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The stars shimmered in the night sky above the kingdom of Corona, while the beautiful full moon illuminated the town below with a lovely white glow. The royal palace was mostly dark, save for the light emanating from a few of the windows on the upper floors, including the window to the room currently occupied by Princess Rapunzel and her brave knight Cassandra.
As Cassandra sat on the windowsill, looking out at the stars while cleaning her dagger, Rapunzel was buried in a book, as several more books were piled up on the nearby desk.
“You find any new information about the Moonstone, Raps?” asked Cassandra, pausing her cleaning for a moment and looking over at Rapunzel.
“Nothing,” Rapunzel said with a sigh. “Not a single one of these books have anything about the Moonstone... the only information we have is what little Varian was able to get for us.”
In the months since Cassandra rescued Rapunzel from the tower and brought her back to Corona, and the weeks since Rapunzel's hair had grown back thanks to the power of the mysterious black rocks, the two had been busily researching any information they could about the Moonstone, having first learned of its existence from Gothel in her desperate attempt to convince Cassandra to join her. Cassandra had turned Gothel down flat, but the idea of a mysterious magical artifact somewhere out there with power equivalent to that which fueled Rapunzel's healing magic was too intriguing to ignore.
“You know, maybe we should stop worrying so much about it,” said Rapunzel, closing her book and looking back over at Cassandra. “If there's hardly any information about the Moonstone, and no one's found it for hundreds of years, it might as well not exist. How's that old expression go? 'Let sleeping dogs lie'?”
Cassandra looked back out the window, up at the full moon. She knew Rapunzel had a good point... if no one had laid eyes on the Moonstone for hundreds of years, it was very well lost to everyone. And yet... the idea of something out there with that much power, something that could potentially fall into the hands of Rapunzel's ever growing list of enemies... it worried Cassandra deeply.
“Raps, as much as I want to agree with you, I can't help but think that we need to at least make sure it's truly lost and not out there for just anyone to find. After all, Gothel got her hands on the Sundrop, and we know what she was able to do. What if Lady Caine and the Circle got their hands on the Moonstone? Or what if the Saporians got it?”
“And what makes you think they'll be able to find it if we can't, hmm?” asked Rapunzel, smiling and standing up from her chair. “Between the two of us, Varian, Eugene, and Lance, we've got some really clever people working on this thing. We're way smarter than a bunch of thieves or separatists, if we can't find it, there's no way any of them can!”
“And if someone bad stumbles on it by accident?”
“According to our research, the Moonstone's been hidden for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. If someone was going to find it by accident, they'd have done it already.”
Cassandra's cynical mind continued to dwell on the Moonstone, but her heart was warmed by Rapunzel's reassuring words, and as the princess continued to walk over, Cassandra shifted into a sitting position to allow Rapunzel to sit next to her.
“Look, Cass, we have to stop worrying so much about the Moonstone and think about everything else that's going on. Or... and this is just my idea... we don't have to worry about anything! We can enjoy ourselves right here in the palace and have fun! You, me, mom and dad, our friends... I'm not saying we shouldn't stay vigilant, but we can't be in 'serious Royal Guard' mode all the time, can we?”
Cassandra smiled, reaching over and taking Rapunzel's hand. She looked out the window again, and Rapunzel looked out with her.
“I've been thinking, Raps...”
“About...?”
“Destiny,” said Cassandra, squeezing Rapunzel's hand as she continued to stare up at the sky. “What is my destiny, really?”
“Well, when we were back at the tower, and you lay dying in my arms,” Rapunzel began, her voice quivering ever so slightly as that terrible memory came back to her mind, “you told me I was your destiny.”
“And you are and always will be,” said Cassandra, looking into Rapunzel's eyes and nuzzling a tear away even before it came. “But what else? Will we stay here at the palace, or is our destiny somewhere out there?”
Rapunzel would be lying if she said she hadn't contemplated that same question a number of times before. She craved adventure, but everyone she loved lived within the palace walls, or close to them, and she knew she had an obligation to stay there... though how much of her time she had to spend there was still a matter of debate.
“Mom and dad only have one child, and that's me, so... I'm the future queen of Corona,” said Rapunzel. “That... really does connect me to Corona and to this palace in a way I can't really avoid, you know?”
“I know,” said Cassandra, continuing to nuzzle Rapunzel.
“And... it also makes you the future princess,” said Rapunzel, smiling and looking warmly into Cassandra's eyes. Cassandra rolled her eyes at the mention of that word... she hated imagining herself as a princess, even if her favorite person in the world was one. “What's wrong with being a princess?”
“Just... it's... going to take some time to get used to,” said Cassandra. “Let's just say I hope your parents live for a very, very, very long time.”
Rapunzel giggled and kissed Cassandra on the cheek.
“It's a lot to think about... destiny,” said Rapunzel. “Cass, if I asked you to explain what you think destiny is, would you be able to?”
“Destiny is what you're meant to be,” said Cassandra. “What you're meant to do... who you really are, after everything happens like it's supposed to.”
“Funny... back on the boat you told me my destiny is what I decide it to be. So... do you think we get to decide our destiny, or do you think it's already decided for us when we're born?”
Cassandra blushed, looking slightly away from Rapunzel. Philosophical discussions with the princess were always so engaging, but often Cassandra found herself outmatched when she dove into them. Rapunzel was a genius, a prodigy, one of the most intelligent people in all of Corona. She didn't seem that way at first glance, but conversations with her soon revealed the depth of her knowledge and her capacity to learn, and even with her quick wit and analytical nature, Cassandra couldn't always hold her own with Rapunzel when it came to discussing the nature of the universe and other deep philosophical matters.
Of course, that didn't mean she didn't love to try... especially when it gave her a glimpse at just how keen a thinker her princess really was.
“I think... we're given certain gifts when we're born, but we're the ones who get to choose whether or not to use those gifts to our full potential. Destiny is... potential.”
“Everyone is gifted, but not everyone opens their present,” said Rapunzel.
“I... guess that's a good way of putting it,” Cassandra replied.
“So... I have the potential to stay here in Corona and be queen, or I have the potential to go out there into the world and help everyone...”
“I think maybe you can do both,” said Cassandra. “You're the future ruler of Corona, but no one says the queen has to stay here and sit on a throne all day and control everything. You get to make your own rules, you can stay here but you can go out and be with your people... or help everyone. You're perfectly capable of helping everyone in the world if that's what you want.”
Cassandra then placed her hand on Rapunzel's cheek, looking deeply into her eyes with a supportive smile.
“Just remember to leave enough time for yourself,” said Cassandra. “You deserve... everything, Rapunzel.”
“Mmmm...” Rapunzel softly rubbed her face against Cassandra's hand, even taking a moment to kiss it before looking back up into her girlfriend's eyes. “And so do you, Cassandra... have you ever thought about your destiny beyond what we have here together?”
Cassandra looked back out the window at the stars and the moon, and as she did, Gothel's words from back in the tower echoed in her mind. She tried to forget about them, but they were a constant presence, lurking in the back of her mind, even haunting her dreams. Every time she found herself in a situation she couldn't handle, whether it was back in that forest as the Stabbingtons' prisoner, up in the tower bleeding out as Rapunzel watched in horror, or even recently with the Saporians... Cassandra thought about the Moonstone and the power it could bring... the ability to protect everyone... protect Rapunzel... protect herself.
“What if... the Moonstone is my destiny?” asked Cassandra, looking back at Rapunzel.
“Oh, Cass, I don't think-”
“The Sundrop is a part of you, and the Moonstone is its companion, right? So what if... what if I'm supposed to be the one who finds it? I know, I know it was Gothel who put the idea into my head, and I know we don't know anything about its power, but if I had the chance to use the Moonstone to protect people the same way you healed them with the Sundrop, shouldn't I at least consider taking it?”
“You don't need the Moonstone to protect anyone,” said Rapunzel, taking Cassandra's hands in both of her own. “I have always felt absolutely safe with you.”
“I know you don't need protecting... I know that...”
“And I know you can't help wanting to protect me,” said Rapunzel, caressing the top of Cassandra's hands. “I feel the same way about you.”
“It's just... if you're the Sun... doesn't that make me the Moon?”
“So you want to eclipse me, hmm?”
Cassandra's eyes widened, and she blushed, hoping Rapunzel didn't take that statement the wrong way. A loud laugh from Rapunzel proved that she was just teasing, and Cassandra's shoulders slumped as she felt embarrassed that she'd even think for a second that Rapunzel took offense to what she'd said.
“I know what you mean, Cassandra... us being together and the Moonstone being the Sundrop's companion, it does make you think... I've thought about it a lot, actually, but I don't think that's what your destiny is. The Moonstone is supposed to be the opposite of the Sundrop, so if the Sundrop brings life...”
“The Moonstone brings death.”
“And I don't think that's your destiny at all, Cassandra,” said Rapunzel. “I mean, you can be pretty scary sometimes, but you and I aren't polar opposites. We're alike in a lot of ways. We're both brave, we're both smart, we're both sweet...”
“I'm not-”
“You are very sweet, Cass, when you want to be,” said Rapunzel, nuzzling Cassandra again. “We're companions, we're a couple, we're two halves of the same whole. The Moonstone and Sundrop aren't like that. They're in opposition to each other, and we're in harmony with each other. So no, Cassandra, I don't think the Moonstone has anything to do with your destiny. If you want to try and find it to keep it from falling into the wrong hands, I'll be right there with you... but if you think you have to have the Moonstone to fulfill some kind of ancient prophecy, well...”
Rapunzel then attacked Cassandra's exposed belly button with her fingers, giving her a quick tickle until she'd managed to force out a laugh. Cassandra tried to push Rapunzel away, but it was only a half-hearted effort... and afterwards, she felt Rapunzel's embrace.
“Well, then you're just being silly.”
“...you're right, Raps,” sighed Cassandra, returning Rapunzel's hug, her hands caressing the princess' back as she felt Rapunzel doing the same to her. “So then... what is our destiny? Here, or out there? Both? Or...”
“I think we still have to find it,” said Rapunzel, finally parting from the embrace. “And I want you to find it with me.”
Cassandra looked out once more at the stars and the moon, and even with all of that beauty in the heavens, it couldn't compare to the beautiful sunlight shining right in front of her. She looked back into Rapunzel's eyes, and the two came together in a soft, sweet kiss.
“Whatever I decide my destiny is going to be, I'll always choose you,” said Rapunzel as their lips parted, still looking lovingly into her eyes.
Cassandra still didn't know if she really would take the Moonstone if she had the chance to do so. She knew she still wanted to find it, if only to keep it out of the hands of those who would use it to hurt the ones she loved. She'd made her choice in that matter, and she knew she'd have Rapunzel at her side.
There was one other choice Cassandra had already made... and with every passing day, she felt even more confident that she'd made the right one.
“I've already chosen you,” Cassandra replied. “Always and forever.”