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"It's so hot out today."
"I know," Cassandra answered from her place beneath a palm tree. "That's the fifth time you said that."
Rapunzel eyed her without any emotion on her face. "Because it's true."
Cassandra didn't even have the energy to argue back. Today was truly the hottest day they had experienced on the island. The sun was burning bright with no mercy and the sand beneath their feet grew warmer by the minute. If this went on, they would melt before the next boat arrived.
"Hey, i know!" Rapunzel suddenly exclaimed. "Let's play a game in the ocean. I'm sure that'll cool us off."
"What? Just us two?" She looked around them for extra emphasis. The rest of their group had been send on a mission to look for food and proper drinking water. Eugene had said something about searching for a cooler place but Cassandra was pretty sure that he was not going to find it. They could be gone for a while.
"Sure!" The princess continued to say. "What do people usually play on the beach?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not usually at a beach."
Rapunzel thought for a moment. "The Lorbs have a game called Catch and Fetch. We simply throw a ball to each other until we get bored. Sounds fun?"
"No."
"Let's do it!"
Cassandra groaned both in protest and because she was too hot. There was no way she could walk away and hope Rapunzel would leave her alone. She would never. So, the raven stood up and helped Rapunzel find a proper ball.
The only thing they could find on the island were coconuts which was better than nothing after all. Rapunzel looked glad when she held one in her arms. The water was already reaching past her knees, Pascal safe and sound watching from the beach. He wasn't so fond of water.
"Here it goes!"
Cassandra was already bored out of her mind when Rapunzel threw the coconut at her. She caught it with ease. This was better than remaining on land she guessed. This way she was cooled off and had some quality time alone with Rapunzel. It had been a while ago since they last hung out.
Rapunzel's long hair flowed behind her in the water. She was still getting used to the ocean after spending years locked up in a tower. Every time some seaweed graced her legs, the princess would yelp and she was still trying to get her footing right whenever a small wave crashed into them. It was a funny sight.
After a couple of tries, Cassandra was actually enjoying their dumb game. She grinned before throwing the ball with a bit of force. It flew straight over Rapunzel's head and into the ocean behind them.
"I got it!"
"Are you sure? I mean, it probably sunk by now. Maybe we should go back to shore and get a new one."
Rapunzel waved a hand at her. "Nah. It's no problem! I'll be right back."
Cassandra watched Rapunzel wade through the ocean. The water was starting to rise above her navel and almost touched her shoulders. She must have arrived at the place where their ball had disappeared to because she was looking down into the water and not paying attention to anything else. That had been a mistake.
Out of nowhere, a big wave crashed over her and caused the blonde to lose her footing. Cassandra's eyes widened when she couldn't find Rapunzel anywhere. As quickly as she could, the woman dived under water and swam towards the place where she had seen her friend for the last time.
She couldn't see anything and her lunges burned. Cassandra breached the surface for air but Rapunzel was still nowhere to be found! Her heart was beating wild with panic. She wasn't able to look over the waves. How was she supposed to find Rapunzel before it was too late? Why had she allowed them to play this stupid game? The girl couldn't swim! She had been trapped in that cursed tower for her whole life! No wonder something like this would happen!
Something brushed her leg all of a sudden. Cassandra glanced down and saw Rapunzel's long hair. She didn't hesitate and followed the strands until finally, she arrived at the right spot.
The princess was kicking and doing everything in her power to stay alive. Her feet couldn’t reach the seafloor this far out. The wave must have carried her further down the ocean and away from their previous spot.
Cassandra hauled her up by her arms and tried to swim for the both of them but Rapunzel was coughing and thrashing against the water in panic. She was holding onto Cassandra for dear life, limiting her movement to the point where she couldn't stay afloat anymore.
"R-Raps!" She sputtered out. "Stay still! I can't swim like this!"
Rapunzel was still coughing water out of her lunges. It didn't look like she had heard Cassandra and only continued to claw around her friend. Cassandra would need to intervene or else they would both drown. She could only come up with one solution: Cassandra slapped Rapunzel in the face.
The girl blinked a few times in surprised shock, enough time for Cassandra to take a hold of her from behind and tow them both back to shore. Rapunzel was still anxious - she could sense it from the tension in her body - but otherwise kept herself calm enough to allow Cassandra to swim.
It didn't take long before they were able to touch the land again and walk to shore. Rapunzel coughed the last bit of water into the sand until she slumped down in exhaustion. Cassandra was tired herself. Her muscles ached and her heart was still beating from the action but she ignored her body and knelt down besides the blonde.
"Raps?" She slurred out. "Are you okay?"
Rapunzel opened a pair of tired eyes. "Y-yeah. I'm... Fine."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown the ball so far out. I should've been more careful."
"It's okay, Cass. I shouldn't have gone so far out into the sea."
"Yeah, but i should've warned you."
Rapunzel pushed herself into a seated position before hugging Cassandra. Their clothes were dripping wet but she didn't seem to care. "Don't beat yourself up about this. I'm fine now. It's alright."
She hugged Rapunzel back without another word.
_______________________________________
The sea was calm today. Cassandra looked out towards the horizon while the others were preparing lunch. She should be helping them but she was still feeling guilty about what happened yesterday. Rapunzel had almost drowned and it was all her fault. What if she hadn't been on time? What if her hair hadn't been around and Rapunzel would have...
She shook her head. Rapunzel was alive and well. There was nothing to worry about.
"Are you okay?"
Cassandra was pulled from her thoughts in a second. She had been thinking so deeply that she hadn't heard Rapunzel approach. The girl seated herself besides the warrior in the warm sand. "Are you still thinking about yesterday?"
She shrugged but didn't answer.
Rapunzel smiled besides her. "Thank you."
That made her look up, surprise plastered all over her features. "What for?"
"Rescuing me? Being there every time i need you. Isn't it obvious?"
Cassandra frowned. "You're welcome."
She was still feeling guilty and slightly useless but Rapunzel had made her feel a little better. At least she had been able to save her yesterday. From now on, Cassandra was going to look out for the blonde even more than she already was.
A smile grew on her face. "What do you say i learned you how to swim? The ocean is calm today and it's going to be hot once again."
Rapunzel looked unsure. "I don't know, Cass. Yesterday was pretty scary."
"I'll be there the whole time with you. Nothing can harm you."
Something in her friend's eyes lit up and she was smiling once more. "Alright. I've actually wanted to be able to swim ever since leaving my tower. This is going to be great!"
The two of them changed into lighter clothes before wading into the water. Eugene and the rest of their friends were looking at them from the beach, a drink in their hand as they relaxed in the warm sand. "Don't you dare drown my girlfriend!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "If you don't shut up, i'll drown you."
She could hear him grumble something under his breath which pulled a chuckle out of Lance and Hookfoot. When they were standing with their hips into the sea, Cassandra stopped her friend. "Alright. This should be fine."
Rapunzel hugged herself from anxiety. "You will be with me the whole time, right?"
"Of course."
"And you won't let me do anything that i'm not ready for?"
"Trust me. You are ready, but okay. I won't."
The princess sighed. "Alright. Let's do this."
Cassandra wanted her to be able to float first. She held her hands under Rapunzel's back to help her stay upright. Rapunzel looked a bit scared but she wasn't going to back down. If she wanted to learn something, she would go for it.
Her hair floated around Cassandra's legs. She chuckled but continued to hold the blonde. "Think you could handle lesson two?"
"Bring it on!"
"We're going to hold our breath and count to ten."
Emerald eyes widened. "H-hold our breath?"
"Sure! You can't learn how to swim if you can't dive under."
Rapunzel was avoiding Cassandra's eyes, probably because she was scared. Cassandra could understand. The girl had almost drowned yesterday. It was no wonder she was feeling nervous. "I'll go first."
She took a deep breath before dipping down below the surface. Rapunzel was looking at her with round eyes when she emerged once again. "So," Cassandra said. "Let's do that together."
As promised, they held each other's hands before ever so slowly, submerging underwater. Cassandra was glad that the waves were absent today or else the princess would not have been able to do this.
Rapunzel looked a lot more victorious when she came back up for air. Her long hair was plastered to her back and she looked a bit frazzled but there was a big smile on her face. "I did it! I can't believe it! Eugene, did you see that?"
Her boyfriend held a thumbs up into the air in response. She clapped her hands sweetly. "I am ready for anything!"
She was not.
As soon as Cassandra introduced one of the most basic swimming strokes, her face paled once again. "It's okay, Raps. We're not going to do this one today. If you can remember how to move your arms, you'll have fifty percent done."
"Alright," she answered in understanding.
Rapunzel mimicked Cassandra's arm movement for the rest of the afternoon. They wouldn't dive under anymore. Cassandra didn't want to scare her friend forever. She just needed her to know what to do if they would go swimming tomorrow.
The stars shone bright that evening. Cassandra and the rest of her friends were enjoying themselves around the campfire with some tasty sandwiches. Rapunzel was seated on the opposite side of herself, marveling at a made up story from Lance. She smiled at them but her thoughts were somewhere else entirely.
"Hey, you okay?"
It was Eugene who had spoken up. There weren't many instances between them where he would be this kind to her. Not that she really minded. The two of them had a well established relationship that involved a lot of kicking and swearing but they made it work.
Now though, he was talking in a low voice laced with sympathy. She wasn't sure how to react. "I'm fine," she answered quietly so the rest of their friends wouldn't hear. "Just thinking i guess."
"About what happened yesterday?"
Her eyes widened. "How did you-"
"Rapunzel told me."
"Did she tell you why she almost drowned?"
He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. What's important is that you got her back safely. I wanted to thank you for that."
Cassandra blinked in surprise. "Really? But i didn't do anything."
"Didn't do anything?" He sputtered. "Cass, you saved my girlfriend from drowning and now you're teaching her how to swim! You call that nothing?"
She was silent for a moment. Ever since leaving Corona, she had been doing her best to protect Rapunzel from everything but some things were impossible to save her from. It was exhausting. Maybe what happened yesterday had been the last straw and she was feeling even more defeated than she already had.
"Look, all i wanted to say was thank you. Now, don't make me repeat that!"
She laughed. "You're welcome."
Maybe she hadn't failed just yet. At the end of this journey, Rapunzel would be able to swim all by herself. Wasn't that worth something?
She looked up from her sandwich to Rapunzel who was laughing together with the rest of their gang.
Yeah, it was.