Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The princess quarters were large, beautiful and bright.   

Rapunzel adored them and saw so much potential in the unpainted walls and ceilings.   

Cassandra didn’t speak much of the change in her surroundings. She was still recovering from her physical injuries. She lay in the large bed watching Rapunzel organize the room to her liking. They’d been offered separate rooms, offered two smaller beds, but Rapunzel and Cassandra agreed that after eighteen years of sharing a room they’d need to ease into it.  So many things were changing, the one thing to remain constant was each other. 

Eugene was only a few halls away, he’s own room far smaller but it wasn’t like he spent much time in it.   

“How are you this morning Cass?”   

“I feel like I fell from the top of the tower,” she smiled at Rapunzel.  

“Well, you did well in surviving.”   

“I’m strong like that.” She pushed herself into a sitting position, but her face gave away how much it hurt. “Better than a few days ago.”  

Rapunzel nodded. “Can I get you anything? Water? Pancakes? Cupcakes? Tea? A new book to read? Did you know there’s a whole library of books we haven’t read!”   

“No, I didn't, the first eight times you told me I wasn’t listening.” She smirked as Rapunzel blushed.  

“It’s just so exciting.”   

“It is.” Cassandra nodded, though her eyes moved to her hands.  

Rapunzel’s hand found her cheek. “Are you not happy here?”   

Cassandra glanced up then back to her hands. “It’s difficult to say, I’m not feeling well.”  

“Of course.”   

“I don’t feel... I feel out of place. Don’t you?” she looked hopeful. She didn’t want Rapunzel to feel out of place but perhaps if the true lost princess of Corona felt the same way as her, then she could accept the emotions were normal and would pass.  

The truth was Rapunzel had never felt more in place in her entire life. But she couldn't tell Cassandra that. “I think I’m too overwhelmed with excitement to feel much else,” she said. “Which is how you’ll feel once you can walk around and see the castle and kingdom, I just know it.”   

Cassandra smiled and nodded. “You’re probably right.”   

Eugene was just exiting his room to head upstairs and see the princesses when he saw Queen Arianna, he wasn’t sure why he reacted by rushing back into his room, but he did.   

“Smooth, Eugene,” he grumbled to himself.   

“Eugene?” The sound of the queen’s voice on the other side of her door.   

Eugene opened the door. “Oh, hello Your Majesty.” He smiled. “I was just heading out, I just had to run back, nearly forgot...” He looked around the room before snatching the closest thing to him, an old wanted poster. “This...”  

She smiled. “I see.”   

He put it back down with a sigh. “Sorry... I just.”   

“Do you want to talk?”   

Eugene was hesitant to do so but the sooner he got this over with the better. “You know who I am right?”   

“You’re Eugene Fitzherbert.”   

“Yeah.” His hand moved behind his head. “But, before that.”   

“You were in the infamous Flynn Rider, a thief who caused much strife to the kingdom.”   

He nodded. “Yeah, that.”   

“And what of it? Do you wish to return to your old career?”   

“No, not at all. I just... you are... very accepting of the fact your daughter, who’s a princess, is dating a famous thief.”   

“Infamous,” she corrected.   

Eugene grinned at that. “Yeah.”   

“Eugene.” Queen Arianna smiled softly. “I’m not going to lie, had you asked me as a new mother if I would be okay with my daughter dating a thief, I’d have probably said no.”   

“Sound parenting.”   

“But if you’d told me, after my daughter disappeared, that a thief would bring her back to me. Do you think there is any part of that statement that matters other than the fact my daughter coming home?”  

Eugene didn’t respond.   

“Eugene, you bought my daughter home, nothing of your past matters to me. Thanks to you I now have two beautiful girls to love and cherish after eighteen years of waiting. I will forever be in your debt, no stolen goods can change that.”   

Eugene took a deep breath. “Thank you, Your Majesty, those words mean a lot to me. And I assure you, I loved your daughter before...”   

“Knowing she was a princess?”   

“Yeah.”   

“I know Eugene, I’ve heard the whole story. And you were very brave. You risked your life to save two young woman from a terrible situation and for that the kingdom will recognize you as the hero you are and not the thief you were.”   

Rapunzel had left to steal food from the kitchen.   

Cassandra was supposed to rest but she was sick of resting. Lying in bed all day without any chores to do felt like a chore in itself. Her fingers twitched as though wishing for a broom or cloth to hold and swing. All they found were silky sheets and soft blankets.   

A soft knock on the door drew her attention.   

It wasn’t Rapunzel, the girl never knocked.  

It most likely wasn’t Eugene, he usually followed his knock up with some bad joke or self-appraising remark.   

It also wasn't the queen who had a softer knock than that, Cassandra was familiar with it by now.  

“Come in.”   

The door opened and a man poked his head inside.   

For a moment Cassandra didn’t recognize him out of uniform but then her mind supplied her with the answer: Captain of Corona’s Royal Guard.   

“Hello Sir.” Her eyes widened slightly, and she pressed her back up against the wall, trying not to show her fear but a part of her was convinced he must be here to arrest her. On which charges though? Breaking out of prison, fighting the guard, collaborating with a thief, the child neglect laws he said didn’t apply to her, but she still didn’t feel convinced, accomplice in the kidnap on the princess?  

“Your Highness.”   

Queen Arianna had used the word princess before, but it didn’t feel as wrong as this. “Cassandra,” she said, “Please.”   

The captain nodded. “May I enter?”   

She hesitated before nodding. “Yes. You may.”   

He closed the door behind him.   

“The princess, um... Rapunzel isn’t... she’ll be back soon.”   

“I’m not looking for Princess Rapunzel.”   

Cassandra frowned; she held her head high. “You’re looking for me?”   

“I was looking to apologize.”   

Cassandra frowned.   

“I did not treat you fairly during our chase of Flynn Rider.”   

“You treated me very fairly.” Cassandra relaxed, realizing she wasn’t about to be arrested. “I was assisting a known thief to escape you; I picked up a sword and fought the royal guard for goodness' sake. Given the situation you were extraordinarily kind to me.”  

He nodded. “Perhaps. But whatever the case, I realize that night in prison must have been frightening and for that I wish to apologize, apologize and assure you that me, as well as my men are here to protect you from now on.”   

“I don’t want protecting.” Her hands formed fists. “I’ve been protected my entire life and it was horrible.”   

The guard nodded. “Is that why you learnt to use a sword?”   

Cassandra blinked then smiled. “That was the first time I held a real sword.”   

The captain looked surprise. “I would have never guessed; you were very skilled.”   

“I practiced with an old broom in the tower, copied the poses in the pictures in my books.” She blushed realizing how childish it sounded.  

“You must have been very determined.”  

“I was told tales of the dangers just outside the safety of the tower and even as a child I knew we couldn’t spend the duration of our life locked up there.”   

“You have the spirit of a fighter. I can respect that.” He smiled and looked to the window. “If you don’t want my protection, can I offer you something else?”   

“You can offer many things; I can’t promise I’ll accept anything.”   

“If you’d like to attend some of the recruits training, I can teach you to wield a sword, and any other weapon for that matter.”   

Cassandra breathed in; her eyes widened. “Really?”   

“Of course. It’s not the traditional princess past time but very little is traditional with you two. Given your enthusiasm I’m certain the king and queen will have no issues.”  

“I would love that.”   

“You’ll have to heal first.”   

“Ah, pesky ribs.” She glanced down at her chest but smiled. “I will hold you to this offer when I am recovered.”  

“I’ll be waiting,” he smiled.   

Chapter Text

Cassandra was doing much better but still her feet wobbled, her face scrunched up whenever Rapunzel hugged her too hard and there was a distance with her. Her eyes didn't quite see and her tone remained flat when she spoke. 

Rapunzel was an open book, if you asked her a question she’d answer, do her best to explain with as many words as necessary often spoken quickly. Even without words her face was a visual representation of how she felt at any given time. Her body language was direct.  

Cassandra on the other hand would give short uninformative responses to questions, sometimes she’d not respond at all going completely quiet. Her expression usually was an attempt at sternness with perhaps a slight unease, but even that wasn’t dependable, she’d force smiles and scowls whenever she thought that was the “correct” response.  

Arianna was not unfamiliar with this kind of behavior; her own husband was the perfect example of someone who struggled expressing his emotions openly. She saw Cassandra as a challenge, one she could not afford to fail.   

Arianna was walking down the castle halls one day, on her way to the library to return a book. Her schedule was open, and she hoped to spend some quality time either with her husband or her daughters. Upon entering the library, she was surprised to see Cassandra at one of the tables with a book in front of her. She had some parchment and some quill she was using to take notes. Her hand was shaking ever so slightly. Arianna had to concentrate to put on a smile and not show an ounce of pity.  

“Hello Cassandra.”   

The girl jumped, her muscles tensing to the point it looked painful, her eyes widened and flew up to meet the queen’s, her breathing paused, and the quill fell to her side.   

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”   

Cassandra swallowed, her breathing began anew and her hand trembled but found the quill. “It’s okay... I was just, lost in.... In thought.”  

“Do you mind if I join you?”   

“Of course not, here,” she pulled out the chair next to her and Queen Arianna sat down, glancing at the book Cassandra was reading, tilting her head at the numbers, the small text and formal language used. “Not for pleasure, I assume.”  

Cassandra looked down at the book. “It’s on Corona law.”  

“I see, well, it is good to be familiar with the law of your kingdom.”   

“Oh, I’m already very familiar with it. I had an old edition at the tower and studied it for years, I know it by heart and though a few things have changed nothing so big I cannot relearn.”   

“That’s very impressive. May I ask why you felt the need to learn the law of a kingdom you were not allowed to interact with?”   

Cassandra frowned. “Well... at first it was just curiosity. The truth is I didn’t even know what Corona was.” She smiled, “But um... then I realized if I wanted to be a knight one day, I had to know the rules and... it was all quite silly, really”  

“Oh, no, that’s not silly at all. That’s called pursuing one’s dream. And do you still wish to be a knight?”   

“Am I allowed to?” Cassandra frowned.  

“Of course, although we don’t use the title knight, we use the title guard. You’ve already met our Captain, have you not?”   

“I have. He is very friendly.”   

Arianna raised a brow; she’d never heard their Captain described in that manner. Perhaps she’d need to ask him for advice to bond with her new daughter. “Well, it won’t be easy but I’m certain you could pull it off. Is that why you’re reading up on law today?”   

“No, actually... It’s silly.”  

“Go on.”   

Cassandra blushed at the encouragement. “You see, when I was in the tower reading the law on my own... I was... twelve.... yes, I was twelve, I remember that Rapunzel was eight.” Cassandra tapped her fingers on the table as she tried to get her words straight. “I remember I read the chapters on child protection, and, now that I’ve been corrected it’s obvious but, at the time, I interpreted it as a child should not be alone. So, technically, me and Rapunzel were breaking the law, for a long time I thought me and Rapunzel were bad people who would someday be punished for our misconduct.”  

“Oh,” Arianna nearly reached out a hand to comfort Cassandra but held back. The only person who could freely touch Cassandra was Rapunzel.  

“It was... silly of me to think that way, but at the time it made sense and was very scary. So... I was thinking that with just a bit of re-wording, those kinds of misinterpretations can’t happen. I know it’s silly to change words for such a small minority, I mean how many twelve-years-old's locked in towers reading Corona law books are there?” She laughed then quieted down. “I don’t know...”   

“I think that’s a great idea Dear. I’d like to think there are very few under such specific circumstances but there are plenty of children who suffer under neglect, and if an easier to understand law helps them realize they are victims and seek out help sooner, that’d be nothing but good.”   

Cassandra smiled. “You really think so?”   

The Queen nodded. “I don’t wish to impose but, is there perhaps any way I could assist you? This seems far more noble a task than the romance novel I was going to read.”   

Cassandra laughed and nodded, what followed was an afternoon of reading up on Corona law and trying to break it down and read it from the perspective of a child.   

It was nearly sunset when Cassandra flinched and sucked in her breath.  Her hand moved to her ribs, her nose scrunched up. 

“Cassandra?” Queen Arianna managed to look and sound calm, but her heart sped up.   

“I’m fine...” she promised breathing out slowly. “I should have taken more of my pain medication a few hours ago I was just so...invested.”   

“Oh, I understand, well, how about you go do that and I’ll tidy up. We can continue this another time if you’d like.”   

Cassandra smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”   

Arianna watched her leave and began tidying up the papers, putting them in neat, organized piles.   

“So, this is where you’ve been all day?”   

Arianna smiled brightly at the sound of her husband’s voice; she turned around to face the king. He was smiling, he moved over and kissed her softly but then his smile faded, and Arianna tilted her head. “Whatever is the matter Love?”   

“Nothing.”   

“You can tell me.”   

“It’s just... You had the entire afternoon off, and you spent it all with this Cassandra girl.”  

Arianna tensed up a but at the wording but didn’t address it, not here in the library, too public of a space. She also didn't appreciate the implication that Frederick had been watching her at least since before Cassandra left and waited for the girl to leave before initiating conversation. “Ah, yes, well, I would have loved to spend some time with you, my dear, but it’s the first time since her arrival I got her to open up. The poor dear doesn’t trust anybody other than Rapunzel and that’s not healthy.”  

Frederick hummed. “It’s just... I understand why you would want her to stay. She means a lot to our dear Rapunzel after all but... Doesn’t it make more sense you’d spend your free time with our actual daughter.”   

Arianna felt her skin burn and her blood boil, but she managed to shove those emotions down, outwardly the only indication of the flush of anger was an actual flush on her face and the narrowing of her eyes. “We have two daughters now, Frederick.”   

Frederick’s nose scrunched up. “Now Dear—”  

“This isn’t a discussion I’m going to have with you Frederick, Cassandra and Rapunzel are sisters, there is not one without the other. Those are two girls raised in an identical environment. What kind of an example would we be placing for our kingdom if we were to treat them differently?”   

Frederick was taken aback; he raised his hands defensively. “All I’m saying is that one of those girls is the baby we had stolen and the other is the biological child of her kidnapper...” his voice faded, his eyes raised and widened.   

Arianna turned around quickly to see a teary-eyed Cassandra who had returned to help finish tidying.   

“Oh...” Arianna reached out a hand but before she could say a word Cassandra began to sprint. It took a second for this to register to Arianna before she took chase. “Cassandra! Wait!”   

Despite still being weak from Mother Gothel’s abuse she ran through the halls dodging servants and jumping over obstacles. Arianna realized the girl was heading to the entrance and pulled up her skirt to speed up. “Stop her!” she shouted.   

The guards standing either side of the exit closed in, two strong pairs of armored hands stopped Cassandra in her tracks, lifting her. She kicked and struggled until finally she stopped, gasping for breath. Arianna stared, horrified but also relieved.  

“Oh, Cassandra,” she ran over, about to order the guards to let her go until she realized Cassandra’s eyes were still focused on the gate outside of the castle grounds. “Cassandra, look at me.”   

Cassandra looked down at the ground.  

Arianna decided not to ask again, fearful it would come off as an order. “Cassandra, you musn’t listen to Frederick’s words, he is a fool!”  

“He’s the king...”   

“That does not exempt him from his foolery,” Arianna knelt down so Cassandra’s eyes were looking at her. She wasn’t surprised to see tears falling down, still she was held up by the guards. “Your mother doesn’t say anything about you. You are your own person, and you are a lovely person. You spent your entire childhood caring for another, and now as an adult you want to make the world easier for children in your situation.”  

Cassandra raised her head slightly.   

“Frederick had no right to speak in that manner, and there will be consequences for him.” She gestured for the guard to let her go, seeing how Cassandra calmed ever so slightly.  

Cassandra was wobbly on her feet and Arianna moved to stabilize her. “There, there, shall we go to your room?”   

“I don’t want Rapunzel to see me like this.”   

Arianna nodded. “How about we go to my room, I’ll have my lady in waiting bring us cookies and we can sit and talk until you feel better?” This kind of an offer would be the perfect way to handle Rapunzel, but Cassandra was different and Arianna awaited Cassandra's response with little more than hope and a mind rushing with alternative offers. 

Cassandra frowned, but then smiled. “You’re a lot like your daughter.”  

Arianna didn’t miss a beat. “Which one?”   

Chapter Text

Rapunzel was sat at the outdoor table of the castle patio, overwatching the garden, her plate was full of freshly cooked pancakes, fruit, cream and honey. She had a large hot chocolate with extra cream in front of her. The sun was shining, and the flowers were in bloom.  

On her right sat her big sister, Cassandra, in front of them sat the king and queen.   

Eugene was running a bit later, but he never was one for punctuality.   

This should have been a nearly perfect morning.   

But it wasn’t.   

Cassandra’s plate had little more than a few grapes on it, her mug of tea had gone cold, her eyes were on her hands that rested on her lap bellow the table. The air was filled with an awkward silence that nobody dared break, not even Rapunzel.   

Things had been this way since Cassandra overheard the king in the library. Cassandra had begged the queen to not tell Rapunzel and so the blonde knew not of the words her father had said. She knew something had happened though because, well, Cassandra.  

In private Arianna insisted Frederick apologize and the man had agreed without arguing. However, he never seemed to find the right moment. The fact Cassandra avoided him like he was the reincarnation of her abusive mother did not help. He lowered his eyes in shame seeing how everybody was suffering because of his unfortunate words.  

“I’m here!” Eugene came running. “Sorry, I just had to make sure I looked perfect, it’s not every morning you have breakfast with the royal family, I mean, twice a week.” He laughed at his own joke but when the only person who laughed back was Rapunzel, he took a seat next to her.  

Cassandra managed to at least look up when Eugene asked her to pass the fruit, but she took so long to respond Rapunzel already had it.  

“You know Cass, you should really learn some table manners, you act nothing like a princess, not like my Rapunzel here.” It was supposed to be a joke.  

“Well... Maybe I shouldn’t be a princess.” Her voice was low, almost just a whisper yet it was clear and cold.  

“I mean, or you could just pass the fruit when I ask you for it.” Eugene shrugged. “No need to go to extremes.”  

Rapunzel’s hand reached under the table for Cassandra’s, but she pulled away. “I’m full. Permission to leave, please?”  

Arianna didn’t look happy, but she gave a small nod.   

Before anybody else could comment she was on her feet and heading back inside.   

“What’s up with her?”  Eugene watched her leave.

“I... don’t know,” Rapunzel admitted.  

“Cassandra?” Rapunzel entered their room hesitantly. Her big sister was sitting at the windowsill with her legs pulled close to her chest and eyes on the horizon. “You seem a bit... tense... Are you okay?”  

“I’m fine, Rapunzel.”   

“You don’t look fine. You look like you're spiraling inside and don’t want to tell me about it because you think it’ll make me worried but really, I’m more worried because you haven’t told me.”   

Cassandra raised her head to raise a brow at Rapunzel. “That therapist teaching you new ways to speak to me?”   

“Among other things.”   

Cassandra huffed. “I’m not... I am talking to people. The therapists that we’ve been forced to go to for one." She took a deep breath. "And I spoke about it with the queen.”  

“To mum?”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“That’s great but... why not me?”   

Cassandra looked at her hands. “I just... I don’t think you’re the right person for this.”   

“But Cassandra... it’s me,” she smiled.   

Cassandra smiled. “You know I love you and I trust you.”   

“Exactly.”   

“I genuinely think this issue is better shared with people who aren’t you.”   

“Is it something I did?” Her voice was soft and broke at the end.  

Cassandra looked up fast, her hands found Rapunzel’s shoulders. “No.” She was quick, clear and honest. “It’s nothing you’ve done Rapunzel.”  

But Rapunzel looked at her with tears in her eyes, clearly not convinced and Cassandra knew she had no option. “It’s just... I don’t think I fit in here, the way you do.”   

“What? Why not?”   

Cassandra swallowed before using somebody else’s words to explain it. “Because you’re the lost princess of Corona and I’m the biological daughter of the woman who kidnapped you.”   

The same rage that had come over Arianna reached Rapunzel; the only difference was the princes knew not how to hide it. “That’s not true! You are not—!” She stomped her foot on the floor and grabbed Cassandra. “You are my sister! You have never ever done anything to hurt me! You can’t compare yourself to her!”  

“How can I not? I’m her daughter.”  

Rapunzel looked angry, but then she calmed down. “Fine. You want to compare, let’s compare.”   

Cassandra frowned.   

“If I fall and hurt myself, would you: A) Come help me. B) Laugh at me. C) Be the one who pushed me over in the first place?”  

“You realize I can be all of the above at the same time?”   

“Cassandra!”   

“Plus, I’ve pushed you over during pillow fights all of the time and I’ve definitely laughed at you after tripping over your own hair more than once. I know where you’re going with this but—"  

“Okay changing question, you see a beautiful blonde baby girl, do you take it?”   

“No, I do not kidnap the blonde baby, I just take care of it until it grows into an annoying brunette.”   

“See!  Nothing like Mother!”   

“You’ve proven nothing.”   

“Also, I’m a brunette now,” she raised her hand to her hair proudly. “Do you still love me?”   

“Of course.”  

“See, Mother only loved me blonde.”   

Cassandra sighed before laughing. “You’re terrible at this.”   

“Well, that's because  you're usually the one taking care of me. We were supposed to take it in turns and now I’m not used to it. But if you keep up like this, I’ll get plenty of practice.”  

“Rapunzel..." Cassandra moved her eyes back to the horizon. "What does our future look like to you?”  

That caused her to pause, she had to sit down and think. “It looks like... It looks bright.”  

“Very detailed.”   

“It looks like freedom, like we have this entire kingdom to explore. I think we’ll make new friends; we’ve already got Eugene but, you know, more.”   

“I sure hope we make more friends because if I only get that ex-thief as a friend then...” she huffed.   

Rapunzel smiled. “I think we’ll be busy, got lots of princess responsibilities and stuff... It’ll be like at the tower, we’ll soon realize what each of us is good at and divide our duties accordingly where possible.”  

“I like the sound of that.”   

“We’ll meet our people, I bet they’re lovely... and... you know? We’ll go on more adventures like this last one!”   

“I think I need a rest first, not sure what you were up to, but I was..." She smiled. "The last adventure, I wasn’t particularly happy.”  

“I know, you were in prison and then with Mother.”  She clenched her teeth and sucked in a breath. 

Cassandra swallowed. “My own fault really, shouldn’t have gone back there, huh?”   

Rapunzel nodded before taking Cassandra's hand in hers. “I think the future will be bright. I can’t paint an exact picture of it yet, I’m still processing this isn’t just some amazing dream, you know?”  

Cassandra smiled. “I love you Rapunzel. I... I don’t feel like I belong here,” she gestured to the room. “But I do feel like I belong with you, so, I guess that’s enough?”  

Rapunzel took her hands in hers. “For now. But you will fit in. I promise.”   

“Now, what have I told you about silly promises?”   

Rapunzel laughed. “Who cares? As long as I keep it, right?”   

“Right.”  

Chapter Text

Rapunzel woke up to screaming. By the time she processed what it was, the noise had stopped. Cassandra was on the floor tangled in a mess of blankets, taking panicked breaths, guards had filled the room with weapons at the ready.   

“Cassandra...” Rapunzel spoke slowly. “Nightmare?”   

She swallowed before managing a small nod and Rapunzel apologized to the guards reassuring them everything was fine. She then lowered herself of the bed to look at her sister.   

“What was it?”   

She swallowed. “Mother.”   

Rapunzel nodded, not touching her yet, giving her the space to breathe.   

“I killed her, Rapunzel... I killed my own mother.”   

“No, you didn’t. You cut my hair. You didn’t know that would lead to her death, and she didn’t give us a choice.”   

“I still killed her...” Cassandra moved as though to hug Rapunzel but instead just fell limp on top of her, struggling to breathe.   

“Do I need to get a physician?”   

“Just help me back into bed.”   

Rapunzel used the blankets to pull her back onto the bed. “You know, this level of panic is probably not healthy.”   

“Ah, I thought it was the doctor’s recommendation to have at least three panic attacks a day. My mistake.” Her body trembled and she flinched at the feeling of Rapunzel’s hand on her shoulder.  

“What’s the actual nightmare like?”   

“I’d rather forget.” She took deep breaths, her breathing beginning to normalize again.  

“Are you talking to the therapists about it?”   

“A bit.”   

Rapunzel nodded, holding her sister close. “Please tell me.”   

Cassandra frowned. “With your active imagination we’ll both end up having nightmares.”   

“Hey, maybe it’ll be the same one and we can fight the nightmare together!”   

Cassandra laughed, that wasn’t how it worked but she loved Rapunzel’s enthusiasm, she reached to the water on the nightstand taking a sip before she spoke. “It’s short really, mother comes back to life, climbs in through the window looking for me. You try to stop her but because you’re no longer magical she kills you. She comes to the bed where for some reason I can’t move and...”   

“And?”   

“She tells me how much of a disappointment of a daughter I am, moves to attack me and I wake up.”   

“Okay...” Rapunzel nods. She knew Cassandra was not giving her all the details, but she got the vibes. “Here’s what you do—”   

“Here we go,” Cassandra rolled her eyes.   

“You interrupt mother.”   

“She won’t like that, real or dream.”   

“Fuck her.”   

“Oh, look who learnt a bad word.”   

“Only reserved for Gothel.” Rapunzel smiled. “You interrupt her, and you start telling her why she’s a disappointment of a mother.”   

“Great plan.”   

“I’m serious, visualize it!”   

Cassandra sighed but did as she was told. She had to close her eyes to fully visualize the scene. “You were never there.” Cassandra’s rebuttal started weak. “You don’t know the first thing about either of us. You would trade either of us in for another of those flowers. You’re a terrible liar. Your horrible sweet tone always gave it away you never meant the nice things you said. Your insults were terribly thought out. You’re an egocentric maniac and... You aren’t even that pretty.”  

“Oooooh.” Cassandra opened her eyes to see Rapunzel’s grin, blushing as she realized she’d gotten so excited she’d been speaking out loud.   

“You know, I think she’ll forgive you for killing her before she forgives you for that one.”   

Cassandra laughed and nodded. “Yeah...”   

“Better?”   

“Yeah... I am a bit.”   

“See.” Rapunzel lay down, yawning. “You need to trust me more.”   

Cassandra nodded, lying down. Then she frowned. “Rapunzel?”   

“Yes, Cass?”   

“Are you having nightmares?”   

Rapunzel didn’t respond immediately. “Well, I’m not having, screaming so loud the guards think we’re being attacked in the middle of the night, nightmares.”   

“But that advice you just gave me wasn’t your own invention so, bad enough they came up in therapy, kind of nightmares.”  

Rapunzel nodded. “Yeah.”   

“And what are they like?”   

“Two types.”   

“One worse than the other?”   

“No, just different.” She hummed. “The first type is that me and Eugene didn’t make it back to the tower as fast as we did. That I enter our room and you’re...” She paused, bit her lip and took a deep breath. “I get back and mother had killed you.”   

Cassandra’s hand moved to hold Rapunzel’s.   

“The second type is where you didn’t cut my hair, and we’re with mother. She uses my magic and hurts you whenever I’m not as perfect as she wants me to be. We’re kept separate and... It’s like the tower, but far worse.”  

Cassandra hugged Rapunzel.   

“They’re stupid because... because this already happened and those scenarios didn’t take place.”   

“They’re not stupid Raps. I’m scared a pile of dust is going to come back to life and kill us, who’s more of a fool?”   

Rapunzel smiled. “I guess we’re both... we’re both going to have to spend some time healing, right?”   

“Yeah.” Cassandra let her head sink down into the pillow.   

“Cass... can I tell you something that... Something that makes me feel like a bad person?”   

“You aren’t a bad person Raps. Go ahead.”   

“I’m grateful you were there with me. I feel guilty because, Mother never wanted you and you could have just as well not suffered through all that abuse but... but I can’t imagine doing it alone.”   

Cassandra smiled. “I can’t imagine doing it alone either Raps. That’s not wrong of you. I’m grateful I got you as a little sister, even if you should never have been kidnapped.”   

Rapunzel nodded. “That makes me feel better.”   

“It makes me feel better to knowing you’re having nightmares too... It’s means I’m not just weak, it... Validates in a way that what we went though was, was actually bad.”  

“Yeah, it does.”   

And they slept pressed up close to one another like so many nights in the tower.  

Chapter Text

Cassandra was, according to herself, in top form, ready to run across Corona, fight anybody who got in her way, climb on to the roof of the castle and learn to wield every weapon across the seven kingdoms.  

According to the doctors, she was healing nicely and things would remain that way as long as she rested. 

Cassandra heavily disagreed with the doctors, mostly because the Captain wasn’t letting Cassandra train with the guards until they assured she was fit for it.  

In the meantime, though she was keeping busy. There was this lady, Mrs. Crowley, who was supposed to keep the castle clean, but she didn’t seem keen on the job, so Rapunzel had offered to help. Cassandra was sweeping the halls, while Rapunzel wiped down the windows. Rapunzel hummed and Cassandra would occasionally point her broom at the suits of armor as though they were in battle.  

They’d crack jokes and laugh.   

It was a familiar and comforting series of actions.   

It was way things had always been, just a different surrounding. 

After cleaning Rapunzel would paint and Cassandra would continue her work on the law or anything to keep her mind from wondering. At some point Eugene would come in and flirt with Rapunzel, bicker with Cassandra.  

Cassandra was comfortable knowing what would happen throughout the day.   

She didn’t like surprises, so when Mrs. Crowley walked up with two young woman the same ages as them, wearing light blue outfits that covered their hair, Cassandra was already on edge.  

“Princesses, these are your ladies in waiting.”   

And the two girls curtseyed with a smile. “It is an honor Your Majesties,” they said in unison.   

“Oh! Mother told me you’d be coming, remember Cassandra?”  

Cassandra did not, probably because whenever the Queen came to talks to them, Cassandra just spaced out. She wasn’t sure why she did it, perhaps to offer the mother and daughter some privacy, despite how much Queen Arianna tried to be both of their mothers.   

“My name’s Rapunzel,” Rapunzel jumped forward holding out a hand, “She’s Cassandra!”   

Cassandra stepped forward and shook the woman’s hands just like Rapunzel, but with less of a smile and more side glancing at Rapunzel.   

“My name is Faith.”   

“My name is Elena.”  

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet both of you and we can’t wait to get to know you even more, right Cassandra?”   

Cassandra gave a small, forced smile and small nod. “Sure, Raps.” The smile faded as soon as Rapunzel turned to look at the two castle servants.  

That afternoon was spent showing the two ladies the room, talking about castle matters and Rapunzel excitedly asking the girls personal questions about who they were and what they liked. Cassandra followed along but didn’t comment.   

Faith informed that she would be serving Rapunzel and Elena would serve Cassandra. Not that it would make much of a difference, the two sisters were together whenever it mattered. But castle rules were castle rules and each princess needed her own lady in waiting. 

Once the ladies were gone, Rapunzel sat on the bed with a smile. “New friends, Cass.”  

Cassandra tilted her head.   

“You’re terrible at faking a smile.”   

Cassandra pulled a chair over, sitting down. “I don’t need strangers helping me with simple tasks. I don’t want strangers in our room. It’s bad enough the guards rush in whenever we make any noise.”   

Rapunzel nodded. “What about when Eugene comes in?”   

“He visits, he doesn’t come to help us dress and stuff. Besides, he’s your friend.”   

“Our friend.”   

Cassandra shrugged but smiled.   

“The problem is they're strangers so; we’ve just got to get to meet them!”  

“It’s not just them being strangers. I don’t want another person to serve me. I’m not...”   

“Not what Cass?”   

Cassandra held her arm and shrugged. “You know.”   

“Don’t make me go get Mum.”   

Cassandra took a deep breath. “It makes sense that the king and the queen have all this people to serve them, it’s so they can focus their energy on ruling. But we’re not doing that. We can tidy up after ourselves.”   

Rapunzel nodded. “Mum said the ladies in waiting are going to help teach us how to act, you know, as princesses, how to curtsey and when, what cutlery to use with meals and all that... stuff.”   

“And what will all that stuff... help with?”  

Rapunzel frowned. “I don’t know.”   

Cassandra moved from her seat to the bed to be closer to Rapunzel. “I don’t understand this kingdom.”   

“That’s because we grew up in an isolated tower.” Rapunzel stood and smiled pulling Cassandra to her feet by pulling on her hand. “Let’s go play in the garden.”  

Cassandra smiled and let Rapunzel take charge for the rest of the day.   

The next morning the princesses were awoken by their ladies in waiting who’d already picked out their outfits. Rapunzel was happy to wear the flowery dress but Cassandra looked at her own dress with disapproval.   

“A princess should always look her best.”   

“Do I look bad in my usual outfit?”  

“Um...” Elena was left speechless.   

“You look good all the time Cass!” Rapunzel smiled. “But no harm in trying something new, right?”   

Cassandra looked at the dress before nodding. “I guess.”   

“We have a busy schedule today,” Faith informed the two of them. “First, breakfast served outside where you’ll have your first lesson on table etiquette, after that we’re going to the back of the palace gardens where the guards train so you can thank the men for their continued service, we’ll then go to the library and learn some of Corona culture, after that we’ll have lunch and our second lesson on—”  

“Wait,” Cassandra interrupted, “We have to clean first, we always clean in the mornings.”   

“Clean?” Elena tilted her head. “Oh, do you wish for me to run you both a hot bath?”   

“Oh, she means clean the palace halls, we’ve been helping the palace staff with cleaning duties! Me and Cass are kinda experts at cleaning, we kept the tower spotless!”   

Cassandra smiled and nodded.   

“Oh, well that’s not the job of a princess! Don’t worry, the palace staff can handle it, you just worry about your duties to the kingdom.”   

Rapunzel hummed but Cassandra fidgeted before moving to put on the dress.   

Rapunzel looked beautiful. Cassandra did too, but she didn’t feel comfortable, and Rapunzel could tell.   

“It’s new, new is always uncomfortable,” she whispered, playing with her sister’s hair. “If it doesn’t get better, we’ll talk about change.”   

Cassandra nodded.   

The morning was exhausting. Cassandra already was a slow eater without the added pressure of having to use the correct cutlery in the correct order, measure how much food was on her spoon, control her breathing and listen to the noise she made while chewing.  

Seeing the guards made Cassandra excited, but not being able to stay and watch made her disappointed.  

The session in the library was boring at first but soon became overwhelming. There were so many rules, so much history and culture they were expected to know. Cassandra looked at the pile of books wondering how they could possibly expect the two princesses to remember all of that.   

By lunch Cassandra could take no more. She ate two bites before being scolded by Elena about the order of eating and drinking, something Cassandra could not for the life of her wrap her head around, and so she stood up.   

Cassandra took a deep breath. “I don’t feel too well, I need to go lie down.” And before she could be scolded on the proper way a princess should leave a table she left.  

Back in their room Cassandra threw herself into bed and began to cry. She needed to cry before anybody came looking for her. She hated crying in front of people, but right now everything was so overwhelming she felt like she was going to explode.   

There was a soft knock on the door and she wiped her face quickly, she took a few deep breaths and stood up. “Come in,” her voice came so much quieter than she wanted. She expected Rapunzel.  

She was surprised to see Arianna poke her head into the room. “Cassandra?”   

Cassandra took a few more deep breaths before curtseying. “My Queen...”   

“Oh, Cassandra, there is no need for you to call me by my title,” she walked over slowly. “And far less within your own room,” her hand slowly moved to touch Cassandra’s arm. “I saw you running through the halls. Would you like to talk?”  

Cassandra frowned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a fuss...”   

“No fuss Dear. The castle is full of people running back and forth, it just looked like you were perhaps running from something,” and she sat down on the bed, Cassandra following suit. When Cassandra didn’t say anything, Arianna kept the conversation going. “You’ve met your ladies in waiting.”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“I thought Elena might be a good fit for you, her father is a guard and I believe she did some travelling before joining the castle staff. She’ll offer you some interesting conversations if you ask, I’m sure.”   

Cassandra hadn’t known those things and could appreciate that Arianna had taken the time to not just find ladies in waiting but find better fits for each of them. “I think she’s got her work cut out for her with me.”   

Arianna nodded, having found the route of the issue. “Teaching a princess or monarch of any kind is never an easy task.”   

“Rapunzel didn’t run away in the middle of lunch. She’s a proper princess. It’s in her blood.”  

“Is it now?” Arianna smiled.   

“It is.”  

“So that’s what makes a princess, her blood?”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“And would you say the same about a queen?”   

Cassandra frowned then shrugged. “Yeah.”   

“Oh, well I guess we better pack our bags then.”   

Cassandra paused; she tilted her head. “You don’t have royal blood?”   

“Goodness no,” Arianna placed an arm around Cassandra. “I’m queen because I fell in love with a king, well, he fell in love with me first. I used to be an adventurer, the advisers and the servants took forever to teach me how to wear a dress and act the part.”   

“Really?”   

“You want to hear some stories?”   

Cassandra nodded. “Yes please.”   

And the afternoon flew by as Arianna told stories of her teenage years travelling the seven kingdoms in search of adventure and then stories of settling down at the palace and the many years it took for her to truly settle. Cassandra was a good listener, she also asked questions that told Arianna where the girls biggest fears lied.  

By the time they stopped for supper and headed down to the kitchen together, Cassandra was feeling a lot better. She now knew that she had time to learn, she knew she wasn’t the only one learning these things later in life, she knew royalty was in the way you held yourself and not the blood in your veins.   

And when Arianna served them both meals with only a single fork and knife, when Arianna skipped all the silly rules because it was just them two in the kitchen, Cassandra felt comfortable eating and ready to face whatever came next.  

Chapter Text

Cassandra still was not sold on the dresses.   

Rapunzel was right that she did get used to them but they just weren’t as comfortable or convenient as pants and a shirt.  

But of all the days she could argue over this, today was not the day.   

Today, they were going to leave the palace for the first time since they came to live here. 

It was something Cassandra had been excited about from the start, but now time had passed, and doubts had built up in her mind. Rapunzel was the kingdom’s lost princess, the one who’s return the kingdom had longed for eighteen years. Cassandra was a surprise.  

According to the Queen a good one.   

The King seemed less keen, though Cassandra still hadn’t talked to him since the library.  

But how would the citizens of Corona feel?   

“You look beautiful!” Elena said as she brushed Cassandra’s hair. She was wearing a blue dress, it was a bright blue so it stuck out and couldn’t be confused with that of a lady in waiting, it looked good next to the green flowery dress Rapunzel wore. That was probably the intent, grass and sky or some other symbolic stuff. Corona seemed to love that stuff.   

“If I make a mistake during breakfast... Grab the wrong fork or something—”  

“I’ll tell you afterwards, I don’t intend to embarrass you in front of your people,” Elena promised. “You’re going to do fine! Corona’s citizens are all lovely people, everybody’s going to be so happy to see you they won’t care about anything else.”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“We’ve got a good number of guards escorting us today as it’s your first day out and we have a reservation at a café. Queen Arianna will probably join towards the end of breakfast, but she wants for you both to be alone for a little while, says princesses are more approachable than queens and it’ll be nice to meet some of the town people.”   

“Oh, more new friends!”   

Cassandra was no longer sure if Rapunzel knew what a friend was. The girl now considered half the castle her friends while Cassandra wouldn't even admit Eugene was a friend, at least not out loud. Especially not in front of the guy. “And Eugene can’t come?"

“This is for the town people to meet the princesses. We’ll let them meet the reformed thief late.” She giggled at the idea.  

Cassandra smiled at the giggle and the teasing pokes at Eugene, Rapunzel had done a great job at making the ladies in waiting feel comfortable within their presence and that in turn made Cassandra feel more comfortable.   

“You promise the town people won’t hate me?” Cassandra double checked with Elena.   

“Promise.”   

“And if they did hate you, they’d only have to meet you to love you!” Rapunzel skipped over, throwing her arms around her sister. “You’re the nicest person I know!”   

Faith and Elene swapped cheeky smiles but didn’t say anything.   

Cassandra smiled at the captain of the guard who was waiting downstairs with two other guards, Stan and Pete, they all bowed respectfully. “Your Majesties,” he nodded and smiled at Cassandra. “It is our honor to accompany you both on this outing.”   

Usually, Rapunzel was first to speak but Cassandra for once beat her to it. “The honor is ours; we are very much grateful for the service you offer up every day protecting this kingdom.” The second part of the statement was the appreciation they showed often when visiting the guards in the back garden.   

The captain nodded. “Are we ready?”   

Cassandra nodded and they headed out where yet more guards awaited them.  

Corona town was beautiful. It wasn’t the first time they stepped foot in it, but Rapunzel still smiled and looked in every which direction at the colorful signs of the many local businesses, at the architecture and the homes.  

Cassandra kept her head held high and pointed straight, she managed to force a small smile, trying to seem less cold just as Elena had taught her.  

At the moment the people walking around were busy, hauling crates and carriages into their businesses, but already there was noise coming from up ahead. They’d walk through a square on their way to the café, that’s where citizens were told to wait.   

It was supposed to make the whole ordeal more manageable, but it also meant there was now a buildup, as step by step, they got closer. Cassandra took a deep breath. Then she felt a hand grab her hand. It was Rapunzel’s, but Rapunzel wasn’t looking at Cassandra, her eyes were straight ahead, no longer looking at the buildings.  

Cassandra realized for the first time she wasn’t the only person scared. And like so many other times in her life, she’d be brave for her sister.   

So, she put on her best smile, held Rapunzel’s hand and kept going towards the square.   

As they got closer the square became louder, then, as they entered it became completely silent, only the sound of their steps echoing of the cobblestone path filled the air as the citizens stood and stared at the princesses they’d been talking about and now finally getting to see.  

Rapunzel pressed up against Cassandra, shoulder touching shoulder. Cassandra could feel the tenseness, the deep breaths, if she were to turn she’d see the green eyes darting from person to person.   

Cassandra tried to make her smile wider, her eyes widened a little, she made sure the smile reached her eyes. All the thing Elena had taught her were on the surface of her mind as she directed her head so it faced the people, but let her eyes focus on the guard’s shoulders or side of their armor so it looked like she was looking at them but didn’t get overwhelmed like Rapunzel was.   

Then the people were bowing and curtseying and somehow this was worse.   

Finally, it was a child who ran from her mother with a picture she’d drawn of the corona symbol, it took the princesses a second to realize it was meant to be a lantern. She tried to pass the picture through the gap in between the guards.  

Cassandra nodded to the captain, and he took a step to the side allowing the people to come up to the princesses. First was of course the little girl who was bouncing up and down with excitement, her mouth was open, but she didn’t say a word just holding up the picture.   

“Is that for us?”   

The girl nodded enthusiastically as Rapunzel took the picture, appreciating it with a soft smile.   

“That’s amazing,” Cassandra said with a nod and the little girl squealed before running back to her mother.   

After the child there was a steady flow of people.   

Many children with drawings of the Corona Sun or lanterns, some drawings of random stuff too, usually accompanied by a shrug from a parent. Plenty of people bought flowers that the Captain promised to have sent to the palace for them to appreciate later. Some people bought gifts, local pastries and sweets.   

Most people were polite and greeted both of them.   

But there were a few who’s attention went strictly to Rapunzel, welcoming her back.   

Thankfully almost every time that happened another person would take the chance to talk to Cassandra, welcoming her to the kingdom or offering her their gift, making sure she was never ignored.   

It was one of the children that brought tears to Cassandra’s eyes though, well, two children actually.   

This little girl ignored Rapunzel and stared up at Cassandra. “You’re the surprise princess!”   

Cassandra smiled and nodded at the expression.   

“You’re my favorite princess. Do you want to know why?”   

Cassandra hesitated, not wanting to upset Rapunzel. But Rapunzel smiled and nodded.   

“Why?”   

“Because you’re like me!” She bounced and then dragged another identical girl away from their parents. “This is my sister! And our parents when she came, I came too! So, I was their bonus extra surprise child! Just like you are the bonus extra surprise princess!” She spoke fast like Rapunzel with excitement dripping from every word.  

The new twin blushed and hid behind her sister, clearly the shy one of the two.   

Cassandra smiled. “I guess that is what I am.”   

Rapunzel’s hand found Cassandra’s and she had a bright smile on her face. She then directed her attention to the shy twin, managing to get her to speak.   

“Thank you,” Cassandra said to the extroverted girl. “It’s truly an honor to be able to serve such amazing citizens as yourself.”   

Eventually Captain had to put a stop to the meet and greet claiming the princesses would soon come around again but needed to go have breakfast before it was lunchtime.  

“I’m sorry Your Majesties.” Faith whispered as they walked down the street. “I didn’t foresee so many people... perhaps we should not have planned coffee in town, I’ll run on ahead and ask the owner to move us inside so you may eat in peace, shall I?”   

“Oh, no, it’s quite alright, I mean,” Cassandra looked at Rapunzel. “This is nice?”  

Rapunzel nodded with a smile. “This is nice. I don’t mind the company.”  

And so, they would meet many more people before returning to the palace later that day. Exhausted Cassandra would collapse into an armchair and Rapunzel would climb into bed. But it had been an amazing first day outside of the palace.   

“You were amazing,” Cassandra said.   

“So were you,” Rapunzel responded.   

Cassandra nodded, sitting back. “This kingdom... I like it.”   

“It’s yours.”   

Cassandra nodded. “And I’m going to dedicate myself to it. To the kingdom and to its people.”   

Rapunzel sat up, she smiled. “So, you feel like you fit in?”   

“I still don’t know how I feel about the title princess but... if it’s the role I play to serve my kingdom, then I accept.”  

Chapter Text

Cassandra got up before Rapunzel. She was quiet as she tiptoed to the closet and pulled out a pair of pants and a green tunic. She threw them on before grabbing her boots and exiting the room. She smiled and waved to the guards as she slipped the boots on and began to walk down the palace halls. She had to pace herself so as to not run, she was so excited.  

An orange hue slipped in through the window as the sun was slowly rising.  

Cassandra stepped foot outside and the moment her foot touched the grass she couldn’t hold herself back from sprinting towards the back of the castle.   

Unfortunately, she hadn’t thought about the fact sprinting fast meant needing to stop just as fast and when she turned the corner she hadn’t expected to crash straight into another person.  

The person she crashed into was big and didn’t budge, managing to catch Cassandra so she would not fall before chucking. Cassandra looked up to see the captain. “Good morning, Princess Cassandra. I see you are excited.”   

She blushed and laughed, dusting herself of. “Yeah, sorry, I mean, I thought I was running late.”   

“No, still early,” he smiled and gestured for her to walk with him. “I should inform you that I am under strict instructions to return you without a single bruise.”   

“I see...” Cassandra frowned.   

“I informed that wasn’t a promise I could make and though there was a bit of push back I think there’s an understanding.”  

Cassandra smiled up at him. “Thank you.”   

“I think everybody needs a hobby with a bit of risk, for some people that’s horse riding or hiking, for you it’s self-defense.”   

“It’s very important to me I can hold my own and perhaps even defend others if the need were to arise.”  

“And though I hope that need never arises, I think that’s a good attitude to have. Doctors say your ribs are cured, but I must check with you, you’re certain there is no pain left?”  

“None at all.”   

He nodded. “If I find out you’re lying I will have you banned from my training sessions for a year.”   

“I’m not lying. If I find I’m in any pain at all during training, I’ll stop and inform you immediately.”  

“Good. Then go grab a helmet and a training sword. While we wait for the other recruits to arrive, I’ll show you some of the basics.”  

The captain was impressed by Cassandra’s interest, determination and quick learning skills. The girl was a natural with a sword and her reaction speed was top notch.   

She was even able to take out many of his lesser trained recruits. Something that at first bought him pride but then bought him concern as he wondered where the training program must be lacking. Towards the end of the training session the Queen and King showed up.  

They offered up a thank you for the service of the guards, just as Rapunzel and Cassandra often did, before staying to watch the end of the session.   

When it was over Cassandra rushed over to where the captain, King and Queen stood, she bowed before smiling up at the captain. “I was okay, right?”   

“For someone new to the sword you were spectacular.”   

She smiled proudly before turning towards the King and Queen.   

“I’m so happy to see you found something that brings such a bright smile to your face and fills you with such passion,” and Arianna knelt forward, kissing Cassandra on the forehead without a care for the sweat or dirt.  

King Frederick nodded. “With a Princess like you perhaps the next Contest of the Crowns Corona will stand a chance at whatever ludicrous task Ingvarr comes up with.”   

And this was the first time Cassandra heard praise from the king. Her smile didn't falter and she nodded. “It would be an honor to take part win that tournament representing the kingdom of Corona, Your Highness.”  She had no idea what the Contest of the Crowns was but of sword fighting had anything to do with it, it sounded fun. 

“You make sure you eat a lot for breakfast today!” Arianna spoke with a scolding tone even though Cassandra had not yet done anything wrong. “You’ve burnt a lot of calories and if you lose more weight, you’re going to start looking more like the skeletons of past princesses than the bone and flesh one of today.”   

“I promise I’ll eat plenty.”   

“I’ll ask Elena to keep an eye on you. Not that I don’t trust you Dear but... Well, for this, I don’t.”  

Cassandra laughed and when Arinna slowly began to move her arms towards the girl, Cassandra wrapped her arms around Arianna first. Showing she was okay with the gesture. Arianna took a deep breath and smiled, happy with the progress they were making.  

Cassandra didn’t take long to pull away. “Talking of which, I must run and get washed of before breakfast.”   

“Okay Dear, don’t let us keep you.”   

“Thank you for coming to see me,” she bowed one last time before sprinting towards the front of the palace.   

“Thank you, Captain, please keep this up, she seems to really enjoy this activity.”   

The captain nodded. “She’s a pleasure to have. Very talented young woman, outdid some of the younger recruits, hopefully it’ll be a welcome call for them to put in more effort.”  

Rapunzel was already dressed and reading when Cassandra returned, rushing past her towards their washroom.  

“How was training?”   

“The best thing to ever happen to me in my entire life!” She shouted from behind the closed door. Then was a pause before the door opened and she popped her head out. “Other than you, of course.”  

Rapunzel smiled.   

“You need to come down one day!”   

“And miss out on reading or painting, not to mention, sleep time? Not happening!”  

“You’re a weakling!” Cassandra shouted before the sound of running water began.  

That evening Cassandra challenged Eugene to a sword fight while Rapunzel read a book in the garden, Eugene proved Cassandra was new by disarming her after only a few swings. But as the wooden training sword hit the ground and Cassandra’s eyes glimmered with determination, Eugene doubted he’d be able to better her for very long.  

Chapter Text

It had been four months now since Cassandra and Rapunzel had returned to Corona. The two were settling in well.   

The citizens of Corona had accepted them with open arms.   

Both princesses were working hard to learn how to serve their people.   

Cassandra had fully healed and was now more comfortable talking to people other than Rapunzel.  

King Frederick had come to accept the two newcomers that came with his daughter. 

Eugene had come to accept he wasn’t going to be hung one night while Rapunzel slept.   

Things were good.   

But Arianna knew she still had a way to go with Cassandra who still called her Your Majesty, Your Highness, Queen... at this point Arianna would be happy to hear her name, knowing getting Cassandra to call her mum like Rapunzel was very far off. But she was determined to put in the time, keep up with the bonding and make it to that point one day.  

Today was one of those bonding days. Arianna had requested Cassandra meet her early in the palace garden dressed in her training clothes. She smiled when the girl arrived and waved.   

“Your Majesty,” she curtseyed.   

“Cassandra.” Arianna huffed at the formality and shook her head. “Thank you for coming.”   

“Well, I can’t ignore an order from my queen.”  

“A request from your mother.”   

“Well, I still can’t ignore it.” Cassandra smiled, the fact she didn’t deny it was an improvement. “What are we doing?”   

“Well, I saw Rapunzel riding Maximus the other day.” She gestured for Cassandra to follow her.   

“Oh, yeah. I think Max and Pascal are friends.” Cassandra followed.   

“Have you ever ridden a horse?”   

Cassandra hummed. “I mean, kind off, I was unconscious from the pain and Eugene was driving, does that count?”   

“I’m going to say no to that one.”   

“Then no.”   

“Good, then I’m going to teach you.” Arianna gestured to the stables.  

“Teach me?”   

“Yes. Max is a great horse... all the royal horses are actually, but there’s a lot more to horses that I believe every woman should know.”  

Cassandra nodded.   

Arianna pushed open the door to the stables and led Cassandra inside. There were horses on either side in stalls low enough they could probably get out of if they wished. Arianna walked towards the back. Stopping by a brown horse with a dark brown braided main and tail.  

“She’s stunning,” Cassandra said with a smile and Fidella neighed, nuzzling Cassandra approvingly.  

“She is,” Arianna smiled. “Fidella here is one of our best horses, her and Maximus both, but while Maximus is out catching criminals, Fidella has been a great horse to take me around the kingdom.”   

Cassandra stroked the horse and closed her eyes as the horse pressed her head against Cassandra.   

“I’ve been telling her all about you, but the truth is, with you two home I’ve had a lot of work, had to inform all of the seven kingdoms of the lost princesses' return and our new princess. Had to do many changes in documents, had to...” she paused and smiled. “Sorry, I’m boring you with bureaucracy.”  

“It’s fine, I mean, I hope to be able to help out with these things someday.”  

“Don’t rush it my Dear, trust me, you enjoy yourself while you have the time.” She smiled. “Anyways, the point is I haven’t been able to give Fidella here the attention she deserves and so I was hoping you’d be able to pick up where I can’t.”  

Cassandra smiled. “I’d love to.”  

“Great, then I’m going to explain some of the basics of horse care and saddling and after that, how about we go for a ride around the kingdom?”  

“Yes please,” Cassandra looked up at Fidella who neighed at her.   

Arianna soon had to promise Cassandra a book on horses as the girl insisted she needed to take notes. Though Arianna reassured her Fidella knew everything and was more than capable of reminding her. And to prove the point Fidella handed Cassandra a brush for her main.  

But once all of that was out of the way it was time to ride.   

Arianna picked out one of the other horses, she’d ridden all of them at one point or another after all. Cassandra sat on Fidella.   

“It’s higher than I expected.”   

“Are you scared of heights?”  

“Well, I lived most of my life in a tower so I should hope not.”  

Arianna laughed. “Okay, let’s start slow until we get out of town and then we’ll speed up.”   

Cassandra was comfortable on Fidella, not frightened at all. In fact, Arianna was more nervous her daughter would fall than Cassandra was. But when she saw Cassandra’s agility as Fidella jumped over some logs and the fear soon passed. In no time they were galloping through nature.  

They did a couple of small races, and eventually they began to make their way back towards the castle.   

“This was really fun,” Cassandra smiled.   

Arianna smiled back. “It was. You know, I used to go riding all the time to calm myself after a long day of castle work, but I don't think I've enjoyed myself this much since I went riding as a teenager with my sister.”  

Cassandra smiled. “You have a sister?”   

Arianna hesitated, nodded. “Yes. Willow. She’s... You’d like her, she just isn’t the most dependable sister. She never settled like me; she’s still out there adventuring, which is great of course. I just wish she’d come visit sometime.”  

Cassandra nodded. “I don’t think I could ever leave my sister’s side.”   

Arianna looked ahead. “Never say never. After everything you two have been through it makes sense you’d find comfort in one another, but a bit of distance isn’t unhealthy. Just try not to be missing a full six years and you’ll be fine.”   

“Six years?” Cassandra gasped as they entered the palace. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but you need a new sister.”  

Arianna frowned first at the title before laughing as the teasing registered. “I’ll put up a job notice, shall I?”   

“You’re Queen, I’ll bet you’ll get thousands of applicants from all over the kingdom and even other kingdoms!”   

“I’ll consider if you promise to help me wade through the applicants.”   

“Oh, goodness no!”   

“Ah, alas, I’ll just have to make do with my husband and two daughters.” They climbed from the horses.   

Cassandra smiled as she glanced at the ground. “Yeah.”   

“Go get washed up, I’ll put the horses away. We’ve got a family lunch today.”   

She nodded. “Shall I instruct your lady in waiting to run you a bath on my way up?”   

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Yes, please Cassandra, that would be lovely.”   

And Cassandra was gone in a hurry.   

Chapter Text

After a morning of horse riding with the queen, Cassandra rushed through the palace, she stopped to tell Arianna’s lady in waiting to run her a bath and continued rushing down the hall, she needed to hurry so she’d have time to wash and change and brush her hair before lunch. She didn’t make it past the hall though when Mrs. Crowley showed up with her usual unfavorable expression.  

“You!” She shouted.   

Cassandra came to a sudden stop. “Me?”   

“Yes, look at the mess you’ve made!” She gestured to the hall where Cassandra had accidentally left muddy footprints from her ride.  

Cassandra’s eyes widened. “Oh no... I was just riding with the queen, I didn’t notice, I’ll clean it up right now!”   

“Right now, will you? Well then you better go get a mop and hurry up!”   

Cassandra nodded. “Of course.” And she rushed to get a mop and start cleaning. She needed to hurry otherwise she’d not make it to lunch, and she couldn’t pretend to be sick because she’d just been with the queen. Oh, this was a disaster.  

She hadn’t even finished cleaning the one hall when King Frederic exited and saw her. At first, he said nothing just looking confused until he saw the muddy footprints. “Been riding with my wife I see.”  

Cassandra looked up and nodded quickly, not bowing or addressing him like she usually did as she kept rushing her cleaning.   

“Perhaps you should leave the cleaning to the castle staff while you go get changed?” He suggested with a smile, trying to be more friendly like Arianna suggested. “Lunch is to be served soon.” 

“Oh, but this is my mess.”   

“It does not matter. If the castle staff only cleaned up after themselves then they wouldn’t really have a job now would they.” He reached out as though to take the mop away from Cassandra, but she held it tight and even looked a little scared. “Are you okay Cassandra?”  

She hesitated. “I’ll clean fast and rush to my room to get changed, I promise I’ll be fast.”   

“Did something happen? Why are you acting scared? It's just a bit of mud.”  

Cassandra still was mopping, and Frederic had to walk to stay near her. “The older lady, Mrs. Crowley... she scares me. She saw me running past and...”  

Finally, Frederic moved forward and took the mop from Cassandra, forcing her to pause the frantic cleaning. “She’s been working here since before I was born, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen her smile. She’d scold you for breathing if she could think of a valid reason to do so.”  

Cassandra frowned. “I made a mess.”   

“So do the guards and every other person living here. The difference is you and your sister are new enough you still fall for her rants.” Frederic left the mop leaning against a wall. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to help out Cassandra. But right now, you have other more important duties to attend to. You’re not a servant, you are one of this kingdom’s princesses.”  

“Only because I grew up with the real princess.”   

Frederic slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and began to walk her towards the princess's quarters. “You are a real princess.”  

Cassandra said nothing.   

“Arianna loves you as a daughter. The kingdom is pleased with your presence. You are just as invested in your duties as Rapunzel. What makes you any different?”   

She looked up at him and that was answer enough.   

“I’m not going to lie to you Cassandra. I’m not as quick at accepting change as my wife is. I love that about her but, I can’t keep up. I have barely even processed the fact Rapunzel is home, far less the fact she has a sister but... My comments in the library were wrong. And I stand by my wife’s decision. So as far as it concerns anybody, you are a princess.”   

Cassandra frowned but nodded. “Thank you.”   

“For?”   

“The honesty. I appreciate the queen’s enthusiasm, and she truly makes me feel comfortable. But I too take time to adapt to nuance and it’s reassuring to know I’m not just... broken.”   

Frederic stopped and that caused Cassandra to stop too. “Broken?”  

Cassandra looked at him before realizing broken had been too strong of a word.   

“Oh, Princess...” the words were spoken softly, the word princess not used as a title but as a pet name, affectionate, Cassandra had heard him use it on Rapunzel but never herself and it made her feel weird. Or perhaps the name had nothing to do with it and it was the pity in his eyes.   

“I don’t... I’m not broken I just...”   

“Sometimes feel like you are?” And he tilted his head.   

Cassandra looked at the ground.   

“It’s okay to feel a certain way, as long as you know it’s not true.” They kept walking. “Rapunzel has told me many things about you, perhaps more than she should have.”   

Cassandra blushed and didn’t look up.   

“I apologize if I have in any way added to those feelings.”   

“It’s fine.”   

“It’s not. And if I ever say anything again, I want you to know, I may be king but you’re a part of this family now, which means you can do something few in this kingdom are brave enough to do.”   

“What’s that?”   

“Speak up.”   

Cassandra shook her head. “Who says I’m brave?”   

“You’re here.”   

That was true. Cassandra has survived a childhood of neglect and abuse, she’s escaped the tower with Rapunzel, fought thought life to get to this kingdom. And now they stood in front of the princess’ quarters.  

“Take your time. Don’t worry if you’re late for lunch, we’ll wait for you.”   

“You can start without me.”   

“Today is about family, not food.”   

Cassandra nodded. “Thank you for your words.”   

“Anytime.”   

Chapter Text

Cassandra was pretending to read by holding an open book while in reality, taking a nap on the bed. She’d tired herself out with sword practice that morning. Rapunzel was nearby painting on a canvas for a change. She promised to full the walls of this room but was excited to first go on more adventures, so she had the perfect things to fill it with.  

There was a soft knock on the door which got Cassandra to sit up.   

“Come in,” answered Rapunzel, her face brightening. “Mum, Dad!” she rushed forward to give her parents a hug as Cassandra stood up to curtsey.   

“Hello, my two favorite princesses,” Arianna greeted. “And how are you two this morning?”   

“I tired myself out training this morning,” Cassandra admitted.  

“And I, the ever-responsible sister, painted all morning.”   

Arianna smiled as Rapunzel dragged her over to see the painting she was working on.  

Frederic however closed the door behind him. “We came here today because your mother and I actually need to talk to you two about something.”  

Cassandra immediately looked concerned. “Did something happen?”   

“No, Cassandra.” Arianna shook her head as the two girls to sat down at the border of the bed. “Nothing’s happened.”  

“Needing to talk means something happened,” Cassandra stressed.   

“I promise nothing has happened. We just need to talk about you two and your roles and the kingdom’s future a bit...” She sighed. “Bureaucracy, you know?”   

The two girls shared glances.   

“You see, now you’ve both settled in a bit more, it is coming time we consider a coronation.”   

“A coronation?” Rapunzel inquired.   

“Yes. See, right now you are both princesses. But neither one of you have formally accepted that title and it's also important one of you be crowned princess.”  

“Crowned princess?”  

“The crowned princess is who takes the throne or is left in charge if anything were to happen to your mother and I.”  

Rapunzel frowned.   

“We didn’t want to go through with the coronation immediately after your return as it will be a big event with many visitors from all over the seven kingdoms. But now we believe you’re both ready for this responsibility.”  

“Both?” Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.   

“Well, you’ll both be there greeting guests and such. You’ll both take an oath in which you recognize your title and duty to the kingdom. You’ll both receive crowns, though only one will be crowned , traditionally the crowned prince or princess would be the eldest, but...” Frederic paused.  

“In this case it’ll be Rapunzel,” Cassandra smiled seeing the hesitation on their faces. She understood why they didn’t want to say it.   

“We spent a long time looking over laws and discussing. It could really go either way, adoption within the royal family is new to Corona. If you girls wanted to switch that could be arranged but... We think that...”  Arianna's voice trailed as she frowned. 

“It would be more socially acceptable? It’s what’s expected? She looks more like a ruler? She's bossier!”  

The last one earned her a shove from Rapunzel and they both laughed.   

Cassandra smiled at the King and Queen. “You don’t need to walk around eggshells with me. It’s fine. We’re both adults capable of understanding some, though not all, the nuances and complexities of royal politics. Corona has spent eighteen years seeking out Rapunzel, the missing princess, she's emblematic, she had royal blood, those reasons alone are good enough for her to be best choice for future rules of Corona.”  

Arianna smiled. “Thank you Cassandra. You're right, however if we sound uncertain it’s because even we’ve been struggling with this level of political nuance.” She reached out and grabbed both the girl’s hands. “Either way, I know you two are going to have each other’s backs no matter what and will work together to make sure this kingdom thrives if something were to happen to us.”  

“So, when is this coronation?” Cassandra looked at Rapunzel. “Are we going to have to go to more classes? Will we get a schedule? Do we get to see a guest lists?”  

“So many questions, you make me regret not bringing notes.” Arianna laughed. “Still another a month or so. We have to send the invitations and give our guests time to travel. As for classes I think you both have enough on your plates already. It’s true you may not be fully prepared when the day arrives, but you’ll be prepared enough. Perfection is something we can only strive for and if our guests are not able to give the new princesses some leniency, then that’s their problem and not something you two need to be threating about. Alright?”  

They both nodded.   

“Good. Now." Arianna stood up. "How about we go have lunch together?”  

“Can Eugene come?” Rapunzel asked.   

Frederic nodded. And Rapunzel ran of to find him, leaving Cassandra to head down to the dining area alone with Frederic and Arianna. Something that didn’t happen often. Alone with the queen was common enough, alone with the king had happened once or twice but just the three of them made her feel like an imposter which she hadn’t felt in a while. Like she only belonged in the family when Rapunzel was around.  

Perhaps once the coronation happened and their titles were official, that would help Cassandra feel less out of place in some small way.  

“If there’s any way, I can help with the organization, I’m happy to.”  

“Don’t worry about that Dear. Coronation are stressful. You and your sister will be the centre of attention, I need you to save your energy for the event, leave the rest to us. Support your sister during those days.”  

Cassandra nodded. “I always support Rapunzel.”   

“And you’re very good at it,” Frederic complimented.  

“Are you sure you’re okay?” The queen asked, taking advantage of this moment. “We really didn’t come to this decision overnight.”  

“I think you came to the right decision,” Cassandra stated. “I am honored to be a part of this family and perform my duties, but can you imagine me sat in a throne all day running a kingdom? Raps knows how to stand still and paint for hours. I’d literally rather jump out a window.”   

Arianna smiled.   

“You have my utmost respect for what you do but I much prefer the supporting role. I’ll rush into town and calm the citizens when chaos arises, I’ll lead troops if necessary and all those things' kings and queens can’t do because it's too dangerous.”  

Frederic gave Arianna a look of concern but before that concern could be expressed, Rapunzel and Eugene were there. The lunch was enjoyable. Frederic didn’t say a word.  

But the seeds of concern for the princesses of Corona’s and their thirst for adventure were planted. And if in the morning while Cassandra trained Frederic perhaps paid a bit more attention from one of the palace windows, well, who could blame him?  

Frederic had married an adventurer so perhaps that should have prepared him. But the two girls felt so much more fragile than his queen.  

Chapter Text

Cassandra was out riding on Fidella, tailing Corona’s walls. She knew that beyond the walls was the forest, the forest and many other locations she’d never been. There was also, much further back, the tower she’d called home for eighteen years.  

She’d not left Corona since Eugene carried her in on Maximus after Gothel’s abuse.   

The idea was scary but at the same time, so had leaving the tower, and that was one of the best decisions they’d ever made. Leaving the palace had seemed scary at first but here she was, riding around Corona, giving Fidella the exercise she needed while experiencing a world she'd once only dreamed of. 

Perhaps it would be fun to re-visit the forest. She wouldn’t go far; she had classes that evening after all.  

“What do you say Fidella? New riding route?”   

The horse neighed and picked up speed. They crossed the bridge and into the forest. Cassandra laughed and raised her hands as the air hit her.   

Corona was beautiful, and Cassandra planned to see every inch of it and it’s surroundings. She’d find the coolest most beautiful places and bring Rapunzel and Eugene with her. Maybe even Queen Arianna or the captain of the guards whose company she’d learned to enjoy.   

There were animals scuttering through bushes and trees, then there was a familiar hooting.   

“Owl!” she smiled at her friend, not realizing what he was saying.   

Then a rope was tensed just ahead of then and Fidella didn’t have time to jump or dodge, the horse fell to the ground and Cassandra fell of, rolling. She felt her back hit the ground and the wind was knocked out of her, with her muscles tense breathing became a challenge and she had to concentrate on that.  

This gave the men who pulled a rope a chance to come out of hiding, pointing a sword at her.   

Cassandra didn’t have any weapons on her.   

“Look at that, nice horse you have here. From Corona?”  

Cassandra tried to move but the sword was pressed closer.   

“Now, now, at least catch your breath first. Quite a bad fall you had there, any broken bones?”   

The second man grabbed her, his hands patted her down. “Doesn’t feel like it, doesn’t feel like she has anything on her, either.”  

The first man huffed. “If she doesn’t have anything of value to offer us then she’ll have to be the thing of value. Sell her back to the kingdom.” And they dragged her onto her feet.   

“You’re wasting your time.”   

At this point Fidella was standing back up and if not for the sword held close to Cassandra she’d be fighting. One of the men began to write out a note, checking Fidella’s saddle bags confirming they were empty before sticking the note inside. “How so?”   

“That’s not my horse. I stole her.”   

Fidella narrowed her eyes at Cassandra, the man who wrote the note was trying to scare the horse off by waving his hands, but she wasn’t budging until Cassandra told her to.  

“Seems pretty loyal for not your horse.”   

“I’m good with horses. I stole her. I’m a thief, like you guys. The only way you’re getting a dime off of me is if you hand me in for the reward but I’m going to give a guess and say you ain’t going anywhere near the Corona guards?”  

“You’re a thief and couldn’t find anything better to steal than a horse?”   

“My plan was to steal the crown, the princesses' crown. The coronation is coming up which means it’s never been worth more. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and didn’t make it onto the roof before a guard saw me. Had to make a quick escape, and so, the horse.”  

“The roof?”   

“Yes. How else would you steal a crown?” Eugene's stories were finally coming in handy, allowing Cassandra to take inspiration for this character she'd just invented. “Go inside and have to dodge all of the guards, no, you go in from above. A bit of common senses lads, are you criminals or just been lucky up until now?”  

They whispered among themselves for a moment.   

“You know, you're our competition. So, it would make sense for us to leave you here tied up for the guards to arrest.”   

Cassandra hummed.   

“But alternatively, maybe we could collaborate. We keep the profits, and you get to walk away unharmed.”   

“Doesn’t really sound fair.”   

“Well, you don’t really have much of choice.” The sword lifted and Fidella neighed nervously.   

“I could take my chances with the guards. Tell them I only stole the horse out of desperation running away from a pair of thugs matching your description.”   

More whispering. “We’ll give you ten percent.”  

“I want half.”   

“A third.”   

“Deal.” Cassandra wondered why she was negotiating. She’d clearly been spending too long listening to Eugene’s stories.   

Chapter Text

Cassandra had sent Fidella away, knowing that the horses' return to the castle without her probably wouldn't end well. But right now she was with the two criminals and needed to worry more about that. 

They made their way into Corona, the men had given Cassandra a cloak with a hood to hide her face with. Despite this she glanced around hopefully, maybe somebody would recognize the princess, maybe realize the two large men walking on either side of her weren’t guards and inform an actual guard. But everything was so busy today she didn’t keep her hopes up.  

This was fine, all she had to do was follow Eugene’s step by step instructions on how to steal a crown, make a mistake, draw the attention of the guards and explain what happened. Easy peasy. Except Eugene was more of a storyteller than a guidebook and Cassandra had no idea how Eugene got onto the roof, just that he got on there.    

But then she saw the solution.   

“We’ll need my partner’s help.”   

“Partner?”   

“Yeah, partner in crime. What, you think I’m a solo act?”   

They shared glances.   

“Where is this partner?”   

“Over there.” She gestured to Eugene who was buying flowers at the market, probably for Rapunzel, as though she didn’t already have enough from all the townspeople.   

“Pretty boy?”   

“His name is Flynn Rider.”   

Good job the guards and kingdom chose to present Eugene as Eugene and brush the criminal record under the rug. It meant Eugene’s reputation was now a legend floating around the pubs in the outskirts.  

“Hold her. I’ll talk to him. But you aren't getting more of a split just because there's two of you.”  

“Sure.”   

She felt him hold her shoulders tight. Watching as the man walked up to Eugene. She saw Eugene’s expression of shock followed by an awkward grin as the man addressed him as Flynn, she saw his brows furrow in confusion and finally when the man gestured towards Cassandra he turned, eyebrows raising at first in surprise, then just one raised and he had an arrogant grin Cassandra wished she could get rid of.  

He walked over. “There you are Candy.” Cassandra had to bite her tongue so as to not explode at him for that nickname. “I thought you’d been caught, good to see you were just mingling.”  

“It’s called networking, you should try it sometime Rider instead of leaving all the work to me.”   

He chuckled. “Hey, you guys seem cool and all, and if Candy here is open to it then I’d love to work with you. But could me and her just speak privately for one minute?”   

“Not happening.” And the sword was back, held against Cassandra’s throat, most of it hidden beneath the cloak so no guards noticed.   

Eugene nodded. “Ah. I see.”   

“We put in a lot of work to trip over a horse expecting something good to steal and we got a good for nothing thief, so we’re going to be rewarded for our efforts one way or another.”   

Eugene nodded. “Well, no judgement here, it’s an honest business. How long you been in the business? I’ve been in it for almost a decade now, best in the business if you ask the locals.” And Eugene began to lead them down the street.   

Cassandra took a deep breath as the sword was moved away from her skin, yet the big hands still held her close. Hearing Eugene tell stories of his success with the same flare as in the palace was reassuring, helped her breath easier.   

“You know, this isn’t the first time I steal the crown?”   

“How do you steal something twice?”   

Eugene laughed. “Well, you see, the first time my comrades were idiots, hid it in a terrible hiding spot and it ended up back here. That’s why I’m pretty picky about my partners, Candy here has proven herself but you two, tell me about yourselves.”   

“Name’s Apple and Pear. We’re from the West. We plan to steal all the gold from Corona and sell it back home to be the richest in town.”   

“Apple and Pear? Good choice of street names, truly there is little more threatening than fruit.” Before they could pick up on his sarcasm he kept going. “And if I may ask my sweet Candy here, what is it they bring to the table? You know, other than not staining the streets red with you blood. Because maybe I don’t care about that.”  A few months ago Eugene could not have said this, for Cassandra would have believed the word, believed Eugene would let the men kill her. But now, they were close enough Cassandra could tell he was acting, she knew Eugene was more concerned with her safety than some silly crown. The way his eyes moved over the cloak and took in the weapons of the duo made that clear. 

Cassandra huffed. “Because, Rider, there’s too many guards, it’s why we failed just a few hours ago. But if all four of us split off in different directions we’ll force them to split up. Then we’ll meet up and split the profit at a pre-accorded spot.”   

Flynn laughed, shook his head but didn’t say why.   

The man, Apple, who held Cassandra spoke up. “And who takes the crown if we do that, because that’s a lot of trust to place in someone we just met.”   

Flynn nodded. “My thought exactly.”   

Cassandra frowned. “None of us do. We stash it near the crime scene and come back in a few days.”   

“Where are you thinking Candy?”   

“On the roof. They’ll for certain chase us after we come down, they wouldn’t expect us to leave it there. We escape and we meet back on the roof once they’ve given up on finding us.”   

“This is why you’re my partner in crime Candy.” He leaned back grinning.   

Cassandra glared at him.   

“Okay then. That’s the plan.”   

And it was a good plan. When they split up Cassandra could head back to the castle freely, tell the guards, the guards could set up and tackle the criminals when they came back to the roof fro the crown, the crown would never leave Corona. Plus Eugene got a new Flynn Rider story where he got to be the good guy for a change. Eugene had to admit, Cassandra was a fast thinker, a life of crime could have suited her under different conditions. 

Chapter Text

Not much later they were on the roof of the castle, Eugene was preparing the rope to get in. The two men were standing on either side watching the streets and Cassandra sat next to Eugene, finally able to whisper without them overhearing.   

“I thought you wanted to be a guard not a thief, I guess they’re two sides of the same coin.” He grinned.  

“They tripped Fidella, they wanted to use me for ransom I... panicked and made up a story.”   

“It’s a good plan. When we split up you head back to the palace and you can go find the captain, he’s fond of you, protective.”  

“His job is to protect the kingdom.”   

Eugene smiled at Cassandra’s inability to realice that there were people who cared about her specifically, other than her family and himself. It wasn’t funny, not really, but she was so smart with some things and so naïve in others. “You better reiterate I was protecting the princess of Corona and not going back to my old career. I’m quite comfortable living in the palace, last thing I need is back on the streets.”  

“Don’t worry. Rapunzel would never forgive me if I got you arrested.”   

“She probably would.” Eugene tied the knot on the rope.  

“She loves you.”   

Eugene blushed. “I love her too. But she doesn’t love me as much as she loves you. It’s different. Don’t worry about it.”  

“I’m sorry I got you involved.”   

“You did good. Although it would have been hilarious for you to try and figure this out on your own, the idea of you alone with two criminals doesn’t sit quite right with me.”  

“I’m a good fighter.”   

“Not with a sword to your throat you aren’t. No shame in that. Neither would I.”   

“Is it ready?” Cassandra looked at the tope, not feeling particularly confident in it's strength. 

“Yeah.”   

“And you’re going to let them lower you down there?”   

“Why not? I’ve done it before?”   

She looked down into the building through the whole Eugene had opened by removing a few lose tiles. “Did you have zero sense of self-preservation before meeting us?”  

Eugene laughed. “You’re one to talk. First ever time holding a sword and you thought you could take on the captain of Corona’s guard. I took a look at my options and decided I’d be better fighting the horse.”  

“You lost to the horse.”   

“Oh well excuse me, didn’t you lose today's fight with a piece of rope?”  

Cassandra laughed. “Fine. How about once today's over you don’t bring up my failure and I won’t bring up the time Max humiliated you in battle.”   

“Deal. We ready guys?” Eugene called and gestured to the other two.  

“Wait a minute.” Apple said.   

Eugene sighed, standing up straight. “What?” He expected them to try and renegotiate the cut, that’s what usually happened.   

“The guards are searching for a missing princess.”   

“Again?” Eugene laughed. “They literally just found her a few months ago! You’d think they’d put a bit more security around her after that.”  

“It’s Corona, I wouldn’t be surprised if the princesses were allowed to go off adventuring on their own with a few animal companions.”   

Eugene had to seriously hold back laughter at Cassandra's comment.  

“They describe a woman with gray eyes, black shoulder length hair, pale skin and about your height.”   

Cassandra looked up at them but managed to keep a neutral expression. 

Eugene burst out laughing. “You calling Candy here a princess?” he looked at her with a bright grin. “I’d barely even call her a lady.”   

Cassandra looked up at Eugene then stood. “That could be any number of women. But wasn’t Corona’s princess blonde anyway?”   

“Nah that was the baby, they got two of ‘em now, remember.” Eugene rolled his eyes and Cassandra nodded, feigning ignorance.   

The two men hesitated before nodding. “Okay, let’s get that crown.”   

Cassandra watched nervously as Eugene was lowered down into the room. The guards just like before had their backs facing what they were meant to protect. Eugene wondered why and how it was, Corona guards never learnt. If he cared more, he’d talk to the captain or even the king or queen, but he was more focused on not being thrown out of the palace right now.  

Well not right now , right now he was concentrated on tricking these fools into splitting up so that Cassandra could head back to the palace.   

“A little lower,” Cassandra whispered, until Eugene gave her the thumbs up. “Good.” She watched Eugene grab the tiara and the men began to pull him back up. Now they just needed to hide it on the roof and split up.  

They began to pull Eugene up. But they stopped when they were nearly there.   

“A little more,” Cassandra whispered.   

Pear moved to hold Cassandra, the sword against her skin once more. Apple meanwhile held out a hand. “Give me the crown.”  

“Now, see, that would be very unreasonable of me right now because, I’m hanging above the guards who will have me hung if I get caught. How about you pull me up, we hide the crown as was the plan, and we come back here in a week?”   

“How about, you hand over the crown, so we don’t slit her throat, then we drop you and you explain to the guards that we have their missing princess and are ready to sell her back.”  

Eugene frowned. “She’s not the princess. You think I wouldn’t hand her in myself if she was?”   

“We don’t know what deal you’ve got with the princess, but if you don’t want her blood on your hands, you’ll hand over that crown.”   

There was silence for a moment as nobody moved. Then the sword pressed closer, and Cassandra could barely breathe.   

“Fine.” Eugene handed up the crown and it was snatched away. The rope let go. The last thing Cassandra saw was Eugene falling and the sound of him hitting the ground. She hoped he was okay.   

Chapter Text

Eugene woke up with his arm in immense pain and swords pointed at his face. He hoped he hadn’t been unconscious for long. The Captain of the guards stomped over to him.  

“Eugene Fitzherbert, once a criminal, always—”   

“They have Cassandra,” he interrupted not caring for the accusations. “Two men, go by the names Apple and Pear, we tried to trick them but you parading around the description of the missing princess meant they caught on.”   

“What direction did they go in?”   

Eugene shook his head. “I don’t know. My best guess would be the forest beyond the walls. They’re armed.”  

 And all but one guard, charged with moving Eugene into the medical ward, left in a hurry to try and intercept the men.   

Cassandra stumbled through the streets of Corona, her hood so far pulled down she couldn’t see where she was going, the feel of cold steel against her skin a constant companion, that and the strong hand that gripped her shoulder and pushed her.   

Then there was the sound of guards shouting and Cassandra felt relieved until Apple or Pear, she couldn’t tell which threw her over his shoulder and they ran.   

Cassandra felt dizzy, but her hood fell, and she could see Corona guard taking chase, could hear them ordering them to stop. She struggled but was far smaller than the men and without a weapon all she could do was throw her fists against his back and risk being punished for it later.   

The guards chased the men into the forest but at one point the men went off the path, they found a smaller space in between two rocks to hide, a hand went over Cassandra’s mouth and a sword lay on her throat for good measure. They listened and could hear the Corona guards continuing to run and shout. The noise got quieter as they got further away. Cassandra’s hope died and she knew she was in for a long night.   

Once the coast was clear they dragged Cassandra out of the not-big-enough-to-be-called-a-cave, cave.   

“Huh, so we were right, you are the missing princess.”   

Cassandra looked up at Apple. “You’re wasting your time. You won’t get as much for me as you think.”   

They pushed her, she let them guide her, scared of the sword.   

“That crown you stole is worth far more, it belongs to the real princess. I hold the title, but I’m not related to the royal family.”   

“And how did you get that pretty title? Marry a prince?”   

“No.” She scrunched up her nose. “Right time, right place.”   

“Don’t think royalty works like that.”   

“I’m the adoptive-half-sister of the actual princess, if that makes sense.”   

“More than right time, right place.”   

“Well, it doesn’t matter, the point is you’re wasting your time.”   

“You saying the king and queen won’t pay good money for your safe return?”   

Cassandra knew they would, but she shook her head. “They won’t give you a single coin.”   

“Good try. But the swarms of guards they sent after us says otherwise. Hold tight. You’ll be safe and sound back in the palace in no time.” And they continued their walk through the forest.   

“They escaped,” the captain of the guard informed the king and queen with clenched fists. “There are guards searching every inch of the forest but... the forest is huge and there are many places to hide. If what Fitzherbert says is true, they’ll contact us looking for ransom soon. They have no other purpose for her.”   

“Inform the treasurer of the upcoming expense then,” Frederic ordered simply, watching his captain leave.   

“We have to tell Rapunzel,” Arianna whispered. The younger princess was in her room painting, they’d decided not to say anything until they had news, but if Cassandra didn’t go to the room at night, she’d know something was wrong.   

Frederic nodded. “She’s going to be home soon Ari, I promise.”   

“She must be so scared; they’ve barely experienced the world and it seems they keep experiencing the worst parts of it.”   

“If what this Eugene says is true, she doesn’t sound particularly scared...” He frowned and shook his head.  

“She never sounds or looks scared, does she?” Arianna pointed out. “And if she isn’t, then I am.”   

“We’ll have her back by tomorrow, Ari. Go rest. I’ll tell Rapunzel and finish both our royal duties.”   

Arianna nodded, knowing she was in no state to make any big decisions as her mind was occupied picturing some cold dark place, where Cassandra cowered in a corner away from her captors.   

In truth Cassandra was in a cold dark place, but she didn’t cower. Her hands had been tied behind her back and she scowled at her captors. She struggled with the rope and demanded they let her go. If she got too loud, they’d point the sword at her and she’d quiet down for around fifteen minutes until the fear faded and she started struggling again.   

Determined to make their time with her as painful as possible, neither of them were allowed to sleep that night and she’d kick them whenever they got too close.   

Chapter Text

Eugene woke up in the medical ward of the castle, his memory was a bit of a blur, but his aching arm served as a reminder. When he opened his eyes, he realized the arm was in a cast, broken. That wasn’t good.   

Then he remembered Cassandra and quickly sat up, but soft hands held him back. He turned to see Rapunzel sitting on his right. “Did they catch them?” He asked.   

She shook her head, her green eyes moving to the floor.   

Eugene’s fists clenched and he lay back. “What’s going on?”   

“The guards are searching but I think we’re mostly just waiting for the ransom letter to arrive.”   

Eugene nodded. “I’m sorry Sunshine, I tried but—”   

“You did your best Eugene. The guards are going to bring her back, they promised.”   

Eugene smiled and didn’t voice his concerns about Corona’s guards' efficiency. “I know Princess, I’m just sorry I couldn’t get her back before you found out.”   

“With the height you fell from you’re lucky you only broke an arm,” she changed the subject. Eugene imagined Rapunzel was not ready to think too much about Cassandra.   

“Yeah, guess I was. Well, I didn’t really have much of a choice.” He hummed. “How are your parents?”   

“Mother’s sick with worry. She always worries a lot about Cass. She says Cass doesn’t need protecting, but that there are people in this world who deserve it, and Cass deserves protection.”   

Eugene hummed and nodded. “I think your mother makes a good point.”   

“I don’t really understand it...”   

Eugene smiled. “I think it’s like... Cass spent her entire childhood protecting you, right? Big protective sister, all that.”   

Rapunzel nodded.   

“How did that feel?”   

“Safe.”   

“Well, Cass deserves to know what that felt like.”  

Rapunzel smiled. “Yes, but I also think if you treat Cassandra like a child, she may stab you.”   

“Then don’t give her a knife. See, easy? You all see problems everywhere!”   

Rapunzel laughed then slowly moved in for a hug, careful not to move his broken arm. “She’s going to be back here in no time,” she repeated.   

Eugene wrapped his arm around Rapunzel and nodded. “You just hold in there.”   

Cassandra was too exhausted to keep struggling by the time the sun rose. She was trying to take a nap as the two criminals argued over her monetary value and wrote out the ransom note for the king and queen. It was hard to sleep when your hands were aching from being tied, and there was arguing nearby and that arguing was about you. But she pulled it off, eventually falling into a light slumber.  

It didn’t last long as she was awoken by one of them pulling her onto her feet.   

“Ah, how the tables turn.” He shoved her and she stepped out of the cave they’d chosen to hide in for the night. “Come on, we’ve sent clear instructions on when and where to meet so you can get home soon, and we can get rich.”   

“You won’t get away with this. They’ll catch you eventually... they always do...” her voice trailed off as she yawned and let them drag her around. She didn’t see the affect her words had as the two men shared glances of concern.   

The letter arrived and the castle started moving like clockwork at a very fast pace. The money was prepared, guards were ready, Rapunzel and Eugene were ready to go and both king and queen were coming. They’d have to leave in small groups so as to not alert the entire kingdom of the ordeal, but this was a big deal.   

Corona did not take threats to their princesses lightly.   

From their hiding spot Cassandra couldn’t see anything but she could hear the voices from outside as more and more people arrived.   

“What if we made a mistake?” one of the criminals asked.   

“You did,” Cassandra responded.   

“We could slit her throat and leave right now.”   

She knew an empty threat when she heard one. “Kill the princess of Corona and you’ll be wanted in all seven of the kingdoms until the days your bodies wash up on a distant shore.”   

“Look, we just need insurance,” Apple said.  

Finally, it came time for the exchange and Cassandra was dragged out with a knife held loosely against her skin, yet threateningly. She regretted not sleeping as she knew she looked tired. She kept her eyes on the floor, embarrassed by the whole situation.  

The fact it felt like the entire castle had come made the whole ordeal worse.   

The adviser came forward repeating the condition set by the pair who held Cassandra.   

“We want to add something.”   

“We accept your initial conditions.” The King did not sound happy.   

Cassandra felt her heart thump wondering what awaited her at the castle.   

“Well, we want to ask for more. I think we were quite generous given we have your precious princess.” And the way the sword moved forced her to raise her head. Now she could see the guards' cold expressions waiting for orders. Rapunzel standing with Eugene, tears in her eyes, scared. Arianna who watched the sword and Frederick who stared at the men with whom they were negotiating.  

“We need a hostage to ensure you won’t be sending guards after us.”   

“And what would be the purpose of you handing back one person just to take another?”  

“Well obviously someone less valuable than the princess, someone who can accompany us until we are far enough away, and then they’ll be released, free to come home.”   

“I can give you more money and my word. That’s enough.”   

“No, it’s not, not for us.”   

The King frowned; he glanced back at Arianna considering their options until Eugene stepped forward. “I’ll go.”   

“No.” Rapunzel grabbed him tightly. “Eugene.”   

“It’s fine Rapunzel. I know the world out there and I know how to handle myself. I’m the only one here the castle can be without. It makes sense.”   

“Are you actually worth anything ? Cause if you’re really a criminal like you claimed before we want someone who’s life isn’t forfeit.”   

“He’s life isn’t forfeit!” Rapunzel shouted.   

Eugene looked at them and spoke calmly. “I’m the Princesses' partner. Valuable enough for you?”   

They shared glances and whispered before nodding. “Money, and the Princesses' partner in exchange for your second princess.”   

King Frederic looked at Eugene who nodded. The King looked back to the men and nodded. “Deal.”   

“Eugene.” Rapunzel hadn’t let go of him.   

“Trust me Princess, I’ll be back in no time. You keep Cass out of trouble until I’m back, okay?”   

Rapunzel kissed him and stared into his eyes with tears in them.   

He smiled. “I’d never leave you. I’m going to be back before you notice I’m gone. Okay?”   

She nodded, finally letting him go as he walked over to where the adviser stood with the money, ready to do the exchange.   

Cassandra looked up at Eugene. She looked confused, but Eugene smiled at her, and she hated to admit it but, Eugene would know what to do, the tales he told were exaggerations but always based in truth.  

She was pushed forward while Eugene was pulled back. The adviser grabbed her arm and slowly walked away from the criminals who fled a lot faster, with money, a crown and now Eugene.   

Once it was safe Rapunzel was the first to rush forward, embracing her older sister. Cassandra, however, didn’t react, continuing to stare at the space where she stood moments ago.   

Then the King and Queen moved forward. Arianna moved to hug both daughters. “Oh, Cassandra, don’t you know Corona cannot keep losing princesses. It’ll end up being part of our reputation.” It was a joke; it would have lightened the mood had the exchange been just money.  

But Cassandra was trying to figure out if those men would actually let Eugene go like they promised and if not, what plan Eugene must have. Rapunzel was concentrated on the rope that kept Cassandra’s hands behind her back.   

Then the captain of the guard approached and with his sword cut it.   

Her hands fell to her side.   

“Cassandra?” The Queen looked her in the eyes, the girl hadn't spoken yet. “Are you in shock Dear?”  

Cassandra shook her head. “You shouldn’t have given them anything.”   

King Frederic frowned, a hand finding Cassandra’s shoulder. “We have laws and protocols for these situations. Your safety was Corona’s first priority.”   

“Then you shouldn’t have let Eugene go.”   

Frederic nodded. “I understand your concern. We will send out return requests to the other kingdoms, so they know to keep an eye out. But he’s more capable, he’ll make it back. You’re a lot less experienced in this world than he is.”  

Cassandra’s eyes moved to the ground.   

“You need to tell us exactly what happened on our way back to the castle. Come.”   

And they began to make their way back. Rapunzel held on to Cassandra tightly to help ease her mind of Eugene and Cassandra stared at the ground as she explained in detail what took place yesterday, at night and this morning. 

Chapter Text

By the time they got back to the palace the mood had shifted.   

The fear and concern for Cassandra’s well-being were gone, knowing she was now safe and home. On the way back she’d explained what happened and Arianna understood, but Frederic  looked unimpressed.

Now they were in the throne room, Arianna was sitting on her throne in tired relief. Rapunzel was standing near the door waiting for this to end. There were a fair few guards around. In the center of the room Cassandra was staring at the ground and King Frederic was scolding her.   

“You should never have left Corona!”   

“I was never told not to...”   

“I didn’t know we had to! Why would you leave the safety of the kingdom? Alone, nonetheless, unguarded with just a horse!”   

Her shoulders sagged and she nodded.   

“You should not have tried to play the hero, you should have let them contact us and you could have been back here in an hour, they’d have no idea they had their hands on anybody but a normal Corona citizen." Frederic crossed his arms. "But you wanted to play hero. You wanted to capture the bad guys. That’s a guards’ job, not a princess’. Am I clear?”   

She nodded. “I’m sorry.”   

“The entire kingdom was worried about you.” And Frederic threw his arms up in frustration.  

The motion was usually harmless, yet Cassandra flinched, stepping back quickly and raising a hand to cover her face.  

That movement bought silence to the throne room.   

When a second passed, Cassandra lowered her hand, surprised to see the shocked expressions of those around her.  

Arianna was now on her feet, her eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth.  

The only person in the room not shocked was Rapunzel who looked around in confusion.   

Everyone else in the room was busy with the implications of Cassandra’s reaction.  

“Take Rapunzel back to her room. Everybody except Cassandra, leave.” King Frederic spoke softly yet the orders were firm.   

Arianna moved to the king’s side, a hand moving to his shoulder as she tilted her head.  

“I’ve got this Ari. Go.”   

Cassandra’s hand was now lowered, and tears were threatening to fall. King Frederic walked away from her, sitting on the steps leading up to the throne and gesturing for her to come sit next to him. She moved slowly but did so, still watching his hands cautiously.  The throne room was so big when nobody else was around, it made the king seem smaller. 

He watched her movements before looking straight ahead. “When you first arrived and were still recovering, we asked Rapunzel if she’d been hit during her time with this Gothel.” He looked at the ground. “She said no and we assumed you were treated the same.”  

Cassandra swallowed; she managed a small shake of her head. They had not been treated the same. They were not the same. 

He looked at Cassandra. “We should have enquired specifically about you.”  

 “I’m sorry about going outside of Corona—”   

“We’re not talking about that anymore,” he interrupted. “What you did was dangerous, and we’ll increase security but that’s not what I want to talk to you about now.”   

She hugged her legs close.   

“I want to reassure you, Cassandra, I will never hit you, I will never hurt you in that way, ever. And nobody in this castle may lay a finger on you. If they do, you come straight to me. Because that is not okay.”   

Cassandra looked up from the floor. “She only ever did it when I needed to learn a lesson.”   

Frederic’s expression was difficult to read, he was holding back anger that wasn’t directed at Cassandra, but he couldn’t expect her to know that, so instead he looked neutral, stern. “It was not okay. It will never be okay. You didn’t deserve that.”   

Now the tears escaped her eyes. She rubbed them away quickly. Frederic slowly moved a hand to Cassandra’s back in an attempt at comfort. “I shouldn’t have flinched,” Cassandra whispered.   

“You flinched because I raised my hands and in the past that’s ended badly. I’m sorry I scared you, Cassandra. I never meant to scare you.”   

“You didn’t scare me I just... I just...” She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. “I’m not scared of pain; I can take pain. She didn’t even hit me often or that hard.” She took a deep breath.   

“Would you say the same had she hit Rapunzel?”   

And Cassandra looked at him with all the emotions he was trying to hide, an anger that could never be delivered for the woman who earnt it was already dead.   

Frederic smiled, though it was small, and his eyes still held the remnant of sadness. “You deserve as much love, respect and care as Rapunzel. Neither of you deserved what you went through, any of it.”   

Cassandra finally nodded. “I know... Deep down, I know.”   

Frederic then pulled her in for a hug, it caught her by surprise, but she accepted it. The large man kept the embrace light, she could tell if she stepped back he'd not stop her.

“Thank you.”   

A nod. “Let’s get you back up to your room. You must be exhausted and my wife is going to want to fuss over you later today.”  

Cassandra nodded and smiled. “She does that a lot.”   

“She loves you a lot.”   

“I know. I love her too,” and that was the first time she’d admitted it out loud.   

The King didn’t show any signs of surprise though as they walked towards the room. “Get some rest, your lady in waiting will bring you food shortly.”  

“Thank you, for everything...” She stopped. “For taking me in, for rescuing me from those men and for talking to me. I really do appreciate all of it.”   

Frederic pulled her in for a second, shorter hug. “Like I said before, you deserve it. Understood?”   

She nodded before finally moving to enter the room.   

It was later that night when Arianna made her way down the hall, she was walking with Frederic, but they’d soon split as she wished to check on the princesses before bed. “I agree with you keeping them inside Corona for the time being, they’re new to this world and Corona is a safe space for them to get to know it but... I don’t think your plan to lock them inside the castle until after the coronation will go down well.” Arianna hummed. “Cassandra loves going out in the mornings on Fidella, taking that from her is cruel.”  

“She was kidnapped.”   

“For a day.”   

Frederic sighed. “There’s not long left until the Coronation. It’s safe inside the castle. Cassandra can still practice with the guards, Rapunzel can paint. They aren’t lacking in activities.”  

“Eventually they’re going to want more freedom, Frederic. Rapunzel’s a teenager and Cassandra learnt to fight with an old broken broom. Those two aren’t meant to be locked up in the castle.”   

“The coronation is soon.” Frederic repeated. “And I don’t see the issue with Cassandra riding her horse with a few other guards on horses tailing her once the coronation has passed.”  

“That’s because you’ve never ridden a horse, my dear.” She stopped and kissed her husband. “You're sure you were comforting and not scary?” She enquired once more.   

Frederic laughed. “I’m sure. It was a challenge to not look angry when she talked about that woman, but I managed it. Besides, Cassandra’s scarier than I am.”   

“If she tells me, you scared her, you’ll sleep alone.”   

“I told her nobody in this castle was to lay a finger on her and that the way she was raised was wrong. I couldn’t be more clear my dear Ari.”   

Arianna nodded. “You’re a good Father.”   

Frederick smiled, giving his wife another kiss. “We have good daughters.”   

Rapunzel was quick to open the door when she heard a soft knock, not surprised to find her mother who she hugged.   

“Oh, Rapunzel, how are you?”   

“I’m good,” she said, moving away and back to the bed where Cassandra was laying, already in her pajamas.   

“And you, Cassandra? Tired still?”   

Cassandra nodded. “A little, but that’s my fault. I spent all night struggling instead of resting.”   

Arianna nodded as she sat on the edge of the bed. “The physician who came round earlier says you’re good to go. You’re excused from lessons tomorrow and Frederic requested, although it’s not an order, you not partake in the guard’s training lessons tomorrow and give yourself a little rest.”  

Cassandra nodded. “I’ll respect that request.”   

“Good. I know you’re probably feeling overwhelmed by the attention today, but I just want— need to reiterate that nobody in this castle will ever hit you, Cassandra.”   

She nodded. “I know.”   

“Good.” Arianna smiled as Rapunzel climbed into bed, she pulled the cover up to tuck both girls in. “You’ll both join me tomorrow for a late breakfast?”   

“That sounds nice,” Rapunzel smiled as Arianna kissed her forehead as though she were a kid before moving to Cassandra who hummed and nodded too.   

“Then I’ll be waiting. Sleep tight.” She blew out the candles lighting the room and finally left.   

“Can I say I told you so?” Rapunzel whispered to Cassandra.   

“What did you tell me so?” Cassandra rolled over to look at the brunette.   

“I told you what mother did wasn’t right, and that I should have been healing you.”   

Cassandra smiled at that. “Yeah, sure, say I told you so.”   

“I told you so.” Rapunzel’s smile widened. She grabbed Cassandra’s hand, after sleeping alone last night she needed to know her sister was there.   

Cassandra closed her eyes. There was something comforting about Rapunzel joking. Everybody else in the palace looked at her with pity, as though they’d just discovered she was broken. But not Rapunzel, because there was nothing new for Rapunzel to discover about Cassandra. Their past was set in stone and all that changed was the context.   

Cassandra fell asleep feeling safe.    

Chapter Text

Rapunzel sat on the balcony looking down at her kingdom. She was quiet and still, something Cassandra wasn’t used to. She knew why though. Eugene wasn’t back yet.  

It was only the very next day, mid-afternoon, but for some reason both Rapunzel and Cassandra had expected he’d come home the very next day first thing in the morning. Now the gravity of the situation was settling in.   

Cassandra knew she’d never forgive herself if something happened to Eugene. And even though Rapunzel would never even blame her, there would always be a voice in Cassandra’s head telling her Rapunzel blamed her too.   

Rapunzel wanted to leave the palace. Climb on Max’s back and ride of into the horizon to save her boyfriend. But the orders were clear.   

Not only were they not allowed to leave the kingdom of Corona under any circumstance, but they also weren’t allowed to leave the palace grounds.   

Cassandra understood the rules, the protection, came from a place of love. But she wasn’t entirely sure Rapunzel understood that. She walked slowly onto the balcony and sat down next to her sister.   

“He’ll get back here.”   

“How can you be so sure?”   

“Cause those two thieves were idiots. They got lucky. Tripped the right horse, caught me off guard. But Eugene’s a good fighter.”   

“Are you sure?”   

“Have you seen how many enemies that man has and yet he got to us alive and well?” She smiled. “You can never repeat this, ever, and especially not to Eugene but, he’s smart, he’s a good fighter. He’ll make it back here.”   

“What if... What if he decides he doesn’t want to come back?”   

Cassandra blinked. “But you’re here.”   

“What if, now he’s out there, he remembers what adventure is and likes it more than me.”  

“Okay... A lot to dissect there. But most importantly, do you view Eugene as an absolute idiot?”  

“What?” Rapunzel finally turned to look at Cassandra.   

“I mean, first of, it’s not been long enough for him to forget. Second, wasn’t his entire dream about being wealthy? Well now he lives in the castle! This is literally his dream. And third, Rapunzel, it’s you .”   

Rapunzel swallowed.   

“He loves you. He risked his life to save you. He risked his life to get me to a physician and I’m just your sister.”   

“Pretty sure he doesn’t just care about you because you’re my sister. He cares about both of us. You're just too scary for him to be around as much as me.”  

Cassandra grinned. “Too smart and brave you mean?”   

Rapunzel laughed. “I know I’m being stupid.”   

“Very. Now come on.”   

“Where?” Rapunzel let Cassandra pull her to her feet.   

“Let’s go explore the castle. If we’re going to be stuck here, we better get to know it.”   

And Rapunzel was dragged from the balcony through their room into the hallways where guards moved to let them by.   

There were a bunch of things to look at in the castle, there was a strategy room that right now had nothing going on, there was a room with nothing but a single open journal that both girls found weird, a room with portraits of the royal family which Rapunzel loved but Cassandra saw as a reminder she was not a descendant of any of them, they moved on quick to the weapons room where if not for Rapunzel Cassandra could probably sit around all day asking questions to the forgers about how weapons are made and then there were numerous guest rooms that got Rapunzel nervous.  

“Do you think all of these rooms will be full for the Coronation?”   

Cassandra frowned. “I mean... maybe.”   

“There’s so many...” Rapunzel frowned.   

“Are you nervous?”   

Rapunzel nodded. “I’m really happy to have this family, that loves us and has been looking for me all these years.”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“But it’s a lot. Being a princess and, one day expected to be queen. I just wanted to see the lights, I never wanted all of this. What if I’m not good at ruling a kingdom?”   

Cassandra smiled. “Yeah.” She threw an arm around Rapunzel walking towards the nearest exit so they could go to the garden. “You know something Raps.”   

“A thing or two, I know my name, how to read, spell...”   

Cassandra released her from her grip and grabbed her hand. “You’re the kindest person in the entire world.”   

“Ah, so you’ve met the entire world, now?”   

“Enough of it to know I’m right.”   

“You’ve barely been outside!” Rapunzel laughed.   

“It’s statistics, I’ve had a good sample, plenty of variety from professionals, royalty, thieves, and I’ve concluded you are the kindest person in the world.”  

“Very convincing. Where are we going with this?”   

“That you’re going to be the kindest ruler Corona has ever had.”   

Rapunzel nodded. “Okay but... I think there may be a bit more to running a kingdom than being kind.”   

“Course there is, you’ve also got to be stern and demanding at times! That’s what I’m for,” she gestured as if it were obvious as they exited into the garden. “You need to be cunning so, Eugene does have a use. Look at that!”   

“Can we save the Eugene hate for after he gets back alive?”   

“Sure. And finally, for everything else, you'll have an entire team of advisers behind you. And you know what else you are, other than kind?”  

“A good listener.”   

“Exactly. Plus, we’ve got years of training ahead of us. And you’re going to have me here to help every step of the way.”   

“So... as long as we don’t both panic at the same time, we’ll be okay?”   

Cassandra grinned. “Exactly. Now, race you to the waterfall!” And she began to run before Rapunzel heard the challenge.  

“That’s not fair!” she shouted as she chased after her.   

Chapter Text

Faith snuck into the princess’ quarters early one morning with a box full of glasses. The girls were still asleep, but Cassandra was a light sleeper and woke up at even the slightest of sounds. Thankfully she’d learnt that living in the palace included many noises and didn’t immediately jump to alert.  

She opened her eyes, saw the light blue of the lady in waiting’s dress and closed her eyes again. Before realizing it was too early for Faith to be there and opening them again.  

Faith placed the box on top of Rapunzel’s table with a sigh of relief.   

“What is that?” Cassandra whispered so as to not wake Rapunzel, but Faith jumped, letting out a squeal which woke the brunette.  

“Goodness,” Faith huffed. “Apologies Your Majesties,” she curtseyed.   

“It’s fine, what is that though?” Cassandra was now getting out of bed to peek into the box.  

“It’s some crystal ware for the coronation. It’s invaluable, been around since the palace’s foundation. It’s considered tradition that the new princesses write out the name of each guest so it can be tied to the glasses and the guests know where they are seated.” Faith explained, pulling out some labels, string and beautiful pens.   

“Oh. Calligraphy practice,” Rapunzel smiled.   

“We both write on it?” Cassandra asked.   

“Of course.”   

“Well, do we have a list of most to less important guests so my bad handwriting doesn’t offend anybody too important?”  

Faith laughed. “Your handwriting is legible, more than some monarchs have managed. Don’t worry."   

“I’m not worried,” Cassandra picked up a glass and Faith stared with wide eyes. Cassandra was careful, her fingers supporting it well, they were beautiful, crystals inside created sparkles and rainbows when held up to the rising sun.   

“Careful,” Faith repeated. “They are very fragile.”   

Cassandra nodded, carefully placing it back into the box. “When do we start?”   

“Whenever you want, here’s the name lists and there are plenty of labels so don’t worry if you make any mistakes. Me and Elena will check them all over afterwards and show you how to tie them on the glasses.”  

Cassandra nodded, grabbing a pen. “Why’d you bring them so early?”  

“Oh. I was a bit scared. I hate transporting valuable things. Early in the morning before the guards and servants are up and about is simply safer.”  

“Very responsible.” Cassandra smiled. “I promise me and Raps will be just as careful.”   

Faith nodded. “I must go get on with some other duties. Call if you need anything.”   

Rapunzel hummed after the girl left. “It’s too early to be working,” she complained as Cassandra pulled the curtains and grabbed the pen.   

“I’m usually up earlier,” Cassandra responded as she started her job. Usually, she’d be training with the sword and the guards but since the ransom incident she hadn’t gone back. Which was counterproductive because she felt more of a need to fight than ever. Of course, she’d also been ill in between so the king and queen’s wishes for rest were not unprecedented. Plus there was so much to prepare for with the coronation coming up.  

Cassandra was okay taking the break, as long as she was busy with something else.   

Today that was writing names on labels, that was fine.   

After about half an hour of rolling around and trying to go back to sleep Rapunzel gave up and joined her sister. Grabbing the other pen and a handful of labels. “Why are all these names so... extravagant?”   

“Is that your way of saying stupid and made-up sounding?” Cassandra asked pulling up the label she was writing that read Oktober .   

“No. I mean unique, unusual, they're nice names... I like Oktober.”  

Cassandra grinned. “Why are you named Rapunzel? Who else in the world is named Rapunzel?”   

“Who else is named Cassandra?”   

“I can name twenty different characters from books.”   

Rapunzel frowned but nodded. “I guess it’s a royalty thing?”   

“Great,” Cassandra frowned. “Yet another thing for me to stick out for.”   

“Stick out for not sticking out?”   

Cassandra smiled. “You know what I mean.”   

They kept writing names on labels until Faith and Elena arrived to get them dressed and downstairs for breakfast.   

“Make sure you leave the glasses in a safe place.” Faith said as she left in a hurry, it must be a busy morning.   

Rapunzel made sure the glasses on the table nice and centered where it was unlikely, they could be knocked down.   

Breakfast went as usual. Rapunzel ate and spoke excitedly to her parents about her newest painting and the book she was reading. Arianna poked at Cassandra about her own hobbies and interests until Cassandra caved and told the table about her progress in law, fighting training or the book she was reading. Arianna would then praise the two on anything they did and Frederic would just nod along.   

The mood was a bit on the down side because of the empty chair Eugene would normally be seated at. To make up for it Cassandra made sure to eat her full plate, that always made Arianna happy. It was odd, Gothel had always encouraged them to eat less so as to not get chubby, but Arianna didn't seem to be worried about that. 

When they returned up to their quarters Cassandra frowned at the sight of Mrs. Crowley exiting the room and hid behind Rapunzel.  

The king had told her not to take any words personally, but the truth was it wasn’t that easy. Feelings were okay as long as she knew they weren’t real. Despite this, hiding behind Rapunzel felt more secure.  

“You girls have no respect!” she pointed.   

Rapunzel smiled. “Sorry Mrs Crowley, what’s wrong this time?”   

“Don’t you know how to keep your room tidy so we cleaning staff don’t have to move everything around just to dust of the surfaces?” she huffed and began to walk away.  

“But it was tidy?” Cassandra looked confused.   

“Your table was full of stuff! Had to move it all out of the way!”   

“Well, thank you,” Rapunzel said as the woman left.   

Cassandra sighed once she was gone.   

“Good to know I’ll always have my big sister here to protect me,” Rapunzel crossed her arms and grinned.  

“If she attacks you with a sword, I’ll be there for you,” Cassandra argued.   

“Oh, so you’re only a big sister for the fighting?” Rapunzel’s hand was on the handle. “But all the emotional labor, that’s on me?”   

“Do you want me to manage your emotions?” Cassandra grinned. “Because if so we’re starting with self-worth, you can do so much better than—” She stopped herself, remembering Eugene wasn’t home yet, her shoulders slumped.  

“Let’s go finish the labels,” Rapunzel pushed open the door just in time to see the balcony door swing open, knock over a box placed on the edge of a stool and hear the cracking of glass. “Oh no.”  

The good news is the slip up about Eugene was all but forgotten.   

The bad news was Cassandra was pacing the room as though she could get a lifetime of steps in today and if she got thrown out of the palace tomorrow it would no longer matter.   

Rapunzel knelt on the ground looking at some of the bigger pieces of glass as though she could find a way to put them back together, but it was impossible.   

“Faith is going to kill us, Elena is going to kill us, the King and Queen are going to kill us... No... No... The captain of the guard will kill us, they wouldn’t get their hands dirty. We’ll be executed before sunset.”  

“They’re not going to kill us,” Rapunzel whispered. “We’re in trouble but not that much trouble.”   

Cassandra fell to her knees, head in her hands. “What if this was a test and we failed it? And now they don’t want us anymore!”   

Rapunzel moved away from the glass, kneeling by her big sister's side, a hand on Cassandra’s back. “Remember when we were little, and you woke me up because we were both going to prison for breaking child protection laws?”   

Cassandra looked up and nodded.   

“Same overreaction. You’re panicking, deep breaths.” Her hands found Cassandra’s and the girl obeyed, for a while they sat on the floor breathing until Cassandra's hand was no longer shaking. “Better?”  

“Better.” Cassandra nodded, standing up and looking around the room. “We’re still in trouble. We have to find a solution...”   

“They’re broken Cass, there’s no solution.”   

“But... There has to be, come on Raps, we’ve hidden a billion things from mother before, gotten out of punishments every time, we can do it here as well!”  

Rapunzel frowned. “I... I guess we could go check if there are any similar glasses in the kitchen.”  

Cassandra headed to the door and Rapunzel followed.   

They didn’t limit themselves to the kitchen, they searched the kitchen, the diners, the weaponry, what glasses would be doing in the weaponry was anybody's guess, but they checked.  

Rapunzel asked the palace glazier about fixing broken glasses and he laughed at her, before realizing the princess knew nothing about glass making and explaining the complications.   

Cassandra held herself tight as they walked back to their quarters.   

“We’ll tell mum, she’ll know what to do. It was an accident, Cassandra.”   

“What if they separate us as punishment?”   

Rapunzel swallowed and shook her head.   

“It’s a harmless punishment and clearly... This is exactly the type of thing that would get us separated.”   

“They won’t do that.”   

“Why not?”   

“Because they can’t!” Rapunzel shouted; her eyes wide.   

Cassandra took a few deep breaths before pulling Rapunzel close. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”   

Rapunzel nodded, they walked back in silence, tears in their eyes.   

They opened the door and sitting on their bed was Arianna, the glasses swept into a pile, and she looked content as she looked through the already done labels. “Ah, there you two are,” she smiled calmly.   

The girls froze, staring with wide eyes, deep breaths, they both clung onto each other.   

Arianna looked up. She sighed. “I assume your fear is about the broken glass?”   

For a moment they were silent before Cassandra let go of Rapunzel and stepped forward. “It was my fault. I was careless, I should have made sure they were put somewhere safe, I should have been more careful. I promise I’ll make it up to you, I promise I’m going to do everything in my power no matter the time and effort to make things right!”   

Her expression was that of determination, she stood tall, her head held high.   

Arianna looked past Cassandra at Rapunzel whose hand still gripped Cassandra, her eyes were on the ground, and they were fearful.   

“Girls, you’re crying over spilt milk,” she smiled and stepped forward intending to comfort them but then Cassandra stepped back, her muscles tense, breathing erratic.   

Arianna looked behind herself almost expecting there to be someone else in the room because sure, Cassandra had flinched away from Frederic but never from her. When she looked back Cassandra was standing straight again.  

“It’s okay,” she repeated. “Accidents happen.”   

Cassandra didn’t move. Arianna inched forward slowly, her hand found Cassandra’s and the girl closed her eyes tightly.   

“I’m not going to hurt you.” Arianna whispered, seeing how Rapunzel got closer to Cassandra. “Let’s move to the bed.”   

And she took them both in a half embrace, getting them to sit down and breathe.   

“I promise it’s just some glass.”   

“Faith said they were irreplaceable.”   

Arianna waved her hand dismissively. “There’s several more boxes in the basement, sure they’re old but every year there’s less as more and more get broken. That’s just part of living in a castle, everything is old and valuable and irreplaceable , but things still get broken. It’s okay. I promise you, it’s okay.”  

Cassandra shook her head. “I’ll find a way to replace them.”   

“Don’t worry.” Arianna rubbed her back, then found Rapunzel’s hand. “Have you two been this scared all day?”   

Rapunzel gave a small nod.   

“Oh... Sweeties, it’s okay.” She pulled them both into a hug. “It’s okay.” She was repeating the statement a lot, but she didn’t know what else to say right now. “Look, neither of you meant to break them. Accidents are inevitable.”   

Rapunzel nodded. “That’s what I told Cassandra.”   

“And you were right,” she smiled. Her eyes found Cassandra’s shoulders that were still tense. “Cassandra... I need to know why you flinched?”   

Cassandra curled in on herself.   

“I did something that scared you, do you know what?”  

Cassandra wanted to shake her head.   

“It’s the expression, don’t cry over spilt milk.” Rapunzel was the one who answered, her own hand finding Cassandra’s back and imitating the circles her mother rubbed. “Gothel used it after punishments whenever we cried. If we didn’t stop crying she’d... Give you something to cry about.”   

Arianna nodded. “Well darlings, it doesn’t mean the same thing here,” Arianna would avoid the expression in front of the girls moving forward but she also knew she had no control over the rest of the kingdom. “To not cry over spilt milk means to react accordingly.”  

Cassandra looked up at Arianna. “What does that mean?”   

“Well, if we were making breakfast and spilt milk we wouldn’t cry, we’d grab a towel and clean it up and finish our breakfast. Right? Because spilt milk isn’t a big deal.”   

Cassandra nodded.   

“If we accidentally break something we do the same, clean up, go find your mother if you don’t know where there’s more or how to move forward, and we move on.”   

“What about punishment?” Cassandra whispered.   

Arianna shook her head. “I think you’ve both punished yourselves enough just threating over this.” She held both girls close to her. “Listen, you aren’t going to be punished here in that way. If you were to do something stupid like, go against a direct order from your dad or do something dangerous, we might stop you from going to training for a few days or take away your paints,” she looked at Rapunzel. “Honestly, I don’t even know what we’d do. But I promise it would be in response to your actions and your intentions . And if we were to punish you, it would always be with your well-being and safety as our first priority. Do you understand what that means?”   

They shared glances before shaking their heads.  

Arianna smiled and took a deep breath. “Well, I guess you’re just going to have to trust me when I say you’re safe to make mistakes here. You’re safe to... to not always be perfect and to misbehave here and there.”   

Rapunzel sat up. “What would happen if we spoke up against you or dad?”   

“Probably nothing, probably we’d speak back to you because you’re adults not children.”   

“What if we interrupted?”   

“Rude but probably nothing.”   

“What if we were to... break something on purpose?”   

“Well it depends on what you broke, if it’s yours you probably wouldn’t get a new one, maybe you’d have to help fix it.”  

For the next few hours Arianna had to rattle her brain for the consequences of different actions. She held back from asking what the consequences must have been in their previous home, knowing some of the questions didn’t come from nowhere.  

Soon the girls were a lot more at ease and Arianna felt safe leaving them to rest before supper.   

She thought of herself as a teenager sneaking out of the house at night to run into the woods and party with other kids. She was grateful for the calmness of her own children, but she wondered if they’d ever be brave enough to chase what they wanted like she had.   

Only time would tell.   

Chapter Text

Cassandra sat on the stairs to the castle with her eyes on the gate.   

It had been almost an entire week since Cassandra came home and Eugene left. With each passing day the two princesses were more and more on edge. Cassandra showed it by sitting silently and waiting. Rapunzel was cleaning the palace from top to bottom.  

The King and Queen promised actions were being taken. The Captain of the guard had shown and explained some of those actions to Cassandra but they were very political and she was too stressed to take the information in right now.  

So, she sat, and she waited, and she hoped.   

And the hoping paid off when a guard came running on ahead with a message for the King and Queen. Cassandra stood up, intending to follow him and hear the message, when then she saw Eugene, accompanied by a few guard who he’d encountered as he entered Corona.  

She jumped down the steps and sprinted over, embracing him.   

He groaned as she knocked into his still broken arm.   

“Thank goodness!” Cassandra pulled away. “For a few days there I thought I’d gone and gotten my sister’s boyfriend killed. Do you know how bad that would have been?”   

Eugene laughed. “Admit it Candy, ya missed me.”   

She punched him in the good arm, not hard. “Call me Candy ever again and you’ll have two broken arms.”   

“Understood.” He laughed and walked towards the castle.   

“Did they let you go, or did you escape?”   

Eugene grinned before fishing the crown out of his satchel. “What do you think?”   

Cassandra grinned. “That they let you escape but you went back to steal the crown like a mosquito drawn to light?”  

“No appreciation from you is there? Good job my favorite princess is nice enough for the both of you.”   

Cassandra walked with him towards the throne room but was told she wasn’t allowed in. Apparently, the King and Queen wished to speak with Eugene alone. So, instead Cassandra went to find Rapunzel and tell her the good news.   

She didn’t get the pleasure as Rapunzel crashed into her on her way down to the throne room. “Cass, did you hear?”   

“Hear? I saw him walk through the gate.”   

Rapunzel hugged her sister. “Oh, I was so worried!”   

“I know. Me too.” Cassandra held Rapunzel then kissed the top of her head, imitating the way Arianna showed love.   

Rapunzel smiled at the action. “Come on, let’s go. I bet he’s famished!”   

“It’s Eugene, he’s always famished.” Cassandra held Rapunzel’s hand to keep her from running, hoping Eugene would be finished in the throne room by the time they got down there so Rapunzel wouldn’t pace outside.   

“Not while he’s eating,” Rapunzel answered.   

“Ah, my mistake.”  

They arrived near the throne room just in time to see the man exit. It took Eugene a moment to spot Rapunzel but when he did his entire demeanor changed, his usual full-of-himself grin widened and became genuine, his eyes lit up and he barely held himself back from running to her.   

Rapunzel did not hold back. “Eugene!”   

“Rapunzel,” he didn’t complain about his arm like he did with Cassandra, holding her and only separating so there was enough distance to kiss her. “I missed you the most.”   

Rapunzel blushed. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”   

“Nah, I told you; I can handle myself. I do have royal orders to report to the physician though for a checkup, come with?”   

“Of course.”   

Eugene gestured to Cassandra to come too as they walked down the hall. “So,” Eugene looked around, “I’m told I’m not allowed to leave Corona. I understand the king can ground you two, being the princesses and all, not entirely sure what I did wrong here but, I decided not to argue, happy to be home. I am however curious as to what went down once you got back here?”   

“He’s not your father but he is your king. He can ground you if he wants to.” Cassandra shrugged.   

 “Not much." Rapunzel looked thoughtful. "Cassandra was told off for getting herself in trouble but... it didn’t last long.” And she explained the way Cassandra flinched and the throne room's reaction.  

“Ah,” Eugene glanced sideways at Cassandra but instead of pity he grinned. “People around these parts get real sensitive about that whole hitting children thing. Huh? Come on, children have teeth, they’re not defenseless!” The dramatic tone made it clear it was a joke, the way he carefully watched Cassandra and Rapunzel for a reaction showed he was being careful about it.   

Eugene was smart enough to know Cassandra needed a space that took her seriously, her new parents who she refused to call that, but she also needed a space where an instinctive action like flinching would not be met with silent pity, where the conversation didn’t need to end just because of things that happened in the past.  

“I’m an adult now, but apparently if anybody lays a finger on me, I’m to go straight to the king.”   

Eugene grinned at the statement. “Really?” And he slowly moved a finger toward her.   

Cassandra stared at it, raising her eyes to look in his. “Are you willing to risk it Fitzherbert?”   

“I just got back from playing hero, I think I’ve got enough good rep to get away with one finger.”   

Before he could poke her, Rapunzel swiped it away with a shake of her head. “We’re here. Cassandra why don’t you go fetch some cookie from the kitchen, I baked some earlier.”   

Cassandra nodded.  

“Oh, the princess of Corona serving me cookies?” Eugene joked.   

“I said I’ll fetch them, nothing about sharing.” Cassandra began to walk away.   

“If you eat cookies in front of me without sharing, next time you’re kidnapped I’m not risking my life for you!”   

“I’ll keep that in consideration!” she shouted back as Rapunzel pushed Eugene into the infirmary for his checkup.   

Everything must have been good because they were already leaving by the time Cassandra got back with a plate full of cookies, one in her mouth.   

Eugene didn’t risk asking permission as he swiped one off the plate, eating it in two bites. Usually, he took three so Cassandra supposed he was hungry.  

“Doctors says I’m an ideal specimen.”   

“What specimen though? A cockroach?”   

“You know Cassandra.” He took another cookie from the plate. “If you keep being mean to me, I’m going to be left with no choice but to extinguish our friendship and declare you, my nemesis.”   

“Cool. I have the kingdom of Corona behind me, until you ask for my sister’s hand in marriage, you’re an ex-thief.”   

“This is my fault for bringing you back here, we should've rode into the sunset and all three become outlaws.”  

Cassandra hummed. “You’re great at breaking the law, I’m good with a sword, do you think Rapunzel would let us steal things though?”   

“Not in your wildest dreams. Stealing is bad.”   

“Good point. Agh! Fine. Guess you can remain a princess and stay on my friends list.”  

Cassandra smiled as Eugene grabbed his third cookie. “Did they not feed you?”  

“Don’t worry about it.” He waved and gestured instead to the open front door to the palace. “Look at that.”   

“The palace walls?”   

“The key to me doing whatever I want.”   

“Excuse me?”   

“See Cassandra, before, if I messed with you, I was risking trouble.”   

Cassandra hummed, taking a cookie for herself.   

“But now,” Eugene snatched the rest of the cookies of the plate including the one in Cassandra’s hand. “I can do what I want!”   

“Hey!” Cassandra shouted as Eugene began to run.   

Cassandra handed the plate to Rapunzel as she took chase, she only got as far as the palace walls though before the guards wouldn't let her pass, the orders to keep the princesses inside the palace borders clear. Eugene meanwhile was a few meters away eating cookies with a grin.  

“Oh.”   

Rapunzel walked up calmly. “He’s outsmarted us.”   

“No.“ Cassandra grinned. “It’s on.”  

Chapter Text

“Are you sure about this?” Rapunzel asked as Cassandra double checked her backpack had everything she needed.   

“Come on Raps, where’s your sense of adventure?”   

“Probably inside the long golden hair you cut off, you know, the magical one that allowed me to heal you if you fell from, say, a five-meter-high wall.”  

“Five meters wouldn’t kill me, worst case scenario you get to say I told you so.”   

“If we get caught, you can’t blame Eugene.”   

“But it’s his fault. He challenged me. Now he’s going to see what I’m capable of.”   

“It’s not Eugene’s fault you aren’t able to take a joke.” Rapunzel smiled as Cassandra stood up with the bag.   

“Ready?”   

Rapunzel nodded because this small show of harmless rebellion was, in Rapunzel’s eyes, the first important steps on a path of self-service. Something Gothel had taken from Cassandra at a very young age.  

They sneaked through the empty palace halls, hiding a few times as guards patrolled. They exited through a back window into the training ground. The front of the castle was too heavily guarded. Cassandra ran across the grass straight to the tall wall, Rapunzel not far behind.  

They circled it until they reached a small portion that was behind the shed where training dummies and weapons were stored. Hidden from view of the castle windows. “This is it.”   

“We’ll get caught and Dad’s going to shout at you.”   

Cassandra waved her off. “He’ll shout at you too, you know? You’re an accomplice.” She pulled out some knifes she’d gotten from the kitchen. “I saw this in a book I read once.”  

And she raised the knife before throwing it against the wall, it made a loud noise and bent.   

Rapunzel began to laugh.   

“Shush! You’ll get us caught!”   

But Rapunzel couldn't stop the laughter, tears were not in her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands trying to at least muffle the sound. 

“Hey, who goes there!”   

“Oh no,” Cassandra gasped. “We need to run!” And she grabbed Rapunzel’s hand, and they began to run.  

“Hey! I order you to stop!” And Cassandra recognized the voice of the captain, still, she did not stop.  

Cassandra thought if they could make it to the stables they could hide with Fidella or Max, preferably Fidella, she was a loyal horse who would never tell on them.  

Unfortunately, soon the garden was swarming with guards, they ran from all positions, surrounding the girls, only to stare confused at the princesses. The Captain who stood behind them with a torch cleared his throat, they turned to look at him and he raised his brows. “And what are you two doing?”  

“Going for a midnight stroll?” Cassandra tried.   

He sighed. “You’re lucky none of the guards shot an arrow at one of you!”   

“Well you shouldn't shoot if you don’t who you’re chasing!”   

“You shouldn’t run from the people trying to protect you.” He uncrossed his arms. “What’s that?” he pointed at Cassandra’s hand which she hid behind her back.   

“Nothing.”   

“Princess Cassandra, hand it over to me.”   

Cassandra slowly handed him the bent kitchen knife which only increased his confusion. “What in the world were you two doing?”   

Rapunzel’s grip on Cassandra tightened.   

“Nothing,” Cassandra insisted.   

“Princess Rapunzel.”   

That was all it took. “Eugene made fun of Cassandra because he can go outside the castle and she can’t, so we were going to climb the walls and set up a metal hook so we could us rope to climb out without anybody seeing us next time.”   

“Raps!” Cassandra stepped back. “We hadn’t broken any rules yet, you don’t tell them we were going to!”   

The captain sighed. Dismissing the rest of the guards. “Hand over the bag.”   

Cassandra did so.   

“Is there anything in here you wish to keep and not use to escape the castle?”   

She shook her head.   

“Let’s get you back to your room.”   

“Are you going to tell the king?”   

“Yes.”   

“What if... you don’t,” Cassandra watched the captain raise a brown, “And in exchange I won’t tell him your guards nearly shot us.”   

“They didn’t nearly shoot you.” He rolled his eyes. “Counteroffer, I’ll tell the queen and you don’t tell anybody my guards nearly shot you .”   

Cassandra hummed. “I accept your proposal.” And she fell back into line with Rapunzel as they walked back up to the room. The Captain ordered the guards not let them out until morning before leaving.   

“Well, that went well.” Rapunzel laughed.   

“Well, we learnt that kitchen knives aren’t strong enough to climb castle walls. I guess it’s true you learn something new every day.”   

Rapunzel yawned. “I guess it is. You know mum’s going to tell dad, right?”   

“Yes, but instead of an attempted breakout and directly going against his orders she’ll word it as... Our girls decided to try out this fun wall climbing activity from a book they read.”   

“I don’t think she will.” Rapunzel laughed climbing into their bed.   

Cassandra changed into her pajamas before following suit. “I’m not letting Eugene win.”   

“Win what? The competition is a made-up game in your head?”   

“That I will win!”   

More laughter from both of them before they went to sleep.   

The next morning Arianna showed up at the room. “Heard you girls had a late-night adventure.”  

Rapunzel smiled innocently. “It was just some fun.”   

Arianna smiled back, picking up a brush to help them both with their hair.   

“Are we in trouble?” Cassandra asked, despite last night’s confidence the fact she’d gone against the king’s direct orders was now settling in.  

“Not this time. Guess you have a lot of years of teen rebellion to catch up on, it’s probably best you start early.” She ran the brush through Rapunzel’s hair. “Besides, the fact you tried to use kitchen knives to climb the walls is exactly the kind of tale mother’s tell guests for years and years to embarrass their daughters. Thought I wouldn’t get any of those tales, but you girls are the gift that just keeps giving.”   

She moved to brush Cassandra’s hair. “I miss riding on Fidella.”   

Arianna hummed. “Is that why you did it?”   

“No, just wanted to mess with Eugene,” she answered honestly. “Maybe it was a bit about Fidella.”   

“The coronation is only a week away now. I’ll make sure security lessens once it’s over and you two can go explore the kingdom to your heart’s delight.”   

“But no further than the walls.”   

Arianna hummed. “I agree with your dad on that one.” Cassandra looked up, the casual use of mom and dad thrown around always made her react, although her reaction was never negative. “It was scary knowing bad people had you.”   

Cassandra nodded. “I’m sorry.”   

“It’s not your fault Darling.” She put the brush down. “Shall we go for breakfast?”   

The two girls nodded and stood up.   

“I believe you owe the kitchen staff a new knife,” she joked as they left the room.   

Chapter Text

Cassandra was wandering around the castle garden. She’d been training this morning with the guards; she hadn’t yet been up to her room. She didn’t have any lessons today. Apparently, Arianna and Frederic were trying to get the girls rested before the Coronation.  

Of course, Elena and Faith were available for any questions the girls had and Rapunzel had many. Cassandra could tell the oncoming Coronation was stressing the girl out.   

Cassandra though was eerily calm. The kind of calm you knew was not good, the kind of calm that led her to believe she may break down the day before or worse the day of the Coronation.   

But she wasn’t about to induce panic either. So, she wandered through the garden with a wooden training sword she should return to the shed and her boots covered in so much mud they’d be unusable tomorrow morning if she forgot to clean them.   

She wondered what the other high-ranking nobles would think of the two princesses. Would they ask questions? They’d almost certainly ask where Cassandra came from, she looked nothing like the rest of the royal family, plus, everybody must know the story of the sun princess.   

She wondered if she’d have to answer those questions and wondered about the answer she’d give.   

“I was raised by Rapunzel’s side and the King and Queen of Corona graciously accepted me as part of their family.” That was the answer she would give. It was the truth. It was politically correct. It painted the picture of the generosity that Corona prided itself on.   

But it was missing something for Cassandra’s liking, and she wasn’t sure what. Context, perhaps? She was omitting so much of the past. Omitting the fact, she wasn’t just raised by Rapunzel’s side because, rather she was Gothel’s daughter, real daughter.   

She couldn’t say that. She couldn't mention Gothel. It wouldn’t be adequate, but more than that, she’d get the king in trouble with the queen. Arianna still had not fully forgiven him for those words Cassandra was not meant to hear.   

And Cassandra wasn’t fully over those words.   

“Biological daughter.” Were the words the king used. But Cassandra realized she wasn’t entirely sure what biological meant in this situation.   

As she walked through the garden she came to a very startling realization, she knew she belonged to Gothel because she looked like the woman. Rapunzel belonged to Corona because she looked like the king and queen. But Cassandra had no clue why that happened.   

Cassandra had no clue what biology was.   

All she knew from the many fairytales her and Rapunzel grew up on, was that a child was the combination of a man and woman who often loved each other. Usually the child shared a resemblance to the parents, the eyes mostly, or that was the part stories focused on.   

“Princess Cassandra.”   

She jumped and turned to see the Captain. “Oh. I thought I asked you not to use that title?”   

“I thought you were perhaps getting used to it.” He frowned. “You going to drag that around all day?” he pointed to the training sword she’d forgotten about.   

She lifted it to her chest. “I thought I’d practice some swings but... I got distracted.”   

He nodded. “Are you alright?”   

She nodded.   

“You still shaken from those criminals who decided they’d drag you of the street and demand money? Rest assured; they were not going to be allowed to harm you.” And his features were stern and honest though Cassandra wasn’t sure what could have been done differently, other than her not going out which she now wasn’t allowed to do.   

“It’s nothing like that.”   

“I see. Shall we put that away?”   

She nodded and began to walk towards the shed with the captain close. “It’s stupid.”   

The choice to speak again when the Captain hadn’t pushed meant she wanted to talk about it. He understood that, now it was his choice if he wanted to listen. “You can tell me if you want.” He would listen if it helped.   

Cassandra turned around, looking up at the man, her eyebrows were furrowed. “How are children made?”   

The captain had a list of things in his head he expected the girl to be worried about, the coronation, her duties to the kingdom, the danger lying beyond the castle walls... this hadn’t been on the list or even in the book. “Sorry, children?”   

“Yes.” Cassandra frowned, swinging her sword as they walked. “I know when we boil things down to biology , whatever that is, Rapunzel is the king and queen’s, she has the same hair color and the same eyes as the queen.”   

The Captain watched the girl make a mistake with one of her swings but didn’t correct it, focused instead on her words.   

“I on the other hand, have the same hair and eyes as my biological mother... Gothel.” The last word was spoken slowly and as though she thought the captain had forgotten and feared reminding him.   

“That’s um... in terms of biology, yes. Though the King and Queen love you very much.”   

“Okay but... why?”   

“I don’t follow.”   

“I don’t understand why Gothel didn’t just make a baby the same as Rapunzel, why did she need to steal her? Why... how...” Her brows furrowed in confusion, and she sighed.   

“I mean, Rapunzel got her magic when our queen fell ill during pregnancy, and they used the magical golden flower to heal her.”   

“What’s pregnancy?”   

A pause. “I...” Another pause. “The creation of life is a very important conversation that parents usually have with their children when they’re... Well, I don’t know how old exactly but... I’m guessing you never, had it?”   

“Is that bad?”   

The Captain managed to smile though it was forced. “I’ve no idea. Look, can we come back to this topic later because... I have some duties to attend to and if I were to explain this, it’d take a little bit longer than I have available right now.”   

Cassandra nodded. “It’s okay if you don’t know.”   

“I do know,” he assured. “Just, later, alright?”   

Cassandra nodded as they reached the shed and she put the sword away. So as to leave on a lighter topic, not that Cassandra realized the awkwardness of her question, he took that moment to tell her what mistakes she made in her earlier swings and she seemed hesitant now to leave the sword, but she did in favor of going to see Rapunzel and Eugene.   

The King and Queen were leaving the throne room on their way to eat lunch when the Captain found them.   

“Your Majesties,” he bowed. “A word, please?”   

“Walk with us,” Frederic responded with a smile. “We’re just on our way to lunch. Is it a matter of security?”   

“Surprisingly not, it’s about your daughters.”   

They paused. “Important?”   

“Um... not particularly,” The Captain kept walking and so did they. “Cassandra asked me a question which I didn’t feel like the right person to be answering.”   

“I see. The question?” Frederic asked.  

“How children are made.”   

This time all three of them paused.   

“I wasn’t entirely sure she meant what she asked but a bit of poking and it’s come to my attention that, being raised in a tower just the two of them, the woman who raised them did not perceive that information as relevant.”  

“I guess it is many fathers’ dreams to lock their daughters in towers and skip all the awkward parts,” Frederic spoke quietly, it was meant to be a joke, but the tone didn’t match.   

“I’ll sit them down and talk to them,” Arianna responded calmly. “Thank you very much for coming to us. I dread to think of the many small things that wouldn’t occur to us they don’t know, but we’ll handle them one at a time.” The way she smiled and didn’t react with awkwardness caused the two men to nod and calm down.   

“You should probably explain to them what money is and how all of that works before they take after Eugene,” the Captain joked and Frederic laughed.   

Though Arianna realized that may actually be a relevant conversation to have.   

That and oh so many others.   

Chapter Text

It had been nearly six months since Cassandra and Rapunzel had escaped their tower and now lived at the castle. Six months of discovering how much of their lives was a lie, how much of what they thought they knew was incorrect.   

Six months of therapy. Of being told how abusive their past had been and experiencing for the first time ever what loving parents felt like.   

Some days were difficult. Some nights were full of nightmares. Some days the castle and the kingdom felt like just another bigger prison than the tower. Which confused Cassandra, because how could something so large even be compared to the tower?   

She blamed Eugene. Leaving the tower originally and following him around the forest, there’d been no walls, no limits, the world felt infinite. For as big as the castle and by extension the kingdom were, they had walls, limits.  

Plus Eugene's stories didn't help. 

Cassandra and Rapunzel had learnt a lot of things in the past six months, they’d learnt of their duties and their future responsibilities, they’d learnt about the dot-pox, about expressions that were used differently than how Gothel used them, they learnt how children were made which had been a very awkward conversation Cassandra wanted to forget despite being the cause of it, she’d learnt how to wield a sword and ride a horse while Rapunzel learnt to sew a dress.  

All of these thoughts were swirling around Cassandra’s head as she brushed Fidella out in the courtyard. Probably as a result of the upcoming coronation.  

Eugene snatched the brush and ran away from Cassandra towards the gates. Eugene had spent the past three days stealing unimportant objects from Cassandra before heading into town just to mess with her.  Instead of chase him by foot she leaped atop Fidella.  

And when the guards tried to block her path Fidella just jumped over them, intent on having her mane brushed today.   

Eugene had to raise his hands in defeat and Cassandras snatched the brush back with an excited. “Woah!”   

Of course, the guards did not take long after that to surrounded her. The captain walked out, grabbed Fidella's reigns from Cassandra and guided the horse back into the courtyard. Where he ordered her to get off.   

He then led her to the throne room where the king and queen were.   

When the captain explained Arianna smiled but King Frederic managed to look sternly at Cassandra. “I gave a direct order, what do you have to say for yourself?”  

Cassandra raised the brush. “I got it back.”   

And Arianna couldn’t stop giggling. Frederic shook his head dismissing her. “Don’t do it again.”  

Cassandra grinned, knowing she’d beaten Eugene.  

Rapunzel was waiting for her outside with a grin. “How’d it go? You grounded for the rest of the year?”   

“No.” Cassandra pushed Rapunzel playfully as they walked back outside to where Fidella and Max were waiting to be brushed. “I went seven steps over the line. One step if we’re counting Fidella’s.”   

Rapunzel smiled. “Eugene’s gone to his room to pout.”   

“There is no better admission of defeat.” Fidella ran over to nuzzle Cassandra. “Got your brush back! Did the bad man take it? Yes, the bad man did.”   

Rapunzel shook her head. “Don’t teach the horses to dislike Eugene, Max has always told them all about his history.”   

Max huffed as if to say obviously .   

“If he doesn’t want the horses to hate him, he shouldn’t take their things.” Cassandra argued. “So, now we know the horses can jump higher than the guards. What adventure are we going to go on?”   

“Excuse me?” Rapunzel whispered, checking no guards were nearby.   

“Come on, in no time we’re going to have days and days of work. Elena and Faith are going insane!” She smiled. “Plus, they’re driving me insane. You grab Max, I’ll grab Fidella. It’ll be fun.”   

Rapunzel smiled. “Well... I wouldn’t mind seeing the view from atop the kingdom’s walls.”   

“Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go see the views... A race! Sorry, Raps, there needs to be some action in it for me.”   

Rapunzel smiled. “In two days.”   

“Oh, we start of the Coronation fun?”   

“I want to see the kingdom I’m promising to serve for the rest of my life.”   

“Kay, but don’t get your hopes high, me and Fidella are going to beat you like you beat those Stabbington brothers. Right Fidella?”   

An affirmative huff and she swung her tail hitting Maximus in the face to accentuate her point.   

That night Cassandra stood on the balcony. Rapunzel was pretending to sleep in their bed. Though she wouldn't truly sleep until Cassandra came back.   

Cassandra took deep breaths, her eyes on the palace garden, then she raised her head to look out on the kingdom of Corona.   

She thought back to the tower, her tower, their tower.   

She thought about the living room with it’s fireplace and the bedroom where Gothel died. She thought about all the times she’d stared out of the window and wished for freedom.   

Oh, what ten-year-old Cassandra would have given for this palace, for the space, the rooms, the people. This palace where she got to ride around the garden on Fidella, where she got to practice with a sword in the morning. For this palace where she didn’t need to be scared of every little thing she did wrong, where her voice was heard.   

This palace, where there were two people who called themselves her parents and loved her in all the ways Cassandra had begged Gothel to.   

She took a deep breath as tears ran down her cheeks.   

She wasn’t sure if she was happy or sad.   

She thought about everything a younger Cassandra would have given for this palace and still she wanted more. She wanted to explore every inch of the kingdom, meet every resident. She wanted to fight and defend, change the laws and make things better. Make a difference.   

Her hands gripped onto the stone banisters of the balcony tight as she thought about how if Gothel heard this she’d call her ungrateful. She almost broke down at the image. But then she thought of Arianna and Frederic.   

Arianna would tell her how wrong Gothel was, she’d promise Cassandra she was safe and worth something.   

Frederic, however, didn’t need to say anything because he’d already given Cassandra the perfect words for this moment. “It’s okay to feel the way you feel, as long as you know it’s not true.”   

Cassandra sucked in a breath looking down at the kingdom of Corona.   

Not just the kingdom of Corona.  

Her kingdom, Corona.