blocking out your calls,” Cassandra pulled the window shut with a slam, turning her back.

“I’ve had my adventure,” she mumbled. She didn’t need something new.

Cassandra flopped onto her bed and pulled a pillow over her head. A thought crossed her mind, and she wasn’t sure whether or not she said it aloud, but it rang in her ears anyway, “you don’t know what I’m risking if I follow you.”

Opening her eyes to the wall, Cassandra’s gaze landed on a painting of herself and Rapunzel.

How could she go into the unknown? What would she do, cast away her best friend, her family? To follow a mysterious longing for something, somewhere?  

She heard the wind howling at her window and she snapped her head towards it. In the darkness, she thought she saw a glint of blue light. When she blinked, it was gone.

Cassandra rose from her bed and walked to the window. She pressed her hand to it. “What do you want? You’ve been keeping me awake,” she muttered, her hand going down to unlatch the window again.

“Are you just here to distract me, so I’ll make some big mistake?” What if it meant to cause harm to the King, or Rapunzel herself? What if it was someone ill-informed, looking to steal Rapunzel’s magic hair that no longer even healed things. If she put the Princess at risk, Casandra could never forgive herself.

Still. The call didn’t feel malicious. It was driven, yes, but so was Cassandra herself. It felt familiar, almost friendly.

“Or are you someone out there, who’s a little bit like me?” Cassandra mused, voice tinged with sadness.
Her voice lowered to a whisper now, talking to this invisible call beckoning her, “who knows deep down, I’m not where I’m meant to be?”

Cassandra’s gaze drifted back towards her portrait with Rapunzel. It hurt, to admit those thoughts aloud. At times, she wanted so badly to be satisfied with what she already had, but how could she not long for more? As she was just discussing with Rapunzel, she was once again a lady-in-waiting. She’d had that brief stint on the guard, when her father was injured, but he was still ‘reviewing the possibilities’ of having her on permanently. It was incredibly frustrating.

Cassandra leaned her head against the edge of the window, looking down. Her room was on a relatively low level of the castle. She glanced to the corner of the room, where she’d hidden a rope ladder to scale the wall if necessary. Cass sucked in her breath and got up, grapping the ladder and securing it to her window. She would just go for a short walk, to clear her head.

As she swung her legs over the side of the window and started to descend, Owl swooped down and landed on the window, cooing at her.

“Don’t ask,” Cassandra whispered. Owl tilted his head at her.

Once she reached the bottom, Cassandra hopped off the latter. Owl silently followed her as she walked through the empty streets.

Cassandra started out pretty good, walking pointedly away from where she felt she should go. The wind was blowing through her hair, but Cass paid no attention to it, at least at first. However, the wind became stronger the longer she ignored it, and something deep within herself felt drawn to the outskirts of the kingdom.

Walking along the road, her hair blowing violently around her face, Cassandra kept her head relatively low. She continued to feel a pull, and, as she glanced at a particularly dark piece of the stone walkway, she thought she saw a blue light reflecting off it. Cassandra looked up quickly, but saw no source of blue light.

“Ugh,” Cassandra groaned, shaking her head. She’d already seen the vague flashes of blue a few times now. If this was going to become a regular thing, she was going to lose it.

A few more minutes of aimless walking and Cassandra let out another frustrated groan. “Fine! I admit it,” she said. “Every day's a little harder, as I feel your power grow,” she said to the air, and the call. She was nearing the border of the kingdom. Cassandra frowned, speaking more quietly, “Don't you know there's part of me that longs to go?”

Reaching the wall, Cassandra kept going. She gave up trying to resist, picking up her pace as she followed the call.

She wasn’t sure what she expected once she stopped ignoring the call, but it was a strange feeling. The pull was stronger, but it also felt further away, somehow. It felt like the wind was centered around her, pushing her father as she broke out in a sprint.

Soon she was far enough away from civilization she was more comfortable voicing her questions aloud, calling out, “Are you out there? Will you show me?”

Cassandra continued to run as she felt the distance between herself and the call get wider. It was no less persistent, but she could tell, it was originating from somewhere far. “Where are you going?” she called, “don’t leave me alone!”

If Cassandra’s mind wasn’t swimming with the urgency and feeling of the call, she might recognize where she was about to land.

Instead, she cried out, “How do I follow you?”

At that moment, the wind stopped blowing, and Cassandra came to a stop. She saw where the call had led her. The call itself was not gone, either, but it went from a deafening roar to something like a quiet hum.

“Oh,” Cassandra whispered, as she took a step towards the largest black rock cluster she had seen yet. She bit her lip, and then placed a hand on the rock.

Part of her expected nothing to happen. She’d touched the black rocks before. They had only ever reacted to Rapunzel.

This time, she did not experience nothing. A flash of bright blue danced from within the rock and Cassandra pulled her hand back as if she’d been shocked, energy coursing through her. It had hurt, for that moment, but when she took her hand away, the pain was gone.

Cassandra felt compelled to touch it again. Perhaps just to see if what she’d experienced was real or if it was her imagination. She grit her teeth and reached out with both hands, pressing them to the rock. This time, she felt a humming, but it didn’t hurt. She watched as the rock she touched flashed blue, the light spreading to the other rocks around it. The flash faded the further it got from her hand. She let out a laughed, almost dazed.

When Cassandra lifted her hands, the rocks shifted. She stumbled backwards, pressing her lips together nervously. They weren’t particularly fast to move, but she soon saw they were all pointing in the same direction, away from the Kingdom of Corona.

“Well, I guess that answers how I follow you,” Cassandra muttered. She looked at the glossy black rock and saw her reflection, running her fingers through her hair. As she did that, something caught her eye. She grabbed at her short hair, finding one lock that stood out in the dark reflection. “Oh no,” she whispered, trying to pull the strands close enough to see with her eyes.

“This is what I get for liking my hair short,” she hissed, unable to pull that particular lock of hair close enough to see. Unbeknownst to her, it was actually electric blue in colour. At least it would be easy to hide, due to the placement.  

Cassandra grumbled, and looked up to the sky. It was a full moon, and now that the wind had stopped blowing unnaturally hard, it was a nice and calm evening. It was anything but ordinary, at this point, but still nice.

She knew what she had to do, of course, but for now, Cassandra turned around. Owl swooped down a moment later to perch on her shoulder. “Let’s head back,” she said to him, and he let out a hoot.

--

“Good morning, Rapunzel,” Cassandra said the next morning, drawing the curtains open with vigor.

“Hey, Cass,” Rapunzel said in response, yawning.

Cassandra helped her to get dressed, and let her wake up a bit. They did Rapunzel’s hair and Cassandra told Rapunzel her schedule for the day.

“Okay!” Rapunzel said, starting to head for the door. “But first things first, we need to talk to the Captain.”

“About that,” Cassandra said, reaching out to grab Rapunzel’s arm. “I have… something to tell you, Raps.”

“Okay, I’m always here to listen,” Rapunzel said, “is everything okay?”

“Yes. Well,” Cassandra let go of Rapunzel, idly picking at her short nails. “Last night, I sort of snuck out of the castle,” Cassandra confessed. Rapunzel nodded.

“Okay. Why?”

“I… remember that feeling I told you about?” Cassandra grimaced. She hated telling people things, and though she’d gotten better at doing it with Rapunzel, that didn’t make it easy.

“Yes?” Rapunzel said. “What happened, Cass?”

“I decided to… follow it,” Cassandra said. “I ended up at the black rocks. They’re tall- and, they moved. They’re all pointing, now, in the same direction. Like some sort of path. I think I- We, should follow it.” Cassandra looked up, nervous. Her chest was tight.

This was the part she hated the most, the part where she couldn’t forget Rapunzel wasn’t just a friend, she was the Princess, she got to make decisions for the both of them. It would make Cassandra angry, if she allowed herself to express that much emotion.

“Oh,” Rapunzel said. That didn’t help. “Do you mean, you just think it’s a good idea to follow them, or you’re feeling the call to?”

“A bit of both,” Cassandra said. “It is calling me, but,” Cassandra frowned, “it feels important, Raps. I really think we should go.”

“Okay, Cassandra,” Rapunzel started, “We’ll- we’ll look into it, okay? We should definitely still talk to your father, and probably mine.”

Cassandra looked down. It wasn’t a no, but it certainly wasn’t a yes, or an “I trust you, Cassandra, let’s do what you think is best”. It still stung, but not as much as it could.

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, putting her hands on Cassandra’s shoulders, trying to get her to look up. “You feel really strongly about this, right?”

“I do,” Cassandra said, looking up with a decisive expression.

“I think we should go, then. But this is going to be a little complicated, and maybe not so easy,” Rapunzel said, then she squeezed Cassandra’s shoulders. Cassandra nodded, offering a small smile. With that, they started their day.

In the middle of the day, Rapunzel brought the news and idea to her father. To her credit, it was not exactly easy. The King was not very keen on what he thought was his daughter’s idea. The Captain also did not like it. The Queen was fairly subtle in voicing her support. Eugene fought for the idea (also under the assumption it was Rapunzel’s), and, eventually, Rapunzel convinced her father that if they found the origin of the rocks that would certainly help figure out the cause. As well, they had to do something eventually.

And so, by the afternoon, Rapunzel and Cassandra were loading up a caravan, along with Eugene, Lance, and Varian, who was surprisingly allowed to tag along. He was eager to make any progress he could on the black rocks.

“Hey, Raps?” Cassandra said, they were inside the caravan, alone. Her hair was out of that god-forsaken bonnet she wore, but she’d carefully pinned back the blue strand from last night. “Thank you. For trusting me.”

“Of course,” Rapunzel said, going to hug her friend. Rapunzel pulled back part of the way and smiled brightly, her eyes affectionate. Cassandra blushed just a little bit, glancing away, but she was smiling herself.

After that, Rapunzel and Cassandra headed out of the caravan to check on the progress. Lance gave them the run-down. Eugene and Varian joined them, finishing what they were doing.

“So,” he concluded, “if you’re ready, we can head out.”

“I’m good!” Rapunzel said, with a grin. “How about it, Cass?”

Cass nodded, looking at the black rocks with determination. “Let’s go.”

She paused, one beat, then added, “Into the unknown.”

Chapter Text

“Well I, for one, think this is going well!” Rapunzel announced. They’d been traveling for a couple days, so far, with no sign of the black rocks ending in sight. Still, spirits were relatively high.

“I think this is great!” Varian exclaimed, as he ran off from where they’d parked the caravan temporarily to give Max and Fidella and break. He was almost always buzzing with excitement, journaling and collecting things he had never encountered inside the walls of Old Corona.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Cassandra said, arms crossed over her chest, a smile on her face.

“Even the Ice Queen is chipper. That’s the air of adventure, I guess,” Eugene said. Cassandra gave him a side-eye for a moment before punching him in the arm, and he just laughed in response. She grinned briefly. “Ah, it’s good to be on the road again,” he commented. 

“We’ve covered a lot of ground in just a couple days,” Cassandra pointed out. “Unlike last time, when we spent four days in one city at the very beginning of our journey.”

“I mean, in fairness, that journey didn’t exactly have a clear goal,” Lance countered. “But, we have been making very good time.”

“I wonder if the wind is helping,” Rapunzel said, as the strong breeze rustled her braid. “Otherwise, we mostly just have Max and Fidella to thank, don’t we?” Rapunzel smiled brightly as she pet Max, who made a noise in appreciate.

Once Max and Fidella finished their food and water, their group started to climb back into the caravan.

“Varian!” Cassandra barked, “Hurry up! We will, in fact, leave you behind!”

“Coming!” Varian called back.

Cassandra got behind the reigns with Eugene, and they took off, once Varian was back inside with his new plants.

The next pitstop was during the evening. Over time, the atmosphere of camaraderie had slipped, at least between Eugene and Cassandra. It was a rookie mistake, having them behind the driver’s seat together for hours on end.

By the time they were all sitting around the campfire, they two were in a genuine fight again for the second time in only a week.

“And another thing-” Eugene started, but Cassandra cut him off with a groan, covering her ears.

“If I have to hear you say another thing, Fitzherbert, I’m going to impale myself on one of these stupid rocks!”

“Guys, guys,” Rapunzel said, edging a bit closer to the fire. It was a bit chilly, and the wind seemed to follow them wherever they were going. “Please, stop fighting,” she said.

“Okay,” Cassandra said, taking a deep breath before she simply got up stalked off towards the woods. It was becoming her favourite tactic to end an argument with Eugene. It wasn’t as if they’d ever agree with each other. At that, Eugene walked in the other direction, towards the caravan, going inside to cool off. A few moments later, Rapunzel got up, and walked away in a third direction.

“Hey, Lance?” Varian said, looking between Rapunzel, and the retreating pair going their separate way.

“Yeah, kid?

“Are they really always… like that?” Varian knew they bickered, but he hadn’t really gotten the extent of it.

“Well, not usually this bad,” Lance said, with a little frown. “They don’t normally storm off so much, but… It’s nothing to worry about,” he smiled at Varian.

“But why, though?” Varian said, his eyebrows knit. “Why don’t they simply… not pick fights with each other, constantly?”

“Well that,” Lance started, then let out a low chuckle, “that will all make sense when you are older.”

“Uh. What?” Varian said, tilting his head. “How?”

“Well,” Lance chuckled, “you see, some day this will all make sense.”

“Okay, how?” Varian repeated, deadpan.

“These are all completely normal events,” Lance continued, gesturing.

“But how?” Varian repeated.

“You see, little man,” Lance said, leaning in close with a grin on his face, “Cassandra has it bad for Eugene.”

“What,” Varian asked, still deadpan. He stared at Lance, gaze hard and disbelieving.

“It’s so obvious!” Lance said. “They bicker, you know, Cass is always acting so cold and angry. It’s her defense mechanism, because secretly, deep down, she’s entirely smitten,” Lance explained, smug.

“Okay, there’s no way that’s true,” Varian shook his head.

“One day, when you’re old and wise, you’ll look back and realize-“

“Oh, I assure you, I will not.”

“Fine, fine,” Lance waved a hand, “you don’t have to believe me. And, really, if you’re doubtful because you’re jealous, I totally get that!”

At that, Varian’s cheeks tinged red. “Uh, no! I’m totally over Cassie. Totally. I get it,” Varian cleared his throat. “But she does not like Eugene, like, at all, let alone in a romantic sense. And, honestly, I’d be careful how loudly you say that. She’d probably murder you if she heard.”

“Well yeah, I don’t have a death wish, so, do not tell Cassandra I said that to you. But, it’s definitely true. You just gotta pay more attention. It helps to have wordly experience, like I do,” Lance said, puffing his chest a bit. Varian rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but smile.

“Whatever you say,” Varian held up his hands, leaning back a bit. He glanced in the direction Cassandra had walked off, and then the direction Rapunzel had. He just hoped that his friends could learn how to get along, somehow.

A moment later, Eugene came back out of the caravan, a grin on his face as if the conflict had never happened. “Hey boys! Uh, where’d Rapunzel go?” he asked.

“That way,” Lance and Varian said, at about the same time.

“Huh. Okay,” Eugene said. “And Cass is still gone, obviously. Did Rapunzel say anything?”

“Uh, no, not really,” Lance replied.

“Right,” Eugene said, clicking his tongue. “I guess… I should go try to find one of them. It’s getting kind of late,” Eugene said, then started walking in the direction Cassandra went. This time, he didn’t really want to apologize to her, mostly because he wasn’t sure who had started the argument and whether it was his fault. It has started quite a bit earlier in the day, so he didn’t even know what it was they were fighting over. But for the sake of the trip, he knew they should reconcile.

Eugene didn’t find Cass so easily, though. He only managed to locate her when he overheard her voice. Eugene poked his head between a couple trees and noticed both Cassandra and Rapunzel were standing in another small clearing, a couple of the black rocks pointing the way they were headed.

“How does it feel, Cass?” Rapunzel asks, “I mean, like, is it stronger? Are you getting a sense of something, anything?”

Cassandra pulled a face, but it wasn’t clear what emotion it was supposed to portray. “It feels fine. Ever-present. When it first started, it was urgent, now it’s a lot less pressed. It’s not any weaker or stronger, but it feels like we’re on the right path.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel said, nodding. “That’s good, then! And it still feels… not malicious?”

“It doesn’t feel malicious,” Cassandra insisted. “It still feels vaguely familiar, sometimes almost friendly,” Cassandra admitted. “I think we’re doing the right thing.”

“Good,” Rapunzel said, smiling. “Please, let me know if something changes?” Rapunzel asked, reaching out for Cassandra’s hand.

Meanwhile, Eugene had a mildly sickening feeling that he should have made his presence known by now, but what they were talking about was intriguing and confusing. Cassandra was having some sort of urgent feeling?

“Of course,” Cassandra said, squeezing Rapunzel’s hands. “And, Raps?” she started, glancing down.

“Yes?” Rapunzel asked, titling just a bit, as if she wanted Cassandra to life her gaze again.

“Thank you, for trusting me,” Cassandra told her. “It really means a lot to me,” she said.

“Of course, Cass,” Rapunzel said with a smile. She squeezed Cassandra’s hand, then turned to look at the black rocks for a moment. Eugene noticed a change in expression from Cassandra when Rapunzel looked away, a hidden gaze, filled with warmth and affection. Then, something quite obviously dawned on Cassandra, by her expression.

“Oh, Raps,” Cassandra said, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “There’s something else I wanted to tell you,” she started, her other hand reaching up to play with her hair in that way women sometimes did.

Eugene wasn’t sure just what possessed him to step out from behind the tree, but it was most likely jealously. That look on Cassandra’s face was just too much of a risk for him.

“Hey, ladies,” Eugene said, and the two of them looked towards him, surprised.

“Oh, hi, Eugene,” Rapunzel said, laughing a little bit.

“Fitzherbert,” Cassandra said with a nod. She crossed her arms over her middle.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help catch part of your conversation,” he said. At least he was being truthful, right? “What were you saying, about some… malicious feeling?”

Cassandra’s face dropped, and Eugene wasn’t sure whether to feel vindicated or bad about it.

“Oh,” Rapunzel said, looking at Cassandra. Cassandra huffed.

“It’s… probably nothing,” Cassandra started, but then Rapunzel gave her a look. “It’s weird,” Cassandra corrected, “I just. It’s strange, I kind of, sort of, feel compelled to follow these rocks.” Cassandra said, gesturing at them. “So we are.”

“Wait, Blondie- this wasn’t your idea?” Eugene blinked.

“Well, not exactly,” Rapunzel said. “But I trust Cassandra, Eugene, you know that. We’ve been a little secretive, that’s true, but you know how my father has been about these black rocks. We don’t want to make any mountains out of molehills, you know?”

Cassandra bit the inside of her lip, “I don’t know what it all means, yet. But it’s fine.”

“Okay, not exactly sure that’s true,” Eugene started, “you’re telling me, we’re following these rocks because Cassandra has a hunch about them?”

“Well, first of all,” Rapunzel said, “they are pointing down a path, so, it’s not entirely weird to think maybe we should follow it,” she reasoned. “And, I think we can say, it’s not exactly a hunch?”

Cassandra sighed quietly and explained further, “It’s more like a pull, or a call, to wherever the black rocks lead.”

“Oh,” Eugene said, “oh, okay, so we’re just following a voice Cassandra hears, towards what could be some magical entity, or something big and scary?”

“Well this is why we didn’t want to tell anybody,” Cassandra argued, “we thought it might get blown out of proportion.”

“Oh, I think this is perfectly in proportion! We have no idea what this could be, and you lying about it certainly won’t help.”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel interjected, “you’re not wrong, we definitely should have said something sooner, and, we’ll tell Varian and Lance soon. Just last night we were trying to figure out the best way to bring it up. But, we don’t want you all to freak out. We’ve all dealt with magic before, magic isn’t inherently bad, and I want all of us to trust Cassandra when she says we’re on the right path, okay?”

Eugene breathed out of his nose and looked between them, Rapunzel’s arm out in front of Cassandra as if to protect her, and Cassandra avoiding his gaze.

“Okay. But Cassandra has to tell Lance and Varian tonight okay? It’s not fair to bring them along under false pretenses, giving them incomplete information.”

Cassandra huffed, then groaned. “Deal,” she said, and Rapunzel dropped her arm as Cassandra started to walk forward. “I was about to say this before you interrupted, Fitzherbert, I might as well do it now.”

Eugene raised a brow. For some reason, he’d thought Cassandra was going to finally profess her undying love to Rapunzel, but he assumed she wouldn’t do that in front of him.  

“I apologize in advance for not mentioning this earlier,” Cassandra said quietly, reaching for her hair and pulling out a pin. The pin had been holding in place one lock of her hair, it had a slight curl to it, and it was bright blue.

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel gasped. “When did that happen?”

“The night before we left, when I went to the rocks,” Cassandra confessed. “I touched them, and it felt like I was shocked. The rocks lit up in blue for a moment, and then they moved. When I got back to my room, I looked in the mirror and saw my hair looked like this.”

“Oh my god,” Eugene said, eyes bulged. “This is more than just a strange little feeling, Cass!”

“I know that,” Cass snapped, looking at him.

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, and Cassandra looked back at her, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-“ Cass faltered. “I was just scared? I don’t know what it means. The first day, I had forgot about it, and then yesterday I thought I should bring it up, but we were never alone! So, I was about to tell you tonight, then Eugene butted in, but… I know I should have found, or made, time.”

“You should have,” Rapunzel said, “Cass, this is serious, I mean… These rocks gave me back my blonde hair, and now they’ve changed your hair?”

“I know, I know,” Cassandra says, “but we still don’t know what it means. And it’s not like it has any magical properties like yours does. I think, anyway.”

“Have you tried to cut it?” Eugene asked.

“Uh.. no,” Cassandra said. A moment later, she reached down and pulled out a knife, but not her favourite one.

“Here, allow me” Rapunzel said, “it’s a lot closer to your head that my hair is.”

Cassandra winced as Rapunzel carefully tried to cut her hair, but the knife wouldn’t go through it. Rapunzel pressed a little harder, biting her lip.

“Okay, we get the idea, we don’t want to shatter a knife right next to Cassandra’s face,” Eugene said, putting a hand on Rapunzel’s forearm.

“Well, we still don’t know what this means,” Cassandra said. “I don’t think we should be jumping to any conclusions.”

“What what means?” Lance asked, pushing some bushes out of the way. “You guys have been gone for a while and it’s pretty late,” he commented, then perked a brow, “Does Cassandra have a blue streak in her hair? Is that a new trend? Kind of a weird choice of placement, Cass.”

Cassandra groaned and Rapunzel winced.

“C’mon girls, Lance,” Eugene said. “I think we should go get Varian and have a little chat.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra muttered.

“Uh, intimidating, but okay,” Lance said, and Eugene clapped him on the shoulder, and they walked back to the caravan.

There, Cassandra reiterated everything she had just told Eugene and Rapunzel, twisting her hands nervously as she spoke.

“I, for one, am shocked,” Lance said, eyes wide, but he was smiling.

“Cassandra, hiding something from people? Never,” Eugene said, and Lance rolled his eyes, still smiling.

“Nah, I don’t blame you, though. If I was hearing voices telling me to follow some rocks, I won’t really want to tell anybody either,” Lance chuckled.

“It’s not a voice,” Cassandra said with a quiet groan. “But, yeah, you can see why I didn’t want to say anything. I know it sounds crazy, I’m not dense.”

“It does sound crazy,” Varian admitted. “But… we trust you, Cass,” Varian said, looking at her earnestly.

“Thanks,” Cassandra gave a smile small. “Well! We should probably rest, team.”

“Yes,” Rapunzel agreed. “That way we can start again early tomorrow morning!

Everyone voiced their agreement in their own way as they shuffled into their nighttime routine, heading to sleep.

-

“Did anybody else hear that?” Lance asked.

They were well into the fourth day of their journey and things were going relatively smoothly again. Eugene and Cassandra continued to bicker, but it was at a more normal level. They had stopped to give the horses a break and get some fresh air themselves, though the day was not particularly nice out. It was gloomy, and grey.

“Hear what?” Rapunzel asked, looking over her shoulder at Lance. She was bending forward over some bushes, hands on her knees as she looked at some berries to try to figure out if they were edible or not. By the looks of it, they were either a variety that was perfectly safe and sweet, or incredibly deadly and bitter. She wanted to be extra certain before eating one.

“Hm, well, I’m not entirely sure,” Lance said, looking around himself. “A weird noise,” Lance said. Nobody else seemed to be paying any mind. 

Cassandra was sitting on a rock, sharpening a knife. Varian was attempting to explain something about alchemy to Eugene, who looked to be deep in concentration, trying to comprehend.

“There it was again!” Lance said. “Like a swooping sound!”

“A bird?” Cassandra asked.

“Oh, please tell me we won’t get turned into birds again,” Lance said.

Rapunzel stood up straight, giving up on her berries, just as Varian stopped mid-sentence to exclaim, “Wait, what? You were turned into what?”

Cassandra’s head fell back as she groaned. “Please, not this story again.”

“I’ll tell you later, little man,” Lance assured Varian.

“Hm,” Rapunzel said, “I think I might hear it, Lance.”

“Right?!” Lance said, looking around himself. Rapunzel turned back towards the bushes and let out a startled scream. Everybody whipped their heads towards the sound as Rapunzel stumbled backwards, a taller woman approaching her with a black sword in her hand.

“Who are you, and what brings you to this neck of the woods?” the woman asked.

“Uh,” Rapunzel started, eyes darting around her. Cassandra stood slowly, her newly sharpened knife in her hand.

“I’m Princess Rapunzel, of Corona,” Rapunzel said, Cassandra coming up behind her.

“Oh, being graced by royalty? That’s unusual,” the woman said, gesturing casually with her sword.

“Who are you?” Cassandra asked.

“I asked you first, short hair,” the woman said. “I will tell you, once you’ve all introduced yourselves and your purpose.”

“I’m Cassandra,” she said, “I am… un-official member of the royal guard. So, don’t try anything.”

“I will not,” the woman said. “Slightly more impressive than a Princess,” Cassandra didn’t miss Rapunzel’s quiet scoff. “And you,” the woman said, gesturing to the three men.

“Well I’m Lance, nice to make your acquaintance,” Lance said, walking up to her and offering a hand with a perked brow. “I must say, you are lovely.”

She shook his hand, firm. “Thanks. Keep it moving along,” she said, staring Eugene down.

“I’m Eugene. You could also say I’m part of the royal guard. Like, not a member of the guard itself, but I am employed by the guard.”

“Oh, me too!” Lance added, “we hold a very important position.”

“I do not care,” the woman said, and Cassandra snorted. “You, goggles?”

“Oh, um, I’m Varian, and I’m an alchemist,” he said, puffing his chest.

“Okay, introductions are over-“

“What about you,” Cassandra said, eyes narrowed.

“I still need to know your purpose here, short hair.”

“Okay, first of all, why ask for our names if you aren’t going to use them?

“Common courtesy-“

“And you can at least tell us your name first,” Cassandra continued on.

“I am Adira. Please state your reason for being here,” Adira said, putting her hands behind her back and standing tall.

Cassandra continued to glare, then glanced at Rapunzel. “And why should we tell you?”

“I am a keeper of this area. There are great dangers here, I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“We’re on a journey,” Cassandra said simply.

“Does that journey have to do with these?” Adira asked, gesturing towards one of the black rocks near her.

“Perhaps,” Cassandra said, “what’s it to you?”

Adira pulled a displeased face. “It is much to me, in fact. If you are going where the rocks point, I advise you to turn back now.”

“Why?” Cassandra said. She felt Rapunzel put her hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Eugene said, stepping up. “You need to give us more than a vague warning if you expect us to believe you.”

Adira frowned at them, looking grave. “I know where these rocks lead. They end at place we call the Dark Castle, and little good comes from there. Those who go do not return.”

Cassandra felt Rapunzel squeeze her arm as she spoke up, “Why should we believe you?”

“As I said, I am a keeper of these woods, and the barren lands up to the Dark Castle. I’ve sworn to keep people away, to prevent further harm from coming to them, or to others,”Adira said simply.

“Well, thanks for the tip,” Cassandra said. “If you don’t mind, we’ll be on our way.”

Adira took in a deep breath through her nose. “You will come to regret this, short hair. All of you.”

“Whatever,” Cassandra said. She looked at Rapunzel, who looked concerned. “C’mon, guys,” Cassandra said.

“Are we sure we don’t want to… consider this?” Lance asked, looking at Adira, then Cassandra. Varian also looked unsure.

“No offence, but I don’t tend to trust people who randomly approach me in the woods,” Cassandra said, “that’s just begging to be poisoned by an apple.”

“I’ve offered you no apples,” Adira said. “I won’t physically stop you at the moment. I trust that you will come to see reason. You seem like a smart group.”

Rapunzel had looped her arm in Cassandra’s by now. Eugene frowned, helping them to gather their things and then taking the reigns of the horse. They trotted away, leaving Adira behind to watch them.

“Hey, uh, Cassandra,” Eugene said.

“Whatever you’re about to say, choose wisely, Fitzherbert,” Cassandra said, her arms crossed over her chest. Rapunzel was squished next to her, biting her lip.

“Cass,” she started, looking at her best friend with wide eyes.

“Raps,” Cassandra whined. “Please don’t.”

“Cass, I have to,” Rapunzel said, taking her hand. Cassandra looked at her, into those doe eyes.

“Please, don’t tell me you believe this random woman we met in the woods over me?” Cassandra frowned.

“Well, no,” Rapunzel said. “I trust you, you know that.”

Cassandra huffed quietly. “I do, yeah.”

“But,” Cassandra winced, “I’m just worried, Cass. The Dark Castle? That doesn’t sound good,” Rapunzel said.

“I’d have to agree on that one,” Eugene said. “Anything with a name like that can’t be good.”

“Well, first of all,” Cassandra said, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover. You should know that better than anyone, Eugene.”

Eugene made a little face like he was considering it. Fair.

“Secondly,” Cassandra went on, “we don’t know that anything she said was true at all! She could have been a witch, or someone who just likes to misdirect travelers for fun. She could have seen that the rocks are pointing down a path and fabricated some scary story about it! We don’t know anything,” Cassandra said, feeling her stomach sink just a bit. No, they were just going off her feeling about the matter. She chewed on her lip. She still felt the call. It felt strong, and more familiar than ever.

“You’re not wrong,” Eugene said. “And, hey… we’re sort of in the habit of defying all odds, so, what could possibly go wrong?”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel said, cautious.

“You’ve got the right idea, Fitzherbert,” Cassandra said, giving Eugene an honest smile. He flashed her a little grin in return.

Rapunzel was happy to see her best friends getting along, even under the circumstances. Eugene sticking up for Cassandra was huge progress compared to where they were a couple years ago.

“Okay,” Rapunzel said. “I’m still worried,” she said, “but… it’s okay. If anything changes, Cassandra-“

“You’ll be the first to know,” Cass said, placing her hand on top of Rapunzel’s.

They rode on in quiet, and Cass felt worried. She didn’t like the look on Rapunzel’s face. She knew she was asking a lot, for such blind faith. Rapunzel’s trust in Cassandra had been an issue in the past, with Cassandra feeling unheard and undermined much of the last trip they were on. They’d promised each other to work on that, with Cassandra being more open about her feelings and Rapunzel being more considerate of them. It was going okay when they were in Corona and the stakes were low, but now the real test was starting.

It wasn’t long before they stopped for the night, the lot of them sleeping just a little uneasily, Adira’s warning echoing in each of their minds.

The next day faired better, though. They continued on the path without too much trouble, and Lance even led them in some songs during the morning.

In some places along the road, the black rocks were laid into the ground that they drove over, which was new. The rocks seemed to be increasing in number.

When the sun was shining in the middle of the day, Varian noticed that when Cassandra stepped on a black rock, sometimes it glinted a faint blue. She took this is a good sign, and the others kept their thoughts to themselves.

Varian was fascinated by it. He wanted badly to test a sample of the rock, but it was hard to get a piece of something that was nearly unbreakable.

“What do you think it means?” Rapunzel asked as Cassandra crouched down. Cass placed her hand on the rocks, making the blue dance beneath them.

“I have no idea,” Cassandra said. “When I touched the rocks the night before we left, I must have formed some connection with them. We know they have some sort of magic properties, I mean, look what they did to your hair,” Cassandra said. She pressed her hand more firmly, and she thought she felt it move slightly, growing larger, perhaps? She lifted her hand quickly, blinking. Maybe it was just her eyes.   

“That’s true,” Rapunzel said. Touching them herself no longer did anything, which was funny. Perhaps they were only connected to one person at once, though her hair was still blonde and it didn’t heal things. She’d tried, a couple of times.  

“We should probably get a move on, ladies,” Eugene said gently, “we only get so much daylight.”

“You have a point,” Cassandra said, standing up. She pressed her foot on the rock with more vigor and saw it flash blue for a second before it shot forward, growing, still embedded in the ground. She, Eugene, and Rapunzel all yelped, and Cassandra hopped back. 

“What was that?” Lance called out.

“Cassandra moved a rock!” Eugene yelled back.

“Uh. Okay? Did she throw it at you?” Lance asked.

“Obviously not,” Eugene snapped back. Lance walked over and Eugene pointed at the black rocks on the ground.

“Oh,” Lance said, and Varian joined him.

“Do it again, Cass,” Varian said.

“I don’t know if I can just do it, it happened on it’s own!” Cass said, biting her lip. She pressed her foot on the rock, humming quietly. Nothing happened. She stamped on it a couple more times, and nothing happened. “Ugh, we jinxed it,” she said.

“Maybe it was a fluke. Or maybe ya’ll are playing us,” Lance said.

“No, it really happened!” Rapunzel promised. “But, we have no idea how the black rocks work. Maybe it was going to move anyway when Cass touched it, or maybe it has something to do with how she pressed her foot, or maybe she has to touch it and then press her foot.”

“I don’t think it just happened on its own,” Varian said. “But, you might be right about it being a specific interaction between Cassandra and the rock. We should experiment!” he said.

“Oh god,” Cassandra muttered.

So, for the new half hour or so, Cassandra tried different sequences of touching the rocks, trying to replicate the exact conditions when the rock first moved, under Varian’s direction. Cassandra only got more and more frustrated as time went on, and eventually they called it quits. Cassandra insisted they needed to get moving again and everybody else voicing their agreement. Varian was disappointed, but he quietly swore to himself that they could try more experiments next time they were stopped.

Lance got in the driver’s seat for a change and Varian sat up with him, making vague sketches of the different trees as they drove past. The next few hours passed by uneventfully, the sky slowly turning overcast as the sun dropped lower and lower.

It was almost evening when they arrived at an obstacle Lance wasn’t exactly sure how to tackle.

“Hey, uh,” Lance said, as they came up to a large tree growing out from the cliff they were walking along, “do you see that?”

“Uh, yeah, Lance, it’s a huge tree,” Varian said. “I see it.”

“How are we going to get past it?” Lance asked.

“Beats me,” Varian shrugged, and Lance pulled on the reigns of the horses to stop them before the tree. “Hey, guys!” he called.

“We got a problem out here!” Lance added.

“What?” Eugene said, sticking his head out of to look. “Oh,” he said. “Yeah, that is a problem.”

Cassandra and Rapunzel hopped out of the caravan. Cassandra swept a small braid Rapunzel had done for her behind her ear.

“Crap,” Cassandra said, looking at the huge tree blocking the only way further on the narrow cliff they were driving along.

“I guess we could backtrack and try to find another way around?” Lance said. “I don’t know how far we’d have to stray from the rocks, though.”

“Hmm,” Rapunzel said, going up to the side of the tree. It was weirdly shaped, with a big chunk in the middle that was almost like an opening or a door. “Guys,” she said, peering inside, “I think we might be able to go through.”

“Uh, not with the caravan,” Lance pointed out. “Max and Fidella might fit.”

“We could take bags,” Cassandra suggested. “On one hand, we’d only lose half a day going back, but, we have no idea how far we’d get from the path, like Lance said, and how much time and effort would we waste trying to find them again?”

“I really don’t want to lose the beds,” Eugene said.

“Fair,” Cassandra said, “But… I feel like we’re getting close. I can’t guarantee it, but I think we’re well over halfway there.”

“Can’t you touch the rocks and make them give us an alternate path?” Lance asked.

Cassandra pulled a face, “Yes, because making the rocks move was something I was super good at earlier.”

“It was just an idea,” Lance held up his hands. Cassandra sighed quietly, muttered an apology, and went over to the closest spike from the ground. She put her hands on it, feeling the frustration move through her. The rocks flashed blue for a moment, and as she groaned. The rock grew slightly in size. They did not, however, change direction.

“Ugh!” Cassandra huffed. She pressed harder. They climbed just a bit taller. “Stupid things!”

“Whoa,” Varian muttered. He looked around himself and jotted down a couple things about the conditions they were in, and the rocks reactions.

“It’s no use,” Cassandra said, lifting her hands from the rocks. “I say we see if we can get through the tree first.”

With that, everyone muttered their agreements/worries and went into the caravan, grapping anything that was important that they could carry in their bags. They also loaded up bags to be carried by Max and Fidella.

At Cassandra’s call, Owl swooped down for a moment and Cassandra told them their plan, asking him to scout out the other side and wait for them. He flew off, and then all entered the tree.

“Whoa,” Rapunzel said as she led the way. Walking into the tree was more akin to entering a house, standing in a small room with two makeshift doors.

“Whoa is right, Blondie,” Eugene said. He walked a bit more, inspecting the door-like structures made out of wood and vines. “Hm… I feel like we should go left,” he said.

“Hm. I think we should go right,” Cassandra said, approaching the doors as well.

“Well,” Rapunzel said, walking up between them. “Cass is the one who can feel the path.”

“Oh come on,” Eugene said, “she’s just saying that to be contrary,” Eugene scoffed.

“No I’m not,” Cassandra said, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh please, you do that all the time,” Eugene said.

“I’m not denying that,” Cassandra said, holding her head high. “But I’m serious, it’s the right door,” she said, frowning at him. Eugene just grumbled.

“Well,” Rapunzel said again, “we have a group of people. How big can a tree be? We should split up and each take a room so we can be sure we find the right way and then meet back up.”

“I think that’s a great idea, Princess,” Lance interjected. “No need to bicker.”

“Okay,” Cass agreed. “Varian, you’re with us,” Cass said, going back to put her hand on Fidella and guide her forward. “Raps?”

“Okay, and that leaves Lance, Eugene, and Max. Pascal can stay with me,” she said, looking into the blue bag gifted to her by Cassandra. Pascal greeted her with a noise and smile.

They two groups split off, with Lance and Eugene going into the left door. They were faced with some winding stairs made out of roots and vines, scaling them carefully with the horses to arrive in a room with green and purple vines and flowers everywhere.

Meanwhile, Cass, Rapunzel (with Pascal), Varian, and Fidella entered the room on the right. It was much more like an actual room, with a table made from rough wood and logs at once side. It also had bits of paper scattered around, which Varian and Rapunzel immediately began investigating.

Cassandra walked over to the table, looking at the single scroll on the table. It was a bit tattered around the edges, but still intact.  She picked it up, eyes drawn to the writing she could understand, written alongside what she assumed to be another language.

“Flower gleam and glow,” Cassandra read aloud. “Let your power shine,” she continued. Due to it’s placement on her head, she could not see the blue strand of her hair begin to glow faintly.

“Hey,” Rapunzel called out, and Cassandra looked up. Her hair was back to it’s regular otherworldly and abnormal blue. “What’s that?” she said, going over to her, Varian following close behind.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Cassandra said, passing it over to her.

“Oh, part of it is translated!” Varian said.

“Flower gleam and glow, well, I know that one already,” Rapunzel said with a little laugh. “There’s another,” she said, “it’s under the moon instead of the sun… and it’s blue, like the rocks when they glow,” Rapunzel observed. Perhaps it was for Cassandra? Rapunzel read it aloud anyway.

“Wither and decay, end this destiny,” she started, Varian and Cassandra looking on. “Break these earthly chains, and set the spirit free.” Unbeknownst to herself, a few of the flowers and vines growing from the walls were starting to rapidly die. “Set the spirit free,” Rapunzel finished the incantation slowly, but all at once, her hair began to turn back. “Wither and decay,” she started again, and her eyes filled with black.

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra yelled, gasping for air as her friend started to say the next line. The greenery around them had turned grey and the effect was spreading. Thankfully Cassandra’s scream was enough to make Rapunzel drop the scroll and shake her head. Her eyes returned to their normal colour a moment later. 

“Oh my god,” Rapunzel said.

“What the fuck,” Varian said, and neither of the adults had it within them to chastise him for the inappropriate language.

Rapunzel picked up the scroll and quickly rolled it up, putting it in her bag. “I have a feeling this is important, but, um, we’re not going to read it out loud anymore.”

“Agreed,” Cassandra said, eyes swimming with worry. “Raps, are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine,” Rapunzel said. “That felt strange, like a power was surging, and I wasn’t fully control of myself, but I’m totally okay now. Are you okay? Cass, Varian?”

“Just a little spooked,” Varian said, brushing off his shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Cass said, putting her hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder. “I would like to get out of here, though.”

“Right,” Rapunzel nodded, and they headed towards the other door in the room. Varian picked up a few random scrolls and stuffed them in his bag, for, y’know, research, and then followed behind.

The next room was small, incredibly similar to the one they entered in, but there was no door. They could, however, see that there was a bit of light peaking out from behind some of the vines, presumably the last of the daylight showing them a way out.

The room wasn’t incredibly populated, but Cassandra did take note of something that looked like a sword stuck in stone. She went over to it, and tried to pull it out. It didn’t budge. “Hey, Raps,” she said, gesturing her over to it, “check this out.” Rapunzel pulled a face, and tried to pull the sword as well.

“It looks like it’s made out of black rock,” Rapunzel pointed out. Cassandra placed a hand on it again and say the familiar glint of blue.

“Hmm,” Cassandra hummed, and tried to pull it out again. Still, it didn’t move. “Ugh!” she groaned.

Meanwhile, Varian went over to investigate their possible exit. “Hey, I can see outside, you guys! Once you’re done with Excalibur, we should just go back and get Eugene, Max, and Lance.”

“Sounds like a good pl-“ Cass almost finished her sentence when she heard a crack and some yelling. As the ‘roof’ above them caved in and Lance, Max, and Eugene entered the room.

They were not exactly falling, though.

Looking up, they all saw Lance, Max, and Eugene suspended in the air by glowing green vines. The vines were lashing them about and squeezing them tight.

“Rapunzel!” Eugene gasped, doing his best to cry for help.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel yelled back. Cass reached for her sword and ran over to the vines, slashing at it. It did nothing. In fact, her sword almost bounced back off of the glowing vines. She grunted and yelled fiercely, continuing to try to cut the men free, but to no avail. Rapunzel tried to pull them free with her hair, but that wasn’t working either. Varian stood in the back with the horses, frozen in fear. This was by far the scariest situation they’d been in thus far.

“The black rock sword,” Cassandra yelled, throwing her regular sword to the side. The black rocks were unmatched, she just needed to get it free.

“Quick,” she heard Lance gasp, quiet. Cassandra ran to the sword, trying to yank it from it’s place.

“No, the withering incantation!” Rapunzel exclaimed; her eyes wide and her heart raced with adrenaline.

“No,” Cass shouted. “The sword,” she said, still desperately trying to free it.  

“We don’t have time!” Rapunzel shouted back, throwing her hair around the vines.

“You’ll bring this entire tree down on top of us!” Cassandra argued. “I can get the sword!” she insisted, gritting her teeth and taking a deep breath.

“Wither and Decay,” Rapunzel began, singing this time.

“Rapunzel, no!” Cassandra shouted, but Rapunzel’s hair was starting to turn a deep, deep black. Cassandra grunted, her hand on the hilt of the sword. She placed one hand on the side of the wide blade and kept the other on the hilt, glancing back at Rapunzel, whose eyes had turned black.

In a matter of seconds, a few thoughts crossed Cassandra’s mind. Rapunzel was entranced. The vines were starting to rot and fall apart. Rapunzel was right. When Eugene and Lance fell to the floor, Rapunzel wouldn’t be able to catch to them. She couldn’t see Varian, Pascal, or Max. She had to do something. 

Looking back at the sword, Cassandra sucked in a breath. Pressing her hand to the stone, it glowed a faint blue for just a moment, and Cassandra yanked it back. It slipped from the rock with relative ease and Cassandra fell back from the force. She was only down for a second before looking back at Rapunzel. The vines were crumbling. Eugene and Lance had fallen to the floor.

Cassandra took a quick glance towards the wall, seeing Max with a terrified Varian heading out through the gaps in the crumbling vines. Pascal was with them. The faint light from the setting sun was filtering in.

“Rapunzel, stop!” Cassandra yelled, approaching her. The sword was hanging from her non-dominant hand, all but forgotten for the moment.

“I can’t,” Rapunzel yelled. “Lance, get Eugene,” she commanded. Cass didn’t see the look of hesitation on Lance’s face, “Now!”. She didn’t watch him lift Eugene and head towards the opening in the vines.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Cassandra demanded, desperation in her voice.

“I can’t control it,” Rapunzel grit her teeth.

“Rapunzel, you have to!” Cassandra barked, reaching out to touch her arm. Cassandra let out an ear-piercing shriek as she did so, pain searing through her fingertips. Her hand was scorched, as if she’d stuck it into a blazing fire. Tears of shock and pain sprung to her eyes as she stumbled backwards.

“Cassandra!” Rapunzel’s black eyes flashed and then she blinked, opening to reveal green eyes once more. “Your hand,” Rapunzel gasped.

“Let’s go,” Cassandra all but screamed, holding her arm to her body as she ran out. Rapunzel whipped back her hair and ran right behind her.

As they exited the tree, they could all hear the wood from the inside of the tree breaking and falling. They were still near the edge of a cliff on this side, but it wasn’t nearly as drastic, or as narrow. They could see a black structure in the distance, situated at the end of an open plain. Immediately before them was a large wooded area before the plain.

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, her voice worried and upset, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Cassandra replied, short.

“Are you sure?” Rapunzel asked, eyes wide. 

“I said I’m fine!” Cassandra snapped.

“But you’re hurt,” Rapunzel argued softly, worried.

“I know,” Cassandra admitted. “But it won’t happen again.”

The silence between them was deafening. The others give them space, with Lance checking up on Eugene and Varian.

“I’m sorry,” Rapunzel said quietly.

“It’s not like I could have left you like that,” Cassandra said, lowering her voice as well. Her eyes were downcast, looking at the charred flesh. It was nothing like a normal wound. She could still somehow move her fingers, though it was painful to do so. If she has been hurt by a real fire, her hand would be entirely gone.

“I know.”

“You should have let me try to cut the vines with the black rock sword,” Cass said, glancing up at Rapunzel for just a moment.

“I know,” Rapunzel admitted. “I just- I needed to save our friends. I should have waited, though.”

“Yeah,” Cassandra sighed. She stretched out her hand, wincing. “I’ll be okay,” she promised.

“Okay,” Rapunzel says. She gently placed her arms around Cassandra to pull her closer. Cassandra kept her arm tucked close to her body, but tossed the black rock sword onto the ground to return the hug with one arm.

“So…” Eugene started, once the girls had their moment. “What now?”

Cassandra looked towards the rocks, pointed toward the black cluster in the distance. It was shaped vaguely like a castle.

“It’s up to you, Cass,” Rapunzel said.

“We keep going,” Cassandra says to the group, determination in her voice. “After we rest for a bit,” she added a moment later. “We can camp here for the night.”

Chapter Text

Most of the next day was spent navigating the thick woods. Just when they were certain they were almost out of it, the group realized something was strange. Rapunzel and Cassandra were the first to notice, followed by Lance. It felt like they were being followed, or watched.

“I think, maybe, we should stop and take a break soon?” Varian said. He was still pretty spooked from what has happened yesterday, seeing one of his best friends turn into a dark and deadly sorcerer and his other friend get her hand scorched.

“Ehh, maybe a little longer,” Eugene said, looking around himself. “Maybe once we’re out of the woods?”

“I wouldn’t go any farther if I were you,” a voice came from beside them. Varian shrieked, and so did Eugene.

Adira stood before them, arms behind her back.

“Ugh, not you again,” Cassandra said. “How the hell did you even get here at the same time as us?”

“I told you, I’m a keeper of these parts. I know my way around much better than you,” Adira said, stepping out from the trees.

“I am not in the mood,” Cassandra said, continuing to walk on.

Rapunzel looked between Adira and Cassandra, pausing for a moment before increasing her speed to match Cassandra’s.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do continue,” Adira said, her quick strides overtaking Cassandra and walking backwards in front of her. “I didn’t expect you to make it this far, it appears you are formidable opponents. But, if you insist on trying to make it to the Dark Castle, then opponents you shall be.” Cassandra stopped short as Adira slowly drew her sword.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to stop us physically!” Eugene piped up, behind Cassandra on the side opposite of Rapunzel. Lance was behind them, an arm in front of Varian for protection.

“As I said, I did not expect you to make it here. I do not wish to hurt you, fish skin. Please turn back now.”

“Wait, fish skin?” Eugene said, patting his face. “My skin is not fish-like!"

“Eugene,” Cassandra said carefully.

“Ahem,” Eugene cleared his throat, then went on, “c’mon Sword Lady. We’re four adults and a kid against one. It’s best you just let us pass.”

“Sorry, fish skin,” Adira said, and Eugene’s face soured. “I’m going to ask you one last time,” Adira said, and Cassandra started to unsheathe her own black sword. “Leave,” Adira concluded.

“We’re not doing that,” Cassandra said, holding out the sword in front of her. Adira’s eyes flashed with confusion for a moment.

“Short hair, where did you-“

“Stop!” their heads all turned towards another voice that joined them, another sword coming between Adira and Cassandra.

“Hector?!” Adira lowered her weapon just a bit.

“You must let them pass,” Hector said.

“What?! They can’t,” Adira said, eyes narrowed. “It’s a death sentence, and we are sworn to protect-“

“Yes, we are, but do you not see who they are?” Hector gestured at the group. “They must reach the Moonstone.”

“Nobody must ever reach the Moonstone, what are you talking about?” Adira argued, her voice rising. “Step out of my way, Hector, you’ve clearly gone mad.”

“I will not!” Hector said. “If you are going to prevent them from leaving, I will prevent you from stopping them,” Hector readied himself for a fight. Adira narrowed her eyes.

“Get out of my way,” she repeated carefully, then lunged to try to bypass him. Hector managed to get in front of her.

“Go! Run! You must reach the Dark Castle, both of you!” Hector barked, looking back at Cassandra, his bright eyes flashing towards Rapunzel as well. “Go, now!”

Cassandra did not need to be told again. She, and the rest of the group, took off running through the woods.

Cassandra managed to put away her sword as she ran, and then Rapunzel grabbed her hand, bringing herself up to the speed Cass was running. The only thing Cassandra could feel was the urgency, the need to get away, the need to reach their destination as quickly as possible.

She almost didn’t notice when the two of them left the forest and stepped foot into the plains they’d seen, running once again on the black rock rather than the mossy forest floor. The others were right behind them.

It was even more shocking when Cassandra and Rapunzel felt the ground beneath them moving, propelling them forward on a sheet of black rock that was almost like ice with the shine. Rapunzel stumbled slightly, clinging to Cassandra’s arm as they were rocketed far into the plains. They both screamed, skidding to a rather sudden stop only when Cassandra felt that they were probably far from Adira and Hector by now, therefore safe. However, the others were no longer behind them.

At the sudden stop, the two of them stumbled into a pile together, Rapunzel on top of Cassandra. “Ow,” Cassandra said, and Rapunzel pushed herself up.

“Sorry!” Rapunzel said, looking at Cassandra’s now-bandaged arm. “What was that?”

“I… I don’t know,” Cassandra said, looking around them. The fog was thick and all she could see was glassy black rocks as well as some regular grey stones. Rapunzel leaned back and then stood up, then helped Cassandra up with her good hand. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to get away.”

“It’s okay,” Rapunzel said, but she bit her lip. “Eugene!” she yelled. There was no response. “Lance!”

“Varian!” Cassandra yelled.

“Max!”  “Fidella!”

“Eugene!” they both yelled. Cassandra and Rapunzel looked at one another, frowning.

Rapunzel opened her bag, scooping Pascal out. “At least you’re still with me, hm?” Pascal nuzzled her hand.

Cassandra whistled, and, a few moments later, Owl dove down. “Thank god you can see us,” Cass said. “Hey,” she said. “Raps, let’s give owl a message for the boys,” she suggested.

“Oh!” Rapunzel said, “good thinking, Cass.”

“Thanks,” Cassandra said. Rapunzel took out the scroll from yesterday, and then pulled out her book and a quill.

“Hey, Raps? Can I see that?” Cassandra said, and Rapunzel handled her the scroll.

“What should I tell them?” Rapunzel asked, sitting on one of the bigger grey stones with a flat time.

“We’re okay,” Cassandra said. “We… are we going to continue to follow the black rocks? Should we wait for them? It’s not night yet,” Cassandra thought.

“Hm,” Rapunzel looked at the parchment. “I don’t know. I don’t like being split up from them, but,” Rapunzel drummed her fingers on her knee. “I don’t know what to think about anything, Cass.”

Cassandra frowned. Rapunzel set down the quill and parchment, continuing on, “You just brought us here with magical rocks, Cass,” Rapunzel said gently. “And those two back there?”

Cassandra crossed her arms and turned away. “I know,” she said quietly.

“Cass, please don’t shut me out, not now,” Rapunzel said, coming up behind her and placing a hand on Cassandra’s shoulder, rubbing soothingly.

“I’m not,” Cassandra said. “I won’t. I’m just- I’m sorry. About all of this. I know it’s been a lot to ask, magic rocks, being drawn to some destiny we know nothing about, and then people yelling at us to both stop and go ahead. It’s confusing. I don’t know how to explain why you should trust me, I don’t have a good reason for you to trust me.”

“I do trust you, Cass,” Rapunzel said, moving around to face Cassandra. “I just think that, well, we should be careful. And you don’t have to do this alone,” Rapunzel said, squeezing Cassandra’s shoulders. “But we’re going to keep going,” Rapunzel said. “We’ll see this through.”

“Thank you, so much, Rapunzel,” Cassandra said, looking up. “I know I have to do this, whether you’re with me, or not. But I’m glad you’re here.”

Rapunzel smiled, pulling Cassandra into a hug, “I’m glad I’m here too, Cass. I love you, you know,” she said.

“I know,” Cassandra said, blushing again. Rapunzel pulled back part way to smile brightly at her again.

The available light was dim, due to the thick fog. “I… I love you, too,” Cassandra said, voice just above a whisper. Rapunzel felt her face heat up as well, her heart racing. Cassandra never said things like that. “Truthfully, Raps, I’ve never felt this way for anybody but you,” Cassandra admitted quietly.

Rapunzel pulled her into another hug. “Me either!” Rapunzel said. She was tempted to add ‘except Eugene’, but that would be strange, right? She loved Eugene and Cassandra both deeply, and equally, but it wasn’t the exact same. Was it? No, it couldn’t be. She liked to kiss Eugene, after all. She hadn’t really thought about kissing Cassandra before.

Cassandra let out a soft laugh, and then pulled back, avoiding Rapunzel’s gaze. “Do you want to finish your letter to Eugene and the rest of them? Then we can stay here and wait for them, if you like.”

“Yes, but, no. We should keep going. I’m sure Adira will keep trying to stop us until we reach our goal. We’ll tell them to follow the black rocks and we will meet up with them eventually.”

“Are you sure, Raps?” Cassandra said, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Yes,” Rapunzel said. She finished the letter, and tied it onto Owl’s leg.

“If you say so,” Cassandra said, and Owl was off.

The two of them started walking in the direction of the black rocks, Rapunzel linking her arm with Cassandra’s, her mind wandering off in the quiet.

-

“Girls! Lance! Varian! Fidella! PASCAL!?” Eugene walked with Max, looking around himself.

“Ah!” he yelled, before stumbling back in surprise when Owl swooped down. “Owl?!” he said. Owl perched on him, and then stuck out his leg a bit. “Oh,” he said, then he grabbed the piece of parchment and unfolded it.

He read it out loud, then sighed and tied it back up. “Thanks, buddy. I guess should you deliver it to Lance and Varian as well?” he suggested, and Owl flew off again. He knew how Rapunzel and Cassandra got separated, but he had no idea how he’d lost the others. Today was not a very good day, it seemed.

Eugene assessed the situation as he started to walk again. Rapunzel and Cassandra were continuing forward, and he was left behind. Rapunzel said that Cassandra hadn’t meant for this all to happen, but… well, it was just a tiny bit curious, wasn’t it?

Eugene grumbled to himself. Maybe Cass did mean it, maybe she didn’t. It wasn’t as if anything ever went as planned for Eugene, Cass or no Cass.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the ringbox. Max looked at him and whinnied.

“Yep, it’s exactly what you think,” Eugene said, flipping the box open. “I was thinking, maybe if we came across a picturesque scene somewhere, had a moment to ourselves… it could be romantic.”

Max nodded, it was logical.  

“Yknow, sometimes I think horses are better than people,” Eugene said, and Max made a noise in agreement. “Max, why is love so hard?” he asked. Max tilted his head to indicate confusion.

“Again, she’s gone, on a different path than mine,” Eugene said, looking at Max as they walked slowly. “And I’m left behind, wondering if I should follow,” he confessed.

“She had to go, and of course that’s always fine. I’ll probably catch up before tomorrow,” Eugene mused, taking another few steps.

 “Is this what it feels like to be growing apart?” Eugene loudly posed the question to the fog surrounding him, along with Max, sighing in frustration. “Since when was I the one always chasing her heart?” he muttered, kicking a small rock. It was dark in color, but not quite black. Kicking a black rock would break his foot, at this rate.

Eugene sighed once again and sat on a grey stone, looking at the ring. “Now I turn around and find myself lost in this fog. North is south, right is left, when she’s gone,” he said. Sappy, yes. But true. 

There was no end in sight for his lamenting though, no way. Eugene huffed, "Up till now the next step was a question of how. I never thought it was a question of whether,” Eugene said. Sure, doubts had crossed his mind, but he’d always been certain he would end up engaged to Rapunzel sooner or later.

“Who am I, if I’m not her guy?” Eugene asked, running a hand through his hair. She had changed his entire life, shook him to his core. “Where am I, if we’re not together?” he asked, looking down.

No, Eugene thought. He shook his head. “I know she’s my true north. Up is down, day is night, when she’s not here,” he said, looking at Max. Max just blinked at him. “She’s my only landmark,” he said.

“So I’ll wait for a sign that I’m her path, because she’s mine,” Eugene said, voice certain.

“Until then, I guess I'm just... lost in this fog.” Eugene said. “Let’s go, buddy,” Eugene said, and then he moved to mount Max so he could cover more ground, following the black rock path that he knew Rapunzel to be on. 

--

After a while of walking, Cassandra pulled up the scroll, looking at it as they walked slowly, arm in arm. There were two more incantations, one of them only partially translated. Rapunzel pressed her cheek into Cassandra’s shoulder, reading it to herself.

“Hm,” she started, “looks… a little spooky,” she grimaced. The two of them slowed to a stop.

“Yeah,” Cassandra said. “It didn’t seem like anything was happening when I started to say the healing incantation earlier. Maybe it’d be... okay… for me to say?”

Rapunzel frowned deeply, pulling back from her a bit. “I don’t know about that, Cass,” Rapunzel said slowly. “The last line is pretty ominous. We have no idea what it does. And I never should have said the Withering Incantation,” Rapunzel glanced at Cassandra’s hand.

“Yeah,” Cassandra said again, looking down at the scroll. “I want to, though,” she said simply, with a shrug of her shoulder.

Rapunzel chewed her lip. “I won’t stop you, Cass.”

Cassandra nodded, then took a step back. “Crescent high above,” Cassandra started. Nothing seemed to be happening. She took a deep breath through her nose, “evolving as you go. Raise what lies beneath,” with that, the black rocks started to rumble beneath them. “And let the darkness grow,” she said, and black rocks shot up from beside them, creating a wall on either side. Cassandra’s eyes bulged, and she dropped the scroll.

“Whoa!” Rapunzel said, looking around herself at them.

“Nobody’s hurt?” Cassandra asked.

“No,” Rapunzel said, “Cass, your hair!”

Cassandra furrowed her brows, running her hand through her hair to look what she could see. It seemed like more of the underside of her hair had turned bright blue. “Damn,” Cassandra said, looking at the other side. “Is it all the way around?” she asked.

Rapunzel stepped forward and ran her hands through Cassandra’s hair, causing her to blush, “Looks like it. The whole layer underneath is just… blue,” Rapunzel observed. “I must say, it’s a pretty cute look, Cass,” Rapunzel said with a smile.

Cassandra’s face went bright red and she wished Rapunzel would stop touching her hair right about now. Rapunzel played with it a moment more before taking her hands back and giggling innocently. Cassandra felt like she could breath again, then pressed her lips together. She peered into the black rocks beside her, the shiny surface indeed portraying a difference in colour in her hair. 

“Hey!” Rapunzel said, looking up. She put her hand on Cassandra’s shoulder. “Look what we can see now that the fog has lifted some,” she pointed.

“The Castle,” Cassandra said. “We’re so close,” she said, smiling. Rapunzel put her arms around Cassandra’s shoulder, leaning on her.

Cassandra lifted on hand to pat Rapunzel’s arm as they marveled at the huge structure made of black rock. It would still take some walking to get there, but their goal was in sight. It filled Cassandra with an indescribable feeling as she glanced over at Rapunzel. She felt a hint of unease and sadness for just a moment, before looking back at the castle with renewed vigor.

“Let’s go,” Cassandra said with a smile, and Rapunzel nodded against her shoulder before standing up.

“Right!” Rapunzel said, smiling brightly back at her.  

The two of them walked on, hand in hand. It seemed like night was going to fall soon, but with just the two of them they were able to cover quite a bit of ground.

Cassandra’s heart was beating in her chest the closer they got. Rapunzel holding her hand did not help, especially not after their heart-to-heart earlier. Cassandra did not take the word ‘love’ lightly, for her to admit to Rapunzel that she loved her- that was big.

She also felt awkward. She’d taken a small step towards explaining how she truly felt for the Princess, but of course she stopped short. How could Cassandra ever explain the depth of her feelings for the other woman, when Rapunzel was already in a serious relationship with Eugene. Besides, women like Cassandra weren’t incredibly common.

No, she should certainly wait. Perhaps she could keep it to herself for the rest of her life, honestly. Telling Rapunzel about her feelings was futile.

At the same time, it would be good to get it off her chest, would it not? She could finally breathe around Rapunzel if she confessed.

Cassandra silently willed herself to stop thinking about this now. She was so close to her goal, this wasn’t important. She’d have the rest of her life to grapple with the question of telling Rapunzel about her feelings for her.

Well, hopefully.

Cassandra chewed her lip as she gazed at the Dark Castle, the menacing structure made of black rock, the spikes and jagged stone that constructed it. She was so close, and she had been so sure of herself up until this point, and she still was, but… she had no idea what was lying in wait for her.

They had to be less than 30 minutes away, now.

“Hey, Cass,” Rapunzel said, stopping her for a moment. “You’re going to make your lip bleed,” Rapunzel said, reaching up to brush her thumb along Cassandra’s lip. Cassandra’s eyes went wide.

“Oh. Uh, oops.”

“Are you okay?” Rapunzel asked, squeezing her good hand.

“Yeah. I’m just… wondering what’s in there,” Cassandra admitted.

“We’ll face it together,” Rapunzel said, smiling. Cassandra nodded slowly. They began to walk again.

“Raps,” she started, and Rapunzel looked at her.

“Yes?”

“Thanks,” Cassandra faltered. Maybe she really should tell Rapunzel about her feelings, in case she was wrong all along and Cassandra was in grave danger. In that moment, Cassandra made a couple of decisions. “We’re almost there,” Cassandra said, squeezing Rapunzel’s hand as she picked up the pace.

“Yeah!” Rapunzel said, and she ran with Cassandra. The two of them laughed, giddy and excited for what was about to happen.

Chapter Text

“Are you excited, Cass?” Rapunzel asked, holding on to her arm again.

Rapunzel and Cassandra had made their way to the Castle. They’d just walked up the large black staircase and were met with a big, heavy looking door.

“Yeah,” Cassandra breathed. “I am.”

Rapunzel made a noise of excitement, “Me too!”

“Raps,” Cassandra started, pulling away from her. She took Rapunzel’s hand, taking a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you, before going in,” she said.

“Okay,” Rapunzel nodded, a small smile on her face. “You can tell me anything, Cass.”

“Okay,” Cassandra said quietly, steeling herself. “First of all, I can’t thank you enough for supporting me. You know, better than most, how much that means to me at this point in my life. I’m so glad you came with me, and have trusted me, even when it was hard to do.”

“Of course, Cass,” Rapunzel said, bringing her free hand to Cassandra’s cheek. Cassandra leaned her face into it just a bit.

“Rapunzel,” she said, swallowing thickly. Her knees felt a bit weak. “I… I want you to know, I love you.” Cassandra glanced up, then back down. Rapunzel looked like she wanted to say something, but Cassandra went on. “I mean, I really love you, Raps. I-“ she took a shaky breath, “when I look at you, my heart beats faster. I don’t think of you like a sister, I-“ Cassandra looked back up. “I think I’m in love with you, Raps.”

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, her eyes wide. Cassandra squeezed her hand.

“And, I’ve always wanted to do this,” Cassandra said, leaning forward. She pressed a chaste kiss to Rapunzel’s lips. “Lastly,” Cass said, pulling back.

“I’m sorry,” Cassandra said, and then she let go of Rapunzel, pushing her back just a bit as she whispered, “crescent high above, rising as you go-“ and the rocks under Rapunzel’s feet, along with the stairs they’d just taken, all flattened out into a steep incline, sending Rapunzel sliding down on her behind as she yelled.

Cassandra turned around and the doors to the Castle were flung open as she ran inside, having no idea where she was going. Her feet carried her inside as tears left her eyes, feeling horrible for what she’d just done. She knew Rapunzel would be safe, she’d envisioned and created the exact place she was sending Rapunzel, far enough away that Cass wouldn’t be interrupted.

Cassandra slowed as she entered a big room, lit up in blue from a source she couldn’t see. Cassandra wiped away her tears, walking towards some big doors at the end of the room. She felt bad for what she’d done, but, she felt like she’d made the right choice. She knew with absolute certainty that she need to do this alone. She needed to do it for herself.

Cassandra pushed open the large door and stepped into a pitch black room. As she walked in, the floor lit up blue each time her foot met the black rock beneath her.

“Every inch of me is trembling, but not from the cold,” Cassandra said to dark, admittedly chilly room. “Something is familiar, like a dream I can reach but not quite hold,” she said, walking in. “I can sense you there, like a friend I’ve always known,” Cassandra smiled despite herself. It was true. She could feel the pull here, friendly and warm, beckoning her further into the room.

It felt like she was home.

“I have always been a fortress,” Cassandra said, walking slowly but with purpose. “Cold secrets deep inside,” she said, holding her injured arm to her chest, over her heart. “You have secrets, too,” she observed. This place was shrouded in secrecy, that she could tell, “but you don't have to hide,” Cassandra reached out and placed a hand on the wall next to her, watching the blue dance outward from her.

“I’m dying to meet you,” Cassandra said, walking a bit more quickly, “it’s your turn!”

A few moments later, she added “Are you the one I’ve been looking for all my life?”

“Show yourself,” she requested. She was met with only silence as she reached the edge of the floor, looking into a black abyss.

Cassandra took in a deep breath, then stepped off the edge.

Black rock rose to meet her foot, growing with every step, taking her down further and further.

“I’ve never been more certain! All my life I’ve been torn,” Cassandra called out, bounding farther with new confidence. “But I’m here for a reason. This could be the reason I was born.”

“I have always been so different, normal rules did not apply,” Cassandra said, running once again once she reached a platform, a long stretch of room with a blue glow somewhere in the distance. “Is this the day, are you the way I finally find out why?” Cassandra asked, looking up to see more blue taking over the black rock of the walls. It was mesmerizing, and beautiful, but Cass would not be distracted from her goal.

She continued towards the blue light. “I’m no longer trembling,” Cassandra said, a smile on her face. “Here I am, I’ve come so far! You are the answer I've waited for all of my life.” 

“Oh, show yourself. Let me see who you are,” Cassandra pleaded, throwing her arms out to the side. “Come to me now,” Cassandra asked, turning around as she walked, watching a particular light dance, “open your door.”

“Don’t make me wait, one moment more,” Cassandra said with conviction as she ran forward, finally landing at the centre, the origin of the blue light. A small blue gemstone, glowing, sat on a stand made of black rock.

Cassandra reached forward, and took the blue gemstone.

Suddenly, Cassandra’s feet were lifted from the floor. Her arms were limp at her side as her body was encased in a new black rock outfit, the gemstone resting above her heart. Her hair was blown back from her face, fully turning electric blue.

“I am found,” Cassandra felt herself say, but it wasn’t entirely her. It was the Moonstone talking, but it was also her. She’d found the Moonstone, but the Moonstone had also found her. She saw dancing blue light form a feminine figure in front of her, the Moonstone projecting in order to communicate clearly.

“Step into your power,” the Moonstone told her. Cassandra grinned and nodded, balling her fists.

She could feel many things at once, memories flooding her mind as the Moonstone lead her forward.

“Grow yourself, into something new,” The Moonstone said, and Cassandra said it at the same time.

Onto the blue rock walls, she could see her father projected, as well as Rapunzel, and a childhood friend she’d had.

“Raps!” Cassandra said, and she realized she could feel Rapunzel. The Sundrop. She could feel the distress from Rapunzel and she felt guilt for a moment, but suddenly the memory of Rapuznel being displayed was Rapunzel herself, looking at her.

“Cassandra!” she heard, seeing Rapunzel’s happy, relieved face.

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra smiled back, seeing Rapunzel reach out. Cassandra looked over, the Moonstone calling her forward.

She would have to apologize and talk to Rapunzel later, Cassandra figured, and she walked towards the Moonstone.

The Moonstone moved through her, and together they created black rocks. Cassandra now understood implicitly that it was emotion and feeling that helped her harness the power of the Moonstone and shape the black rocks. It helped to centre herself, to feel something desperately and want it to happen. The Moonstone was excited, showing her memories that helped her tap into different emotions as they created beautiful structures and towers.

“You are the one you've been waiting for,” The Moonstone told her, taking her deeper into the cave. Cassandra took a deep breath, and followed, seeing more and more memories, ones of joy, ones of defeat, of frustration, of love.

It was terrifying and wonderful all at once, Cassandra was having the time of her life.

Until she stopped short, looking up at a woman Cassandra hadn’t realized she’d forgotten.

In that moment, Cassandra gasped for air, looking at Gothel, her mother. Her mother. How had she forgotten who her mother was? An evil woman, a woman that had abandoned her, left her starved for affection and praise.

Cassandra was frozen, and she felt the Moonstone’s pain for a moment before her body was again encased in black, but this time it encased her entirely, keeping her in the moment the worst memory she had was surfaced. The Moonstone was distressed, encased along with Cassandra.

--

Rapunzel was entirely furious once she had gained her footing again. She checked on Pascal, making sure he was okay, before standing up. She was in the bottom of a crevice, one that Cassandra had landed her in with slick black rock.

“What happened Pascal?” Rapunzel asked, brow furrowed. “We were doing so well! I was doing my best, I thought Cassandra believed me. I thought trusting her would be enough,” Rapunzel said, bringing her fingers to her lips.

More than angry, Rapunzel was scared. Why would Cass send her away, if she was not worried for her own safety? Was she worried Rapunzel would try to stop her from doing something reckless- which she would.

And, why would Cassandra confess something like that? Was it because she thought she might never return? Rapunzel couldn’t deal with that possibility.

Cassandra wouldn’t just say something like that to distract her, right? No, she had to mean it, Rapunzel though.

“I love her,” Rapunzel said, to herself. Even in the worst case scenario, that Cassandra really had used her feelings to get Rapunzel away from her, she knew this was true. She loved Cassandra. Maybe how she loved Eugene. The kiss was nice and- well, if Cassandra was indeed in love with her, that did explain a lot, didn’t it?

Rapunzel was determined to get back to Cassandra as quickly as possible. “C’mon, Pascal,” she said, and she started to climb the rocks.

Once she made it to the first platform she could climb to, Rapunzel stopped to stretch before she started on the next one, her jaw set.

Suddenly, though, Rapunzel felt the ground tremor. She placed a hand on the black rock nearest to her, and let out a cry of joy.

“Cassandra!” she shouted to the air, her voice filled with happiness and relief. Cassandra had the moonstone. Rapunzel had no idea how, but she knew it to be true. The rocks danced blue as Rapunzel touched them, and she caught a fractured glimpse of Cassandra. She was radiant, her hair an electric blue. Her body was covered sleek black armour that had a few flashes of blue.

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra grinned, looking through the rocks to her. Then, Cassandra looked away. Rapunzel could feel energy coursing through her veins, connecting her to Cassandra on another level entirely. She had lost the visual of Cassandra, but the rocks continued to flash with blue, pulsing, like the blood rushing in her ears.

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel murmured, smiling to herself. At least Cass was safe. Rapunzel would just have to find her, and Eugene… and Lance and Max, Fidella, and Varian.

Still, she let out a contented sigh, this was going better than she might have thought, even if Cassandra did kiss her and trap her in a crevice.

Rapunzel started to scale the rocks, determined to make it out as soon as she could to find her friends. She continued to feel a subtle drum in her heart that she knew to be Cassandra and the moonstone. It would take some getting used to, but, when one had magic hair it was hard to be freaked out by these things. And Rapunzel took it in stride. After all, how cool was it to be connected to her best friend by magical forces?

Halfway up the rock, Rapunzel stopped on a platform she found, and suddenly clutched her heart. “Cass,” she gasped. Something was wrong. Rapunzel scanned her surroundings and touched the jet-black rock closest to her again, but she couldn’t forge a connection. No colour danced, she could only see her own terrified reflection.

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel said again as she sunk to her knees. She shuddered with the realization of what must have happened. Cassandra must have lost control of the moonstone and- no, she couldn’t even think of what this meant.

“Cass,” Rapunzel sobbed, clutching the cold black rock. When she opened her eyes to look up, dark clouds were forming above her. She could hear rocks rumbling in the distance, the magic from the moonstone going berserk momentarily.

“I’ve seen dark before, but not like this,” Rapunzel whispered to the rocks, to Cassandra herself, though Cass couldn’t hear her. Cass would never hear her again. “This is cold, this is empty, this is numb.” Pascal crawled up to her, pressing his face to Rapunzel’s cheek.

“The life I knew is over, the lights are out,” Rapunzel murmured, cupping Pascal back. “Hello, darkness, I'm ready to succumb,” she mumbled, pressing her head against the rock. It was dramatic, but she didn’t have a mind to consider that. Mumbling to herself and Pascal was all she could do to cope. She was not going to leave this place, she decided, never again. She’d sit here and wither and decay.

But, no. She couldn’t do that to her kingdom. To her parents. To Eugene. Cass wouldn’t want her to. Somewhere in her mind, she knew she’d have to get up. “You are lost, hope is gone,” Rapunzel said, addressing Cassandra in her heart. “But I must go on, and do the next right thing,” Rapunzel told herself, gripping the black rock with her hands, cold as ice.

“Oh, Cass… how do I rise from the floor, when it’s not you I’m rising for?” Rapunzel said, tears dripping from her eyes. “The only star that guided me was you,” she murmured. She loved Cassandra, truly and fiercely, and today did nothing but show her the depth of that love.

Rapunzel licked her lips, pushing herself from the ground. “Just do the next right thing,” Rapunzel told herself. Take a step, step again. “I won't look too far ahead,” Rapunzel told herself, thinking, it's too much for her to take. She told herself to break it down to this next breath, this next step.

“This next choice is one that I can make,” Rapunzel said, her conviction growing just a tiny bit. She swung her hair up and used it to help her climb. She stumbled, but caught herself, and made it to an even bigger platform.

She looked around her and noticed that there was a small gap in some of the rocks not too far. Was it a way in? She would have to investigate.

“Rapunzel!” she heard, and turned her eyes to the sky.

“Eugene!” she cried, and he made some risky but calculated choices to jump down to her. He wrapped her in an embrace.

“Blondie, what happened?”

“Cassandra is gone,” Rapunzel choked. “She-she blocked me off. She took the moonstone. And then I felt her! It was wonderful, for a moment. But, now, that’s how I know she’s-“ Rapunzel broke off and buried her face in Eugene’s shirt.

“Oh, Rapunzel,” he murmured. He ran his fingers over her hair. “Are you okay?”

“It feels like there will never be a day beyond this night,” Rapunzel told him severely. “Like part of me is gone with her,” Rapunzel wiped her eyes with her arm. “I have to keep going, though.”

“Yeah,” Eugene breathed. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel. But you’re right, we gotta get out of here, and do something. The black rocks are going crazy up there, I have no idea how much damage there’s been. Varian is trapped, Lance is with him, but,” Eugene grimaced.

“We need to get to the moonstone. I can put an end to this.”

“Didn’t Cass just- are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“I have to, Eugene. I have a connection to it. I know what I have to do.”

“Right. Okay. Well. How do we get in?” Eugene squeezed her shoulders and let her go. Rapunzel looked around.

“I think there’s a tunnel over there,” she said. “Behind the rocks.”

“You lead the way!” he said, and so she did.

Rapunzel made her way over to the rocks where she thought an entrance might lie. She swung her hair up and it fell around a rock near the top.

“Be careful there, Blondie,” Eugene said, standing near her.

“Help me pull,” Rapunzel responded, tugging on her hair. Eugene bit his lip but came up behind her to help her.

The rock slipped from its place and a few smaller ones came down with it. Eugene and Rapunzel jumped out of the way, and then the two of them pulled down a few more rocks until they could climb up and go over the rocks. As Rapunzel suspected, they landed in a tunnel.

“C’mon, we don’t have time to waste,” she told Eugene, and he nodded at her. It was pitch dark in the tunnel, but the rock inside was black and smooth. They each put a hand to the wall and crept inside.

Eventually, the two of them came to stairs. There was a faint blue lighting, though neither of them could tell where it originated from.

When they reached what they assumed to be the main floor, Eugene looked around with his hands on his hips. “Where now?”

“One second,” Rapunzel said. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, “This way,” she said. “I can feel it.”

“Right,” Eugene nodded and followed her into a room, and then another room. They next one they entered was large, and lined with statues. It had a huge door at the opposite end, with an ornate pattern. In other circumstances, they would both like to stop and admire it, but it was the last thing from their mind at this point.

Rapunzel went straight to the door and heaved as she opened it. The room they entered was different, once again made of sleek, black, reflective stone. Rapunzel looked around herself. She could get lost in the nothingness of this room, but she couldn’t afford to. She walked straight forward until the room started to slope. The floor began to taper into a narrow bridge, circling down and down into another cavern, eventually straightening out at the middle of the spiral.

Rapunzel could feel her heart racing as she descended. Once she turned the last corner, she could see what was waiting in the middle of the spiral. Cassandra, frozen in time, encased fully in shiny black rock. At her heart, there was a small gemstone glowing bright blue.

Gasping, Rapunzel broke out into a sprint. She didn’t notice how the black rock pulsed blue under her feet, though Eugene did as he trailed behind her.

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel gasped. She grit her teeth, suddenly overcome with a wave of anger and pain. She gripped at the stone with her fingertips, meaning to rip it out of Cassandra’s stone chest.

As soon as her fingers came in contact with the gem, a gasp shook through her body and her palm pressed flat against the moonstone. Her long hair began to float from her shoulders as it glowed a bright yellow.

“Rapunzel!” she heard from Eugene, though the sound was muted, like she was underwater. It felt far away. Pascal hopped off her and scurried towards Eugene.

It was not only her hair that was floating, but her whole body. Her toes left the ground last. As well, she was not the only one floating. She heard a sickening crack as the black stone around Cassandra crumbled to the floor.

Rapunzel’s gaze was suddenly met with electric blue eyes, dark lips, and rosy cheeks. That lovely complexion Cassandra had, if a bit, or quite a lot, paler.

“Cass,” she whispered. Cassandra blinked at her.

“Rapunzel?” she said, relief in her voice. Cassandra reached out, her hands on Rapunzel’s shoulder. Rapunzel’s hand was still at Cassandra’s heart, over the gemstone.

They two of them continued to rise as Rapunzel’s hair wrapped around them. Rapunzel let out a quiet laugh and pressed her forehead to Cassandra’s.

From the point of their contact, a bright green light shot out and encased the room. When the two of them opened their eyes, they were glowing solid colours, yellow and blue respectively.

“Sundrop?”

“Moonstone!”

The two women giggled.

“I’ve missed you,” Moonstone said, using the arms of her host to wrap Sundrop in a hug.

“Oh, I’ve missed you too!” Sundrop gushed, hugging back fiercely.

The two of them joined hands, floating near the top of the large cavern. The black rocks had risen to meet the same height as the entrance. Moonstone called back the black rocks that had gone awry when her power had overwhelmed Cassandra.

“Nice choice of a host,” Sundrop commented, extending her arms so she could see Cassandra.

“Thank you. I knew she would bring you to me,” Moonstone said, pleased.

“Of course. We’re fated to be together,” Sundrop said, content.

“Well, yes. But I chose her deliberately.”

“Of course,” Sundrop said with a smile. The two gazed into each other’s eyes for another while longer. Knowing one another as long as they did, words were often not needed.

“Uh… Excuse me? Hello! Rapunzel!? Cass?”

Moonstone ignored the yelling from the human below and brought Sundrop forward for a chaste kiss. Sundrop laughed and twirled Moonstone in the air.

“Hellllooo! Excuse me! What was that?” Eugene continued to yell.

Sundrop sighed and rolled her eyes. “We should talk to him,” Moonstone said.

“Yes, yes.”

Moonstone pulled Sundrop down with her, hovering just above the ground where Eugene stood.

“Cass…andra?” Eugene said.

“Not exactly,” Moonstone said. “I am Moonstone, this is Sundrop.”

“Hello,” Sundrop said, wiggling her fingers in a human greeting.

“Whaaaaaat,” Eugene said, jaw hanging open. “Where’s my girlfriend? Are they okay? I swear, you better give them back-”

“Oh, yes, Cassandra and Rapunzel are perfectly fine. We are simply… using their bodies, for now. No harm will come to them. You will get them back, don’t fret.”

“Not that you could do anything against us,” Sundrop interjected. “We will not keep them long, but, please, mortal… don’t kid yourself here."

“Hey!” Eugene said. It hurt, hearing that with something eerily similar to Rapunzel’s voice and coming from her mouth. “Well. Okay. What.. what are you, exactly?” Eugene said.

“Oh, come on, Eugene. You know what we are,” Sundrop told him. “You know the story. A long time ago, a single drop of Sunlight -that’s me- fell from the heavens. I became the sundrop flower, and eventually took residence inside Princess Rapunzel when the guards of the kingdom harvested my power to save Queen Arianna. Moonstone, similarly, comes from moonlight.”

“Oh-kay,” Eugene said, nodding dumbly. “So, wait, you’ve been inside Rapunzel this whole time?”

“Yes,” Sundrop said. “And, within her, I was destined to find my Moonstone again,” she smiled affectionately, looking at Moonstone.

“Exactly. But waiting around for fate will have you wasting away for eternity, so I took things into my own hands. Well. Not that I had hands before now,” Moonstone said, looking down at her- Cassandra’s- hands and stretching them.

“As destiny would have it,” Sundrop said.

“Yes- but a destiny that you can shape.”

“If you choose to try,” Sundrop shrugged, smiling.

“Which I did, and which is why we are together again now,” Moonstone asserted.

“All I am saying is, regardless of the actions taken, we would be together again eventually.”

“And all I am saying is, fate can be what you make it,” Moonstone smirked, taking their joined hands and spinning Sundrop around. Sundrop let out a laugh and spun with her, then took the chance to twirl Moonstone. The two danced with no music, floating higher with each twirl.

Eugene just blinked. He registered a noise from behind him and looked over his shoulder to see the huge door creaking open.

In walked the rest of their party, with Varian on Max, while Fidella and Lance walked beside them.

“Eugene! The rocks completely retreated, and the castle opened up! It was a direct route right here, and- uh… why are Cass and Rapunzel floating?” Varian hopped down from Max as they reached the centre of the room where Eugene was standing.

“Well.. first of all, that’s not Cass and Rapunzel,” Eugene said weakly. The two heavenly being were laughing and twirling still.

“Uh, come again?” Lance tilted his head to the side.

Eugene just shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. A moment or two later, Moonstone and Sundrop descended.

“More humans?” Sundrop said.

“The friends of Cassandra and Rapunzel. I paved their path,” Moonstone told her.

“Of course! Max! And Pascal!” Sundrop cooed, floating towards the animals. Eugene grimaced, thinking her eerily similar to the real Rapunzel.

“What are you?” Varian asked.

Sundrop sighed, “I’m Sundrop. This is Moonstone. You’ll find you’re actually quite familiar with us.”

“Oooh…” Varian said, eyes wide. “Are you’re just… inside of Cass and Rapunzel?”

“Essentially,” Moonstone said. “Sundrop has been within Rapunzel for her whole life.”

“Oh, right. We were explaining that to Eugene,” Sundrop said. “Well, this is good, now we can tell you all at once.”

“Are you going to… stay within them?” Eugene asked, watching as Sundrop floated back into Moonstone’s arms, nuzzling Moonstone’s shoulder with forehead.

“Well, yes,” Moonstone said. “We’ll be with them until they die. Despite our heavenly status, we cannot predict the exact future. Or fate.”

“But we know roughly what our destiny will be- and that is to be together, and then separated, and then together again,” Sundrop smiled warmly.

“Yes,” Moonstone said. “As even you humans know, we are magical beings from the heavens. While our magic is always on earth, it is not always present in the same capacity or way. But, I’ve ushered us into an era of magic and balance with my actions.”

“What do you mean by that?” Varian asked, moving closer to the two of them, ask they were almost touching the ground down. Moonstone grinned wide.

“Excellent question! You see, as we are from the sun and moon, we balance each other out. When we are separated, magic has trouble balancing. It’s always an arduous task, maintaining a balance. However, when we are together, our powers can balance, which sets the stage for magic, and the realm itself,” Moonstone said, and Varian was entranced, about to burst with questions.

“You see,” Moonstone continued, “As long as Cassandra and Rapunzel wield myself and Sundrop, and work to maintain balance, magic will flow in this realm. Harmony and discovery will be upon us, however,” Moonstone paused dramatically, “an increase in magic comes at a cost. The more people to practice, the more chance for people to harness magic for wicked things. Rapunzel and Cassandra will have to keep a watch for dangerous uses of magic and be prepared to stop evil from cropping up.”

“So-“ Varian started, lifting a hand.

“Wait, wait,” Eugene cut him off, “I want to go back for a moment, to this whole, you and Sundrop being inside Cass and Raps. Will they feel that? Does that.. does that mean they’re, y’know, ‘destined to be together’ too? What does that mean? How did Rapunzel not know there was an entire celestial being inside her for her whole life?! Or was it just because she didn’t know that was abnormal?”

“Ah, okay,” Sundrop said. “In general, Rapunzel and Cassandra don’t ‘feel’ us when we’re dormant. For Rapunzel’s life, she wouldn’t have quite known I was there. She was drawing upon my powers whenever she used the healing incantation, but I have never been able to exert my will upon her, and I won’t be able to once I am dormant again.”

“Oh,” Eugene said.

“However, she and Cassandra will be able to feel each other, and communicate through Moonstone’s rocks,” Sundrop explained.

“Do you have an awareness, when you’re dormant?” Varian piped up. He wasn’t much of a magic guy, but even he could admit this was nothing short of fascinating.

“Yes,” Sundrop said. “I actually know quite a bit about all of you, I’ve lived through Rapunzel’s eyes. And even before that, I had an awareness as the flower.”

“That sounds... lonely,” Varian said. “To be there for years and years, not really communicating with anything or anybody.”

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Sundrop said with a shrug. “It may sound like torture to you mortals, but we are not human. We have some things in common- I love my Moonstone dearly, I feel happiness, but our lives are incredibly long. We are filled with magic and abilities that are well beyond human comprehension. Life in the heavens is even different still, and I believe one day we will return there. But not yet,” Sundrop said.

“Not yet,” Moonstone repeated, “now that we have been reunited and we both have wielders, we will be able to connect with one another. And while we can’t force things upon wielders, we can make… suggestions. That’s how I was able to get Cassandra here.”

“You were the voice?” Eugene asked, brows raised.

“Essentially, yes. I chose Cassandra, that very night she brought Sundrop to the place where she had been plucked from. I forged a connection with her when she touched one of the black rocks, and I just knew she would come to me eventually. She has a drive, you know,” Moonstone said, affection in her voice.

“Oh, we know,” Lance said with a little chuckle.

“And I could tell, even then, she would remain close to my Sundrop. It was a perfect match,” Moonstone’s chin rose.

“I must say, your judgement is impeccable,” Sundrop said.

“Thank you,” Moonstone said.

“Now,” Sundrop said. “I would like another moment with my Moonstone. Then, you will get your young women back.”

“But I have so many questions-“ Varian said, reaching out, but Moonstone and Sundrop were already floating upwards.

“Are you ready, darling?” Sundrop asked, once they were out of earshot entirely.

“Almost,” Moonstone replied. The two embraced, and kissed, then just pressed their foreheads together. They stayed like that for a few long moments, enjoying the silent company and the chance to just be together for a bit after being separated for so long.

“Oh, Moonstone,” Sundrop began, pulling back just a bit, “Cassandra’s hand,” she said.

“Oh,” Moonstone said. She shut her eyes, and the black rock receded from Cassandra’s hand to reveal and equally blackened hand. Sundrop took her hand in both of her own. The glowing on her hands brightened momentarily, healing her instantly.

Moonstone felt gratitude from Cassandra somewhere inside and smiled at Sundrop. They hugged once more, lingering for a moment.

“It’s about time, don’t you think?”

“Yes, it is. I’ve enjoyed this time together.”

“So have I, love,” Moonstone assured Sundrop. They kissed one more time before floating downwards, hand-in-hand. Their feet touched ground and they slowly crumpled together, with Moonstone lying on top of Sundrop on the glossy black floor.

Cassandra’s head was lying over Rapunzel’s heart, and Rapunzel’s arms were wrapped around Cassandra’s middle.

Eugene walked over to them, kneeling beside the two girls. At once, both of them stopped glowing, leaving the room much dimmer than before. Cassandra’s hair did not return to normal, remaining a bright blue. Varian and Lance walked over, with Max and Pascal trailing behind.

For a few moments, Rapunzel and Cassandra were left lying there as their friends waited with bated breath.

Slowly, Cassandra curled the fingers of her formerly-crisped hand. Rapunzel also curled her fingers, bunching around the thick dark fabric that Cassandra had created with the moonstone.

Rapunzel blinked her eyes open, at about the same time Cassandra did. They two of them looked up at their friends looming over them, before looking at each other.

Cassandra blushed hotly before sitting up quickly. She put a hand to her head, pulling her hair in front of her eyes.

“Did that… did that just happen?” she asked. She then stretched out her hand in front of her. Sundrop had healed it, she remembered. Next, Cassandra clutched at her chest, feeling the moonstone where it was still lodged.

“Yeah, Cass, I think it did,” Rapunzel said, sitting up beside her.

“Hell,” Cass murmured. Rapunzel laughed, and then hugged her. Cassandra looked over at Eugene, and then up at Lance and Varian. “Quit staring,” she barked, and the two averted their gaze. “Can’t we have a minute, Jesus.” Their friends wandered away a bit, with Varian going to inspect the ornate details of the door and Lance going with him to chat. Eugene lingered a bit closer.

Then, Rapunzel pulled back and punched Cassandra in the arm. “Ow!” Cass yelped.

“Ow,” Rapunzel repeated, shaking her fist. The black material Cassandra wore was incredibly strange. To the touch, it felt like fabric, but when she hit it, it felt like armor. “That’s for dying on me!” Rapunzel said, voice harsh.

“Hey, I came back,” Cassandra said.

“I brought you back,” Rapunzel asserted, eyes narrowed.

“Same difference,” Cassandra rolled her eyes. Rapunzel sucked in a breath, and then hugged her again.

“I’m okay, Raps,” Cassandra told her. This time, she twisted to hug Rapunzel back.

Rapunzel pulled back again, and gave a small smile to Cassandra.

“For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry,” Cassandra said. “I… shouldn’t have done what I did.”

Rapunzel looked down, frowning. “That really hurt. I know you wanted to do this alone, but…”

“Still,” Cassandra said. “In my defense, if I had have tried to go in alone, you-“

“Would never have let you. You’re right.”

“But, I shouldn’t have done that,” Cassandra said. “I did almost get myself killed,” she said with frown.

“I forgive you, Cass,” Rapunzel said. “And I love you,” Rapunzel said, looking into Cassandra’s eyes. Cassandra’s breath caught in her throat.

The two of them slowly rose to their feet, and Rapuznel took Cassandra’s hand once again. Rapunzel leaned forward and pressed a brief kiss to Cassandra’s lips.

“Raps,” Cassandra said, and then pressed her face into Rapunzel’s shoulder.

“Hey, uh, girls,” Eugene said, clearing his throat as he walked a bit closer. He had no idea what had just happened but decided he was going to ignore it. “How’re ya feeling?” Eugene asked. He didn’t want to interrupt them too much, but he was dying to get some validation.

“We’re okay, Eugene,” Rapunzel said, switched to give him a hug. Cassandra’s face was red, even worse than usual with her newly pale skin. Eugene hugged Rapunzel back and buried his face in her long hair.

“What are you doing, Cass? Get in here,” Eugene said, lifting one arm to pull Cass in the hug. She groaned, but he felt her hand land on his back. Rapunzel laughed.

“C’mon, guys!” Rapunzel said. “Group hug time!” she called out, and Cassandra shut her eyes and used the black rock to pull Varian and Lance back over to them.  

With that, Varian put his arms around them, and Lance followed suit. Pascal hopped down onto Rapunzel’s shoulder, and Max and Fidella pressed up against them as well.

“We all survived,” Rapunzel said, voice warm. “And we’re all good.”  

Chapter Text

“So,” Eugene started, as they walked into the forest again. They’d spent the night in the Dark Castle in order to have a fresh start the next morning. Cassandra had offered to make them beds out of black rocks, but thankfully they’d found some small barren rooms to stay in.

“Iffff you don’t mind me asking,” Eugene continued on, “um, what was that… kiss, back there yesterday?” Eugene asked, his voice a little high pitched.

Lance and Varian were far ahead of them with the horses, Eugene having pleaded with Lance to send them off and get a few moments alone with the two girls.

He watched as Cassandra’s eyes went wide and Rapunzel looked away from him.

“Um, well, about that,” Rapunzel started slowly, rubbing her neck.

“Please don’t say you’re breaking up with me,” Eugene cut in, reaching out for Rapunzel’s hand. “Date Cassandra too, if you want, but just don’t leave me, please,” Eugene begged. He heard Cassandra scoff.

“Wait,” Rapunzel said, her face lighting up as she squeezed Eugene’s hand, “is that an option?! Can that be an option! Oh my gosh,” she said, looking from Cassandra, who looked skeptical, to Eugene, who looked surprised.

“Raps,” Cassandra said, and then Rapunzel took a deep breath. Rapunzel could feel Cassandra’s hesitation, and worry. Gosh, that was going to be helpful, being able to feel Cassandra’s feelings. No more guessing and waiting.

“I guess we should talk this through, before jumping into anything,” Rapunzel said.

“Um, yes, please,” Eugene said.

“The only thing is,” Rapunzel said, frowning a bit, “I’m… confused.”

“This is my fault,” Cassandra said glumly. She really hadn’t thought through the consequences, had she? “Raps, I-,” she faltered. “I didn’t say what I said with the expectation that you’d return my feelings-“

“Excuse me?” Eugene said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

Cassandra winced. “I told Rapunzel the truth,” Cassandra told him. “I doubt it will come as a surprise to you, but perhaps you really are that dense Fitzherbert. I’m in love with her,” she stated plainly, without emotion. She was blushing, though.  

“Okay, yeah, I knew that,” Eugene snipped back. “Everybody knows that.”

“They do?” Rapunzel said at the same time that Cassandra said,

“No they don’t!”

“Oh, uh-huh, they do,” Eugene smirked, and Cassandra grumbled. “I never thought you’d have the nerve to say it,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I can’t fault you that, if we consider there to be a difference between confessing and actively attempting to seduce.” He narrowed his eyes at Cassandra.

“There is,” Cassandra insisted. “I was not trying to seduce Rapunzel. I… well, I had no idea what would happen in the Dark Castle, and, technically, I did in fact die,” Cassandra pointed out, then she turned towards Rapunzel instead. “I just wanted her- you, Rapunzel, I just wanted you to know, in case something bad happened,” Cassandra shrugged, frowning.  

Cassandra continued on, doing her best not to look away, “I wasn’t trying to tempt you from your relationship, even when I kissed you,” Cassandra winced, but kept her eyes on Rapunzel. “Furthermore, I assumed you didn’t feel attraction to women, and that it wouldn’t mean anything to you. Most people don’t feel attraction to the same gender.”

“You kissed her?” Eugene said. Cassandra knew that was coming.

“She kissed me too!” Cassandra snapped.

“Both of you, please,” Rapunzel interjected. She cleared her throat, “Cass, I don’t really know much about attraction, although I find most people beautiful.” She blushed a bit, continuing on, “I know I’m in love with Eugene, because I’ve been in love with Eugene since I met him. Which means, I haven’t really explored my attraction to anybody else. That isn’t to say it doesn’t exist.” She shrugged. Eugene grumbled a bit, but he couldn’t fault her that either. There were some good-looking people out there.

Rapunzel went on, “I didn’t realize women were, y’know, an option for that, I’ve only see men and women together, but-”

Rapunzel stopped for a moment, looking at Cassandra, conveying her emotions. “Ever since we met, I’ve felt connected to you, and drawn to you. Perhaps in the way you were drawn to the Moonstone without the supernatural intervention,” she smiled, then looked at Eugene. “And, Eugene, you know I love you, I’m so over the moon in love with you, Eugene.”

They both smiled back at Rapunzel.

“I was serious, you know,” Rapunzel said, reaching for one of each of their hands. “Is being together, the three of us, an option? Can we try that?” she asked, voice small and innocent, her eyes fluttering up at them.

Cassandra and Eugene looked at each other. Eugene shrugged and then nodded, and Cassandra laughed and shook her head, but not to say ‘no.’

“I mean, I guess?” Eugene said, tilting his head to the side.

“I’m willing to try it,” Cassandra said, slow. “As long as we remain friends, no matter what,” Cassandra added, and Rapunzel nodded.

“I would love that,” Rapunzel said. “I couldn’t bear to lose you, Cass. And it’s nice, knowing you can feel what I feel to some extent. You know what I’m saying-all of it- is true. I really do love you, and Eugene, equally. The same way,” Rapunzel added.

“Yeah, I hear you loud and clear,” Cassandra said, blushing hotly at the sincerity both in Rapunzel’s voice and her feelings. Rapunzel knew what she wanted, that was plain to see.

“May I kiss you?” Rapunzel asked, moving closer to Cassandra. She glanced at Eugene for a second and he nodded at the same time, as did Cassandra.

Rapunzel pressed her lips to Cassandra’s and Cassandra lifted her free hand to cup Rapunzel’s cheek, kissing back. It was longer and deeper than their first two kisses, and Cassandra’s heart was soaring. Rapunzel’s was, too.

When Rapunzel broke the kiss, she turned to kiss Eugene next.

“I could get used to this,” Eugene said, and Cassandra watched them with a weird fondness. Being able to feel Rapunzel’s feelings for Eugene was odd, and while they didn’t match her own, she had a feeling their dynamic was about to shift in a major way. It wouldn’t be easy to navigate, necessarily, but Cassandra felt assured that they could do it for some reason.

“Does this make Cass my girlfriend, too, now?” Eugene asked, grinning. He threw his free arm over Cassandra, winking at her.

“Oh hell no, we are not going there, not straightaway,” Cassandra said, elbowing him gently. He laughed.

“Awe, c’mon, Cassie,” he said, puckering his lips at her.

“Do not call me Cassie.”

“Well, I need some sort of new nickname for you to represent our newly-changed relationship. How about… Bluie? Y’know, like Blondie.”

“Oh, most definitely not! Bluie? That’s terrible,” Cassandra made a noise of disgust as they started to walk again. Eugene’s arm was still around Cassandra as he walked in the middle. Cassandra’s arm was around him, but only so she could hold Rapunzel’s hand on his other side.

“Oh! I got it, Moony!”

“Nuh-uh, next!” Cassandra yelled.

“C’mon, like the moonstone,” Eugene said, then moaned dramatically. “Fine, fine. I’ll think of something.”

They kept walking at a leisurely pace, Eugene and Cassandra bickering in a weirdly affectionate way. Their interactions were now washed with a giddiness with the new relationship between them all. For all intents and purposes, they were entering the honeymoon stage. If they could keep this up, maybe it wouldn’t be such a problem.

The three of them eventually stopped short, though, with the sight before them. Lance was standing in front of Varian, holding one arm in front of the younger man and one hand up. Adira was in front of Lance, pointing her sword, and Hector was pointing his sword at Adira.

“Whoa, what’s going on here?” Eugene asked, and all eyes were on him, suddenly.

Cassandra quickly dropped Rapunzel’s hand and took her arm from around Eugene, shrugging his arm off her.

As Lance looked towards them, his expression went from uncertainty to intrigue, followed by mirth. “Excuse me, I think we have something more important to discuss. What’s going on with that?” Lance asked, pointing his chin to where Cassandra had quickly stepped away from Eugene.

“You mean the blue hair?” Adira asked, eyes wide. “That can’t be,” she mumbled afterwards, lowering her sword. Hector lowered his as well, a small smile gracing his features.  

“No, no, not that,” Lance started, looking between Cassandra and Eugene with glee in his eyes.

“No, there’s no way,” Varian said, “it can’t be. Cassandra?”

“What?” she barked. “What can’t be?”

“You… you really did have a crush on Eugene this whole time!” Varian said, incredulous.

“What?!” Cassandra said, at the same time as Adira.

“That is clearly not the most important matter at hand!” Adira went on. “Short hair, you are wielding the Moonstone!”

“I do not have a crush on Eugene,” Cassandra said, her face once again red. It was as if she didn’t even hear Adira. “I have a crush on Rapunzel,” she said, and Rapunzel giggled to herself, looking at Cassandra affectionately.

“Oh thank God,” Varian clutched his chest, “that makes way more sense.”

“Are you serious!?” Lance said, putting a hand to his cheek. Then he hummed. “Wait, yeah… you’re right, that makes more sense.”

“HAH!” Varian said.

“You thought I had a crush on Eugene?” Cassandra narrowed her eyes, as Eugene started to cackle behind her, holding his stomach. Rapunzel covered her increasing giggles.

“Can we PLEASE talk about the Moonstone?” Adira asked, gesturing wildly.

“It’s just as I told you,” Hector interjected simply, smug. “They had to reach the Moonstone, it was destined. I could tell just from looking at her.”

“Well, actually,” Cassandra said, lifting her chin just a smidge, “the Moonstone said she chose me, as a wielder. She brought me to the Kingdom.”

“I,” Adira blinked, “I can’t believe,” she said. “How did I miss that?”

“You didn’t listen to me!” Hector argued.

“I never listen to you,” Adira reasoned.

“Exactly!” Hector threw up his hands. “And, well, now it’s obvious, but you missed the signs. She was carrying a black rock sword, and she had a streak of blue in her hair.”

“Oh,” Adira said, “huh.”

“Mhm,” Hector said, hands on his hips.

“Well. I suppose an apology is in order,” Adira said. “I am sorry for trying to stop you, I wasn’t paying enough attention. Furthermore, I have sworn to protect the Moonstone, which means I have sworn to protect you,” Adira bowed before Cassandra, and then Hector joined her.

Cassandra grimaced, “Um, okay, that’s super not necessary,” she said, holding her hands up. “I think I can protect myself, now more than ever,” she said, balling her first. She created a spike from the black rock armor, making her hand into a sword.

Adira stood up, and Hector did as well. “Look, I know I have yet to gain your trust, but the Moonstone’s power is great- once people find out it has been harnessed, they will seek to take it from you.”

“I’ve heard this before,” Rapunzel said quietly, and Eugene reached for her hand.

“I’m the wielder she chose,” Cassandra said, retracting the spike from her arm and placing her hand over the Moonstone, and her heart. “I’ll protect her.”

“I believe that you will,” Adira said. “But we’ll be behind you,” she said, looking at Hector. “We won’t make ourselves trouble in your life, I promise. But it’s what we’ve sworn to do,” she said, turning her gaze back to Cassandra. “There are a few others, in our order, marked with this symbol,” she said, showing her hand, “but most have abandoned this life. There may be a couple who make themselves known to you in the future.”

“So, what, you’re going to stalk me?” Cassandra perked a brow.

“I wouldn’t think of it as stalking,” Adira said, “but we will protect you. And, if I might give you a word of advice.”

“I’m sure you’ll do it even if I tell you not to,” Cassandra rolled her eyes.

Adira smiled, “We know each other so well already. You might think about…. Toning down the severity of your appearance. The Sundrop’s hair is enough of a flashing sign that something magic is afoot,” Adira said, then she reached out to brush Cassandra’s hair, “yours being electric blue, coupled with your outfit, as stylish as it is… you’re a walking target.”

“I-” Cassandra furrowed her brows. “Can I change my hair?” she asked, “I know I can change the outfit, but, I assumed the hair was just… like that, now? And my eyes, and my skin,” she said.

“The Moonstone allows you to change all of this,” Adira said, “Within a certain scope. The Moon is a master of change, of course. You can return to your dark brown hair and grey eyes, if you wish. It may take some practice, though.”

“How do you know all of this?” Rapunzel chimed in.

“Knowledge of the Moonstone, and the Sundrop, has been passed down for centuries through small groups of people. We are one such group of people,” Adira told her.

“Can I change my appearance?” Rapunzel asked, tilting her head.

“No,” Adira said. “Despite being two heavenly beings with equally matched powers, the powers are exhibited in different ways. Do you know of the incantations?” Adira asked, slow.

“Yes,” Cassandra said. Rapunzel reached in her bag.

“We found a scroll,” Rapunzel said. “I- well, I was able to use the Withering Incantation, earlier on this journey. I used to be able to use the Healing Incantation. Cassandra was able to use the other Moonstone Incantation, y’know, Crescent high above... but it wasn’t translated completely.”

“Ah,” Adira said, humming. “Yes, the Withering Incantation will never work properly for the Sundrop, you won’t be able to control it. Similarly, the Healing Incantation will not work properly for the Moonstone, it will heal, but will cause immense pain. The other two help harness the full amount of power both of you have. When the Sundrop is fully powered, she can create plantlife, similar to how the Moonstone can create black rocks at will.”

“Wow, really!?” Rapunzel said. “But, I don’t know if my Sundrop powers work at all any more.”

“Oh, I’d say they do. Now that the Sundrop has been reunited with the Moonstone, they’ve both been reinvigorated. The Sundrop, being a flower, will always lose it’s power eventually, but the Moonstone will bring her back to full strength.”

“Incredible!” Rapunzel said, looking at Cassandra with a smile. “Is there more you can tell us?” she asked.

“Certainly. Why don’t we escort you,” Adira suggested, “we know the best way through this area.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rapunzel said, looking at Cassandra, who nodded. “Although, I’d like to see if we can get back to our caravan eventually,” she said.

“Ah, that was your caravan?” Hector said. “I spotted it before, I know just where it is, outside of the Great Tree. Look, why don’t I go on ahead and meet you with it halfway?”

“Good plan,” Adira said.

So, their group continued walking, Adira recounting some of the myths and legends about the Moonstone and Sundrop that had been passed down throughout the years.

Interesting, it seemed like it was taking longer to get through the woods this time, perhaps because they were on foot and talking to each other. When Adira had exhausted her stories for the moment, Lance was quick to try to chat her up, to no avail. Rapunzel walked between Cassandra and Eugene so she could hold their hands, swinging them back and forth.

They met back up with Hector and their caravan by the time evening rolled around, and avoided the cliff with the Great Tree entirely. It would take them longer to go around, but it was much less precarious, and they had Hector and Adira to guide them.

The original air of camaraderie was back, with all of them sitting around a fire and breaking bread, sharing stories both real and embellished. Adira took some time with Cassandra to guide her in changing her looks. Adira, of course, had never harnessed the power of the Moonstone and could only tell her about passages she’d read from scrolls on the powers the Moonstone had.

Cassandra managed to make her hair black with blue underneath again, and changed her eyes back to their natural grey-green colour. Adira told her they should remain like that until she put effort into changing them again. As well, Cassandra decided she would wear her tunic and trousers over her black rock armor the next day, but left it for now.

Varian sat with the scroll Rapunzel and Cassandra had found, determined to translate the rest of the Moonstone Incantation and the Sundrop Incantation.

--

The next day, their group parted ways once Adira and Hector’s territory of protection ended. Adira assured Cassandra that she would never be far. It was only a tiny bit unsettling.

Once they were fairly sure Adira and Hector were out of earshot, Cassandra turned to Rapunzel where they were sitting in the drivers spot with Eugene on Rapunzel’s other side.

“Well. I guess I did say I wanted to find my destiny, but, uh, being a host for a heavenly being and having a group of people dedicated to protect me? It’s a bit of a far cry from a guard but I guess I’ll take it,” Cassandra said, looking down at her hands. She’d altered the armor to leave her hands free, so the black rock looked like a plain black undershirt with long sleeves, replacing her usual red one.

“Yeah,” Eugene said with a laugh. “And, well, the Moonstone said that you and Rapunzel are supposed to… oversee the magic in all of this realm? How is that going to work, especially once Rapunzel becomes queen?” Eugene mused.

Rapunzel frowned, “Well, we’ll just have to see. We have no idea what any of this will be like, so, we should just take it slow.”

 “I can take the lead on that, anywayl” Cassandra suggested, “I do have more… aggressive powers. It will be easier for me to, y’know, crack down on anybody abusing magic. And I do have guard training,” Cassandra pointed out.

“And leave me out of all the adventuring? No way,” Rapunzel said with a scoff. “I’m not going to be queen for a long time, and we can cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we stick together.”

“Fair enough,” Cassandra lifted her hands up.

“Whatever you say, ladies,” Eugene said. “You know I’m just along for the ride,” he chuckled, looking at them fondly.

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, “that actually made me think of something. I don’t know what is waiting for us back in Corona, but I do know one thing. I don’t want you to be my lady-in-waiting any more.”

“Um. Okay,” Cassandra nodded her head. “I guess I can find something to do instead, it’s not like I wanted that job anyway.”

“Actually, I have an idea for that, too,” Rapunzel said with a small smile. She pulled out a book on Corona law, flipping to a specific page. “I wanted to make you a knight, Cassandra. Now, they’re a little outdated in Corona, to my understanding knights were replaced by the guard some time ago. But, some people still hold the title of knight just for the sake of it, people who were shown to be heroic and noble.” Rapunzel looked up at Cassandra, a gentle look on her face.

Rapunzel continued on, “As a Princess, I would be able to knight you by myself, and, well, you’d basically be acting exactly like a guard and working with the guard, but you’d technically be Sir Cassandra of Corona, and your father wouldn’t really be your boss. You would still be acting under my direction, which, it’s kind of hard to escape that really, but you’d more or less just be expected to act in the best interest of Corona. And, it would give you more freedom, because day-to-day you would just work independently or with the guard, I’d only need to step in in those dire situations where I’d need to be informed, like during an attack. You’d also be able to advise me, in an official capacity.”

Cassandra looked from Rapunzel to the page and back to Rapunzel. Eugene tried to keep his eyes on the trail, but also snuck glances now and again.

“Cass? What do you think? I- I can’t make out your feelings right now,” Rapunzel said, slowly closing the book. “I won’t do it, if you don’t want me to.”

“No, I,” Cassandra shook her head. “It’s a good idea, Raps.”

“I know you want your father to give you a place on the guard,” Rapunzel said, placing her hand over Cassandra’s. “But I don’t want you to have to wait.” Cassandra nodded dumbly, still looking at the book.

“I can do this, for you. But only if you want,” Rapunzel added.

“Yes,” Cassandra said, quick. “I’ll be your knight,” Cassandra smiled, looking up before hugging Rapunzel from the side.

“In shining, black rock armor,” Eugene added with a laugh. He reached around Rapunzel to pat Cassandra on the shoulder. He heard her laugh a little as well.

They traveled for the rest of the day, taking a similar route to the one they’d traveled on. This time, though, when they saw signs for a city, Rapunzel insisted that they go in and stay the night at an inn so they could replenish their food and enjoy the amenities that they didn’t have on a caravan. They weren’t in a huge rush to get back or anything.

So, their group spent the night in a small inn, eating a freshly cooked meal around a real table, laughing, drinking, and the like. It was nice, joyous.

Cassandra and Rapunzel shared a room, along with Pascal. Eugene, Varian, and Lance, were in another room.

“Does this count as a sleepover?” Rapunzel asked as she bounced onto the bed next to Cass, grinning up at her.

“Wouldn’t that make every night in the caravan a sleepover?” Cass asked.

“We can retroactively consider them so,” Rapunzel suggested, and Cassandra chuckled.

Rapunzel sat up, getting closer to Cassandra. Cass blushed, then cursed herself for doing that so often. It wasn’t very becoming of her.

“Is this okay?” Rapunzel asked, placing her hand on Cassandra’s cheek. Cassandra nodded, and Rapunzel leaned in for a kiss.

Oh, how very appropriate, to spend the night sharing a bed with the girl you just started dating, Cassandra kissed back, starting off chaste and nervous, but Rapunzel soon pressed her tongue against Cassandra’s lip and deepened it.

Rapunzel was, of course, a good kisser. She got a lot of practice, after all. Cassandra was less practiced, but not altogether bad, though the nerves weren’t helping things presently. How were you supposed to casually make out with the girl you’d been in love with for years, the girl you never thought you could have?

Cassandra heard Rapunzel moan quietly and she pulled back, looking down.

“Cass, are you okay?” Rapunzel said.

“Yeah,” Cassandra croaked. “Just. Need to breath, and stuff,” Cassandra said, gesturing with her hands.  

“We can take things slow,” Rapunzel promised, taking Cassandra’s hand. “I’m sorry if I pushed.”

“No, it’s okay,” Cassandra told her. “I just can’t believe- how are you this comfortable already? I’ve pined after you for years, two days ago you had only ever been attracted to Eugene. Now you can just kiss me, like it’s nothing, like it’s normal?”

Rapunzel just blinked. “I always knew I loved you, though, Cass. And, well, it wasn’t that I was never attracted to anybody else, like I said, I find most people attractive in some way. Girls, too. I thought that was normal, to fall in love a little bit with almost every person you met, even if you dedicated your life to only one person. If I had known that more than one person was an option sooner,” Rapunzel shrugged. “Who knows what conclusions I would have come to.”

“I guess,” Cassandra said, running a hand through her own hair.

“I think this is just easy, for me, because I already care so deeply for you. I already did just about everything with you that I do with Eugene, maybe more, you and I cuddle all the time... It’s just natural, to me,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra could feel that Rapunzel was being truthful, her radiance and sincerity was ever-present. Cassandra shook her head, then moved forward to hug Rapunzel. Rapunzel squeezed her tight.

Eventually, the two of them settled together, lying down. They continued to kiss for some time, before falling asleep with their hands intertwined.

However, by the time they reached morning, Cassandra was twisted in the blankets and Rapunzel was on her other side, snoozing peacefully.

Cassandra’s face did not look peaceful, but troubled. She woke up with a little yelp sometime past dawn, and Rapunzel woke up a few moments later, blinking her eyes open. Cassandra stood up from the bed and walked over to the mirror.

Cassandra stretched her arms out while the black rock covered her them underneath the pyjamas she was wearing. She took off her shirt and slid off the shorts as well, pulling on her daily trousers and the tunic she wore.

Rapunzel sat up, watching her. “Good morning, Cass!”

“Hey,” Cassandra responded. Rapunzel could feel something was wrong with Cassandra, but she didn’t know what. Cassandra felt sad, guarded, possibly frustrated. Rapunzel knit her eyebrows, getting out of bed and walking up to Cassandra.

“Is something up?” Rapunzel asked, pressing her cheek to Cassandra’s shoulder.

“I don’t feel like talking about it,” Cassandra said, eyes downcast. She pressed a kiss to Rapunzel’s forehead, then stepped away. “I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said.

“Okay,” Rapunzel nodded. She hated when a friend was hurting and she was unable to help, but she was doing her best to let Cass come to her with things. Trying to push her often backfired in the past.

Rapunzel got dressed and joined the others at breakfast, Eugene slinging his arm over her and making some subtle jokes as he asked how their night was together. Cassandra remained relatively quiet and distant, only contributing when she was called on directly. The others noticed, of course, but they didn’t say anything.

The first half of the day went like that as they went back to their path, walking through another forest in the general direction of Corona.  Cassandra only got quieter and sadder as time went on, with no change in sight as they stopped for a break.

Cassandra went to sit next to a tree by herself as the other scattered around, stretching their legs and getting some air.

“Hey,” Rapunzel said softly, coming up behind her. Cassandra was in pain, she could tell that for certain now. She was deeply sad. “I don’t mean to pry, I just- I want to let you know I’m here. When you’re ready.”

Cassandra nodded. “I know,” she said. “Raps,” Cassandra said, and Rapunzel sat next to her.

“Yes?”

“I have something I have to tell you,” Cassandra said. “The Moonstone showed me the memory that had trapped me in the black rock again, last night. Something I’ve been repressing.” Cassandra’s voice was shaking and she was staring at the ground.

“Whatever it is, we can face it together,” Rapunzel told her, brushing Cassandra’s hair back from her face.

“Maybe,” Cassandra muttered. “Rapunzel,” Cassandra said, lifting her chin.

“I’m listening,” Rapunzel said. She held Cassandra’s hand, and Cassandra squeezed it so hard it almost hurt, but Rapunzel showed no indication.

“The memory that overwhelmed the magic and nearly killed me… it was a memory of my mother,” Cassandra looked pained as she spoke. “My mother is the woman who- who raised you. Gothel. Gothel is- was my mother,” Cassandra looked back down. She could feel Rapunzel’s shock and confusion.

Rapunzel could feel Cassandra’s pain and sadness, and, what was that, guilt? Shame? Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Cassandra.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Rapunzel said, tears pricking her eyes. She felt anger coming from Cassandra and slowly let her go. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Cassandra said, wiping her own eyes of the tears that were threatening to fall but not quite there. “I have no idea how to feel. Moonstone, she showed me- my mother abandoned me. She left me. For you,” Cassandra added the last part quietly, looking away.

“I-,” Rapunzel twisted her dress in her hands. “I’m sorry. I had no idea, she took me as a baby,” Rapunzel said. “I would have never chosen that, Cassandra. And she was not a nice person.”

“I know,” Cassandra said. “It’s not your fault. It still hurts, though,” Cassandra told her, then she stood up.

Cassandra looked into the forest, her lips in a tight line. “I need some time, Rapunzel.”

“Cass,” Rapunzel said, looking up with worry in her eyes. “I- okay, yes, please take time. But please tell me we can talk about this, later.”

Cassandra frowned and Rapunzel found it hard to comprehend her emotions, they were messy and swimming but she was also actively steeling herself from Rapunzel. “We will,” Cassandra said, and then she stalked off.

Rapunzel put her hands over her face, unable to stop the tears from flowing. Hadn’t Cassandra been through enough, hadn’t Rapunzel herself? When would life be fair to them?

“Hey, Blondie,” Eugene said gently a few minutes after Cassandra had left. “Is everything okay?”

Rapunzel shook her head, looking up. Eugene knelt beside her and dried her tears with his hands.

“Hey, hey,” he cooed. “Wanna tell me about it?”

Rapunzel chewed on her lip. “Mother- I mean, Mother Gothel,” she said, and Eugene’s eyes went wide.

“What about her? She’s dead- Is she back?”

“No,” Rapunzel said forcefully, and Eugene shut up. “She’s.. she’s Cassandra’s mother. By birth, anyway. I don’t think she was ever truly a mother to anybody.”

Eugene’s eyebrows met his hairline, and he whistled.

“That’s the memory that Cassandra encountered with the Moonstone, when it overwhelmed her so much that she became encased in the black rock,” Rapunzel said.

“That’s a lot to take in,” Eugene said, rubbing her shoulder. “And Cass… how’s she holding up?”

“She’s hurt,” Rapunzel said. “She’s blocking me out, emotionally I mean, with our link,” Rapunzel explained.

“Gotcha,” Eugene nodded.

“I don’t know if that means she’s repressing her own feelings, but,” Rapunzel shrugged, “I think she’s unhappy.”

“I mean, I can’t imagine she would be happy, knowing that,” Eugene told her. “It’s best to give her all the time she needs,” Eugene said, pressing a kiss to Rapunzel’s forehead.

Rapunzel nodded, and then hugged him.

Rapunzel and Eugene sat there for quite some time, then went over to Varian and Lance. Eugene gave them the news, and told them they’d be waiting until Cassandra came back.

Hours passed, with Rapunzel moping around, scribbling on a scrap piece of paper. Varian did his best to focus on the translation, but got frustrated periodically. Eugene was quiet, pensive, and Lance did his best to cheer the others up when he could.

Eventually, Varian announced that he was going for a walk to see if he could find any plants he didn’t have samples of yet, and everyone sort of acknowledged it in their own way before he left.

Varian was not, in fact, looking for plants. He knew they were all supposed to leave Cassandra alone, but he was worried about her, and thought maybe she’d appreciate someone checking in on her at the very least.

He didn’t have to walk incredibly far to come across a tall black structure sticking out from the ground. Curiously enough, it was right next to a tree that looked like he could climb. He set out to do just that, climbing all the way up and then crawling out onto the branch that would lead him to the cage that Cassandra had created for herself.

“Hey,” he said softly, and Cassandra’s eyes snapped up at him. They were blood-red and puffy, tears were stained down her cheeks, and she looked pissed.

“What are you doing up here?” Cassandra asked. Her arms were wrapped around herself and her chin was on top of her knees.

“I just wanted to check on you,” Varian told her, “I was worried.”

“I’m fine,” Cassandra said.

“No offense, Cassie, I don’t really think you are. But that’s okay- you don’t have to be fine.”

“Did she tell you?” Cassandra asked, and Varian pulled a face. “That’s okay. I don’t want to repeat it.”

“It’s okay, however you feel about her,” Varian told her quietly. He meant Gothel, and she knew it. She blinked at him.  

“I don’t know how to feel,” Cassandra told him. Varian nodded at her, crawling a bit forward. Cassandra squeezed her legs with her hand and parted the black rock close to Varian, allowing him to shuffle into the cage she’d created. It wasn’t very particularly roomy, but that was okay.

“I mean, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through,” Varian told her, “so I won’t pretend to understand. But I’m here, if you want to explain it to me.”

Cassandra nodded, the pressed her forehead to her knees. “I’m scared,” Cassandra whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

“Of what?” Varian asked, innocently, without judgement.

“A lot of things,” Cassandra told him, voice muffled. “I’m angry, and I’m scared that I’m angry. I’m scared that I’ll turn out like her, scared that I will scare Rapunzel away, just- scared.”

Varian nodded, “Well, it’s okay to be angry. I don’t know the whole story or anything, but… it doesn’t sound great.”

Cassandra looked back up at him, fresh tears in her eyes. It was so strange, seeing her like this. “She left me, and I have no idea if she ever loved me,” Cassandra told him. The Moonstone had shown her that much, how she was ignored and left behind even before being abandoned for good.

“I mean, I have no way of knowing, but… if she never loved you, that’s on her. That’s not your fault, Cassie.”

Cassandra nodded, sniffling, “Maybe. But maybe I was never good enough,” Cassandra breathed out, chest aching. “Why else would she leave me?” Cassandra asked, even though she knew the answer to that.

Varian frowned at her, scooting just a little closer. “I didn’t know your mother… there’s only one person who did, but, I don’t think it was you that was the problem, Cassandra. It was her.”

“I know,” Cassandra said, her voice small. “Logically, anyway.”

“Eh, I mean, you know I’m a big fan of logic, but. People don’t always work on logic,” Varian pointed out. Cassandra nodded again.

“I don’t know what to do. I want her to have loved me, but I know she didn’t, and I don’t know what to do about that,” Cassandra confessed. “She’s dead. I’ll never get to see her, never get to ask her why I wasn’t enough, never get to ask her why she brought me into the world just to neglect and leave me,” Cassandra rambled, then sucked in a breath. “I hope you know you’re not allowed to breath a word to this to anybody else, ever, or you’re dust, punk.”

Varian held up his hands, “I hear that loud and clear, I wouldn’t tell a soul, Cassandra. And, well, again, I can’t tell you I understand how that feels, because I don’t, but I imagine it would feel horrible. I know you won’t get closure, and that really sucks.”

Cassandra smiled just a little bit. “You’re surprisingly good at this… listening and comforting shit. Maybe I can get some tips from you sometime.”

Varian chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t relate to what you’re going through, but I know what it’s like to be in a dark place,” Varian explained. “And there’s nothing worse than somebody saying they understand when you know they don’t, so I just try to sympathize as best as I can.”

“Thanks,” Cassandra said, turning to wipe her nose against her shoulder. She was gross, but she couldn’t care at this point. “I guess that leads us to… how do I make sure I’m not like her, when I don’t even know her?”

Varian frowned a bit, thinking. “Well, you know she wasn’t nice, that she cared only about herself, and she abandoned a small defenseless child in search of magic for herself. I think, at the end of the day, if you just do what you know is right, you won’t be anything like her. You’re a good person, Cass.”

Cassandra listened to him, pressing her lips together. “I guess,” she said weakly. “But what if I’m not? And what if I change? How will Rapunzel stand to be around me, knowing,” Cassandra shook her head.

Varian chewed on his lip, “Rapunzel knows who you are, Cass, and she loves you. I’m sure she’d tell you herself, you’re not like Gothel, and you won’t be.”

Cassandra sighed, “Maybe. We’ll see.” Cassandra looked away. “I even look like her, though,” she pointed out.

“Eh, I guess?” Varian said, “I’ve only seen a portrait or two of her, but, well, you do have half-blue hair, now, and it’s a completely different texture. You’re much prettier than she ever was,” Varian smiled and he saw Cassandra roll her eyes. “The point is, though, you aren’t her, Cassandra, you’ll never be her, you won’t let yourself be like her, I know that for sure.”

Cassandra gave a half smile, but just shook her head again. “Thanks, Varian. For everything.” She swallowed, and then moved a bit, so she could reach out and hug him. He held her tight, for as long as she allowed.

“You’re welcome, Cass,” he told her. Eventually, she pulled back, and he sat back again.

“Can I be alone again, for a while? I promise I won’t be as long.”

“Take all the time you need, Cassie,” Varian told her.

“Okay, get out of here, nerd,” Cassandra said, and the two of them chuckled. “Oh, actually, allow me,” Cass said, squeezing her legs again and creating a little platform and a large winding staircase around the stem of her cage, with a railing for safety. Varian laughed and stood up, walking down the staircase and then calling one last goodbye to her.

Cassandra remained there, finally stretching out her legs. She pulled back the black rock from the top of her cage so she could stare up at the clouds for a bit. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been out there, but the sun was in an entirely different position than the last time she looked up, so she figured it’d been a long time.

She stayed there a while longer, before lowering the cage and herself to the ground, taking a few steps. Her head was aching badly, she felt like utter garbage after crying for so long, especially since she wasn’t exactly used to crying. There was a reason she hated it, aside from it making her feel weak.

Cassandra walked back to the caravan slowly, her head bowed down part way, but she looked up when she reached it to see Rapunzel looking happy and relieved.

Rapunzel ran forward, then stopped short, lifting her arms and then swinging them back, and then reaching out just a little bit, offering a hug with no obligation.

Cassandra brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, and accepted the hug.

“Are you… okay?” Rapunzel asked as she pulled back, looking up at Cassandra with worry in her eyes.

“Not exactly. I will be, eventually,” Cassandra said, giving a half-smile. “It’s gonna take a while to come to terms with… something like this.”

“Of course,” Rapunzel nodded. “That’s understandable, Cass. But, I’ll be here, if you want to talk. I get it if you don’t, though,” Rapunzel gripped her own arm, flexing her toes on the ground.

“I’m not mad at you,” Cassandra told her. “I’m.. conflicted. I’m made at Mother- ugh, Gothel. But I don’t blame you or anything,” Cassandra looked down.

“Okay,” Rapunzel said softly. “I’m glad,” she said, reaching out to take Cassandra’s hand loosely, giving her the option to reject if she wanted.

Cassandra held her hand, “I’m just hurt, Raps. I still… love you, though. This doesn’t impact that at all.”

Rapunzel smiled, leaning forward to kiss Cassandra on the cheek. “Good. I love you, too.”

“Are you sure?” Cassandra said, before she could stop herself. “What if… what if I remind you of her?”

“You don’t,” Rapunzel said. “Cass, you’re nothing like Gothel. You’re noble, hard-working, determined, heroic, and good. She cared about nobody but herself, she was vain, abusive… she was bad,” Rapunzel added, scrunching her nose. “You’re beautiful, inside and out. She was rotten to the core.”

Cassandra just nodded, feeling tears prick her eyes again. She hated this, she hated feeling so out-of-control, unable to maintain her composure. This was not like her. Cassandra reached for Rapunzel again, burying her face in her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Cass. Let it out,” Rapunzel murmured, and Cassandra sobbed a couple times. She couldn’t believe she was still able to cry after the whole afternoon, but as fate would have it, she still had it in her.

“Why didn’t she love us?” Cassandra asked quietly, and Rapunzel just shook her head.

“She was evil,” Rapunzel said. “There is no justification. We deserved better.”

Cassandra nodded and then took a deep breath, wiping away her tears. “You’re right. Thanks, Raps… I think I want to rest for a while.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel ran her fingers through Cassandra’s hair. “We can start traveling again tomorrow, or the next day, whenever you’re ready, Cass.”

“I’m sure I’ll be okay by tomorrow,” Cassandra said with a little noise of amusement.

“If you want me to join you, I can, but if you don’t, that’s okay.”

“You can,” Cassandra said, taking Rapunzel’s hand again. They made their way into the caravan to lie down in quiet, Rapunzel holding Cassandra and comforting her the best way she could.

--

The next day, Rapunzel proposed to the group that they take the long way home, to take the opportunity for a little more freedom. Their reactions ranged from neutral acceptance to excitement, which Rapunzel took as a win.

Thus, their group traveled for an extra week or two, meandering about and going to visit some of the people and towns they met on their previous travels, taking their sweet time and enjoying the way. It also gave them time to digest everything that had happened on the trip. Many nights, Cassandra and Rapunzel stayed up to talk about their new relationship and what they’d been through. Eugene joined them, a few times.

Eventually, though, they had to head back towards Corona and resume their lives.

On the morning of what would be their last day traveling, Rapunzel fiddled with something in her hands, looking up at Cassandra.

“Are you sure you’re completely, 100% okay with this? It can wait,” Rapunzel asked, then turned to peak out of the little window in the caravan.

“I’m okay with it, Rapunzel,” Cassandra told her, placing her hand on Rapunzel’s forearm. “I’d be the last person to tell you to wait for me.”

“I know,” Rapunzel said, “but I don’t want it to be out of obligation. And we just got into this new relationship configuration- I’d understand if you didn’t want me to do this.”

Cassandra shook her head, “It’s okay. You’ve had this planned for months, Raps, and it’s okay. Besides, it’s not like it’s going to be a short engagement,” Cassandra smirked a bit. “It’s the perfect time. The sun is almost up. Here, I’ll go make sure he doesn’t get suspicious,” Cassandra brushed her dark hair back behind her ear and opened the door to the caravan, leaving Rapunzel to look down at the ringbox in her hand.

“Hey, Fitzherbert,” Cassandra called out, going to sit next to Eugene. He was sitting on the edge of a small cliff, looking out at a lush canyon. It was a beautiful sight, and it was about to get better once the sun rose.

“What’s the hold up, ladies?” Eugene said, looking back to her, “or, lady. Where’s blondie?”

“She won’t be long,” Cassandra said, taking a seat next to him. “What a view,” she said, whistling low.

“Right?” Eugene said, smiling.  “So.. how are you feeling?”

“I’m good,” Cassandra said. “Being the host of a celestial being takes some getting used to, but, hey. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Now that, I believe,” Eugene said.

“It’s weird, having you be so… chummy with me,” Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him, but she was smiling.

“Likewise,” Eugene countered. “I guess dating the same girl can really do wonders for a friendship.”

Cassandra snorted, “That’s true. And maybe you aren’t half bad yourself.”

Eugene raised his eyebrows at her, “Oh? Is that a hint of affection I hear?”

“Don’t go reading into it,” Cassandra said, nudging him with her arm.

“Awh, Cass,” Eugene said, throwing his arm around her and squeezing her tight. “I always knew you loved me.”

“Hey, keep your voice down,” Cassandra snapped, rolling her eyes as he jostled her around with his arm. “Can’t have the others hearing that.”

“I love you, too, Cass,” Eugene said, tone gentle but serious. Cassandra felt herself blush just a bit, and she shook her head.

“I’m gonna go grab some tea and send Rapunzel out here. Don’t move, okay?” Cassandra slapped him the back once she was free of his arm and got up.

“Okay, but hurry back, both of you. You’re gonna miss daybreak.”

“Don’t you worry,” Cassandra said. She went back into the caravan. “You ready, Raps?”

“Yep,” Rapunzel said, determined. She nodded her head and stepped out of the caravan. Cassandra went to the window to watch her go.

“Good morning, Eugene,” Rapunzel greeted with a smile. She went to sit down next to him, smiling.

“Hey!” Eugene said, “you’re right on time! The sun is just beginning to rise,” Eugene told her with a grin. “Cass is gonna miss it, though,” he said, looking behind him for a second.

“She told me she had something she wanted to write down,” Rapunzel said, and Eugene gave her a puzzled look.

“Well, okay,” he said, then he shrugged.

“Let’s watch, hm?” Rapunzel said, looking at him with love in her expression before turning towards the sun. Eugene nodded, his gaze lingering on her face before he, too, turned his head.

“It’s so gorgeous,” Rapunzel said with a sigh.

“Not as gorgeous as you,” Eugene said, and the two of them glanced at each other for a moment.

Rapunzel laughed, light and airy, “I knew you would say that.”

“What can I say, I’m predictable,” Eugene admitted. Rapunzel laughed at that, as well. They watched the sunrise together in silence for the next minute or so, enjoying the view and each other’s company.

“Y’know?” Rapunzel started, taking a deep breath, “times like these, I wish I could just stay freeze the moment and stay in it for as long as I want, and be able to return to it.”

“Hmm,” Eugene said, “I hear you. It’d be nice, to return to some of those big moments. Like when I realized I was in love with you,” Eugene smiled, and they looked at one another.

“You’re such a sap,” Rapunzel laughed.

“Again, guilty as charged.”

“One of the many, many things I love about you,” Rapunzel leaned forward and kissed him. “Anyway, sometimes I wish I could freeze moments, but I realized, the next best thing is just making sure to create new moments, spending time together, savoring the moments while they do last.” Rapunzel’s hand went to the pocket she’d sewn into her dress.

“Wise words,” Eugene said, looking over at her.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is,” Rapunzel glanced down, then back up at him. “I love you, Eugene. I love every moment together. I want us to spend our days together, build a life together, grow old together,” Rapunzel cleared her throat and shifted, as Eugene’s expression to a journey. Rapunzel moved to her knees, kneeling beside Eugene as she pulled the box from her pocket.

“Rapunzel,” Eugene started, his expression changing slowly. His eyes widened as he waited for her next move.

“Eugene,” she countered, smiling. She opened the box to reveal a shiny engagement ring, “I want to cherish every moment with, from now until forever. Will you marry me?” she took out the ring, holding it to him.

A few tears sprung to Eugene’s eyes, “You’re dang right I will!” he all but yelled, and he leaned forward to kiss her.

Rapunzel laughed euphorically, hugging him. Then, she pulled back, and grabbed his hand. He straightened his finger to allow her to slip on the ring, then the two of the hugged and kissed again.

“I can’t believe it!” Eugene said, giddy. “You beat me to it!”

“I did,” Rapunzel laughed.

“Y’know, I was actually going to try to propose right before we left Corona,” Eugene told her.

“Oh, wow,” Rapunzel’s eyebrows went up, “I’m lucky you were delayed long enough for me to get my chance, then!”

Eugene rolled his eyes, but he was laughing. “You really wanted to be the one to do it, huh?”

“I kinda did,” Rapunzel scrunched her nose, giggling.

“Well, I can’t complain too much,” Eugene said, then he hugged her again.

The two spent another few minutes riding that high before getting up. The others would probably be awake by now.

“Blondie,” Eugene said, looking down with fondness at the ring Rapunzel had picked for him. “Does Cassandra know?”

“Oh, of course,” Rapunzel said. “I’ve had that ring for a while, she knew about it long ago. And I told her this morning, she’s totally okay.”

“Okay, good,” Eugene said, and at that, the door to the caravan swung open.

“Awh, you’re concerned about little ol’ me when you just got engaged?” Cassandra asked as she walked over to them. “I was totally watching the whole thing. Congratulations, by the way,” Cassandra chirped, punching Eugene in the arm for good measure.

“Thank you!” Eugene said, wrapping her up in a hug. “And of course I’m concerned! You’re a part of our relationship too now.”

Cassandra avoided his gaze as Rapunzel made a noise of excitement, “You two are both so sweet! I always knew you could get along!”

Cassandra stuck her tongue out at her, “Well, I can’t rain on this specific parade, that would be… treason. Or something.”

Eugene laughed. “Oh, I gotta go tell Lance! And Varian! This is the best day of my life,” Eugene said. “Until the wedding. And until we have kids. But, y’know, baby steps.”

“Yes, baby steps,” Rapunzel said. “We’ll probably have a long engagement, y’know, given all of the circumstances.”

“Of course,” Eugene said. “For now, though,” he said, walking over to the caravan. “Hey Lance! You would not believe what just happened!”

Rapunzel and Cassandra looked at each other, laughing. Rapunzel reached out and Cassandra took her hands.

“How are you feeling?” Cassandra asked.

“Like my stomach is going to fly out of my throat, but, it’s good.”

“That’s good,” Cassandra smiled at her. Rapunzel leaned forward to kiss her on the lips.

“I’m excited, for everything the future holds. With you, Eugene… all of Corona,” Rapunzel said. Cassandra nodded.

“Me too,” Cassandra whispered. “Now… let’s go home,” she said, and Rapunzel nodded back.

Rapunzel let go of her hand, and gestured towards the driver’s seat of the caravan, “You lead the way, Cass.”

Chapter Text

“Cass,” Rapunzel started, looking at her girlfriend with concern in her eyes, “is everything okay?”

Cassandra had been off all afternoon, or so Rapunzel thought. She’d arranged a nice date for them, and Rapunzel was having a great time, but Cass seemed to be frustrated sometimes, at least when she wasn’t nervous. Rapunzel knew this mostly because of their connection, because Cassandra was trying to put on a brave face and act like everything was fantastic.

Cassandra heaved a little sigh, looking over at the table she’d set up for them in Corona’s new garden. Rapunzel wanted to bring a bit more greenery into the castle, so Cassandra helped her arrange a botanical garden near the castle that would soon be open to the public. For tonight, though, Cassandra had set up a little tour and that ended with a dinner where they’d get to sit and enjoy the evening after their afternoon of fun activities.

Unfortunately, most of those activities hadn’t gone exactly as planned. The winds were too strong for the hot air balloon Cassandra had planned out, one of the musicians she’d hired was sick which threw off the romantic song she’d requested, and just when she tried to read the poem she wrote for Rapunzel, a minor emergency happened with a nearby citizen that they had to attend to and the moment was lost.

“Did I do something wrong?” Rapunzel asked, pressing her lips together nervously.

“No, Raps,” Cassandra said, holding up a hand. “It’s not you, it’s me- the timing and the setting just aren’t what I hoped they’d be,” she said glumly, feeling defeated. Sure, the garden was nice, but it was meant to wind down their spectacular day. It felt much less special at this point.

Cassandra squeezed her own arm. Maybe she just needed some space. But, no, she should really just talk to Rapunzel. Rapunzel tilted her head, but Cassandra went on, “I wanna get this right.”

“Hm?” Rapunzel raised a brow and tilted her head. Get what right, she wondered.

“I wanna thrill you in the way you deserve,” Cassandra went on, “I wanna blow your mind, I’m just- I’m having trouble getting up the nerve,” she explained. “Today was supposed to be amazing, it’s just.. not going according to plan. I wanna give you want you want,” Cassandra asserted.

Rapunzel giggled a little, “Oh, Cass.”

She just had to manage it without getting sick.

“Maybe I’ll do better in the candlelight,” Cassandra said with a little smile, going over to pull out the chair for Rapunzel and picking up the matchbox on the table.

“Why thank you,” Rapunzel said, smiling back. She sat down, and Cassandra lit the candle. Then, she somehow dropped the match on the paper tablecloth she’d laid out and the two of them yelped.

“Cass!” Rapunzel stood up, looking like she was about to try to deal with the situation.

“No, no, stay right where you are-“ Cassandra said, holding out her hands. “I’ll put out the fire, my love,” she said, then she encased the fire in her black rock. Well. There went the table they were going to eat dinner on.

Rapunzel giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. “Oh, Cass,” she said with a delighted sigh. She was trying hard to reign in her laughter. “Cass, are you okay?”

Cassandra slapped her own forehead with her hands, groaning loudly. “I just want to get this right,” she said, sullen. “I wanna make you swoon, Raps. I wanted to… rock you with my righteous romance.”

“Oh Cass,” Rapunzel snorted, and Cassandra rolled her eyes.

“I wanna set a mood, darling,” Cassandra said. “All of this romantic stuff, I wanted it to be perfect for you. I had planned to read a poem, have the musicians play a little lute, really set the scene here, you know?”

Rapunzel nodded her head, “Of course, Cass.”

Cassandra heaved another sigh. She wasn’t going to give up now, no. “Here’s the thing,” Cassandra said, reaching for her little satchel, one that Rapunzel had given her sometime after they started dating. “I’ve got a ring,” Cassandra said slowly, smiling just a little. However, her hand came up empty after rooting around in the place she knew she put the box. “That I didn’t bring,” Cassandra concluded, glum. Shoot.

“Oh, Cass,” Rapunzel started, reaching out.

“So, this went very well, goodnight.” Cassandra took in a deep breath, turning away and beginning to walk away. “I didn't get this right,”

“Cassandra,” Rapunzel said, “it’s okay, come back!”

Cassandra just sighed and continued walking, but she was slow enough for Rapunzel to keep up a step or two behind her.

“Raps, I’ve never been in love before, I don’t know what I’m doing,” Cassandra confessed, holding her arms over her middle. “I've never been too worldly in the ways of woman-wooing,” she said, making an exaggerated face. Truthfully, she always knew she liked women, but she’d never felt for anyone the way she felt for Rapunzel- and it wasn’t like she’d ever tried to propose to someone before.

“I feel like I’m blowing it, this isn’t what I meant to do,” Cassandra continued, throwing up her arms in defeat.

“It’s okay,” Rapunzel said, taking Cassandra’s arm.

“But I know how crazy lucky I am to love you,” Cassandra told her earnestly. They were exciting the construction area of a garden by now. The moon was high in the sky, the air clear and fresh.

“Raps,” Cassandra said, turning towards her, “you are gorgeous, funny, brave, brilliant, beautiful… you won't give up on anyone.”

“Awh,” Rapunzel said, smiling with love and affection in her eyes.

“I just wanna get this right, darling,” Cassandra said. “I want to love you in the best way I can. I wanna make you cry,” Cassandra paused, her eyes widening, she quickly added, “in a good way!”

Rapunzel laughed, fluttering her eyelashes.

“By proving I can be your perfect girl,” Cassandra continued, blushing. “Rapuznel, I meant to write it in the sky! To meant to get down on one knee. I planned to really try to be the opposite of me,” Cassandra squeezed Rapunzel’s hand.

Rapunzel went to say something, but Cassandra continued, “But Raps, I will love you with all my might. I promise you, in here,” Cassandra placed her free hand over her heart, “I’ve got that part right.”

“I know you do, Cass,” Rapunzel added.

“But maybe we should do this on some other night,” Cassandra suggested, sighing. She let go of Rapunzel’s hand and turned away, walking in the direction of the castle.

“Wait!” Rapunzel called, then she winced a tiny bit, she hated using that word nowadays. Still, she rummaged in her bag, and then ran after Cassandra, who was walking with her head down, defeated.

“Sir Cassandra of Corona!” Rapunzel yelled out, and Cassandra lifted her head, looking back at her. Rapunzel grabbed her wrist and Cassandra turned around. A couple of citizens taking a nightly stroll looked over at the outburst.

Rapunzel dropped to one knee in front of Cassandra, holding out a box with a ring, “Will you marry me?”

Cassandra’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open. She blinked, then said, “Yes!”

“You got that right!” Eugene yelled from his spot where he was waiting for the two to exit the garden.

Rapunzel slid the ring on Cassandra’s hand before Cassandra swept her up in a hug, kissing her. The two of them laughed, pressing their foreheads together.

“Darling, I’m gonna thrill you in the way you deserve,” Cassandra promised Rapunzel, still laughing. “We’re gonna get this right,” she concluded.

“As long as we’re together, we won’t lose our nerve,” Rapunzel said, pressing a kiss to Cassandra’s nose.

“I’m gonna be the girl you want,” Cassandra said, her voice filled with affection.

“Guess what? You already are,” Rapunzel told her, honest and kind.

“I wanna make your life so good,” Cassandra went on, deliriously happy.

“You’re doing pretty good so far,” Rapunzel said, looking deeply into her eyes. “We got the hard part over with,” Rapunzel added with a little giggle.

“Oh, just hold me tight,” Cassandra said with a chuckle, and the two embraced again. “We’re gonna get this right,” Cassandra repeated quietly.