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Chapter Text

The cloaked woman walked through the familiar dirt path, the sounds of gravel and leaves crunching beneath her feet similar to that of the death of roaches. Of course, roaches never died regardless of the methods attempted to destroy them. In fact, when one attempted to kill a roach, said roach ran into hiding. Cowardly? Yes, but smart. Hiding meant staying alive.

Unlike roaches, though Gothel possessed something not even the richest of kings and queens had: the sun-drop. Demanitus might have locked away Zhan Tiri and her followers, but Gothel liked to think that she was the smartest of them all. Demanitus might have been a genius engineer but he had not only failed to imprison Gothel but to cheat death and found the sun-drop. No, Gothel was superior, she was above Demanitus, above Zhan Tiri and she was closer than they ever were to find the moonstone. Sure, she could’ve learned dark magic to summon her pledged “master” back into her dimension and help her claim the ultimate power of the celestial stones, but Gothel was no servant. She came second to no one, and she wouldn’t let Zhan Tiri have all the glory.

Perhaps it was for the best that Zhan Tiri had been locked away in another reality. Gothel would have kingdoms kneel before her.

She wouldn’t be a roach no

she’d be a goddess.

Gothel thought that Zhan Tiri’s thirst for power was her downfall. It was her hunger and her restlessness that doomed her. Gothel’s advantage was her stealth, her caution, and her patience. That’s why she had seduced travelers into sharing details of black spiky rocks sprouting northeast of Corona. That’s why she had purposely manipulated her flower into becoming fully dependent on her. That’s why she had waited 10 years for Corona’s sovereigns hope to die down on finding their lost princess. That’s why once she crossed the bridge and stood on the edge of the repaired bridge that connected to her old cottage she knew that all the pieces would come together and she could claim the moonstone. Yes, it would all come together.

Once she reached the door she didn’t manage to get one step into her old abode without almost tripping over an item. She managed to get half a curse out before stopping herself as she immediately recognized said item. It was that stupid music box that throughout four years had been attached to the hands of her offspring: her daughter Cassandra. That unfortunate mistake during a night of drinking and passion. It wasn’t unusual for Gothel to be showered with compliments for her looks. While she still noticed them, they weren’t worth her attention unless they came from a tall dark handsome man (bonus points if he was in his twenties). She wouldn’t bother remembering any of the men who had the chance to give her carnal pleasure, they were nothing but momentary relief. Except that one night came with consequences. Gothel had tried to remember the legitimate father, but she couldn’t due to both her own inability to remember as an effect of the alcohol and the simple fact that she simply did not care. Except she cared since she needed to drop off this parasite with her father but when she wasn’t successful, she raised the child to become her personal maid.

The child grew up yearning for her mother’s unrequited love during her first four years.
The night she had claimed her flower back she had intended to get her research hidden beneath the cottage and if she had time, Cassandra. Upon seeing a platoon of the Guard searching her entire home with Cassandra and the Captain on her doorstep who had spotted her with a blonde baby cradled in her arms, she didn’t hesitate to cut the ropes. She scowled at the thought of leaving behind a millennium of years of research behind, but in terms of Cassandra? Good riddance she had thought. She kicked the box out of the way. The scowl leaving her face and turning into a frown.

As she looked around her old home, she noticed a mirror was still hung up on a wall. The frown disappeared and a seductive smirk took its place in the dusty reflection. She noticed a few wrinkles on her forehead. She would need a session with her flower as soon as she got home. She dismissed herself with a pout of her lips that blew a kiss at her reflection and a wink. She noticed that the cottage had been looted of furniture items and reeked of rat droppings. She silently prayed that the passage to the caves below her house wouldn’t be as unpleasant. She walked into a different room where there were beams on the ceiling. Taking a rope from her belt she aimed for a piece of wood that functioned as a lever and pulled tightly, lowering the lever. There was a click and the sound of gears and chains turning yet no visible change came to her surroundings. Gothel then went to a corner of the room where she lifted some flooring planks that revealed a trapdoor that could easily be opened with a pull. Behind that trap door had been another trapdoor that could’ve only been unlocked with the pull of the lever. Filled with satisfaction, Gothel descended by climbing down some ladders that a few meters down would simply lead to a staircase of stone and into a web of caves. Gothel had been in these caves for millennia and it didn’t take much effort from her to make the correct turns that led to a big opening with a minecart and some rail tracks. Gothel got in the minecart before leaning forward so that her weight would create the acceleration that the minecart needed to travel at a quick pace throughout the caves. It was a quick ride thanks to the momentum of many turns and drops that allowed the minecart to speed through the caves. Gothel had arrived at her destination.

Upon dismounting the minecart she walked through a door that led to a chamber with mirrors and what she had missed most during the past ten years: her research. On the wall was a copy of Demanitus’ scroll, the same scroll that had allowed her to use the sundrop incantation for centuries. Her eyes darted across the mirrors, tempted to see the captured moments of her vanity. “Focus now Gothel, we have some work to do” she commanded. She took note of the multiple potions she had on her bookshelf as well as books. She had intended to take all of these back to the tower and finish her work there, but it was far too many items and books for her to carry all by herself. She figured that the blonde waiting for her back at the tower would make herself useful and cook something for herself during the extra hours Gothel would be missing after all Gothel figured that she wouldn’t do everything for Rapunzel back at the tower. If anything the tower was more of a personal treatment spa where she could unwind, get some anti-aging magic to do wonders for her skin, eat something made by her flower and recover from her daily errands. The child could manage for a few hours more, she always did anyway. So Gothel, although not wanting to do this, sat down and outlined every book, scroll, and piece of information that would allow her to locate the moonstone. She was already very much aware that the rocks were coming from the northeast of Corona, just as she was aware that the Great Tree was also northeast of Corona. Some of the travelers she had talked to had claimed to have seen sightings of the black rocks in towns further east or further north than the general direction of the northeast. Gothel was no cartographer, but with a map she managed to buy for a general discount thanks to her charming yet plastic sweet talk, she used triangulation to see where the black rocks were originating from.

Wherever those rocks were coming from had to be where the moonstone was. Gothel began with a town 160 kilometers north of Vardaros, then with her knowledge of some other towns that were 320 kilometers east of Corona, followed by her knowledge of where Zhan Tiri’s tree was located (Which was approximately 400 kilometers northeast of Vardaros). She groaned once she had seen that the black rocks were not in fact coming in the linear fashion of a straight line, yet the black rocks were certainly coming towards Corona. Gothel silently wondered if this was the moonstones’ doing in its own search for the sun-drop.

Having found no answer to her question, she stared at the map blankly. She had to admit to herself that she didn’t know much about cartography even with her age, though she had heard of a term known as “triangulation”. She didn’t know what it meant or how it was done, but she figured that the word “triangle” in the word had to mean that somehow she could find the origin of the moonstone with the intersection of lines that came she could draw on the map. She did just that. First, she drew a line that started from Corona due northeast followed by another line starting from the town north of Vardaros and followed the path of sightings of black rocks due southwest, and finally with her knowledge of where the Great Tree was located, drew another line northeast as well. All these lines intersected at one point that was 750 kilometers away from Corona. It was like puzzle pieces had fallen together. Gothel had never traveled that far her whole lifetime, much less Demanitus or his former pupils given their short life. She scoffed in surprise when she saw that the Great Tree was quite literally the midpoint between Corona and the moonstone’s location. Her face produced an unsettling evil smile that conveyed the victory and satisfaction she had felt. All of this had taken two hours, which surprised Gothel. Had she really needed to wait ten years just to put together a puzzle that she now admitted she could’ve put together in ten minutes? Never mind that she shrugged. There was now a new goal in Gothels immortal life that would be far better than raising a lost princess in a tower every day until the sun-drop could be extracted from her body on her death day. She was going to travel to the moonstones’ location and finally wield the ultimate power Demanitus had been talking about.

All Gothel took from her stone chamber was the copy of the four incantations that Demanitus had once written and her map. There wouldn’t be much use for any of the remaining items even the tonics and potions that sat around the bookshelves. She then figured that seeing a couple of image playbacks from her mirrors would be a good reward for herself after the exhausting task of looking over a map for hours. One by one, she touched the mirrors and she would see herself with a background of her cottage when it was once tidy and full of her possessions that had now been looted. “Hello there beautiful, gosh you look dashing today”

“Today I received many compliments for the smoothness of my skin, you’re a glowing star”

“If you don’t get ravished today by a tall dark and handsome it’ll be humanities biggest sin”

Gothel chucked and even blushed at the playbacks of the recordings found in her magic mirrors. That was until she played one that had a certain tiny brunette that appeared standing next to her while Gothel herself held the same music box she had kicked earlier in the day. “Turn the key like this, so whenever you hear this tune you’ll think of your dear sweet mother and the love I have for you” Gothel almost cooed to the smaller child as the melody began playing. “I love you, Mama” the child threw herself at her mother with a quick embrace before taking the music box and leaving the frame of the mirror. Gothel’s warm loving smile turned into an irritated frown “Hopefully that’ll keep her out of my hair for a while, lousy little pest” the recording ended. Gothel had recalled that she had actually become furious after the recording had ended. The heathen she cohabited with had spoiled the mirror that she was originally going to use for another vein session with herself. She had become so angry she had thrown the mirror to the wall once she realized that the whole exchange between her and her daughter had been recorded and could not be undone. Now standing in her cave, she wondered why she had kept the mirror anyway. It didn’t matter anyhow, it was not as if the child was ever going to bother her again and as much as it pained her, she couldn’t take all her precious mirrors. She made a mental note to come back for them once she had taken the moonstone. Gothel cursed the child and shortly afterward she identified a flaw in her plan to get the moonstone.

Children. The tiny brunette had reminded her that she needed to take Rapunzel with her throughout this trip, she needed to keep herself young after all. The trip would most likely take a little more than six months and Gothel knew that the older she allowed herself to become under the sun-drop’s power, the faster she aged when she was away from the sun-drop. Even now she looked at herself in the mirror and noticed two gray hairs sprouting, and she had barely used the sun-drop two days ago! Aging during the trip wouldn’t be a problem though as long as the sun-drop was with her throughout the trip. The problem was that the sundrop wasn’t a stone or a flower anymore, it was a child. An impossibly hyperactive, naive, sweet, curious little ten-year-old child. A child with forty feet of blonde hair. Gothel assured herself that nobody would recognize the child once they were beyond Vardaros, especially as long as she kept the child cloaked up. Oh and the child wouldn’t even dare to run away, she had fed the child a mental diet of the overly exaggerated dangers of the world. Rapunzel would be terrified as long as Gothel continued manipulating the child and soon she would take ownership of the moonstone, and she hoped that with that power wielded, she could finally get rid of the child and extract the sun-drop from her body. “It’s a perfect plan”, she thought out loud as she exited the caves and rose back to the surface like a rat seeking out to spoil any food on the surface. As soon as Gothel reached the tower she knew exactly what she would do to get the child ready for their trip.

~~~

“Hi Mother!” Rapunzel quickly stood up as fast as possible from the ground where she was painting another set of trees on the wall, except these were purple with pink blossoms, unlike the others which had a teal-like hue to them. Her intention to welcome her mother home with a hug disappeared when she saw Gothel’s distress on her face. Gothel didn’t bother placing the tile back in its place after climbing up the stairs below the tower as she looked at the child with horror in her eyes “Rapunzel!” she shrieked with the same terror in her voice and hurried to her hugging her cupping her cheek and checking for injuries “Are you hurt? Are you safe? Are you okay?” Gothel bombarded her with questions. The child quickly picked up on her mother’s concern and became equally scared “Mother what’s wrong?!”. Gothel held back a grin at how quickly this child could be easily manipulated “Ruffians! They’re coming Rapunzel, they’ve found us! We have to pack up quickly and leave. They want your hair sweetheart”. Rapunzel’s stomach dropped. She had genuinely felt safe in the tower, and any wish to ever want to go outside and play vanished as that statement left her mother’s lips. “What do I do? What do I pack? Mother I’m scared!” Rapunzel felt her eyes water. Pascal she thought, she needed to take him right now. Gothel knew that she needed to keep up the façade that ruffians were indeed after them, but she couldn’t ride through the forest with a blonde girl with forty feet of hair loose. “We still have time flower, I’ve got money for food and I know where we can stay, but first we need to hide your hair” Gothel was right about one thing. She had plenty of money for food, Gothel hardly tried to invest any of her money in things needed in the tower which meant that provisions on the road wouldn’t be a problem. This allowed her to have decades of savings cooped up, one of the perks of living for thousands of years. As for Rapunzel’s hair, she quickly made a braid of it, which in her faux-frantic state she was able to get done in fifteen minutes.

“They’re on their way now, Rapunzel we have to go now!” Gothel tugged at the girl’s wrist before the girl with trails of tears in her eyes cried out “Wait, mother! Wait!”. Thankfully due to the earlier commotion, Pascal had woken up from a nap and was colored red from the distress of the situation. Rapunzel yanked her wrist free from Gothel’s grip before taking Pascal in her palm and guiding him to her shoulder. Gothel was momentarily confused at her lack of knowledge of this reptile Rapunzel had adopted. Gothel couldn’t care less though, after all, it was an animal and there was nothing this tiny frog could do to threaten Gothel’s plans and the lies she had told Rapunzel. Rapunzel took her mother’s hand and both hurried down the stairs. Rapunzel didn’t get to bask in the luxury of feeling the grass beneath her feet or the summer breeze, it was all clouded by terror and dread. Gothel lead her to a black horse, covered Rapunzel with a black cloak, and quickly helped the girl on top of the animal. Gothel sat behind Rapunzel before grabbing the reins and leaving the tower behind.

Behind Rapunzel, Gotham grinned at how easy it had been to get Rapunzel to comply. Meanwhile, Rapunzel on her behalf after they had galloped on the horse for a good ten minutes her fear slowly vanished as she finally let the thundering of the horse’s hooves and the wind in her hair become a therapeutic anchor that soothed her spirit.

She would definitely have a beautiful relationship with horseback riding in the future.

She finally decided to let herself take in the sights of the outside. The various shades of green that pained the forest in all their glory, the fresh scent of forest dew, the birdsongs and chirping of insects that echoed around them even at their velocity, the softness of the beast she had mounted. She now had the time to reflect back on the faint blurry memory of how grass had felt under her feet. It wasn’t the clearest feeling to recall but Rapunzel tried to make the best out of the tiny memory. the sensory aspect of it all brought a silent giggle that thankfully Gothel had not heard. Rapunzel’s heartbeat had been racing due to the threat of danger, but now it was racing with joy from finally seeing the outside. It was in the girl’s nature to always find sunshine in the darkest of times.

As the two women rode off further and further away from Corona, Gothel knew that her destiny was now closer than ever, and no one could deviate her from it.

Chapter Text

A couple of miles later and much to Gothel’s dislike, their steed needed rest. Gothel didn’t want to risk staying in a small village. After all, they were still very much what was considered Coronan land. Although most of the Royal Guard’s men were on the island that was considered the heart of Corona, the captain had established smaller task forces in villages. Police, a type of order that enforced law and order on a smaller scale so that the Royal Guard didn’t have to invest resources and men directly into smaller villages in Old Corona. Established specifically for the purpose of locating the princess, both the royals and the Captain had hoped that if someone had taken the princess they would at least be within Corona’s borders. Unbeknownst to the three of them, they were right: the princess was indeed still within Corona’s borders but as tedious as the search was they had failed to locate her princess and now she would be in foreign lands never to be seen by her parents again. Gothel would make sure that no common plebeian or authority would identify the princess.

“How much longer Mother?” Rapunzel asked sweetly. “Quit fussing Rapunzel. It’s going to be a long trip. Besides, I think the horse needs a rest.” Gothel shot back. They had reached some sand-colored cliffs. It was a valley that was very near the Coronan border and uninhabited. Gothel helped the girl down from the horse. Rapunzel threw a fit of giggles when her toes touched the grass once again for the second time that day, this time being able to enjoy the sensation beneath her feet. Gothel was unprepared when the child began running around in circles and squealing “Rapunzel! Rapunzel!” Gothel called out but Rapunzel paid no attention to Gothel’s demands to placate her. Rapunzel rushed to the edge of a cliff that looked over the valley and threw her hands up in the air feeling the sun on her freckles and the summer breeze as she let out an excited “BEST DAY EVERRRRR” that rang out throughout the valley. Gothel nearly died from a heart attack afraid that her excited antics had revealed her location to any random person who had been about the forest and/or the valley. “What is wrong with you child? The ruffians could be anywhere Rapunzel! Anywhere!!” Gothel huffed “If we are separated due to your childish manners it’ll all be your fault”. Rapunzel’s cheerfulness was destroyed by Gothel that instant and she quickly turned around to run toward her mother to hold her legs in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry mommy. Thank you for saving me from the ruffians. I love you” she apologized. Gothel knew nobody would be in this valley, but she still had to make sure that Rapunzel stayed in line (but hunters and campers still wandered around these areas at times, so long as the kid stayed quiet, nobody would find them). She had to continue scaring this child into submission to make sure everything went according to plan during this trip. Gothel caressed the top of Rapunzel’s head which quickly reminded her of her need to use the sun-drop once again. “We are okay now flower, now, will you sing for mummy?”. Rapunzel looked up with those big green emerald eyes of hers and upon cupping Rapunzel’s cheek, Rapunzel replied “Anything for you mother”. Rapunzel sang the healing incantation still in Gothel’s embrace and slowly reversed Gothel’s wrinkles and dyed her curls into a shiny black as the song progressed. Feeling rejuvenated again, Gothel breathed out a sigh of relief followed by the grumble of her stomach. Rapunzel giggled “I’m hungry too mother, it’s about to be dinnertime”. Gothel groaned at the reminder that they did not pack any food whatsoever due to the fact that Gothel had to create a lie that centered around being in a rush to leave before “the ruffians caught them”. Gothel didn’t have any alternative, which is why she made a decision “Flower, would you be okay if I went into town to get some food for us?” Gothel asked sweetly. Fear crept into Rapunzel’s eyes “But mother what about the ruffians? What if they get me? I don’t want you to go” she clung tighter to her mother. Gothel was quickly becoming irritated, she scanned around her surroundings and curiously found an old dusty (and rusty) frying pan on the ground next to some rocks. It scared Gothel for a second thinking of the possibility that people did in fact walk through the valley but given the state of the frying pan, she decided to let it go and reached for the pan.

“Mother always knows best flower. I promise you that nobody will find you in this part of the valley so long you stay close to the horse. I promise that I will come as quickly as possible. Besides, you have your little friend here to keep you company, and an even bigger friend too hm?” Gothel reassured the girl. “I’m a strong, confident woman. I can take care of myself flower, I’ll be okay. And although you haven’t shown to have inherited those traits from your mother I’m sure the apple can’t fall for the tree right?” she asked as she handed Rapunzel the musty frying pan. “What apple?” was all Rapunzel asked as she gave the pan a confused look. “In case any ruffians do come…which they won’t…but if they do…hit them as hard as you can with this” Gothel ignored the child’s earlier question. Gothel knew that if by some random miracle, the kid did in fact meet ruffians she wouldn’t stand a chance, but it was for the greater good that the child had at least some confidence so that she wouldn’t run off into the woods out of fear of random noise. Rapunzel looked at the frying pan before giving her mother another hug “I won’t let you down, mother. I’ll wait here” Rapunzel affirmed. “I know you will, I love you” she kissed the top of her head before getting up and heading in the direction of a small village not far from the said valley.

Behind Gothel, Rapunzel waited until her mother was out of sight to run off again to the edge of the cliff holding back another scream of excitement that swelled up in her throat. As she looked down from the cliff she saw a wide stream below and as she scanned the horizon she saw other pillars of mountainous mass that were erected to the heavens. Pascal squeaked on Rapunzel’s shoulders “Can you believe it, Pascal? I didn’t know the outside could look so beautiful”. Next to the stream, she could see other wildlife below, bears, deer, and pretty birds flying all throughout the mountainous range. She also remembered that on their way to this part of the forest she had seen some cows, goats and sheep. It was all foreign to her and thrilling. “Pascal! Do you know what this means? We have a new area to play hide and seek!” Rapunzel bounced on her feet. Pascal chirped happily and Rapunzel spoke up “But we have to stay close otherwise we could get lost and mother would get very upset”. In response all Pascal did was blow raspberry as he covered his eyes and slowly began to change from the red to yellow to green spectrum as his form of counting down. Rapunzel ran off and hid behind some bushes, keeping her trusty frying pan with her at all times. Pascal typically took a really long time to find her, but Rapunzel wasn’t sure if it was because of his tiny frame or if he was just really bad at hide and seek. Rapunzel liked to believe that he had an advantage which was his camouflaging abilities, but even then that hadn’t stopped Rapunzel from winning hide and seek over and over again back at the tower. Much to Rapunzel’s surprise, Pascal had found her with ease, and now it was Rapunzel’s time to count down. “10, 9, 8, 6…” she counted down until she reached zero and Rapunzel searched her surroundings.

“Pascaaaaal, I’m coming to get youuuuu” she exclaimed in a sing-song voice. Rapunzel scanned the area Pascal and herself had agreed to stick to but Rapunzel could not find Pascal. Her face turned into a frown, perhaps it was because they were out in nature and Pascal being part of wildlife, would actually now stand a chance at being the local hide-and-seek champion (with local meaning him and Rapunzel only). Rapunzel refused to believe that. She wouldn’t accept defeat so she assumed Pascal decided to cheat and went further beyond the boundaries they had agreed upon. Rapunzel didn’t want to yield, but she also didn’t want to wander off and get lost in this valley. Against her better judgment, she crossed the imaginary line that she had mentally established as the playground boundaries.

Rapunzel had to admit that she didn’t regret stepping out of the boundary. As she wandered through smaller hills and walked past other trees, she looked in awe at the smallest things that the outside had to offer: the way sunshine beams felt warm on her skin, the tickles that the grass continued to gift her, the cleanliness of the crispy air that filled her lungs very unlike the stuffy scent of the tower where she had been cooped up her whole life. She was so caught up in the excitement of it all that she didn’t notice the way her feet had picked up speed and when she tripped up on god knows what, she didn’t let the fear of falling consume her. She let laughter consume her instead as she rolled down a small hill, her blonde hair collecting sunset-colored leaves. She got up, scraping her knees and her braid became undone. The girl was oblivious to the sting of the tiny wounds as she took her hair and made a makeshift swing on a tree branch of a lone oak tree that rocked her back and forth. Soon she lost interest and made her way up another cliff, this one higher that overlooked the entirety of the valley. Rapunzel took the sight in. The sun would still take a while to set since it had already been past noon, but the way it stood looking regal and powerful over the landscape took Rapunzel’s breath away. The valley was bathed in sunlight that gave the surface a tint of a golden hue to everything it touched. Rapunzel had been deprived of a scenic landscape overlook, the only one that had been close was the waterfall next to the tower.

Even then, there were sights Rapunzel had taken note of multiple views from the travel all the way up to the valley that had amazed her. However, the one in front of her right at this very moment had exceeded all expectations. She was in a trance for a really long time, she had lost track of time until a little friend had caught up to her and gently tapped her bare feet. “Pascal! I found you!” she beamed. Pascal in return gave him a look that could be translated as “are you freaking kidding me right now?” and stuck out his tongue at her. “Okay okay yes I may have forgotten to yield but Pascal have you seen everything around you? Everything is just so beautiful. I know mother said there are dangers but that’s why I kept the frying pan” She lifted the pan to demonstrate that she did in fact keep the pan. “As long as we don’t talk or see anyone we’ll be fine”. Pascal chirped in agreement as she held out her other palm to gently place him on her shoulder. When Rapunzel turned her head back to look at the view in front of her a ray of light hit her eye, and when she looked away from the tiny sting it caused and looked back with more caution a second time, she saw the ray of light was coming from a cave that was on the opposite side of the cliff she currently stood on the other side of the stream.

Rapunzel’s curiosity at this age was almost untameable, and she would’ve never rejected the opportunity to go on an adventure after being locked up in a tower for ten years. Pascal who creaked in a way that let Rapunzel know he knew what she was thinking, incited a question that already had a response “What are we thinking Pascal? Are you ready?”. Pascal hummed and put a thumbs up and that was all it took for Rapunzel to run down and begin her newfound adventure. An adventure that would lead her to the craziest destination saved for her and only her.

~~~

Gothel walked and soon the valley became a forest. Gothel was beyond annoyed that the fact that sun-drop had become a literal child. This whole trip would be insanely irritable for her, so much so she had regretted leaving the tower with the blonde. The old woman had never really spent much time with Rapunzel really, she was barely home all day. The change in the routine had taken her aback, now she would have to deal with Rapunzel’s rambling, her hyperactive behavior, and her annoying curiosity. She had opened the floodgates of a dam that had been building up for years.

Gothel took a deep breath and exhaled. The journey would be long, so she was going to take whatever free time she had alone away from the kid and take advantage of it. Either way, it wasn’t like the moonstone was going anywhere. It would be there waiting for her to claim it. After all, if the moonstone had been claimed by someone the entire world would’ve known by now just like the entire world knew the queen of Corona had consumed the sun-drop’s flower.

Gothel, now feeling a bit more relaxed, continued walking to get to her destination. Once she got back they would eat and camp out for the night and finally leave Coronan territory once and for all.

~~~

Elsewhere, a handsome rogue was running through Old Corona with a certain white steed on his tail. The young horse thought it was impressive that the thief had been running for as long as he had. Then again, that’s why Flynn Rider was a legend and only the most wanted thief in the entire kingdom, right? From a young age the rogue had been on the street not unlike other orphans, but in a short period of time he was able to establish a legacy of his own that had allowed him to be a free man for a long time. Thankfully the rogue knew exactly what to do to lose the horse. He’d be back to his hideout before sunset and get himself a meal worthy of a nobleman.

He wasn’t far either, so he sprung his plan into action. He reached the part of the road that split itself into two paths. Flynn took the right and when the horse followed after him, he felt confident enough to affirm to himself that said dinner would indeed be happening. Flynn knew he couldn’t outrun the horse, but he could outsmart him. The road eventually led slowly to a bigger landscape similar to a mountainous range. The horse was startled when the thief confidently continued running and reached a cliff, a cliff that promised death to anyone who dared to step beyond its edge. The horse let out a surprised neigh when the rogue jumped off confidently. The horse approached the edge quickly yet cautiously. There was a tree branch sticking out but Rider wasn’t hanging from it, and there sure wasn’t a cadaver with a cracked skull at the bottom further down. Confused, yet still very much committed to his duty, the alabaster horse turned around and went to find a way down the cliff in order to find a trace of Rider.

The sixteen-year-old rogue tried not to snicker but failed to do so. Dumb horsehe thought as he crouched out of the smaller opening on the side of the rock where he had swung himself into with the help of the tree branch. With a hunting knife, he pulled himself up and was once again at the edge of the cliff. He quickly ran back to the road he came from and at the crossroads, he took the left path he had originally encountered back during the chase. The rogue then didn’t bother running anymore since he figured that the horse would most likely be searching for him in that same area where he had lost him.

Flynn Rider felt successful. He had managed to pickpocket many victims today and even had the chance to steal a ruby ring. It was that ruby ring that would allow him to get himself a proper warm meal at the nearest inn. Of course, he needed to make sure said inn didn’t recognize him from his wanted posters, but thankfully his hideout was on the outskirts of Old Corona, close to the border. Thanks to the fact that Rider only stole from Corona or the area of Old Corona closest to Corona, most of his wanted posters were scarce (and very badly drawn) the closer you got to Corona’s borders.

So Flynn Rider took his sweet time walking to his hideout. He had to drop off his personal belongings anyway.

~~~

Rapunzel had never giggled and laughed so much in her life before. Now she stood in the small stream that divided the two major cliffs. The stream was pretty wide, but shallow nevertheless. The cool running water tickled her feet. She wasn’t far from the original place where Gothel had told her to wait, so she assumed it was okay to continue exploring as long as she kept her pan with her at all times and she avoided any ruffians.

The girl was on a mission after all. She wanted to make sure she enjoyed the most of the outside before Gothel locked her up in yet another tower. She walked through the stream reaching the other side and pondered that question with her only friend. “Pascal, do you think mother would lock me up again in another tower?” The girl asked innocently. The chameleon chirped sadly at the implication. “Well, I’m sure wherever it is we are going it’ll be safer, maybe a cottage where I can at least play outside right?”. Rapunzel could dream and hope, it was always hope she clung onto. Pascal gave an encouraging squeak, as Rapunzel carried forward. Along the small mountain, there was a path that led to the cave that was further up.

“Oooo Pascal we could pretend we are explorers looking for a rare flower that grows in caves!” Rapunzel hopped in place. She had a geology book back at home and although the book itself covered anything and everything related to rocks, minerals, crystals, and gems, it also briefly mentioned how plants are rarely found in caves and where masses of rocks formed. Rapunzel allowed her imagination to roam free and as she walked on the path on the edge she pretended she was an explorer cataloging a new species. The truth was that chances were that the random grasses and weeds she admired were already discovered as a species with most likely a Latin name with its genus and species, but Rapunzel didn’t know that. It was as though she really was discovering a brand new species of fauna and flora as she scanned her surroundings and identified a new bug or a funky-looking plant.

Soon enough she reached the cave in which the light that had slapped her vision earlier. Rapunzel was absorbed in her imaginary make-believe game of hers but upon seeing where- or more like why there was a light coming from the cave she stopped pretending and frowned in confusion at what she was seeing.

The cave itself had a pile of loot. There were heaps of gold coins, bars, cups, rings, and candelabra, among other valuable items. Rapunzel surely understood the value and importance of the valuables laying before her but riches didn’t matter to her. Rapunzel had grown up relatively poor and humble but that hadn’t stopped her from growing up a cheerful child. Even Gothel’s cold heart hadn’t stopped her. Rapunzel had found that happiness came from being around people who you loved and doing the things you love, not riches. Rapunzel wasn’t going to take any of the valuables laying around that didn’t seem to have an owner ready to claim them. “These belong to somebody Pascal, I think we have to go”. The fear of someone coming in to find her meddling in their stuff suddenly became very real. Rapunzel was about to turn around and run back to where Gothel had left her horse but something caught her eye before she could.

Against the wall of the shallow cave were children’s toys, they had been broken down and some plushies had even torn at the seams. Regardless, all fear dissolved as Rapunzel approached the toys and began making her own game out of them. Gothel had never once bought Rapunzel any toys growing up, just paint. At first, it began when Gothel asked the child to entertain herself by painting the entirety of the tower's walls as a way to placate her boredom. Rapunzel had agreed and was given a simple color to work with: white. Rapunzel did exactly what her mother asked, but after accidentally dropping some strawberry jam on a bucket of paint when attempting to make a quick snack out of a PB&J sandwich, the paint had been dyed a soft pink. Rapunzel took the opportunity to paint something pink. It all created a domino effect and Rapunzel had found other foods to dye the white paint. She created her first mural. It was a simple painting of her and Pascal. Gothel had initially been displeased but upon seeing that the child found amusement and ceased her nagging to go outside, she allowed it.

But toys? They were never a luxury Rapunzel had been allowed since her mother had always told her that there wasn’t enough money to go around for toys. So Rapunzel sat there and decided to play a game with a little bear princess who longed to explore the outside of her tower.

~~~

Rider was taken aback by what he was seeing before his eyes. The only people who had been aware of this hideout were the Stabbington brothers and his friend Lance, but Flynn could not fathom the image in front of him. There was a blonde girl in his hideout, a blonde with a shit ton of hair…it was really, really long. That was one factor that was confusing the hell out of Rider, but the other significant factor was the fact that rather than looting the generous and copious amount of gold and treasure he had collected over the years, the girl was playing with some old toys he hadn't remembered had been there for years. He gawked openly at the scene that was playing out before him. The girl hadn’t even noticed he had been staring in disbelief as he hid behind the edge of the entrance of his cave.

Flynn Rider the handsome rogue would’ve confidently sweet-talked a fair maiden but the girl in front of him couldn’t have been older than 12…and he was 16 so that would’ve probably been weird and not a good thing to do. Eugene Fitzherbert, however, would’ve asked the girl if she was lost and if she was lost he would’ve offered to help her find her parents, and if no parents were present in the picture, he would’ve taken her under his wing, after all orphans often stuck together. But as he stood there he wasn’t sure what to do. His plans of buying a whole roasted turkey flew out the window. “Gosh, why does this happen to me?!” He grumbled quietly. He thought about Lance and the Stabbingtons. He was sure Lance wouldn’t harm the girl, but he wasn’t too sure about the Stabbington brothers. He needed to get rid of the girl. He was sure Lance had been laying low in Vardaros but to his knowledge, the Stabbingtons hadn’t left Corona so he was running on borrowed time until the Stabbingtons came to their shared hideout.

Okay, he was going to have to test-run the smolder. At the very least he could convince the girl to leave right? I mean at her age, what kind of girl in the kingdom wasn’t boy-crazy? He stepped out of the edge of the cave. His body was fully visible now to the girl once he said “Hello” with a flirtatious smile. Rapunzel raised her head and fear quickly filled her eyes once again for today. Green emerald eyes with freckles that accompanied her nose bridge he noticed. “Hey, no need to panic” he kept the smug tone “I’m Flynn Rider. How are you?” He slowly approached her. Rapunzel gripped her frying pan behind her tightly. “Listen, I’m going to assume you’re lost right?”. Rapunzel was terrified, there was a ruffian, talking to her. He was probably going to cook her alive for a meal based on the look he was giving her…cannibals! Mother had warned her about those!

Flynn quickly realized he was starting to sound like a weird creep, given the age gap between him and this girl. He dropped the stupid smile and the smug attitude and walked normally paced steps towards the girl. “Okay yeah this isn’t working listen Blondie-“

Pang!

Rapunzel shrieked and ran to the cave opening, leaving behind the ruffian boy. As she made her exit down the small mountain she bumped into an alabaster horse with fancy leather reins. Her eyes watered as she clung to the young horse seeking the immediate comfort a child her age would seek after being scared. The horse was bewildered. He was a military-trained (or at least in-training) horse, he wasn’t prepared for situations like this- and yet here he was feeling compassion and letting the blonde child cry on his chest.

His duty was to serve the people of Corona, and while this girl was standing in Corona, he’d do whatever he could to protect this child who seemed to be without her parents. Rapunzel lifted her head and wiped her tears and read the insignia on the horse’s chest. “Maximus” she read out loud. The horse huffed in acknowledgment and whined. “Help me get home” she pleaded between quiet sobs. Maximus wasn’t sure if he could help with that, he was so close to Rider now that he didn’t want to sacrifice his chance to make capture of the notorious Flynn Rider. But the “Please” that the girl croaked out with a hint of bittersweetness made him cave. She walked side by side with him as she led him to wherever “home” was.

“Mother warned me of ruffians and to not run off, and I got myself into trouble because of it” the child admitted. So the girl did have parents then…well, parent- singular for now. Maximus took note of that. “She warned me about this and I didn’t listen. She warned me about thugs, ruffians, poison ivy, quicksand, lava…cannibals! Oh, I was sure he was going to cook me alive Max” the girl became more erratic as she continued rambling but Maximus noted she had affirmed a cannibal was planning on eating her alive. Max now knew for a fact that the girl had encountered Flynn, and while he deserved to be punished by the fullest extent of the law, he was confident Flynn Rider out of all the people in the world wasn’t in fact a cannibal. As a matter of fact, the longer the girl vented to the white horse it became apparent that the child he was talking to wasn’t your average Coronan child. She seemed like she had never really gone outside much. “I could’ve gotten hurt even if I hadn’t bumped into that ruffian, I could’ve touched something or…” the child was about to begin crying again but both Pascal and Max nuzzled the blonde’s cheeks on their respective sides. With the comfort of both of her companions, the tears that threatened to be spilled disappeared and warmth filled her inside once again. “At least it was fun before I ran into him I got to see pretty flowers and touched grass”. Touched grass? That had to be the weirdest statement Maximus had ever heard today, matter of fact, ever. Was this child being held against her will? Max whinnied in concern to which Rapunzel only replied “Don’t worry Max, mother is only doing what’s best for me”. The child didn’t seem to want to share more than that, but Maximus swore to himself that as soon as they got to the child’s house, he would get the local police to interrogate her parents at the very least. Besides, the nearest village was only a couple of miles west, it wouldn’t take long for him to come back for Rider. He was sure the punk was probably laying around like a lazy sloth.

Rapunzel on her behalf had thought about the ruffian he encountered. His pouty face had seemed…constipated? It wasn’t the most attractive facial gesture she’d seen on anyone. But Rapunzel also noticed something odd about the young man’s face, or more so his smile: There were no pointy teeth present. Had mother lied about ruffians and cannibals? Had she been wrong? No. Never. Mother couldn’t have been wrong. Would she question her about it? Absolutely not. As honest as Rapunzel was, she didn’t want to upset her sweet mother and let her know she hadn’t stayed close to their horse. Her mother, who had protected her and her gift for years. Oh, the betrayal she would feel if she knew Rapunzel hadn’t listened! Yes, Rapunzel would keep this to herself and they would be alright.

Much to Max’s surprise, what the child had described as “home” was simply a tree stationed with another horse on a cliff that had only taken twenty minutes to walk from Rider’s hideout. Now Max was upset and seeing that the girl was highly dependent on her so-called mother and had left her in a valley of all things, couldn’t have just demanded the girl to follow him, then there was the subject of Rider and his hideout. Divided by going after Rider and helping out the poor girl with incredibly long hair, Max quickly fabricated a plan. She would tell the girl to wait here while he subdued Rider, then he would come back for the girl once Rider wasn’t a threat and take her to the nearest village to get her some help and to figure out who was the mother of this girl. The girl dropped her pan on the floor and gave the horse a tight embrace and soft strokes along his neck. “Thank you for your help, Max, you’re a good boy, the best horse”. The black horse behind her huffed and eyeballed Max. Max couldn’t tell if this black horse was in on the whole thing or not, but Max also understood that not all horses could have the same intelligence he had when it came to their masters. Max contently whinnied at the girl’s gentle caresses before he ran off lightning speed back to where Rider was hiding out.

~~~

Flynn ran through the avenues of Corona as he carried the sack of apples he and his buddy Lance had stolen from a street vendor. The guard barely paid attention to street vendors anyway, since their focus was always on established businesses. Except for this time they pissed off the wrong horse.

“Uhhh Flynn, we’ve gotta hurry up bud unless you want to spend the rest of your life eating slop rather than Honeycrisp apples”

Flynn looked behind him and saw a very angry foal chasing after them. Flynn would’ve laughed at how comical the whole scene looked since he didn’t know it was possible for a foal to look just as angry as he did now, except he didn’t want to be arrested. His legs picked up speed as the thieves ran towards the main market square, the heart of Corona. The original plan was to trick the guards into thinking they were leaving the island through the bridge that connected the capital of Corona to the mainland, and once they lost them, they would head to the piers to catch the last ferry. Flynn had used this method over and over and it always led him to success. This time, however, the meddling horse just had to have stuck his hooves into his genius escape. Thankfully, his gorgeous brain had created a new plan. “Lance, listen to me, we are going to be home before two o’clock just you wait my dear friend,” Flynn assured him “So we are not going to hurry up, we are going to lose the horse once we get to the main street market since it is exactly noon and the entire square will be busy as a beehive”.

“Oh, you little sly devil. I’ve got you, tck tck” Lance winked at him and clicked his tongue, and soon they reached the market and split up. If he had arrived at the market just a little earlier or a little late, he would’ve brought attention to himself with the way he was running, but rush hour concealed the fact that he was running from a foal out of all things.

He bumped into multiple bodies that didn’t mind. The people of Corona often bumped into each other during rush hour but because they had the reputation for being sweet people, they let it slide. Flynn looked behind him and realized it had been a mistake as he just so happened to have made eye contact with the intrusive horse. Flynn ducked his head concealing his body under the sea of people before moving quickly to an alley and pushed himself up against the wall. He closed his eyes and silently prayed the horse wouldn’t be right around the corner ready to jumpscare him. When that moment didn’t come after a minute or two, he peeked around the corner, the horse heading in the opposite direction from where he had made eye contact with the thief earlier.

Flynn didn’t want to make a run for the docks yet though, he wanted to catch his breath. Taking heavy breaths, he looked out into the main market square scanning for any sight of the horse. After all, he couldn’t immediately make a move in case the foal had a trap set up just for him. As he overlooked the area he saw artists retouching the lost princess mural. It was perhaps the center of attention of the market, with a tall giant mosaic-tile wall depicting the sovereigns of Corona with the heir to the throne cradled in her mother’s arms and the king supporting one of his wives’ arms. Flynn admitted that sometimes he stole some of the gifts that were planted in front of the mural for his own personal needs. He looked at the mural in detail, more specifically, the princess. His dream consciousness didn’t recognize the girl…wait…dream consciousness?

Flynn was in a dream…no not a dream, it was a memory, he had lived this just a couple of years back. He realized that this was a memory and his body was still asleep but why did the princess suddenly look so familiar? His head started to play tricks with him. He was in a gray state where he was aware he was dreaming but couldn’t do much about it because he was still asleep and couldn’t wake up. The princess had inherited the same eyes as the queen, and yet a lot of her facial features were also inherited by her father. She was an adorable little baby. Her baby fat cheeks looking so very adorable to everyone in the kingdom who walked past the mural. But wait…Flynn recognized the princess”s baby face and the abnormally long and thick blonde hair. The kingdom had always found it odd that the princess had been born with incredibly blonde long hair, but the sovereigns had clarified that it was due to the magic flower that had saved the queen during her pregnancy. But no wait, Flynn had seen that baby face, those emerald green eyes, that insanely long hair.

The princess.

He had met the princess.

And she had knocked him out unconscious.
Flynn stood there with the realization hitting him harder than the wack the princess had smacked him with a frying pan. Before his body was jolted awake he heard the loud and angry whinny of a horse and fearing it was the younger foal from earlier he began to run once again before being thrown a…fish? To the face.

~~~

Maximus was now standing over the semi-conscious body of Flynn Rider with a furious look in his eyes. He purposefully snorted and huffed in Rider’s face, the mucus landing over his face and jolting him awake. Rider immediately gained full consciousness and quickly got on his knees wiping his face clean with his hands “Was that really necessary?!?!” The thief asked indignantly “Come on now that is just gross and unnecessary, now you owe me a royal facial treatment”. The young horse only whinnied in anger, lifting his front hooves off the ground and kicking the air to intimidate the annoyingly smug rogue. After wiping his hands on his trousers, he put them up in an attempt to get the horse to calm down. “Listen fleabag I’ve found the lost princess and we need to get to her now she could be lost and seriously in danger” He attempted a sprint toward the entrance of the cave but the horse firmly bit down on the neck of his shirt and threw him back where he initially laid unconscious. The horse was now furious, was Rider really going to use the pain of his majesties as a way to squirm his way out of his capture? Blasphemy! He now neighed with outrage.” Look horse I know my relationship with the kingdom isn’t in the best place right now” the thief wore a concerned look on his face now, one that could’ve almost convinced Maximus that he was lying…almost. “But there was a girl, a blonde, she had incredibly long hair and her majesty’s green eyes and I’m sure she’s the princess. I will swear on my own life that if I am wrong I will turn myself in willingly” Rider was lying about that obviously, he wouldn’t turn himself in, but Rider always went by instinct and knew this girl just had to be the lost princess.

The rulers of Corona had promised that if anybody ever found her princess they would be promised riches and privileges in the kingdom. Throughout the years people’s ambitions led them to bring forward fakes. Flynn had never been the type to even bother searching for the princess even during the hype of it all during the first years, he had his own mouth to feed and a body to keep alive. Flynnigan Rider had been originally where he had obtained his alias, the very name that he had created a reputation for. However, Flynnigan was a wealthy hero and the poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert longed to be just like him, he wanted to finally be a hero and not be looked down on as if he were a piece of filth. The way his eyes softened and conveyed the sadness and longing of recalling all of this took the steed aback, but alas he did not show it.

The young stallion huffed and made a nodding motion that signaled the loot behind him. Flynn turned around and saw what he would be gambling. Sure, maybe he could escape the horse, but he wouldn’t be able to return to his life savings as they would most likely be seized by the guard. Flynn was tired of running though, whoever that girl was, princess or not, shouldn’t have been alone in the forest miles away from the nearest village in the middle of nowhere. Flynn Rider would be no more, Eugene was taking his place. He looked back to the horse, stretching his right hand out to him with his left hand up ready to make an oath, “I swear that even if this girl is not the lost princess, you can seize the loot, I’ll turn in the Stubbington as well as myself. Do we have a deal?”. Flynn had nothing left to lose, but Eugene had one last chance for himself.

The horse still remained hesitant. Eugene lowered both of his arms to the sides and looked down “You’re a dumb horse so I’m just going to assume you’ve never read the tales of Flynnigan Rider…”. The horse was offended by the statement but it didn’t stop Eugene from changing the sad look on his face and from continuing what he was going to say “He had everything: Good looks, wealthy, charming with the ladies…but he wasn’t a thief, but for a little orphan boy who had nothing the only thing I could cling onto was hope”. The horse for the second time that day was being put in yet another emotional situation, he was a soldier for heaven's sake! (soldier-in-training really but who knew the difference?!). “Flynn Rider built a legacy upon a lie. He’s no hero, he’s a thief, a cheat..” he put his hands in their earlier position “so instead I, Eugene Fitzherbert, stand here swearing to you that you throw me in a dungeon and allow the guard to seize the loot if I’m wrong about the princess. But regardless of all of that there is a girl out there in the middle of a huge valley alone who carried enough honesty and innocence with her to not take a single coin from the loot behind me. We have to help her”

Suddenly it all dawned upon the horse. Her lack of knowledge of the outside, her fear of an idiotic thief such as Rider- no Eugene who posed no real threat to anyone but inanimate items, the long blonde hair, her green eyes. This time he couldn’t keep his surprise concealed on his face. Flynn Rider, who was Corona’s most wanted thief was right here willing to give up one of his most prized possessions, and no he wasn’t talking about the pile of gold and gems behind him- he was giving him his real identity. Maximus lifted his hoof to touch the boy’s palm and shook it in agreement and respect. Eugene smiled at the horse warmly. “Okay then let’s get to work fleabag”. The horse huffed and stuck his chest outwards a little more to reveal the insignia that carried his name. “Maximus…hm yeah no I think I prefer fleabag”. The horse neighed in indignation, but petty insults could wait,

they had a princess to save.

Chapter Text

Max and Eugene didn’t know how they were going to get the girl to follow them. The girl was already terrified of the thief due to their previous encounter. After all, how did you explain to a 10-year-old girl that she was the long-lost princess of the local kingdom? Especially one that was terrified of strangers of the outside world? After having an interchange with Eugene, Max was able to communicate that the girl had seemed like she had never been in the outside world, not even on her front lawn- that is, if she had one. Eugene thought about how that had explained why the little girl had been terrified and had run away, and while it was good that the little girl was cautious with strangers, it would be a challenge and simply unethical to drag the princess to the castle and tear her apart from her pre-existing parental figure with no explanation. That sort of abrupt change would leave psychological scars on the child. Then of course there was the matter about her captor…

Of course, Maximus knew that whoever had taken the princess had to be severely punished. The kidnapper hadn’t stolen just another child in Corona, it was the sole heir to the throne. The Queen had chosen to become pregnant regardless of the risks that had been warned to her. It was Her Majesty who had survived the pregnancy by consuming the healing golden flower. The child had been a miracle, and although the Queen had given birth to continue the royal bloodline, she deliberately chose to go through every risk and hurdle to have what she considered the privilege of motherhood: The privilege of pouring all her love into her daughter. All of this tribulation and a disgusting shameless kidnapper had stolen all their hopes and continued to. 

Both the boy and the horse now understood why the girl had never been outside if she was indeed the princess. Anyone who had stolen the princess would’ve made sure she stayed hidden to avoid the wrath of the grieving royals who desperately searched for their princess. Maximus recalled that the girl had talked about her mother in the most loving tone, with a hint of underlying anxiety. There was something seriously disturbing about the way pieces just clicked and made sense and at the same time something satisfying. The mysterious girl in the valley had the same green eyes just like Queen Ariana, the abnormal long blonde hair that was depicted in portraits and murals all around the kingdom, the same rosy pink chubby cheeks, her lack of knowledge of the outside world…no, her exaggerated view on the dangers of the world! Once all of these factors had come together it was like the rising temperature of a collapsing star, it was only becoming hotter and hotter but it was also a ticking time bomb. Whoever the “mother” of this girl was would be coming soon, and from what it seemed like to Max, they were on the road, leaving Corona for good to make sure the tale of the missing princess remained the biggest unsolved mystery in all of Corona.

A story in which there was no happy ending, a tragedy.

That is why the teen rogue and the young stallion traveled at lightning speed from the edge of the Coronan border to its fine Capitol. They would need the authorities to get involved. This wasn’t some sort of fairy tale where Eugene would pretend to be a knight in shining armor to rescue the princess or a tale where Max was the supporting (but equally important) brave loyal steed. Eugene would lead the guards to where the princess was being held and use himself as a liability. They couldn’t reverse kidnap the princess from her kidnapper, but they could use the Guard for help. Eugene and Max made a silent prayer and hoped that they would get there on time.

~~~

The Captain of the Corona Royal Guard was not a man known for his mercy. Ever since the princess had been stolen from her parents, he had listened and obeyed the king’s command to lock up any, and all criminals of Corona. Many assumed that the harshness and the strictness of the punishments that the Captain would implement were simply protocol, it was only the King’s wrath and sorrow being projected onto petty criminals. Although that was true,  it wasn’t the full truth. the Captain carried a heavy burden in his heart. A pang of guilt. Guilt from the night of the princess was taken. Every time he recalled that night, he always returned to the same statement: “If I had just…”. 

If I had just gotten up quicker from bed, I could’ve reached the princess. If I had just got my horse to go faster, I would’ve caught the kidnapper. If I had just been more alert of my surroundings, I wouldn’t have crossed the bridge to the cottage and would’ve noticed the huge horse and the cloaked woman hiding behind the trees and returned the princess home. If I had just been a better leader, and told some of my men to stay on the other side of the bridge, we could’ve had a chance to rescue the princess. 

He recognized that it was useless to reminisce about the past and think of the “What if?”s. But being aware of that didn’t change the fact that the guilt continued to chew up at his heart. It was his fault the princess had gone missing and that was something he couldn’t make up to His Majesty. The King never blamed him though, not verbally and not ever internally either. He hoped that by protecting Corona with an iron fist and merciless punishment of all criminals, he would be able to make up for the pain nobody could alleviate. It wasn’t as if every criminal that was locked in the dungeon of the castle would earn him points on a forgiveness scale, because, for one, The King didn’t blame him and two, locking up petty thieves wouldn’t bring his princess back. The Captain had failed his best friend, his comrade since childhood. 

The only good thing that had come out of that night was his precious daughter Cassandra. Cassandra, who had one of the bravest hearts he had ever encountered. Cassandra, who had proved that she was tougher than any of his men. He wasn’t sure if the gods had sent him Cassandra as a second chance or a punishment. He had considered her a second chance because the Captain knew that this was his opportunity to raise an honest citizen. An amazing woman who knew right from wrong, and someone who he could look at once she was older and be proud to be her father of someone who had achieved greatness. He had felt a whiplash, however, when she expressed that she wanted to become part of the Royal Guard. What had begun as simple self-defense lessons had forged a fire within her that could not be tamed nor stopped. The Captain didn’t have a problem with women joining the guard, in fact, he was quite supportive of the idea. However, he knew that his line of work was dangerous and he did not want to lose his daughter similarly or worse, just like the King had lost his princess.  

He headed into his office to think of the subject quietly. He knew that in about six years his daughter would turn 19 and she would be able to enlist in basic training. He was a Captain, and he could easily forbid her from enlisting, but Cassandra would never forgive him. 

“Sir, one of the horses is missing” A private had stepped into his office with a salute and a stoic face. “Who’s missing?”

“A horse, sir.”

“Yes, I know that but who?” The Captain insisted, “Maximus”. The Captain frowned, Maximus had always proven himself to be an obedient horse, but he wasn’t the type of horse to run off with a stranger. It would be impossible for anyone to steal Maximus or for Maximus to allow himself to be stolen, the horse had a brilliant mind of his own. 

“Send word to the rest of the guards to keep a lookout for him, if he’s not found before 20:00 hours, send out an extra night patrol” After all, a horse was the Royal Guard’s property, and if the property of the Royal Guard were stolen, there would also be severe consequences. The private left with a salute and stepped out of the office, leaving the Captain once again on his own with his thoughts.

The Captain knew that once Cassandra was finished with her training, she would be more than capable of being a strong pillar for the Guard. But his guilt would always get the best of him, and his fear of losing his daughter was stronger than any confidence he had in his daughter and her abilities. The Captain had seen firsthand how the loss of his princess had changed the King for the worst. He had been a benevolent king, but the man he had grown up with became colder, distant, and sadder. His best friend, Frederic, had slowly become an alien version of himself. He didn’t want to-

“Sir, we’ve located Maximus” the soldier who had been in his office minutes ago had disrupted his train of thought once again, and he seemed frantic. “Good job” he deadpanned, not bothering to look at his subordinate. “Sir he’s not alone, he comes with Flynn Rider”. This caught the Captain‘s attention, “where are they?” the Captain demanded to know, “They seem to be making their way over here, they’re approaching fast”. Swiftly, the Captain grabbed his sword and left the office, and ran into the training courtyard where the stables were. 

As he ran through the halls and out into the open, the Captain wondered what Maximus had gotten himself into. Sure, the horse wouldn’t betray the Guard, but based on the intel he was receiving as he ran, Flynn Rider was his rider. The horse couldn’t have captured the thief if he was willingly riding the faithful stallion and if the horse himself was willingly letting himself be led by the rogue. The Captain knew better than to jump to conclusions, but his military training had taught him to keep an open mind to possibilities regarding situations that could cause confusion. He needed to stay alert in case this was a trap and his steed had indeed betrayed him, or some other random situation arose. 

But of course, Flynn Rider was still a sixteen-year-old kid, and although he had built a reputation rather quickly in Corona as well as other neighboring kingdoms, he surely couldn’t have tempted Maximus with a life of crime and riches, not when honor and service meant so much to the stallion. The Captain’s intuition was screaming that something was seriously wrong, and something told him that it had nothing to do with pickpocket cases or stolen apples.

Soon the alabaster horse ran into the castle’s courtyard with the thief in his saddle. Much to the Captain’s surprise, the thief quickly raised his hands up in surrender. The Captain summoned his authority and directed his attention to Maximus “Maximus your commanding officer demands to know what is the meaning of this?!” 

“Wow, you’d really think that he would at least praise you for the capture of THE Flynn Rider am I right Max?” Flynn interjected attempting to draw some humor to the situation. “Quiet boy! Don’t speak unless you’re being spoken to!” 

“Well you’re speaking to me now aren’t you?” Eugene smiled. “Listen, Captain, we don't have much time. We’ve found the lost princess”. The Captain wasn’t buying it “Oh yeah Rider? And where is she? Just because you consider yourself a pretty boy doesn’t mean you get to be a princess”. His response caused some of the nearby guards to snicker silently before earning a glare from the Captain that shut them up. “We know it’s her, you have my word, but we are running out of time and we might lose her forever if we don’t act now”. 

“And what does the word of a thief mean anything to the kingdom of Corona? GUARDS! Take him to the dungeons” The Captain commanded. Two guards came forward and held Eugene’s arms tightly behind his back. Eugene was able to slip out of their grip, before being thrown on the ground, the side of his face being pushed against the grainy dirt beneath him as Max neighed, earning a confused look from the Captain. “Captain please!!” he pleaded, “This isn’t Flynn begging you to listen. My name is Eugene Fitzherbert, I came here willingly because we know it’s her. Max! Tell him!!” The boy begged. The horse in response whinnied even more loudly, with a sense of urgency. 

There was one thing that the Captain knew about horses: they were always honest creatures. These beasts were loyal, truthful, and honest. It was impossible for a horse to pretend, or to lie, the Captain had seen this firsthand. The thief had revealed his real name, something that was unknown to the rest of the world, and while that factor alone wasn’t enough for the Captain to put his whole faith into the boy in front of him, the coalition of events and information that was being given to him and the sincerity in the eyes of the steed and his intuition told him this was at the very least a lead that he needed to pursue.

“She’s in the northeast part of Corona’s border. In the mountains, the valley. She’s not alone, and we believe something, someone is going to take her away from Corona for good. I have a hideout in those mountains, all the loot that the Stabbingtons and I have stolen over the years is stashed there. Captain, I know that you don’t trust me, but here I am using myself and my loot as insurance. Even if this girl isn’t the lost princess, she is still a child lost in the woods, who is being taken, we have to act now.”

As much as the guards investigated the cottage in the woods, where the suspect, a woman, was headed, they couldn’t find any leads. Now Flynn Rider, no, Eugene Fitzherbert, claimed that there was someone taking a child. the Captain’s heart picked up speed. if there was any chance that this was a princess, he needed to make sure that his mistake of the past was mended. He needed to make sure he was the one who brought the princess home. In his mind, the Captain believed that this was his opportunity to redeem himself to the King.

Which is why the Captain loosely followed protocol. “Let the king know that we have a lead on the lost princess. I’ll have Maximus take me as fast as possible to the valley.” he turned to address Eugene “You better be right about this boy or you’ll be at the gallows tomorrow“. It hadn’t been an empty threat, not only were there emotional factors involved in the capture of the princess’ kidnapper for the sovereigns, the Captain needed to prove to the King he could bring the princess back to finally seek forgiveness from the King and it didn’t matter the kid had been a mere teenager, he was old enough to know the consequences of tricking the royal family with this specific sensitive subject. 

The Captain knew that he should’ve taken a platoon with him to retrieve the princess. However, his stubborn guilt and pride didn’t allow him to do that. He needed to make sure that he was the one who brought the princess home. But of course, he wasn’t planning on going against protocol either, as he mounted Maximus he announced to all the guards present in the courtyard “Assemble a platoon to come after me, if what Fitzherbert is claiming is true, we will need backup, I expect to see a platoon arrive shortly once I am there. Stan! Pete! Keep an eye on the boy. Maximus, take me to the valley quickly! HYAH”. Maximus neighed and the sound echoed throughout the courtyard as he ran towards the castle gates. News of a lead that could potentially lead to the princess spread like wildfire in a dry forest within the castle’s walls. 

The adrenaline rush took over everyone in the castle, from the gossip maids to the stoic guards. Eugene was lifted from the ground by Pete and Stan, looking behind him and only being able to see the clouds of dust Maximus had left behind. “Shit, what have I gotten myself into?” Eugene cursed. “Let’s go kid” Pete and Stan pulled Eugene up to his feet. “You know I think I’ve told you guys this but I feel like the mustache would suit your friend a lot better, now could you guys please dust the dirt off my face please ?!”.

Maximus rode off with the Captain, who hoped he would get there in time to save the princess. 

The sun was setting on the horizon, ready to disappear from the heavens of Corona once and for all for the day,

But the moon began her ascent. 

~~~

Cassandra stood in the courtyard looking at how the scene unraveled in front of her. She had finished her castle chores earlier in the day as per usual and Old Lady Crowley had given her the day off with no overtime chores given to her. Cassandra was a dedicated young girl and she took any and all opportunities to make sure every second of every hour of every day was spent training to join the Guard. That’s why she was here in the courtyard with beads of sweat on her brow and sore knuckles from punching her sparring dummy with a wanted poster of Flynn Rider pinned to it. Of course, now there was no use for her to keep punching the dummy given that Flynn Rider was being taken away to the dungeons, all fantasies of ever capturing the thief vanishing. 

It was almost comical how fate laughed in her face every time she set a goal for herself. Every time she asked her father when she was little to tell her the story of the lost princess before bed, she would fall asleep making up scenarios in her head where she would rescue the lost princess. Yet, as the years went by and hope began to die out, she knew that her fantasies to rescue the princess were just that, fantasies. She settled for something more realistic, joining the Guard, and it seemed that her father would never take her seriously every time she expressed her desire to enlist once she was old enough. Cassandra had always been ambitious though, always wanting to prove that she was more than a sad little orphan girl. She wanted to prove to everyone that she was meant for greatness. That is why she aspired to step in her adoptive father’s boots and longed to become Captain of the Royal Guard one day. She would prove to her dad that she could handle herself once she was part of the Guard, which is why she had attempted to go after the sixteen-year-old thief. The rogue had made her attempts to catch him a game of cat and mouse, which fostered a relationship between them to spark anger and annoyance in Cassandra. She didn’t know when this rivalry had begun, but now as she watched Eugene Fitzherbert, if that was even his real name, be escorted to the dungeons that hope to catch him one day dissipated since the idiot had chosen to turn himself in.

For Cassandra, however, this was not over. Her childish fantasy to rescue the princess was now very much real and tangible. She knew that Fitzherbert was dumb, but he wasn’t idiotic enough to turn himself in and make up a ruse about finding the lost princess. The chances of him telling the truth about finding the princess only became more believable when she thought about how the thief could become one of the richest (and youngest) men in Corona. Cassandra figured that he wouldn’t put his freedom in jeopardy for a lazy assumption that a girl he had encountered in the valley was the lost princess. He would be given riches if he was right. Cassandra got in the thief’s shoes: if she were a thief and found the lost princess, wouldn’t she immediately trade her life of crime and hardship for the riches the King and Queen of Corona promised if their princess was returned to them?

Cassandra frowned, she wiped her face of sweat with her sleeves and ran to the stables, taking her longsword with her. She needed to hurry up and be careful since she knew that the platoon that her father had ordered to be sent out into the valley was also getting the horses ready. There was only one horse in this stable who would be more than glad to comply with her plan, a faithful mare who had been a loyal and gentle friend. Due to the rush and adrenaline that was felt all over the courtyard and the barracks (and what Cassandra liked to personally blame the inadequacy of most Guards), no one noticed the girl sneak around the stable and into the pen of a lifelong friend “Hey girl” she greeted the mare quietly “are you up for an adventure of our own?”. Fidella responded positively. “Good, help me get out of Corona. Show me you can run just as fast as Max”. She stroked the horse's face before quickly saddling up the brown mare. 

Cassandra wasn’t sure what she was going to do once she followed her father, but she wanted to send a message. She wanted to let him know she was not afraid of danger. Logically speaking, Cassandra knew that this was simply pre-teen rebellion and she should’ve stayed behind and left the rescuing to the adults. Similarly, however, it was Cassandra’s pre-teen impulsiveness that didn't mix well with a girl who had been training for the guard since the age of six. 

Cassandra lifted herself off the ground and placed herself in Fidella’s saddle with ease. “Alright Fidella, we’ve got a princess to rescue”. Cassandra pulled her medium-length curls back into a ponytail then whipped the reins and dug her heels into her horse’s sides to indicate to her to run. Fidella sped through the stable and headed for Corona’s bridge, multiple guards moving out of the way as Fidella raced past them. Cassandra quickly caught sight of her father and Maximus at a distance, but she needed to be careful “Make sure to make some distance between us, we don’t want them to notice we are following them”. Fidella neighed in agreement with her rider and did as she was told.

Cassandra recalled that the thief had mentioned that the girl was being taken by someone in the northeastern part close to Corona’s walls. She knew the general area, but Rider hadn’t been specific. Maximus would be leading her father there, the horse had made it seem like he had seen the princess. Cassandra thought about two things. One: the kidnapper was with the princess and no one knew who it was. What would happen to the kidnapper once they were captured? Of course, there would be some sort of punishment but would they receive a life sentence? Capital punishment? Two: it had been ten years since the princess was kidnapped, and her appearance must have changed a lot, so then how could the white steed- or for that matter, the thief- manage to identify the princess?

Cassandra figured that it was very likely that the sovereigns would be already alerted that their princess was suspected to be found. As Cassandra rode through the streets of Corona she wondered if anything in Corona would change in terms of the people, but most of all the rulers of the kingdom. Surely, crime wouldn’t stop, but the kingdom would rejoice in the princess’ return. It would symbolize a new period of peace. For what kind of image could a kingdom have if they couldn’t find their lost princess?

The answer to all these questions would lie in whatever happened after the darkness of this night had passed. 

~~~

Rapunzel didn’t leave the site where Gothel had told her to stay. She had her adventure for today and it has been amazing until she had encountered the boy in the cave. Paranoia crept in the child as she recalled the stories Gothel had fed her throughout the years. Her hair had the gift of healing people, and that’s why people sought to find her. Had the boy known that her hair was magical? If so, was the boy searching for her? Had he left to inform the other ruffians of his discovery? 

Rapunzel sat there scared, hungry, filthy, and after the sun had set, cold in complete darkness. She looked down at her knees and saw the scrapes in them. Scabs had already formed on her wounds, and while Rapunzel knew she could easily heal them with her hair, she was afraid her secret song would ring throughout the valley and lure in whatever was hiding in the shadows and take her for her hair. Rapunzel was in need of her mother hoping she would deliver the comfort any mother would give to her children, but by now, Rapunzel had been left alone for hours. It wasn’t unusual for Gothel to leave the blonde alone for really long periods of time, but it had always been in the comfort and familiarity of the tower. Now, the girl was in a foreign territory and in circumstances no child should ever bear. 

Rapunzel tucked her knees close to her chest, curling in a fetal position, waiting for a change. Pascal nuzzled her cheek, which helped the girl calm down Rapunzel’s anxieties. “I miss Mother, Pascal” she whispered. Soon after what felt like an eternity, Rapunzel saw a slender shadowy figure approach her slowly. Rapunzel grabbed her pan so tightly that her knuckles turned snow white and pointed it at the mysterious figure. The silhouette soon revealed itself to be none other than Gothel, indifference worn on her face from seeing the girl again. The girl brightened up like the ray of sunshine she was “Mother!” she had run to greet her as soon as she could identify the older woman’s face. “Oh, I missed you Mother” the girl wrapped her arms around her adoptive mother. “Rapunzel, please! Have some respect for my personal space! Look at yourself, you’re all filthy” Gothel hissed. She pushed the girl back and thought for a moment before immediately asking “Did you run off child? Rapunzel did I not tell you to stay here next to the horse!?” Gothel raised her voice.  “Mother but-” Gothel interrupted her, “Did I nor did I not tell you?! Answer.”. The girl stopped radiating the light that came within her “Yes Mother” was the simple sad answer that the girl offered to her mother. A subtle grin of satisfaction came to Gothel’s face once the girl looked down in shame. The girl had always strived to make her mother happy, but nothing she did was ever enough. 

Gothel didn’t feel like it was necessary to ask what Rapunzel had done in the time she was missing from camp, the child would probably go on a tangent that Gothel didn’t want to instigate nor listen to. “Good, I’m sorry flower but we’ve both had a bad day right? Mummy is tired and you wouldn’t want to tire out your mother with babbling right?”. It wasn’t hard for the girl to immediately forgive, she didn’t hold a grudge easily, she had a gentle and kind heart, and her kidnapper had exploited that throughout her short life for her personal gain. Rapunzel looked up at her mother with a gleam of affection in her eyes “Yes mother I’m sorry. All I wanted to say was that I went on an adventure today” the girl admitted her half-truth, in part to excuse as to why she was dirty in the first place. The woman looked at the girl from head to toe: Rapunzel had leaves weaved into her hair, her cheeks flushed with hints of grays and browns mixed with sweat and scraped knees, Rapunzel had gone on an adventure alright. Gothel knew that she shouldn’t have blamed the girl for exploring the outside for once, but she simply didn’t care. As long as the child remained alive, she was useful.

Gothel couldn’t keep the girl alive unless she fed her, which reminded her “That’s alright now, look what I got for you. I know it’s not hazelnut soup, but I figured you’d appreciate your mother’s efforts”. Gothel took some blueberry muffins from a basket she was carrying on her arm and offered them to Rapunzel. Thankfully children would eat any sort of sugary sweets and treats at any time of day so long as they were offered to them. Rapunzel knew that it wasn’t a proper dinner, but her mother had bothered traveling for hours to get her something to eat, and that was worth appreciating. What Rapunzel didn’t know was that Gothel had treated herself to a proper warm meal at the local village inn. “Thank you, you’re always doing so much for me”. Rapunzel took the muffins and began indulging in the sweets. 

Gothel had originally planned to camp out for the night, but they hadn’t brought any supplies that would allow them to set up camp. They didn’t have any blankets, lamps, provisions, not even a cheap box of matches to set up a fire. Gothel was a lot of things, but she wasn’t going to sleep like a nomad, not when she knew that her destiny awaited her and made her deserving of so much more. It was already dark, which meant that they could go to a different inn outside the walls of Corona once it was midnight to avoid any looks and suspicions of townsfolk. She would allow the child to eat, then they would leave as soon as possible. 

“Mother, where are we going?” Rapunzel asked. Gothel eyed the kid as she began plucking leaves and twigs out of her hair, “It’s just that we left in such a hurry and we’ve never really lived anywhere else, what if we never find a new home for ourselves where it’s safe?”. Gothel sighed and quickly made up a lie “I told you that I knew where we could stay Rapunzel, but the trip is going to be very long. We will be far away from everyone who wants to steal your hair”. Rapunzel had to admit that she was scared of being isolated from people altogether, and being locked up again, but Rapunzel was always one that sought for hope in the darkest of times “Does that mean that I’ll be able to go outside and play?”. Gothel rolled her eyes behind the girl as she continued plucking “Yes dear, you’ll be able to sing and dance and play in the sun all you’d like. I’m your mother, I’m only seeking your happiness” she cooed. Rapunzel felt a rush of happiness swell up inside her. She knew her mother would one day allow her to be outside and enjoy the wonders this world had to offer “Really mother?! You mean it?” Rapunzel asked in excited disbelief. “Yes my love. We’ll be so far away from anyone you can spend as much time as you want outside I promise”. 

The girl was really struggling to contain her excitement now. Rapunzel was now filled with ecstasy and an urgency to get to their destination as fast as possible. Better yet, her mother had just told her that the trip would be long. The blonde was already mesmerized by the sights she had seen throughout the day, and now they would be traveling the world, and there was an endless amount of opportunity, sights, and horizons to explore. Rapunzel finished her blueberry muffins, but Gothel was still tending to the girl’s long hair. “I can’t wait to see the world with you mother. Imagine all the adventures we will go through! Together!” Rapunzel squealed.

“Mhm, that’s right. Now let’s get your knees cleaned up hm?” Gothel hummed. The woman didn’t want to risk infection, she needed the sun-drop in nearly perfect conditions. Rapunzel wrapped her hair around her knees and took a deep breath to begin singing the healing incantation. Rapunzel’s hair had begun glowing, creating a light that illuminated their surroundings.

“Flower gleam and glow

Let your powers shine,

Make the clock-”

“SHHH!”

The light slowly dimmed away from the golden locks as Rapunzel stopped her singing as Gothel hushed the child. At first, she didn’t know why her mother had interrupted the incantation “Mother why did you-” “Hush child!” she whispered loudly. Rapunzel focused her hearing on her surroundings. At first, she heard galloping, which she assumed was normal since common sense was that the sound of hooves forcefully connecting to the ground made a loud noise. But as she focused on the sound, she noticed that the galloping began to crescendo and it was coming their way, and it was coming quickly. “Rapunzel, get on the horse now!” Gothel yelled. 

It was too late, the white horse Rapunzel had encountered earlier appeared with an armored man on his back. Rapunzel felt a pang of both betrayal and guilt. Her mother had always made sure to villainize humans as selfish creatures who only wanted her for her hair, but she had never warned against animals. That is why Rapunzel allowed her walls to crumble with the young horse. He had been so gentle and kind to bring her back to her makeshift camp, so why had he betrayed her and gone to get this strange man who was now his rider? Was it possible that even animals and woodland creatures knew about the magical healing properties? Is that why her mother had always told her to never go outside? What’s next? Could trees talk?! 

Rapunzel also felt guilt, had she told her mother sooner of her encounter with the boy and the horse, they could’ve left earlier and avoided this, but now they would be chased by a mob since she also figured that the ruffian she’d encountered earlier was making his way here now with people who were here solely for her hair!

Meanwhile the Captain of the Guard, even in the darkness of the night, was astounded by what he was seeing before him. It was her. It was the princess. As one of the King’s closest friends, he had the privilege of meeting this baby as a newborn shortly after her birth and even on the days she was safely living in the castle. The little girl had Queen Ariana’s eyes, and by that, he didn’t just mean the color- since her irises were not as visible in the night- but in the way, they were shaped as well as her lips. The resemblance to Frederic was also there, she had the same strong jawline and his nose. That was all without mentioning the exaggerated long blonde hair the princess had been birthed with. The ten-year-old standing before him was an age progression of the newborn who had been born that summer. “Stop! This is the Corona Royal Guard, step away from the child woman!!” 

The Captain recognized those eyes. Ten years ago the woman had worn a cloak, but that night he was able to see those same heinous eyes staring back at him. Except for some inexplicable reason the Captain couldn’t conjure at the moment, those eyes looked younger than last time, which went against the rules of time and age, challenging them in mockery. 

Gothel tried to pull the girl with her to mount the horse, but Rapunzel had frozen and stood there like a deer in the lamplight. “Rapunzel let’s go don’t just stand there!! Listen to your mother!!!” Gothel screamed. Rapunzel! The Captain thought disturbed, although it wasn’t uncommon for the people to name their children the announced name of the princess, for the Captain it couldn’t have been another coincidence. He dismounted Maximus quickly and in a crouch, he tried to approach the scared little girl. “Princess I know this is all very scary but this isn’t your mother, your mother is the Queen of Corona and she misses you so much. She wants you to come home. I don’t know what this woman has told you but we have been looking for you for ten years. If this woman has been hiding you from everyone it’s not because of whatever she had told you”

“He is lying Rapunzel! This is what the world does, this is what selfish people do to get what they want, they lie!!” Gothel tugged at Rapunzel’s arms but the girl remained in shock. Once the Captain was close enough to the girl and reached for her shoulder, he whispered “Your highness, please come with me” he locked eyes with the princess, sincerity shining in his orbs and confusion in hers. Quickly, Gothel had taken possession of the pan and attempted to hit the Captain in hopes of knocking him out. That had been the trigger that snapped Rapunzel out of it and with a yelp, she ran away, but not to her mother. The Captain’s years of training had given him great reflexes and managed to dodge the woman’s swing of her pan. The Captain would’ve run after the princess had the woman not attempted over and over to subdue the Captain. The Captain drew his sword and began swinging at the woman. 

Gothel knew she had to end this quickly, she was betting that the Captain had come alone with no backup, but upon hearing another set of galloping hoofs approaching, Gothel knew that she had to choose quickly: Go after her sun-drop and fall with her, depriving this world of her treasure, or flee and die a miserable death. Time was ticking.

Time was running out. 

It was now or never.

She drew her dagger from her belt and aimed to pierce the Captain’s abdomen, but when she couldn’t do that due to his shielding breastplate, she stabbed his thigh. Once. Twice. Three times. Blood dripped on the ground. In return, her arm was slashed by the Captain’s blade. 

The Captain cried in agony and Max whinnied loudly at the scene, hoping somebody would listen to their cries for help. Gothel turned to see if there was any trace of the child she could follow, but the sounds of what she assumed to be backup left her no choice but to mount her horse and ride off into the night, avoiding confrontation with anyone who came with the Captain. 

~~~

Cassandra heard her father’s cry and her blood turned into ice. Her stomach had dropped at the sound that echoed all throughout the valley and it was the only sound ringing in her ears. She drowned everything out she didn’t notice the sound of a running horse that was running away. “Hurry Fidella Hurry” she whipped the reins making the mare pick up speed. No longer did they have to create a distance between her and her father. Cassandra heard her father and she was going to do everything she could to help him. 

It didn’t take long thanks to Fidella’s speed to get to where her father now lay. The Captain had his back laid back on the grass as he gripped his right thigh where multiple stab wounds released blood. “Dad!” Cassandra screamed, dismounting Fidella quickly and kneeling on the ground before him. “Dad I’m right here tell me what I have to do” she pleaded in desperation. “Cassandra you have to go get the princess, she ran off, she’s close, don’t let that witch get to her first” the Captain rasped out. “No dad I won’t leave you here to bleed out let me tend to you first”. “Cassandra!” the Captain demanded her attention “Your commanding officer  is giving you an order. Follow. It” He pointed in a specific direction from where he lay, the same direction where the princess had run off to. Cassandra hesitated but with the dagger, she carried in her belt she tore her tunic’s sleeve and quickly wrapped it around her father’s thigh tightly with pressure to avoid more bloodshed. Tears were threatening to spill from the brunette’s eyes but she left her father’s side behind before they could, leaving the dagger for him to use. Behind her, he assured her “The platoon will be here shortly, I’ll be okay. Find the princess!”. 

Cassandra ran off, she needed to make sure her father felt proud, that is if he survived. Cassandra ran in the direction he had pointed to. The princess couldn’t have been far. She scouted the area, looking for any clues as to where the girl could’ve headed. It was a huge valley, she could’ve been anywhere! Not only that but the sun had already set and the sky had already dressed in black. Cassandra frowned, then remembered something that gave her a huge advantage. Bringing two fingers to her lips, she whistled into the night, sending a favor into the chilly night wind. Shortly after a flap of wings could be heard above the sky with its signature hoot accompanying it. A grin settled on Cassandra’s face as her horned friend placed his talons on her gauntlet. “Owl thank you for your help bud, I need you to scout for a girl, the princess, I’m going to assume she’s blonde and she should be about ten years old, can you help?” The owl simply returned a “hoot” in agreement. Cassandra had a vague knowledge of what the princess would have looked like. She was about three when she had been born, though she didn’t remember much about her childhood. The signature blonde hair was the next obvious identifying feature of the princess.

She lifted her wrist to the obsidian sky and watched her friend fly away. Cassandra would continue her search on the ground. She climbed the top of a hill that allowed her to overlook the entire valley. The lack of lighting from lamps allowed the valley to glow beautifully under the moonlight and the starlight that the heavens offered as a gift to the earth below, along with the help of a few fireflies that began illuminating the earth’s crust. Cassandra wasn’t one to look deep into the artistic meaning of anything, be it books or art, but she had to admit that the valley looked beautiful tonight and it brought a sense of comfort to the image of her father bleeding out on the ground from earlier. 

Cassandra took a deep breath to calm herself down and ground herself at the moment. She still had a task to complete, an assignment given to her by her Captain. Just as she was walking down the hill, Owl flew in circles around Cassandra and gave her multiple hoots. “He’s found something,” she whispered. Owl gave her a small nod and led Cassandra deeper into the valley. 

~~~

Rapunzel ran as fast as she could through multiple hills and trees. She was scared but mostly confused. She didn’t know why she had run away from her mother, logically, she should’ve run into her arms so that they both could’ve had their happily ever after away from all thugs and selfish men. Rapunzel ran on instinct, it hadn’t been her adrenaline or her fight or flight instinct or even impulse, it was her intuition that made her run off in the opposite direction of her mother. She didn’t know nor did she check to see if anybody had been following her, she hadn’t even heard the man’s scream or the two sets of horse hooves running behind her. For now, all Rapunzel was looking for was a place to ignore all that was going on and calm down. 

She couldn’t go back to the cave where she had found the loot and the toys, it could’ve easily been a trap where ruffians were waiting for her to finally take her away from her mother once and for all. Pascal was still on her shoulder, holding on to dear life as he maintained a tight grip on Rapunzel’s shoulders. He tried being an anchor to bring Rapunzel back from her panic state, to get her to slow down and process all that was happening. For Rapunzel, the only thing that brought her back to reality was the tiredness of her legs. At some point during her sprint, she had reached a giant oak tree, one that stood in a clearing where no other trees were visible other than small saplings in the nearby area. With a swift motion of her arm, Rapunzel tossed her hair to a branch, and using her hair to pull herself up, she sat down on the branch. 

She began to process everything that had happened. First of all, the man in shining armor had claimed that she was a lost princess and that her real mother was a queen. He had addressed her with respect, he had addressed her as a princess and had even called her “your highness”. The man had pleaded with her, something foreign to the girl. Gothel had accustomed Rapunzel to never questioning a word if Gothel needed something from the girl. Rapunzel would do as she said, period, without ever saying “please” or even “thank you”. Rapunzel wasn’t foreign to kindness, she herself had grown up to be a kind person herself, despite Gothel’s lack thereof. Rapunzel may have been a kid, but she wasn’t stupid, she understood that the man in the woods had a deep-found respect for the girl even with the authority he carried with him.

That had been another factor that Rapunzel’s intuition had picked up on. Children had the ability to sense auras, but Rapunzel was naturally keen on that ability. She knew the man carried authority with himself, yet he had still bothered to make her feel respected as if she mattered, something Gothel had never done. Then there was the subject of her own age, 

“I don’t know what this woman has told you but we have been looking for you for ten years”

The man, no, guard -she had recalled he presented himself as part of a Royal Guard?- had mentioned they had been looking for a princess for ten years. Rapunzel was ten, that was a fact nobody but Gothel and herself knew. Rapunzel’s head began spinning. Such a turn of events shouldn’t have ever happened to any child, yet the princess was in this very position. All of this was taking a toll on her developing brain, so Rapunzel let her tears fall in hopes of finding comfort afterward. 

She heard an owl’s hoot nearby, which caused the girl to lift her head from her knees. Her tear-blurred vision couldn’t allow Rapunzel to fully focus on the person approaching the tree where she had been hiding, but upon seeing familiar raven curls, she was both relieved and anxious to think her mother had found her. “Mother?” she called out in a quiet voice. She wiped her tears and gasped when she realized she had mistaken the silhouette for her mother. As the anxiety of seeing her mother left her body, a new one was born from meeting yet another stranger for the fourth time that day. 

Though this time was different, the girl looking up at her from the ground shared similar features to her mother, except the older girl’s features were…softer, more gentle. They didn’t carry the anger and resentment Gothel’s eyes had. Once again, her mother’s warnings about the outside world came rushing back in, but the girl beneath her interrupted them quickly “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you” she lifted her arms up in the air. Cassandra had to admit, she had no idea how she would bring the princess back to the castle, she wasn’t the best at making friends, much less comforting someone a bit younger than her. Cassandra didn’t know if this girl had seen how her father had become wounded, but she assumed that at the very least the build-up to whatever happened back there was enough to make the girl run away. Something told the brunette that even though the girl was younger than she was, she felt as if this girl was a lot more emotionally sensitive to the world than herself. She had to be careful with what she said, and how to approach her. 

Cassandra unhooked the strap around her chest and let her sword fall along with her sheath to the ground, hoping it would help the girl trust her a bit more. Rapunzel on her behalf felt a little more at ease. She didn’t know if it was the fact that throughout the day, the only strangers she had met were men who were significantly older than she was, but Rapunzel was ready to willingly bring down her defenses when it came to this girl. Rapunzel nodded in acknowledgment. “I’m coming up, is that okay?” Rapunzel nodded once again and before she could toss her hair down from where she sat on the tree branch, the older girl was already climbing up the tree with amazing upper body strength. 

The oak’s branch was thick enough to support both of their weights. Rapunzel remained still with her back against the trunk as Cassandra sat on the branch with one leg on each side. Rapunzel avoided eye contact with the older girl, for she still carried skepticism of any and all outsiders. Cassandra felt uncomfortable, she had to bring this girl back to where the platoon would be waiting, but Cassandra was a warrior! She was tough, brave, daring and for some…mean. “How did you- how did you find me?” the girl stuttered. Cassandra simply extended her arm to the side, and an owl fledgling had perched himself upon her thick gauntlet. “His name is Owl, I know it’s not a very creative name but he doesn’t judge me. We like to play hide and seek during the night. It helps him get better with his hunting and I get better at hiding. He’s a really good scout.”. This made the brunette gain a curious look from the blonde “I play hide and seek a lot with Pascal, he’s really good at it too”. It was Cassandra’s time to be curious as the younger girl revealed a green chameleon to be resting on her shoulder. “I’m assuming it’s because of his camouflage?” Cassandra silently chucked and Rapunzel had a small smile tug at her lips. “It should, but I’m still the local champion”. 

“Well maybe you should play against Owl sometime, he has a sharp vision and it’s pretty hard for him to miss anything.” Owl left her arm and flew away from the tree. “Except he’s one of the only friends I really have, so maybe some other time”. Rapunzel didn’t know when she had become comfortable with the girl, but it happened rather quickly “Pascal is my only friend too, there wasn’t anyone else other than mother back at the tower”. Cassandra didn’t know what the girl was talking about, but she knew it would probably be a sensitive subject for the girl to talk about. Cassandra wasn’t sure what to say, she was a person who kept to herself even at a young age. She wouldn’t consider herself shy, but as a girl who grew up with aspirations to become a guard, a lot of the other girls her age in the kingdom thought she was weird, too tomboyish. Cassandra didn’t fit the standard of a ladylike girl, and for the guys, she was too feminine to hang around with. She had stopped caring altogether about making friends.

And yet, the girl had spoken up again “I like your hair, it looks fluffy…”. That was the first time anyone had complimented Cassandra’s hair since she adopted her new length. Cassandra used to have curls that reached the middle of her back, but as the years passed she had cut her hair inches shorter, and shorter. Now it reached just a little bit below her shoulders, which was unfavorable to some townsfolk, after all, hair was a symbol of feminine charm. “...Like a black sheep!” Cassandra could’ve taken the compliment as an insult had it come from anybody else, girls back in Corona would tease her for her tomboy looks, but the way Rapunzel had sounded sincere let Cassandra know that there was no malice in the compliment.

S he chuckled in response “Thanks…your hair is…long” yeah, she wasn’t one for creative metaphors. Rapunzel in return shuffled uncomfortably at the mention of her hair. The blonde had to admit though, it seemed as if the taller girl was oblivious to the magical properties her hair possessed. “Did you come for my hair?” the girl looked down as she whispered with a hint of fear in her voice. Cassandra, now visibly confused, reassured the girl “No, um why would I want your hair? The king and the queen are looking for you, they’ve been looking for you for ten years”

Rapunzel’s heart began racing faster, here was the subject of her anxieties rising to the surface once again. She was about to panic once again but Cassandra’s voice became her grounding agent “Ten years ago, the king and queen of Corona wanted an heir to the throne, but it was hard for the queen to become pregnant, so once she was finally able to give birth she became very sick.” Cassandra became the narrator of Rapunzel’s beginnings, a story Rapunzel had never been aware of, or at least a different version than what Gothel had told her. “There was a legend of a drop of sunlight that fell from the heavens that sprouted a magical flower, one that could heal any sickness or injury”. Rapunzel knew where the story was headed now. Something told her all the pieces would click together as Cassandra continued. Rapunzel had no idea of this said flower, or anything related to the sun’s drop of light, but she made the connection between what this girl was telling her and the powers her hair possessed. “The kingdom went in search of this flower and they found it. It was that flower that saved the queen’s life, as well as her baby’s. In turn, a blonde baby was born and the kingdom rejoiced. I don’t remember much, I was three at the time so I don’t have a lot of memories from when that happened” Cassandra added. “But shortly after the baby had been born someone stole her and they’ve been looking for the lost princess ever since”. The story had sounded like it had come out of a fairy tale storybook, but it was very much real, it was the lost lost princess’ story, and it was Rapunzel’s story. The way Cassandra narrated the story didn’t make Rapunzel any more anxious as she listened to her origin story, it filled Rapunzel with hope. 

“Mother isn’t my mother then,” Rapunzel said after a moment of silence. Cassandra sat quietly, but she felt a tad bit of empathy toward the girl “I don’t know my mother either” she admitted. Rapunzel looked at Cassandra with tender concern, pushing aside her own nervousness. “Thankfully I have my dad, well he’s not my real dad…but he’s taken care of me and made me who I am today” she looked up to meet Rapunzel’s eyes. “I know this is probably all scary for you princess, but your parents miss you. Sometimes I see them around the castle and they just seem…sad” she paused."They would be really glad to have you back, long hair and all” she added with an encouraging grin at the end. 

“May I ask for your name, your highness?” Cassandra asked. After a short silence, the younger girl spoke up, "I'm Rapunzel”. Cassandra’s eyes widened, not only had the girl carried the princess’s resemblance but also carried her name. “What’s your name?” The girl asked in return. “Cassandra”. Rapunzel gave the girl a sweet smile that Cassandra simply had to return. Rapunzel took a deep breath, she was scared but she was also brave and with an exhale she told Cassandra “I want to meet my parents”. 

Cassandra nodded, and both girls raced to see who would reach the ground faster.

~~~

Cassandra and Rapunzel walked side by side and they headed back to where they heard the voices of the platoon. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them, a mutual understanding. She wondered where Gothel had gone and whether or not she was okay. After all, the older woman had raised her so there was still a remnant of concern that Rapunzel carried for her adoptive mother’s well-being. Aside from that, Rapunzel had to admit that she grew nervous as they walked back to where she had first met Cassandra’s father, the girl didn’t know what awaited her once she was reunited with her parents. From a distance, she saw torches and lamps accompanied by voices, presumably, the rest of the platoon. 

Instinctively, Rapunzel reached her hand to grab Cassandra’s arm. At first contact, Cassandra flinched her arm away, but upon seeing Rapunzel's nervousness in the face of everything the girl was about to face she offered her hand instead for Rapunzel to hold. The princess took the brunette’s hand in hers, and while Rapunzel’s nervousness didn’t disappear, the encouraging hand helped subside her anxiety. The girls approached the light and the voices and Rapunzel stopped in her tracks finding the middle ground between the light and darkness. This was it, from here things would change drastically.

No more towers, no more isolation, it was going to be Rapunzel and- no, more like in the world.

Cassandra waited patiently for the princess to go after her destiny.

After what felt like an eternity but merely a few minutes, Rapunzel carried forward. The platoon was already tending to the Captain, cleaning his crimson wounds to avoid infection and doing their best to bandage the Captain’s thigh properly. Cassandra would come to later find out that thankfully the person who attacked her father hadn’t injured any arteries. Rapunzel had turned her head to analyze what was happening in the Captain’s direction, but Cassandra knew it would only scare the girl, and using her discretion she gently tugged Rapunzel in a direction that would obstruct her view from seeing any blood. 

“The King and Queen are here!” a random soldier yelled from a distance riding his own horse, shortly behind him, the King and Queen of Corona came riding in with their own steeds. At a quick pace, they scanned the area for signs of their lost princess. Ariana locked eyes with Rapunzel and the world vanished.

Every fiber within Ariana’s body produced a sensation that burned as much as it soothed her. For a long time, it had been as if she were a living piece of iron: every birthday that passed without her daughter being home was like a hammer blow to her heart that pounded violently. Every day was as if her soul was being thrown into the fire, her core being pushed beyond the boiling point in an agonizing torture. But as Ariana stood motionless as she looked at her daughter’s eyes, it was as if finally the iron was being dipped into cooling water, refreshing to the soul. The end result? A stronger tool than before. Except Ariana wasn’t a mace, a sword, a hammer, or even a shiny medal, she was a mother, one of the strongest types of humans to walk this earth.

Rapunzel had felt her world vanish differently though. She wasn’t in the present anymore, she wasn’t in the valley with her mother a few feet away from her or Cassandra holding her hand. No, she was in a crib. Visuals of the splendid Coronan sun above her and chiseled castle ceilings with paintings. The visual that stood out to her was green eyes, but they weren’t the cold gray eyes of her ex-presumed mother. It was a gentle green like the fresh and comforting grass she had the privilege of touching earlier. The owner of said eyes belonged to the woman standing in front of her now. There was a pulling force stronger than the gravity of the universe that lured Rapunzel to this woman. 

Letting go of Cassandra’s hand, she ran as fast as possible to her mother. Ariana’s eyes welled up in tears and didn’t want to hold them back. She let the tears spill as she knelt on the ground with arms open ready to embrace her child once again after ten long years. Rapunzel threw herself at her mother and within her embrace, she felt a shift. The embrace felt like it came with no conditions, or the need to give something to deserve it. 

It was pure, genuine, raw.

This was her mother.

This was the love she didn’t know she had been craving for years.

Not long after Frederic, feeling like he was floating in a surreal reality, came and embraced his wife and his daughter on the ground. Finally, there was a reunited family in Corona, one that cried bittersweet tears. 

In that solemn silence between the three kindred spirits, there was an unspoken promise, one that swore that the three of them would never be separated permanently ever again

~~~

Gothel couldn’t do much to stop her own bleeding, thankfully the Captain’s sword had only grazed her arm and while the wound itself wasn’t fatally deep, it had still dealt a great amount of damage to her. It didn’t help that she didn’t have her sun-drop with her, the stress of the entire situation had rushed into her body, invading her like a cancer that quickly spread. It was this amount of stress that had accelerated the wrinkles from coming back and the gray hairs that conquered her scalp. 

Gothel had failed, perhaps she really was like Zhan Tiri in the first place, she hadn’t taken the necessary precautions to leave Corona safely and that had cost her her sun-drop. She couldn’t go back and retrieve her sun-drop anymore, the sovereigns would make sure that never happened again.

Gothel lost.

Getting down from the stallion, she hyperventilated furiously, desperately, as if somehow by greedily taking in the air she could live a little longer. It was no use, the millennia of years she had lived were claiming her time now. It was as if Gothel was stuck in an avalanche of time, and all the extra years that had allowed her to live longer than the human life expectancy were coming to claim her. Her body was the first to surrender, but Gothel’s mind was still in denial. As much as she longed to sweat, her body was already beginning to fail, the tips of her fingers becoming ash. It burned before it became numb. Gothel was horrified as she saw how slowly her body disintegrated. The black horse had been horrified by the image and fled, death was always a gruesome image. 

Flakes of ash flew with the wind as Gothel had her last breath. The only thing that remained in this world that belonged to Gothel was her clothing and the drops of blood that had spilled while her body was still flesh and bones. 

That and her copy of the Demanitus scroll that had become litter that disintegrated into oblivion. 

Chapter Text

As soon as she had arrived at the castle the night she was taken back, the princess was immediately groomed with a warm bath with all types of salts, oils, exfoliators, soaps, and shampoos. But upon landing her sight on a servant with scissors in her hand approaching Rapunzel, she frantically left the bathtub, nearly pushing the doors open to run around the castle butt-naked (she could’ve used her own hair as a way to cover herself up, and although it would’ve still been humiliating it was better than having her hair cut). Arianna had waited outside the room to allow her daughter some privacy, she didn’t want her daughter to feel as if she was entitled to see her naked, but upon hearing the commotion inside the room she had rushed in to see the wet child slipping on the floor, terrified of the scissors. The Queen asked for the maids to leave the room and give them some privacy, asking the maid who had been holding the scissors to take them with her so that they didn’t have to remain in the room. Arianna knelt next to Rapunzel as she breathed heavily but her mother’s presence immediately soothed her. 

Arianna gave her daughter a comforting warm smile, one that said “It’s okay, I’m here”. Rapunzel gulped and her mother said, “Let’s get you back in the tub honey, alright?”. Rapunzel nodded and did as she was told, sinking back into the warm fragrance-impregnated water. Arianna reached for a sponge and some soap that was already moist. With a soft glance, she asked “Is it okay if I help?”, Rapunzel nodded and Arianna lathered her child with her own hands. 

Upon finishing her work, she rinsed the girl’s body of all remaining soap. Arianna looked at the girl’s hair, while her roots and the hair that reached the base of her neck were wet, the rest of the length was on the floor around the bathtub and remained dry. There had been a separate bathtub that contained clean water to rinse the girl. “I’m assuming it’s going to take a while for your hair to dry huh?” Arianna asked, a hint of playfulness in her question “Usually I would hang it outside my window and it would dry a little bit faster” Rapunzel smiled “but yes it does take a really long time”. Arianna replied “You know, you come from a family who just happens to have really thick hair too, your father hasn’t even begun thinning and I don’t think he will” she nudged Rapunzel’s shoulder and whispered, “good for him”. Rapunzel giggled and Arianna continued “Between the length and the thickness it’s sure going to take a while”. Arianna grabbed a shampoo bar, and before she stood up to grab Rapunzel’s hair she asked, “Would it be okay for me to wash your hair?”. 

Rapunzel was not used to being asked permission for anyone to touch her hair. Gothel, who had been the only other person who ever touched her hair on her own account, never really asked permission to touch Rapunzel’s hair. If Gothel wanted to use the healing incantation she would demand Rapunzel to sing and she would brush her hair without asking. She would volunteer to wash her hair too, but Rapunzel knew it was because Gothel had a love for her hair’s magic and a fear Rapunzel would accidentally pluck some of her hair out by accident. But Arianna stood here, asking for permission to wash her hair, something Rapunzel knew that nobody would have enjoyed doing given the nature of the tedious task unless they were aware of the magical properties of her hair.  Rapunzel smiled and nodded once again. 

Her mother got to work. She took the remaining hair and dipped it inside the second tub of clean water. She began with Rapunzel’s roots, rubbing the bar along her scalp until foam buildup was visible. She worked in sections, washing and rising parts of her hair from her roots to her neck, then in fragments until she reached her tips. Though, as she lathered the first section of her hair, she noticed a brown lock of hair that stood out from the surrounding blonde. Arianna quietly noticed it and would ask her daughter about it later. Once the girl was fully bathed, Arianna handed her a towel and a chemise, and Rapunzel patted her body dry and put on the chemise as Arianna got a headstart on drying her hair as much as possible with just a towel. The Queen grabbed a big load of hair and tossed it out the window, letting the hair be cradled in the cool night’s breeze. It had gotten the Queen’s own attire to become wet, but she didn’t mind.

 Both royals sat by the window, Arianna taking the opportunity to ask about the elephant in the room “Darling, can I ask why you don’t feel comfortable with having your hair cut?”. Rapunzel didn’t tense up, and without resistance, she gave her mother her answer. “When I was in the tower, Mothe- the woman who took me told me that I was born with magical hair and that everyone sought to cut it to possess its power” she grabbed a lock of hair and stroked her hands along its moisture. “She told me I- we had to hide away from the selfish people of the world. The world is evil, cold, loveless. They would have no compassion for me and her” she sighed. Arianna was trying to hold back her tears. Her daughter had been manipulated her entire life, caged up like an animal. Everything that came out of her daughter’s mouth was cold words and affirmations and exaggerated lies about the world that had poisoned her child into fear. Rapunzel continued her story until Arianna had a question “But honey what sort of abilities does your hair have?”. Before Rapunzel could describe to her mother what her hair could do, she looked down at her knees and realized she could instead show her mother. 

Lifting her chemise’s skirt, she revealed scraped knees with skin slightly peeled off. It wasn’t a nasty wound, it was a result of normal child’s play but Arianna still gasped silently at the sight. Rapunzel made sure to pull back all of her hair inside the tower before she did anything else. Once that was done, she took the lock of hair she had in her hands and wrapped it around her knees. Rapunzel saw her mother’s confusion in the corner of her eyes, but before she could question why she was doing what she was doing, her daughter began singing

Flower gleam and glow

Let your powers shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

The first lines of the song the girl sang birthed a glow from her golden locks. Arianna followed the trail the light was creating as the light spread from her daughter’s roots to her tips and around her knees.

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fate’s design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine

Arianna swallowed and nervously watched as Rapunzel unwrapped the hair around her knees, revealing smooth skin. She gasped once again as she reached to touch her daughter’s knees. Smooth, and warm, there hadn’t been a trace or a scar or any sort of indicator that her daughter had scraped her knees. 

“The flower…” Arianna said in disbelief. “The flower that saved us gave me these powers” Rapunzel finished her mother’s thoughts. Arianna assumed it had been Cassandra who had told Rapunzel the story of her birth since she had walked back with her. She would have to thank her later for bringing her daughter to her. 

For now, Arianna was processing the magical powers her daughter had. Rapunzel opened the windows again and her mother helped her toss the hair back out the window to continue its drying process. “That’s why she hid you away from us” she whispered. Rapunzel nodded. “Whenever you cut my hair…” Rapunzel revealed the lock of chocolate-colored hair behind her neck that Arianna had noticed earlier “…it loses its power forever”. Arianna noticed it was the same brown shade and tone as Frederic’s hair.

Arianna had to contemplate what to do. Part of her wanted to get the nearest scissors and immediately cut her hair, securing the fact to make sure nobody would ever take her daughter away because of her hair ever again, but she also considered the girl’s feelings. Rapunzel knew deep down she needed to keep the hair and its powers but not for greed. There was something within Rapunzel that told her that this was a part of her. This wasn’t about hair, no, this was about something that was bound to her. She was afraid that if she let go, it would be gone forever. “Honey I want you to know something…” Arianna began, reaching over to hold her daughter’s hands “…I know your hair has been the focus of your life and the reason you were taken from us. It would bring me great peace of mind if it was cut so we could put this behind us once and for all and move on happily.” Rapunzel became visibly uncomfortable upon the mention of having her hair cut. She looked away from her mother but Arianna lifted her hand and gently placed the tips of her fingers beneath Rapunzel’s chin, leading Rapunzel’s head to look her again in the eyes; eyes that carried nothing but softness. 

“But I know this means something to you. Rapunzel, this isn’t the tower where you were controlled by the woman who took you. You’re free to speak your mind and share your thoughts without fear of repercussions. Your hair, this power you have is yours and your father and I will not force you to surrender it. I won’t order to have your hair cut. If it’s cut, I want it to be your own decision. Just make sure it’s always up and keep it tidy. Is that okay darling?”. Rapunzel responded by throwing her arms around her mother in a hug. Arianna melted into the hug, thanking the stars and the sun for being able to have the privilege to be able to hold her daughter in her arms once again. “Thank you, mom,” the girl said only being partly muffled by the hug. Arianna’s heart fluttered in reaction to hearing that word leave her daughter’s lips, addressed to her personally. 

~~~

Rapunzel smiled at the memory, she still didn’t know when she would have her hair cut, but thanks to the willingness of the staff, it didn’t take long for her to have her hair braided up and ready for the day, after all, she had celebrations to attend to. 

The kingdom rejoiced upon the princess’s return. Glee absorbed Corona when the royal family ordered week-long celebrations in honor of the princess’s return. Rapunzel on her behalf was overwhelmed in the best possible way by learning both the small and big wonders that existed beyond the tower’s walls. Books, paints, games, people, it was everything she hoped would lie beyond her tower. The princess wasn’t deprived of anything she desired, but that didn’t change her attitude toward others. She didn’t become a spoiled rotten child, she remained the kind, free-spirited girl she always was.

Rapunzel had to admit that although she was out of her tower, things had changed. Being without Gothel had brought an unforeseen change to her life. Sure, She had the privilege of knowing who her real parents were. Her mother had been a much more nurturing mother than Gothel ever was. Apart from all of that, she was not as socially adept as others had thought. The girl had been deprived of social interaction for a long time in her life. Because of that, most people she had met, although friendly (just like the typical friendliness of Coronans), often gave her looks at her "inappropriate" antics. Bear hugs, gifts to commoners, walking around barefoot. None of these were traits of a real heir that belonged to the royal bloodline. To some, the girl was making a mockery of what it meant to be part of the royal bloodline. This didn't mean that she was hated across the kingdom of course, but she had so much to learn. The sudden change of atmosphere wasn't comforting for Rapunzel in its entirety. She felt...alone.

The castle was flooded with people, sure. Cooks, maids, guards, and tutors were all at her service. Rapunzel didn’t want servants though, she wanted friends. Being the only child of the family was definitely a downside since she couldn’t interact with other children. When it came to her academic education, Rapunzel was told she would be privately taught by the finest teachers in Corona in the comfort of the castle, alone. Even though Rapunzel was told that she was an important figure in Corona (being the lost princess and all) it seemed as though nobody really wanted to talk to her, as if she was some forbidden fruit that nobody could engage in conversation with. 

Except there was one person from the outside world whom she had actually been comfortable with other than her parents, except she hadn’t seen her since that night; it had been two days since then. After her hair was done the handmaidens that had been in her room dismissed themselves, leaving the princess alone with her green best friend. “Pascal, I’m pretty sure we have to be downstairs for the Captain’s award ceremony, but I’ve got to find that girl we met the other night. She’s the only person I really know who’s about my age and who’s been willing to talk to me” Pascal was semi-offended at the implication and frowned at Rapunzel. Rapunzel smiled at Pascal “Someone other than you bud, someone human , don’t worry you’re still my best friend, always”. He chirped happily in return, Pascal was willing to do whatever it took for Rapunzel to branch out just as he had always wanted her to. 

Rapunzel chuckled and placed Pascal on his shoulder “I remember she had mentioned seeing my parents around the castle, so someone in the castle must know who she is, so we are going to look for her”. Rapunzel stood up and walked out of her room, the girl was on a mission. She was hoping she would ask one of the nearby guards posted around every entrance of every main hallway in the castle. Her room was located in a singular hallway that had no other doors that made a “T” intersection with another hallway. “Pascal! I remember now! Her name was Cassand-” as she turned to the left, she bumped into a person while conversing with Pascal. She fell back with an “oof” on her bottom. When she looked up she recognized the familiar face. 

In front of her was the ruffian she had met the night she was rescued offering his hand to her as a stabilizer. This time he was dressed in clean new clothes, a black vest hugging his figure, a white shirt underneath, and beige pants and boots that matched his vest. “Princess! I. am. so sorry are you okay?”. Rapunzel took a few steps back. This time she wasn’t scared of confrontation with this ruffian knowing guards were in each hallway. “I don’t know if you remember me but you probably do! Given the look on your- WHOAH!”. The blonde lassoed his feet together with her hair and tugged hard, making the boy fall on the ground with a loud thud. “Who are you? And how did you find me? Actually no, how did you even sneak past the guards?!” the girl questioned. The rogue groaned from his fall “Of course you remember me you knocked me out with a pan! And now you almost managed to break my nose. A thank you would’ve sufficed for returning you to your parents y’know” 

Rapunzel frowned in confusion and let go of his feet. “Uh, you didn’t return me to my parents, the Captain, and…some other girl did”. Eugene laughed “and who do you think alerted the Captain blondie?”. It all clicked now, the boy who lifted himself off the floor had recognized her to be the lost princess, he had alerted the Captain and the Captain had gone after her. “Oh, I see. Wait, that doesn’t mean you returned me, you just gave the Captain a heads up” Rapunzel clarified. “Touche” the teen replied “As to who I am and how I found you, your majesty my name is Flynn Rider, but that’s going to change soon, so you may call me Eugene Fitzherbert…actually just Eugene”

Flynn Rider was going to be christened with a new name: Eugene Fitzherbert. Of course, almost nobody in Corona knew that had been his birth name…or at least his suspected birth name as an orphan. Although technically it wasn’t a name with a clean slate that was bonded to him, for the rest of the kingdom he was the boy who had found the lost princess. Both the Captain and the King had been surprised at the boy’s abnegation to be willing to give up his life of crime for the kingdom’s longest search, and he was rewarded generously for bringing Rapunzel home. Eugene had expected to give himself a meal worthy of a nobleman just a few days ago in exchange for a stolen ruby ring, but now he had earned himself warm meals and a proper bed to rest for a lifetime. 

“As to how I found you, well, that has two answers. Originally when you first struck me with your pan, I was actually on my way back to my hideout but you were there. But of course, if you’re looking for the immediate present-day answer, everyone in the castle knows where your room is”. Rapunzel had a follow-up question to that “...your hideout?”. “Yes, my hideout. You see I used to be Corona’s most wanted thief. Still, I guess you could say you whacked some sense into me.” he gave her a sad smile, one that conveyed that he was not proud of his wrongdoings. “I like to think that perhaps it was a second chance to find my destiny”. Rapunzel smiled, perhaps Gothel was wrong. There was more to people than what met the eye. 

Two guards approached the children “Is everything, okay princess?”. Rapunzel reassured the guards, “Everything is fine thank you” and the guards left. Eugene smiled at the princess. He spoke up once again “In case you’re wondering yes I did surrender the stolen goods. If I’m not wrong, I believe the Guard took possession of it shortly after you got to the castle”. 

The princess had a personal goal to make a friend, and although the boy in front of him was not Cassandra, Rapunzel had grown fond of the boy rather quickly. Perhaps it was because she was too trusting or that he was naturally charming, but once again Rapunzel’s intuition told her Eugene would just be one of those people whom she would be bonded with forever. “Well, I think that you made the right decision. Thank you, Eugene. But you still haven’t told me how you sneaked past the guards”. Eugene began walking with the princess down the hallway “Well after I gave the Captain a lead to follow to retrieve the lost princess -that being you of course- the King pardoned me for my crimes and offered for me to live in the castle. Cool right? It would’ve been rude to say no to the king -not that I was planning on saying ‘no’ to him anyway- so I said yes, so now I live here”. Rapunzel giggled, “I take it you’ve settled in the castle pretty well then”. 

“Oh yes, I have…As someone who grew up with nothing I’ve got to admit that this is something I’d never get to experience” his voice became sadder, but quickly tried to turn the mood around “How about you? How have you settled in the castle since…everything?”. Rapunzel was subconsciously excited to be finally making conversation with someone who wasn’t a servant, her parents, or Pascal and it was exciting! There really was a rush to make friends that flooded her being with joy “It’s new, there are so many rules that come with being a princess. Being out of the tower where I spent my whole life is a lot too, there are so many smells and sights and noises at times it feels like too much”

“I’ve gotta be honest blondie if I had known I would be sleeping on pillows stuffed with goose feathers I would’ve joined the search for the lost princess a looooong time ago. I feel like that’s gotta account for one good sensory stimulant right? And also, I mean who knows maybe I would’ve even met you at your tower right?” both of them laughed at the hypothetical scenario “I think I would’ve still hit you with a pan”, there was an unspoken agreement on the faux-scenario upon the eruption of laugher from both of them. “So what’s next for you your majesty? What comes next?”. Rapunzel wondered the same thing, she was still just a child learning her way through the world, and she would soon need to prepare to be a princess. “I’m not so sure, it’s good to be home but it’s also kind of lonely. I don’t really know any other kids my age and sometimes I feel so…different. But I like meeting new people!”

They both made a turn in a hallway. “I’m looking for someone…a girl. I met her the other night when I was brought to the castle. She seemed so nice and from what I know she’s in the castle but I haven’t seen her”. Eugene frowned, thinking “Do you know what her name is? I mean I haven’t been around the castle much either but I mean this place is huge and we hadn’t seen each other until now so I’m only assuming that’s the reason why you haven’t seen her yet”. Rapunzel admitted that what Eugene was saying was logical “Her name is Cassandra. She’s a lot more taller than me and she has curly hair”. Eugene laughed “Oh right right I know exactly who you’re talking about, you’re talking about the cobra girl. Hah! Very funny, she’s anything but ‘ nice ’”

Eugene walked in front of the blonde and stopped her in her tracks, “you are joking right?”. Rapunzel frowned “No, Cassandra is a good person. She’s the one who brought me to my parents”. “No I returned you to your parents. Do you really expect me to believe that the girl who is supposed to handle my laundry but still returns my own clothes to me still dripping wet is a ‘nice’ girl?” he chuckled. Rapunzel frowned “No, we’ve already said you tipped the Captain but Cassandra found me, she led me to my parents”.

 “Well, I’m the one who was rewarded for finding you right?!”. Rapunzel wasn’t one to get angry often, but Eugene’s selfish self-absorbed attitude was getting to her, especially at the implication that this Cassandra wasn’t a good person. “She has a good heart” she huffed and walked away from Eugene, attempting to leave him behind and end the conversation. “Okay okay you win, fine. I mean ultimately you get to pick your friends but I am telling you now blondie Cassandra is icy cold”.

Rapunzel admitted that she didn’t know much about the brunette. The only interaction she had with her was brief and sweet and in unfortunate circumstances. Eugene had described her as icy cold and Rapunzel partly agreed with him. She had been a cooling agent that night when her anxiety and fear were at an all-time high. Just like the moon, Cassandra had been a figure that made her feel less alone during the night. Whether or not Cassandra was ‘mean’ to Eugene or to anyone for that matter, she was convinced she could at least break through to her and hopefully reveal a softer side to her. Rapunzel did not spend ten years in her tower just so that she could finally be free and not make any friends.

Eugene led Rapunzel to where she typically saw the brunette, but she hadn’t been there. “Eugene I’m really hoping that you’re not leading me in the wrong direction just so that I don’t meet Cassandra”. Eugene looked confused once they had reached their destination and had not found the girl in question attending to her duties. “That’s weird she’s usually here, I’m not sure why-” Eugene was interrupted by a voice behind them, “Who is usually here?”. Both of the kids turned around and were faced with the Queen, who stood there in her signature violet dress. “Your majesty! Hi- hello nice to meet you finally, I only had the pleasure to meet the king” Eugene had jumped at first but was now bowing to the Queen out of respect, who bowed back in acknowledgment, her frown directed at the ex-con dissolving. “Mom do you know anyone in the castle named Cassandra?” The girl asked. 

Over the past few days, it had been easy for Rapunzel to get along with her parents. Of course, she was nervous just like anybody would’ve been upon meeting their parents for the first time in ten years! But Rapunzel’s warmth and outgoingness made it easier for the family to become close together in a matter of two days. Frederic and Arianna were cautious and tried not to smother their daughter with love and longing after so many years, but Rapunzel’s joy cyclone had caught them by surprise as she jumped headfirst into their relationship with enthusiasm. It was almost ironic how it had been Rapunzel’s personality that made it easier for her parents to get used to the new change and not the other way around. Rapunzel loved her father, she didn’t have a father figure or anyone who even managed to get close to fulfilling a father’s role in her life. Although opposites, she had become her complete opposite that brought balance to his spirit, and although they would clash in the future, at the end of the day they loved each other unconditionally. Rapunzel naturally gravitated toward her mother, it was the first night she had come back home that had determined to Rapunzel that her mother would be not just the most nurturing mother she ever had, but one of her closest friends. 

Arianna smiled “Why yes I do. She was given the day off for her father’s award ceremony” her mother nodded. Rapunzel was confused for a couple of seconds before astonishment captured her face. “Cassandra is the Captain’s daughter?” she breathed out. “Mhm, she’s a courageous young lady. She’s been training with her father to be part of the Royal Guard one day”. Eugene had his own commentary to add “A woman? on the guard? Ha-Ha sure, when pigs fly”. The princess and the queen frowned in his direction. His sarcastic laughter died down and melted into embarrassment. “Rapunzel, walk with me,” Ariana said and they both turned around and walked away from Eugene, leaving him behind.

“Cassandra was adopted by the Captain at a young age but he has raised her as his own. The Captain is a good man, he’s one of your father’s closest friends” Rapunzel listened attentively. “She guided you to us that night, is that right?” She asked. “Yes, she was so…I don’t know, patient? It was comforting at the moment like she was willing to wait for me to take my time” Rapunzel admitted. Arianna smiled “Honey I’d love nothing more than for you both to become friends”. “Really?” Rapunzel’s eyes lit up. “Of course. Rapunzel, I know you haven’t had the easiest time making friends. You’re unique my love”. During their walk, they reached the castle’s barracks where soldiers were housed and the armory was stored. Rapunzel hadn’t been in this area of the castle “I’ve seen Cassandra grow up over the years and she isn’t one for making friends easily”. Ariana led Rapunzel to a large room where weaponry was stored and discreetly ushered Rapunzel to the side, hiding behind an armor stand. She tilted her head in a motion that made Rapunzel look in its direction. 

When Rapunzel looked up the brunette was sitting on a crate a few meters from where she stood. In her possession, she had a German longsword and a whetstone. She moved the whetstone along the blade's edges, producing a hiss from the steel being repeatedly sharpened. She worked until she put the whetstone down and moved her finger along the edges ever so slightly to feel the sharpness of the sword against her skin without creating a cut. It was graceful as it was dangerous, but Cassandra was satisfied with her work and looked at the sword with pride. She smiled as she took the sword and walked to put the sword away, and fetched another weapon to sharpen. 

Rapunzel watched the scene play out in wonder. Internally Rapunzel analyzed her surroundings and the information that she had gathered thus far. Most guards were men, well, that was incorrect, all of the guards were men. Eugene had shown his own displeasure with the idea that women should be on the guard. Before Rapunzel could finish her thoughts, her mother led her out of the room undetected by Cassandra. “Cassandra swims against the current, she doesn’t conform to the standard. A lot of people don’t like that or they find it weird…” Arianna continued “…but so do you Rapunzel”  

“How did you-?” Rapunzel had felt alienated from others and her mother had picked up on that. Although Rapunzel hadn’t had a chance to talk to Cassandra, since she had returned to the castle and found herself sympathizing with the brunette on some level. Both girls were…odd to the rest of the world. 

“I’m your mother Rapunzel, I guess you could say moms just have a way of knowing” she admitted with a smile. Rapunzel smiled back and walked back with her mother. “Honey I know that ever since you returned to the castle things have been overwhelming for you. Your father and I don’t expect you to become a princess overnight, we’d much rather give you a chance at being a child before anything else. You have proved to us both that being around people is your forte, so go and make a new friend” Arianna knelt on the ground to be at eye level with Rapunzel. Rapunzel was already determined to befriend Cassandra, it had become her first priority since she had woken up this morning and she was going to make sure she secured a friendship with the older girl.

Rapunzel threw her arms around her mother with glee radiating from her “Thank you, mom”. Arianna returned the hug and after a few seconds, Rapunzel let go and began to run off back into the room where the weapons were stored. She only managed to get a few paces away from her mother before Arianna spoke up again “But!…” Rapunzel stopped “…we have to get ready for the Captain’s award ceremony which will start shortly. Do you want to come with me, darling?”. Rapunzel thought for a second, she wanted to get to know Cassandra, but she immediately thought of one way she could worm into the girl’s heart and at the same time show gratitude to the Captain for his bravery. “Actually mom I have an idea of something I want to personally gift the Captain, but would it be okay if we could do it after the ceremony?”. Arianna was intrigued by whatever her daughter was planning. The queen had come to admire her daughter’s natural care for others, “What do you have in mind?”

~~~

On the third day after the return of the lost princess, there would be an honorary award ceremony for the Captain of the Royal Guard. The Captain had been wounded as a result of the rescue and would receive a medal as a reminder of the sacrifice he had done on that night. Of course, the Captain in all humbleness felt as if he didn’t deserve it. In his mind, it had been a team effort to retrieve the princess, and a small one at that was made up of a horse and two kids. He found it rather comical how everything had played out. A thief led by his own courage (or was it interest?) teamed up with a young alabaster steed to alert the Captain. The Captain selfishly loosely followed protocol to mend his guilt and that had cost him three stab wounds to the thigh, wounds that threatened his ability to ever walk again. Not only that but he had sent out his own daughter out into the night to retrieve the princess, not knowing if the woman who had attacked him would also attack his only child. His daughter at the age of thirteen had proven that she was brave in the face of danger and he could have not been prouder. 

The ex-con had been granted a pardon for his crimes, Maximus would be promoted, and the Captain would have a celebration dedicated to him. The Captain felt as if it was a bit unjust for his daughter to not be recognized for the effort she had provided that night, but he knew his place and knew he wouldn’t demand anything from the king and queen on behalf of his daughter. She would have to earn the attention for herself. What the Captain didn’t know was that Cassandra knew this fact already, and for a long time, she would put effort into her duties that often came with nonexistent praise. 

The Captain lay on his bed feeling restless, the stab wounds on his thigh didn’t allow him to move around a lot without his crutches. He didn’t want to stay in bed for weeks, it was his duty as the Captain to lead and make sure Corona was safe at all times. He didn’t want another missing princess incident, after all the Captain figured that the woman who had taken the princess could still be out there. That same woman who he had seen the night the princess was taken.

That same woman who was most likely Cassandra’s mother. 

The Captain had let go of the guilt that stuck with him until he had found the princess and played a role in her return, but now there was a new one that took its place: the withholding of the truth of who Cassandra’s mother was. He had held on to this for ten years and never once dared to admit to his daughter who her mother was in fear that it would lead his daughter into a downward spiral to a void, one that would make Cassandra feel unwanted for the rest of her life. The Captain didn’t want Cassandra’s spirit to break at the thought of being chosen over the princess; she was wanted, and she was loved. He feared that Cassandra would forever lose her determination and her natural strength to obstacles. He wanted to protect his daughter from an emotional scar that would unleash an unknown dangerous reaction in Cassandra. 

He snapped out of his train of thought when the door to his room was opened by the pupil of his life. “Hey dad, how are you feeling?” Cassandra asked. Her father sat up on his bed with a small grunt “Like shit. I haven’t been injured like this in a really long time so I’ve almost forgotten how time goes by so slowly when you’re bedridden”. Cassandra chuckled at her father’s response. She pulled a chair and flipped it around so that it was backward and straddled the chair so that she could rest her arms and chin on the chair’s support. “That bad huh? You’ve never told me any stories of how you’ve become injured in other assignments or missions”. Her statement was arranged in a way that made it become an inquiry to know one more tale of her father’s life, and the Captain obliged “Well the last time I was hurt to the point of being bedridden was during an idiotic petty duel between a friend and me. To be fair we were both as drunk as sailors, and being drunk in a brawl is never a good recipe for a fair and safe duel”. Cassandra loved hearing her father’s tales, although her past and where she came from wasn’t available for her to indulge in, she had a father who was willing to fill that cup for her. 

“In the end, I was left with a purple eye and broken ankle, nothing like a bunch of stab wounds though” he groaned at a sudden sharp pain that came from his thigh. “Was it a fistfight?”

“Yes”

“Who threw the first punch?”

“I did”

“Did he parry?”

“Yep”

“Did you slip?”

“No”

“So he had a counterattack ready?”

“Yes”

“Explains the purple eye, so then why the broken ankle?”

“It was in the woods and my foot became hooked under a tree’s root, and fell on the wrong side”

Cassandra chuckled, at her least, her father was willing to admit to defeat, that’s what made him a good Captain. “Honestly dad I was expecting a little better from your end, you know, given that you are the Captain and all”. The Captain huffed “Yeah well I was a kid and it was stupid. I hope you won’t make the same mistake I made young lady”. She got up from where she had been standing to fetch her father’s clutches “What? Get into petty fights for no reason? I’m pretty sure I’m smarter than that dad”. She handed him his crutches and he locked eyes with his daughter “Challenge someone to prove you’re superior. A soldier keeps his -or her- wits and fights to protect, not for vanity or praise”. She nodded and the Captain walked to get his dress uniform for the ceremony. Before she headed for the door to give her father privacy to get dressed, he asked briefly “Did you sharpen the swords?”. “The rapiers, the halberds, and the spears” she added. The Captain gave her a grin as she stepped out of his room.

Much later the Captain walked out in his freshly ironed red and white uniform with yellow accents. Cassandra had waited for him outside and now both walked slowly to the throne room where the Captain would be given his award. Once they got to the main doors, the Captain waited behind them for his name to be called and walked into the room. Cassandra excused herself “I’ll go wait for you inside. I’m proud of you dad”. Cassandra wasn’t one for hugs, neither was her father. Instead, she bowed her head a little as a sign of respect and admiration for her father and turned around to use the right door that also led to the throne room, leaving her father behind. Before she could walk through the door a voice stopped her from behind “Cassandra”.

Cassandra turned around to see the sovereigns of Corona. Cassandra promptly bowed her head and the couple mirrored her movements. “Your majesties. Aren’t you supposed to be-“ she was interrupted “Yes we are, but we wanted to come to thank you personally” King Frederic spoke up. “Your father was brave for taking immediate action to go after a suspicion that our daughter was around Corona’s border. But you Cassandra, a child, responded just as quickly and with the same amount of bravery” he continued “We do not condone putting a child’s life at risk during an operation that is meant for trained members of the Guard only. You should’ve remained at the castle for your own safety…”. Cassandra internally cringed, as she thought that she would be reprimanded for her impulsive decision to go after her dad. “…But you brought our little girl back to where we were before any of the other Guards did. For that we thank you and we want you to know that the medal your father is receiving today is yours just as much as it is his”. 

Cassandra smiled, ‘Thank you your majesties” was all she managed to say in return as the couple walked into the throne room. As soon as they arrived, the people in the audience stood up out of respect for the King and Queen of Corona. Cassandra felt a warmth in her chest, a new sensation had arisen within her. Pride. She was proud she had done something worthy of being given merit. It was this spark of pride that made her feel as if though from here on out she would increase her hunger and drive in everything that she did in her life. Her father would be receiving a medal for today but she knew she had earned it just as much. Cassandra was about to enter to take a seat in the front row, after all, there was a seat reserved just for her. Before she could do that yet another voice stopped her, a softer voice “Hey”. Turning around once again she found the blonde princess looking up at her with admiration in her eyes. Cassandra wasn’t used to that, all the girls at school gave her condescending looks or simply ignored her. Cassandra was even more bewildered by the look on the princess’s face over the fact that she herself was a princess while she was just a commoner. The royal couple had addressed Cassandra with the poise of two bluebloods but the girl standing in front of her looked at her as if she were showing her the stars in the sky. “Hey- I mean- Hello, your majesty, do you need anything?” Cassandra asked with the typical respect one would use when addressing someone with power. “No actually I just wanted to give you this”. She princess pulled out a small box from behind her, about the size of an average shoebox. Cassandra took it in her hands and Rapunzel encouraged her “Open it”. Cassandra opened the box and found a small canvas dressed in a painting that depicted the two girls sitting on the tree branch the night Rapunzel was rescued. Cassandra wasn’t sure how to react, it wasn’t often she received personalized gifts from royalty. Correction: she never has been given gifts by royalty. She was at a loss for words which is why Rapunzel spoke up and offered an invitation. “After your dad’s ceremony, I was hoping I could take you up on your offer to play hide and seek with Owl?”. 

Cassandra was now just dumbfounded. Here was the princess of Corona inviting her to play a game, giving her a gift, and wanting to spend time willingly with her. Had the king and queen arranged this as a way for Rapunzel to show faux gratitude to Cassandra due to her actions the night she was rescued? As far as she knew most girls in the kingdom of Corona thought she was too tomboyish, Cassandra was into swords and halberds, not makeup and dolls. The princess of Corona had to be by far the most feminine girl in all of Corona given her position in the castle, so why was she willing to spend time with her? “We could do it after dark before bedtime, since I know owls are nocturnal” the princess elaborated. Cassandra was suspicious and took the necessary precautions to avoid the princess’s invitation. If her parents had forced the princess to hang out with the Captain’s daughter, a simple ‘no’ would be enough for the blonde to leave her alone. “Thank you, princess, but I’m afraid I have to look after my dad, he’s hurt and he’s going to need my help for a while”. The princess’s hope for a playdate came crashing down but immediately recalled that she would have a surprise of her own for the brunette’s father. “Oh you don’t have to worry about that…my parent’s uhh…” she fabricated a lie quickly “…assigned some of the staff to look after your dad for tonight!” she insisted. Cassandra was now feeling cornered and a little irritated at the girl’s persistence. Okay, so she was a clingy person. Cassandra doesn’t do clingy.

“Maybe some other time princess, I’m just really worried for my dad and everything he went through apart from the actual physical injuries”. Rapunzel felt a pang of guilt for being the reason why the Captain had become injured in the first place but she also wanted to respect the girl’s wishes. Rapunzel’s mother had told her that the two girls could easily become friends due to the similar treatment the world gave them, but at the end of the day Rapunzel hadn’t considered the fact that she was a princess and she would be treated as such by everyone. “Oh, okay, I understand” she moped in response. Cassandra turned around to head into the throne room, putting the lid to the box back in its place and leaving the girl behind. Cassandra had to admit she felt bad in rejecting the princess’s invitation but what was done was done. Rapunzel followed after her and rather than sitting on one the front row seats next to Cassandra, she walked to where her parents were, on the platform where her parents stood waiting for the Captain to make his entrance. 

The ceremony went smoothly. The Captain’s uniform was already decorated with ribbons, but that afternoon he was given a sun-shaped medal that resembled Corona’s insignia made of pure gold. Cassandra watched with pride as the King awarded his father an honorary award that announced to the whole kingdom that he was the princess’s selfless hero who was wounded in her rescue. The celebrations continued after his awards ceremony, but Cassandra took the opportunity to perfect her technique with her longsword in the courtyard while the Captain returned to his bed chamber to resume his rest.

The Captain had changed out of his uniform and into comfortable clothing. He was drifting into a sound sleep until the knocking on his door interrupted the process. “Come in!” he said and the royal family came into his room, including the blonde princess.

 “Your majesties, apologies for my current state. Is there something I can help you all with?”. 

Frederic approached his best friend’s bedside “Not at all Captain, actually, it was Rapunzel who wanted to see you”.

 Ariana and Rapunzel followed after him and shortly after Rapunzel spoke up “Captain I wanted to thank you personally for coming after me and helping him get home to my real parents…I’m sorry that you were hurt” she admitted sadly. 

The Captain comforted the princess “Princess, I am flattered but I would do it all over again if it meant you were returned safely to your parents. It is my duty to the crown”. 

Rapunzel undid her braid and Arianna jumped into the conversation “Captain, Rapunzel wants to prove to you that she really is thankful, go ahead sweetheart”. 

Rapunzel handed a long strand of hair to her father, and Frederic with permission undid the bandages that covered his stab wounds. 

The Captain was confused “Frederic what is going on?” he questioned. The king only said, “Trust me, friend”. King Frederic replaced the bandages with Rapunzel’s blonde hair and gave Rapunzel a nod. 

Rapunzel closed her eyes and began singing the healing incantation that had reversed Gothel’s age time and time again. The glow of her hair had initially caused the Captain to flinch in panic but Frederic placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder to reassure him that nothing dangerous was happening. 

bring back what once was mine,

what once was mine

Rapunzel finished the song and Frederic unwrapped Rapunzel’s hair to reveal a healthy thigh free of any deep wounds. The Captain had shock all over his face, he was speechless. Rapunzel wore a smile on her face and the Captain turned to thank the princess a million times. The Captain got up from bed, standing up with the same ease before he had been injured the night of her rescue. “You are truly Corona’s sun, princess”

~~~

Cassandra came back to her room, changed her sweaty clothes, and took a bath. She had trained and was thankful to finally come back to her room to enjoy the tranquility of being alone for the rest of the day. Of course, she had been alone before all of this but the solitude was all the better in the comfort of her room. Once she was done with her bath and changed into clean clothes, she threw herself backward on her bed, landing on an object straight into her back. 

The object wasn’t hard and hadn’t hurt her when she turned around; it was the same gift box the princess had given her earlier. Force of habit made her open the box again even if she was already familiarized with its contents. She saw the painting once again, the background was painted a deep shade of blue to convey that it was nighttime. Cassandra didn’t like art too much, she didn’t understand the reasoning behind hidden concepts that were painted on a canvas when she could instead read them in a random philosophy book. At the very least, it was easier to make sense of reading than by looking at a wordless painting. 

But she had found herself admiring the girl’s work, the best Cassandra could do when drawing was two stick figures with a smiley face and some hair. Cassandra simply wasn’t a creative person in that specific area. She didn’t want to throw the painting away, her conscience wouldn’t let her. Instead, Cassandra took the painting with the purpose of just storing it away in one of her drawers where it would gather dust and be forgotten. Once she had taken the painting out of the box however she noticed there was another item that hid behind the small canvas. The item itself was smaller and wrapped around a cloth. She set the canvas aside and took the mystery item and upon unwrapping the cloth there was a sort of makeshift military medal that had been crafted with a thin slice of wood. The ‘medal’ had been painted with metallic yellow paint that gilded the wood as if it were real gold. 

Cassandra analyzed the medal closely and noticed the smaller details the princess had painted on the medal. On one side there was a regal owl with its wings extended, she assumed it was supposed to symbolize owl and on the other side there was a knight with a shield and a sword. Cassandra inspected the knight’s side closer and she noticed that the knight wasn’t a male night, but rather a female warrior. Cassandra didn’t notice the smile that crept up on her lips. The royal couple had told Cassandra that her father’s medal was hers as well but the princess had bothered to make a medal just for her to appreciate her bravery. The realization made Cassandra’s smile dissolve as she realized that the girl’s intention to hang out with her came from a sincere place; not pity or a forced arrangement. 

Cassandra placed the canvas on her nightstand and took her ‘medal’ to her personal collection of weapons. At the moment it only had a dagger and her sword but she promised herself that she would slowly collect more weapons as she became a more skilled warrior. She hung her medal in the door, and stood there contemplating for a moment as to what she was going to do. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door to her weapon’s closet and walked out of her room. Before she took off in the direction of her original destination, she wanted to stop by her father’s room to say good night. It wasn’t a long walk from where she was but she knocked on the door and walked into her father’s room. She was startled when she saw her father hanging his clothes in the closet standing with ease on his two legs as if he hadn’t been injured a few days ago, “Dad?”. 

The Captain turned around to face his daughter, a subtle smile on his face “How?!” She asked. 

The Captain smiled “The princess’s hair carries the same powers as the magic flower..she…healed my thigh”. 

Cassandra exhaled loudly, once again there was one more person in Corona who realized why the princess was taken away from her parents in the first place. The Captain made the connection when the princess had healed his leg and remembered the woman’s haggard appearance the night the princess was taken in comparison to when he had last seen her, which had been the night Rapunzel was rescued. Cassandra made the connection when she remembered that the princess had asked her if Cassandra had come for her hair that same night.

 “Where is she now?” Cassandra questioned. “I’m assuming she’s retired to her room, why?”. Cassandra wouldn’t admit that she was on her way to hang out with the princess after she had turned her down, so she lied “I just want to say thank you, for that. I’m glad you’re okay dad. Good night”. 

The Captain dismissed her with a nod “Good night Cassandra”. 

Cassandra left the area and went in search of the princess. She moved through the corridors and enormous hallways of Corona’s castle. Soon she found herself in front of the princess’s bedroom doors. She wanted to knock but Cassandra wasn’t one who sought the companionship of others. She rubbed the back of her neck, what would she even say to the princess? Cassandra’s skills at making friends weren’t the best since it had become second nature for her to isolate herself from others. She sought greatness of course, but at a perfect distance where she could be admired but not befriended. “This is stupid” she whispered and making a 180 turn on her heel, she walked away from the door. 

The door behind her opened and as much as she wanted to run away she would’ve probably looked suspicious. “Cassandra?” the familiar voice rang throughout the hallway thanks to its size and emptiness. The older girl turned around to face her “Princess! I was just- I mean I came here because I…wanted to say thank you…” Cassandra admitted. The blonde smiled, “…for my dad especially, I just found out but also for the medal. It was a nice gift. I’ve never really received a gift like that before, so…yeah thank you your highness.” she looked down. “You can call me Rapunzel, y’know”.

Cassandra looked up to meet the girl’s eyes “And I think today people have said a lot of ‘thank you’s to everyone. It seems like everyone is so grateful today don’t you think?”. Cassandra agreed with that, today everyone had thanked each other for different things. The sovereigns had thanked Cassandra, Cassandra was thanking Rapunzel right now, Rapunzel had thanked Cassandra, and the Captain had thanked Rapunzel Cassandra had assumed. So many ‘thank you’s made Cassandra’s head spin “Heh, yes I suppose that’s true”.

“Has your hair always had that…power?” Cassandra asked curiously. Rapunzel opened the door slightly more to signal Cassandra to enter her room. Cassandra approached her bedroom slowly and once inside Rapunzel replied “I think so. Ever since you told me about the flower my only guess is that it’s always been able to do that”. Cassandra made herself comfortable leaning against a wall. “That’s really cool actually, well, not when you consider the fact that someone took you away from your parents to keep its power but it’s still pretty cool” Cassandra widened her eyes at what she had blurted out, and she became afraid that the princess would become offended at her words and call the guards to have her kicked her out of her room. Instead, the princess laughed, relieved that someone in the castle would take away the tragedy in a situation and replace it with some type of humor that Rapunzel found amusing. Cassandra chuckled nervously in response. 

After the laughter died down, Cassandra had a proposal of her own “I was thinking that if you’re still up for it, I could call Owl and play some hide and seek?”. Rapunzel smiled and a cute little reptile made himself visible on the princess’s shoulder. “Pascal can come too”. Pascal chirped happily. “But Owl won’t be able to fly freely around the castle” Rapunzel objected. Cassandra thought for a moment, “We could always go into the royal garden, I think there’s plenty of space for us to enjoy a good game of hide and seek”. 

“Besides, I have a feeling that you prefer to be outdoors than indoors”. Cassandra wasn’t wrong, Rapunzel took whatever opportunity ever since she had been back at the castle to be outside as possible and around town. She wasn’t allowed to go into town just yet since she was barely settling in Corona, but Rapunzel had a lifetime ahead of her to get around being outside. That would change pretty soon. Cassandra and Rapunzel walked to the garden and Cassandra whistled to summon Owl. He came shortly after and the four of them began their game of hide and seek.

Whenever the players weren’t hiding, the garden was filled with happy laughter, chirps, and hoots. Cassandra especially found herself having fun. The brunette didn’t play hide and seek traditionally, she liked to use it as her personal form of training her stealth, she knew combat and strength could only get a soldier so far so this had become her adaptation to make herself a sneakier person. Throughout the years this would come in handy for Cassandra once she had perfected the art and would sneak the princess out for random rendezvous and late-night adventures. For now, Cassandra sacrificed her “training” and allowed it to become a regular game between two friends. The sky soon became as dark as night and the girls decided to lie down on the grass and look up at the stars before they left for bedtime.

“I met Eugene, and he told me that when you do his laundry you give him back his clothes soaking wet” Rapunzel giggled. Cassandra huffed “That lazy slug deserves it. He was a thief and I used to chase him around hoping that I would be the one who would bring him to my dad and prove that I was worthy to be in the guard. He’s just really annoying”. Rapunzel didn’t have much commentary to defend Eugene, he was just a bit self-obsessed but Rapunzel saw good in his heart. “He’s not too bad once you get to know him. He can be pretty funny”. Cassandra frowned, not bothering to pay attention to Rapunzel’s defense. “It just sucks that now I’m stuck with the task of doing his laundry, out of all things! At least I can put him to work when it comes to drying his clothes, my dad doesn’t mind anyway, he’s not too fond of Rider anyway and I make sure Old Lady Crowley doesn’t notice”. Rapunzel chuckled “His name is Eugene, Cassandra”. Cassandra huffed “Tomayto Tomahto”. Rapunzel wasn’t one who enjoyed discussions between friends, but Cassandra’s and Eugene’s interaction had a comical undertone to it all. For now, she would ignore their own bickering. 

“I’m cutting my hair” Rapunzel admitted after a long silence. Cassandra gave her a questioning look “Right now or…?”. Rapunzel laughed “No, tomorrow”. A moment of silence.

 “I’d like to do this, it would mean a new beginning for me, all the hair I grew out was because someone wanted to keep it for herself” another moment of silence “I healed your dad because what he did for me was brave and he was hurt because of me. I healed him because I felt bad that he got hurt because of my mot- Gothel” she corrected herself. “Now that I’ve fixed that I think I’m ready to cut it off and leave it behind”. Cassandra propped herself up on her elbows “Raps my father knew what he got himself into and he doesn’t blame you for it. But I think if you’re ready for that I say you go for it”. Rapunzel smiled “Raps?” she repeated. Cassandra replied “It’s shorter for Rapunzel, but if you don’t want me to-“ Rapunzel giggled as she waved a hand in objection “No no I like it, just as long as I get to call you Cass”. Cassandra smiled. “Yes, I like that too”. 

Shortly after Rapunzel and Cassandra left the garden and walked back into the castle. Both of the girls would head in opposite directions toward their respective bedrooms. “Good night Raps” 

“Good night…Cass”

~~~

The next morning Rapunzel woke up and rushed to make it to breakfast with her parents at the terrace, she wanted to break the news to her parents as soon as possible. Rapunzel felt a rush of renewing energy upon knowing that today would be the day that would mark a new beginning with her hair. She hadn’t even bothered waiting for the maids to come in to do her braid. Rapunzel washed her face, brushed her teeth, and left her room, her blonde hair cascading behind her. She quickly got to the terrace where her mother and her father had already begun having their breakfast. Rapunzel stood there catching her breath, and Frederic spoke up “Rapunzel is everything, okay sweetheart?”. The couple was alarmed, thinking that something wrong had happened to their daughter. 

Rapunzel smiled as she continued breathing heavily “I’m ready” she said breathlessly. Ariana knew what she was talking about but Frederic remained confused “Ready for what?”

~~~

Elsewhere, Cassandra woke up and got ready for the day. She reflected on last night’s events and thought about the blonde princess. She was cutting her hair today, she was happy for the princess and happy for herself for finally being able to make a friend. The princess, out of all the girls in Corona had sought for her friendship. Perhaps it was because Cass was young and foreign to the bitterness of the world and disappointment, but she allowed the princess to worm into her heart. Cassandra was sure she would have never made any real friends in Corona, nobody ever seemed to want her friendship. Rapunzel had torn down the walls young Cassandra was beginning to build. 

Cassandra didn’t like getting sentimental, but she was glad the blonde had been as insistent as she had been. She had given Cassandra a new perspective to see the world. Of course, Cassandra wouldn’t become as bubbly as the princess, but there was definitely a change that would continue fostering within the warrior’s heart. She looked at herself in the mirror and ran a hair through her curls. The princess’s return had restored hope for Corona, and as much as she hated to admit it, Cassandra believed this girl would bring significant change to her life. “Maybe Raps isn’t the only one who’s having her own new beginning,” she told herself. She looked to the side, where a pair of scissors rested on her dresser. She wet her hair and took the scissors, trying her best to part her hair in the most symmetrical way as possible.

The scissors whispered snips throughout her room. 

~~~

Rapunzel sat in front of the vanity in her room, a hairdresser behind her. “I’ll cut your hair at waist length then we can work from there before you settle on a specific hairdo…Is that okay princess?”. Rapunzel was shaking, at this point, she didn’t know if the word had gotten around that the princess had magical hair, would the kingdom hate her for throwing away that insane amount of power? One that could help the people of her kingdom at that? 

She didn’t know what the reaction would be, but the 10-year-old princess had already set her mind to do this and there was no turning back now. “Yes,” Rapunzel breathed out. Her parents were present in the room, with the king holding his wife by his side. The hairdresser held the base of where she’d cut the princess’s hair. She hadn’t bothered wetting the hair yet. The woman took the scissors and headed in the direction to cut the blonde’s hair. 

“Wait!” 

The princess had jumped from her seat. Her parents looked at her with worry in their eyes. The princess turned around and looked at the stylist “Would it be okay if I cut it?”. The woman shrugged and handed the scissors to Rapunzel with the blades facing down. Rapunzel took the scissors and turned back around to look at herself in the mirror. Pascal was resting at the top of the vanity’s mirror and chirped in a way that let Rapunzel know that he was there to fully support her. Rapunzel inhaled through her nose and held her breath, hearing her heartbeat in her own ears. She grabbed her hair and aligned the scissor’s blades ready to cut through the hair. 

Rapunzel contracted her hand, and soon after her golden locks that resembled molten gold soon turned into a chocolate fountain. The hairdresser gasped and stood there in awe. Rapunzel breathed out and smiled, the royal family felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off their shoulders. 

As she looked back at her reflection, the newly formed brunette saw the resemblance to her mother. Of course, she had inherited her father’s hair color but given that her mother also had brown hair similar to Frederic’s, once the blonde had been drained out the similarity stood out. 

Frederic smiled and Arianna held back happy tears. “I think you can take it from here” Rapunzel giggled as she handed the scissors back to the hairdresser who remained in astonishment after what she had seen. Rapunzel’s parents simply chuckled at their daughter’s comment.

Once the hairdresser was done, Rapunzel would sport her straight long hair for the rest of her teenage years. 

Chapter Text

Six Years Later…

“Rapunzel slow down!” Cassandra screamed as Rapunzel dragged her hand through the loud busy streets of Corona. “Raps seriously WOAH-“ she ducked after nearly bumping her head on a street vendor’s sign as she continued being dragged through the streets by the enthusiastic princess. “Cass come on! It’s my birthday!” 

The princess’s excitement was at an all-time high. With sixteen marking a pivotal milestone in a girl’s life, it marked her coming-of-age birthday. Her parents had been overprotective ever since the princess had been returned to them at the age of ten, but they had made a promise to Rapunzel that as soon as she was sixteen they would be a little more lenient when it came to letting the princess have her own adventures. Of course, they weren’t aware of the fact that throughout the years, Cassandra had snuck her out of the castle multiple times and into Old Corona. They didn’t have to know that though….

Rapunzel barely had a chance to experience the capital of Corona. It wouldn’t have been an authentic experience to wander the streets of the island at night when the people were asleep. It was the people that gave the island life. She had attempted to wander the streets of Corona when she turned eleven but the King had ordered an armed battalion to escort the princess, which ruined the experience for the little girl. 

This time though Rapunzel had come to a compromise with her parents, she would be escorted by Cassandra throughout Corona during her sixteenth birthday, for they knew that the older girl was soon turning nineteen and enlisting in the Guard if her father allowed it. Frederic was aware that the raven-haired girl was more than capable of accompanying his daughter similarly to that a bodyguard. They had this talk two days prior to Rapunzel’s birthday, and the ex-blonde was ecstatic. Cassandra had also been happy for the girl after she had told her the news, there were lots of things that Cassandra knew Rapunzel would like to do during her time in Corona. She knew to expect a hyperactive princess throughout the entirety of her birthday.

What Cassandra wasn’t expecting was for Rapunzel to wake up on top of her, almost shaking her awake at the crack of dawn. Rapunzel was so eager to go into town, once she had woken up for the first time on the day of the summer solstice, she didn’t dare to go back to sleep. She dashed all around the castle until she got to Cassandra’s room, barging in and jumping on her bed at first sight, “Cass wake up, it’s my birthday!”. The taller girl had become a light sleeper, it was a skill she needed to master once she was part of the Guard and immediately jolted awake, still half asleep. “Raps it’s like four in the morning give it a break”. Rapunzel wasn’t going to give in that easily “Actually it’s six…Please Cassandra I want to go see Corona you promised you’d come with me”. Cassandra groned on her pillow and lowered the blanket on her head, turning to look at the princess. Rapunzel was still hovering over her and wore a pout on her face that begged for her consideration. Cassandra rolled her eyes and shoved her face back into the pillow. “Get me some breakfast and I’ll consider it” she muffled. Rapunzel smiled and sprinted out of the room. Cassandra hoped that she had earned herself at least two more hours of sleep. The cooks wouldn’t get to work until seven anyway and Rapunzel wasn’t a brat who would demand the staff to wake up simply because she wanted to. Cass made herself comfortable in her bed again, but after what felt like two minutes but was really thirty or so, Rapunzel barged into Cassandra’s room once again with a cart of warm breakfast. Of course Rapunzel would have the determination to be able to see Corona as soon as possible

Yeah, Cassandra should’ve known better.

This time the older girl sat up on her bed and tried to look as menacing as she could for having her slumber interrupted, but the smell of pancakes, eggs, and bacon plus the sight of the long-haired brunette leaning on the cart with a smug grin made her face tug at the corners of her lips. “I made sure to add extra protein to the pancakes” she pointed a finger gun at Cassandra accompanied by a click of her tongue. Cassandra fell back again on her bed, laziness tempting her to go back to bed “Cass!” Rapunzel whined. “I said I’d consider it”. The princess huffed in annoyance. “Fine, Fine I’m up” Satisfied with getting a reaction out of her friend, she got up and happily had breakfast with the princess in her room. 

It’s not like she had the luxury of eating her breakfast nice and slow, because the princess had basically forced Cassandra’s food down her throat with urgency, and when Cassandra needed to get dressed Rapunzel had nearly forgotten to step out of her room to give her friend some privacy since Rapunzel was as eager to leave as a puppy who wanted to be taken out for a walk. 

As soon as Cassandra opened her door again, Rapunzel took her hand and took them through the streets where they were now. Cassandra wasn’t sure if Rapunzel had a specific destination where she wanted to go, but it was not like she could stop her. Finally, something caught the princess’s attention, a sort of candy shop with a huge window displaying all sorts of treats: fudge, jellybeans, chocolates, rock candy, and gingerbread houses. The colors melted into the princess’s eyes. “Oh, that’s Uncle Monty’s- Wooah-” the princess really needed to let Cassandra finish her sentences before tugging at Cassandra’s hands. 

They went inside, the smell of sugar quickly intoxicating their noses. “Hello, ladies what can I- Cassandra! Welcome it’s so nice to see you here” A short chubby man greeted, a man who Rapunzel assumed to be Uncle Monty. “Uncle Monty!” Cassandra replied, letting go of Rapunzel’s hand. “What brings you to my shop today? Today any sort of yellow goodie you set your eyes on is on discount on account of the princess’s birthday,” Monty asked, oblivious to the princess’s presence. “Wow, you made all of these? They all look exquisite” Rapunzel spoke up, too in awe to pay attention to the interaction between Cassandra and Uncle Monty. The confectioner, now taking notice of the princess, frowned. “Your shop was the first thing that caught the princess’s attention, Monty, she enjoys this sort of stuff”. Cassandra wasn’t one that enjoyed sweets often, but there were a few exceptions to that rule, despite the fact, Monty hadn’t taken a dislike to Cassandra. The princess on the other hand “You! You’re the reason why Corona-” 

“-The reason why Corona is celebrating her birthday ! You’re absolutely right Uncle Monty!” Cassandra interjected, accentuating a few words to make a point. She was very much aware of the man’s dislike for the princess, on previous occasions he had talked about how the princess was a symbol of discord for the throne, walking around barefoot and disregarding any respect for tradition. Not only that but the older man had disclosed to Cassandra that the change in the princess’s hair had made his shop a joke out of him. The princess’s golden hair was perhaps the ultimate mark that represented the girl’s birthday, and ever since it was magically reversed to a chocolate brown, people didn’t really understand why yellow-colored candy was on offer, since Corona’s primary color was purple. To be fair, Cassandra had suggested to the confectioner to put all chocolates on discount instead but chocolates were an everyday best seller, so there wasn’t anything outstanding about that. 

Monty frowned at Cassandra for her interruption, but while the princess was still oblivious to his comment Cassandra gave him a look that said “please bear with her for today, it’s her birthday”. He sighed and complied with Cassandra’s unspoken favor. Monty would conceal his dislike for the princess for a pretty long time. His frown didn’t leave his face “Right…yes your highness, I did make all of these. Now, is there something specific you want?”. Rapunzel was too innocent to notice the sarcasm in his voice “Gee I’m not sure everything just looks so bright and colorful and smells amazing but I can’t take one of everything that’s in this store. Cass what do you usually take?”. It wasn’t as if Rapunzel had never had candy, but Rapunzel had never been in a store in which products were solely sweets, and the princess had an infamous sweet tooth. “Uh Raps I don’t know if you recall but I’m not as indulgent with sweets as you are, but other than banana cream pie…” a smirk crept up on her face “...you can never go wrong with Mexican candy”. Cassandra continued darkly, “Thankfully Monty has a good grip on the original recipes, so it should be as authentic as possible”. 

Rapunzel hopped on the ball of her feet in an excited manner “Ooooh, that sounds amazing, I’ll take some of that…and that, and that” Rapunzel continued, pointing at different sorts of sweets around the shop. Monty took notice of Cassandra’s mischief and with an evil grin, he retreated to the back to retrieve some Mexican candy for the princess. Shortly after, Rapunzel pulled out her coin pouch as she waited to be ringed up. Cassandra grabbed her hand, stopping her from opening the pouch “This one’s on me Raps, it’s your birthday”.

Rapunzel was about to object, but Monty interrupted them “If you’re the one who’s paying Cassandra, in that case, you can take them all for free, in the spirit of today’s celebration”. Cassandra smiled, “Thank you Monty, you’re the best”.

After their treats were bagged up, Monty winked at Cassandra and Cassandra returned a mischievous smile. Once the girls walked out the door, Rapunzel reached for a bag that contained regular chocolates but Cassandra grabbed her wrist “Raps wait you have to try these first, you’re gonna like ‘em”. She handed the bag with Mexican candy to Rapunzel. Rapunzel took out two small lollipops that resembled tiny mangos covered in a red powder.

“This looks so exotic Cass, cheers!”. Cassandra put the lollipop in her mouth and sucked at the chili powder, feeling the tanginess and sourness that melted in her tongue. Rapunzel, on the other hand, had felt the burn as soon as it made contact with her tongue and her face scrunched up exaggeratedly, making Cassandra burst into laughter. After she forced down the powder that had touched her tongue, with a flushed face she looked at Cassandra who was still dying in her laughter.

“Cass that was not funny! It’s my birthday and you’re attempting to kill me. Birthdays are supposed to be for fun for goodness sake!” she breathed out, spice still on her tongue. Wiping her tears from her face, Cassandra looked at Rapunzel with residual laughter in her voice “This is fun! Come on Raps you have to live a little and experiment with stuff like this every once in a while”. Rapunzel wiped a bit of sweat that formed on her forehead “You know I’m starting to believe Eugene is right; you do enjoy watching others suffer”. Cassandra shook her head, dismissing Rapunzel’s comment. “Let’s go princess, we still have a lot of ground to cover if you want to have yourself a good sixteenth birthday” she offered her hand to Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel, still unamused by Cassandra’s earlier prank, frowned at her friend “Cm’on, I promise no more distasteful pranks”. Rapunzel held her frown for a couple more seconds before she smiled and took Cassandra’s hand. “I’m going to need a drink first Cass” Rapunzel grinned, now it was Rapunzel’s turn for mischief to gleam in her eyes. Cassandra’s eyes widened “Rapunzel, no”. It was too late, Rapunzel was already dragging Cassandra once again through the streets.

“Rapunzel! No no no no no no no no no no no NO” it was useless for Cassandra to protest, the princess had already set her mind to it. “your parents would personally send me to a convent if they knew we went to the Snuggly Duckling, they specifically said you couldn’t leave Corona!”. Rapunzel giggled “you do realize Corona includes everything that is behind the walls right? By definition, that means that I’m not leaving Corona, just the island. Besides! Today I’m old enough to have a drink! A legal drink at that!”. Cassandra replied “Okay! But a pub isn’t a place for a princess, especially the Snuggly Duckling there’s like at least a hundred pubs within the island”. Rapunzel suddenly stopped, Cassandra bumped against Rapunzel’s back before she turned around.

“Cass…” she began, turning around and tilting her head slightly to the side “...being out in the forest around midnight isn’t a place for a princess either”. Cassandra opened her mouth to reply but found she had no counterargument for that. During one of their late-night adventures Rapunzel had seen the Snuggly Duckling and was curious to see what happened behind the rustic shed-like pub, now she was old enough to find out and it was thrilling. Cassandra had a duty to the princess’s parents though, but every time they snuck out in the middle of the night for yet another adventure she was breaking that same promise to her best friend’s parents. It was hypocritical to deny Rapunzel yet another adventure, and Cassandra out of all people knew how much Rapunzel loved an adventure. Cassandra huffed “Fine, but it has to be quick. The Snuggly Duckling is known to be a hotspot for criminals and if anyone dares to try anything with you we are leaving immediately”. 

~~~

They’ve got a dream we’ve got a dream

So our differences ain’t really that extreme

We’re one big team

Call us brutal, sick, sadistic 

And grotesquely optimistic 

‘Cause way deep down inside 

We’ve got a dream

Cassandra was in disbelief by what had happened the moments prior to the spontaneous musical number the pub thugs were now harmonizing. Cassandra had insisted Rapunzel wore a cloak to avoid anybody identifying the princess and most likely holding her hostage for ransom, and Rapunzel obliged. The plan was originally to get Rapunzel exposed to a few drinks and then leave immediately back to the island. What the girls hadn’t counted on was for the thugs to jump Cassandra, hoping they could take the Captain’s daughter for ransom instead. After all, they all had a personal grudge against the man who had put them all in prison for some time in their life. Cassandra held them off for a pretty good time, she was almost nineteen and had been training since the age of six for the guard. But Cassandra could only do so much against an entire bar, but Rapunzel managed to smack one of the thugs in the head with a nearby frying pan. It was almost comical how Rapunzel kept spotting frying pans in dangerous situations. 

“All my life I’ve just wanted some adventure because I was locked in a tower for ten years by a manipulative kidnapper who posed as my mother because she wanted to keep me and my magical hair all for herself and even after I was rescued and taken to the castle my parents won’t let me leave the castle unless its for public appearances and it wasn’t until today that they finally agreed to let me go with my best friend and I’m sorry that her dad was mean to all of you but I just really wanted to be here because it seemed like a lovely place and I wanted to finally feel the thrill to explore beyond the island and I still long to go beyond Corona’s walls because I want an adventure for myself. Find your humanity! Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?”

The princess’s question had made a big man with a hook hand approach her and Cassandra’s stomach dropped at the thought of losing the princess…her best friend, forever. She swore and tried to reach her but was held back by other criminals. To her surprise, the thug replied to Rapunzel’s question with a musical and the princess was overjoyed and had a great time partaking in the song. Cassandra didn’t even know it was possible for people to break out into a song like that. The delinquents had even threatened Cassandra to sing a verse of her own, which she did reluctantly. Cassandra sang about her lifelong dream to become one of the most important people in Corona: the Captain of the Royal Guard. This secret was only known by two people: her father and Rapunzel- but now the entire pack of convicts knew that now. Sure, the people who knew Cassandra knew she wanted to join the Guard, but their lack of faith in the dark-haired girl made them doubt if she would even achieve the first step. This is why Cassandra had kept this dream to herself, but she had sung it to a bar full of criminals who seemed supportive of her dream throughout her song. 

In the end, Rapunzel had her drinks and even wormed into the pub thugs’ hearts and even got them to agree to not speak a word about the princess of Corona making an appearance at the Snuggly Duckling. Rapunzel was just a bit tipsy, very sober still to enjoy the rest of the festivities. “Rapunzel that was a close one, but we’re not always going to be able to escape situations like that with a song and a smile” Cassandra warned. “Cass, didn’t you see how passionate they were about their dreams? They’re people, just like you and me. They’re sweet and gentle” she countered. “Maybe, but Raps I’m supposed to protect you, I’m going to need you to listen to me sometimes”. Rapunzel smiled, “ I’m always listening to you but you out of all people should know I’m not as naive as everyone thinks I am, in fact, I think you’re the only person who doesn’t put my abilities in doubt…other than Eugene of course”. Cassandra found the guy annoying and the mention of his name coming from Rapunzel made Cassandra feel a certain type of way, but she ignored that for now and acknowledged that what the girl was saying was right. “You’re right, but let’s take it easy for the rest of the day, please? At least as “easy” as you can be for your birthday”. Rapunzel chuckled, “Alright Alright, but you’re still taking me to the boats later at night, right?” 

“Yes I’m taking you to the boats” Cassandra chuckled in return

“And?...” Rapunzel trailed at her question

Cassandra grinned “and then later we can go later to the lost lagoon”

Rapunzel threw a fit of giggles and clapped her hands together in excitement for everything that was planned out for the day almost tripping before Cassandra caught her. 

The pair had discovered the sinkhole not too long ago, it was a magical place for both of them. A secret that was kept between both of them. It had caused a bump in their friendship though, and Cassandra had threatened to leave Corona once and for all. It was the same subject as always: Rapunzel was too trusting and Cassandra, looking out for her best friend, tried to tell her best friend to heed her advice. Cassandra was fed up with Rapunzel’s dismissals, and since Cassandra was already eighteen she planned to leave. Fate had a different plan for both of the girls though and although Cassandra did leave Corona to find her destiny, she found herself having some complications (a knife to the throat by a power-hungry madman looking for the power of the lagoon to be specific). Rapunzel came to her rescue, proving that she was in fact a capable young woman. 

Their adventure led them to find out about King Herz Der Sonne’s and General Shampanier’s secret getaway where if they wanted, they could be alone, the same one where the king and the general secretly got married and made a solemn vow to be married together. The marriage brought Corona and Saporia together. In a similar fashion, Rapunzel and Cassandra made a vow to each other and hugged on it to seal it. They sacrificed their bracelets to bind the two girls together to the secret sinkhole. Since then, the pair had often sneaked out at night for a late-night swim, it was their own little world hidden away from the real world. 

Cassandra stayed in Corona and kept making memories with her best friend. Queen Arianna had specifically addressed Cassandra as Rapunzel’s protector, and Cassandra would stay for her. Rapunzel made a promise to Cassandra that once she was queen, her first priority would be to make Cassandra Captain of Corona’s Royal Guard. Rapunzel was deeply fond of her best friend and was grateful she was spending her birthday with her once again. 

Soon they found their way back to Corona’s island, the streets now busier from the celebration of the princess’s birthday. Rapunzel had discarded the cloak she had worn upon leaving the island and thanks to the people’s discretion, she wasn’t mobbed by everyone who took sight of the princess. Cassandra accompanied Rapunzel everywhere she went: bakeries, bookstores, and street vendors selling concessions for the princess’s birthday. Rapunzel was amazed by every sight around every corner. She took notice of some kids who were coloring the ground with colored chalk and all the little kids rejoiced at the sight of the princess helping them create beautiful images on the cobblestone ground. Cassandra stood by, observing the entire scene play out, watching Rapunzel with endearment in her eyes. “Cass! Look!”. Cassandra had been fixated on the long-haired brunette that she hadn’t noticed the giant insignia of the Coronan flag with hues of purple perfectly drawn on the ground. “Looks pretty neat Raps” she praised as she walked next to the brunette and stood by her side, analyzing her work. 

Rapunzel turned to look to her right when she heard music accompanied by flutes and violins at a distance. “Cass, there’s music!” Cassandra looked away from the drawings on the ground and looked in the direction that the princess’s attention. “Yeah usually you have street musicians playing for coin, it’s a very common everyday thing here in town”. 

“Let’s go check it out! I want to see, we always have stuffy classical music in the castle”. Rapunzel ran off, chasing the sound that was coming from a few blocks or so. Cassandra ran after her “Rapunzel wait up!”. It didn’t take long for Cass to catch up with the princess due to her superior athletic ability but once she did she found the girl dancing in her own little world, head up on some cloud, in front of the small band of musicians. 

Cassandra initially cringed, but Rapunzel’s carelessness caused a grin to appear on her face. The princess danced her way to Cassandra “Cass dance with me!” she tugged at her arms. “Raps I don’t dance you know this”. Rapunzel easily let go of Cassandra, not wanting her persistence to kill the vibe in which the princess was currently indulging. Instead, she danced her way to a little boy who watched in awe and pulled him to dance. It created a snowball effect and soon Rapunzel had gathered multiple townsfolk into a huge dance that look up most of the space in the block. 

Once again she made her way to Cassandra asking her once again to dance. One of the musicians who stood nearby pushed Cassandra onto the dance floor and into Rapunzel’s arms before he signaled to his friends to pick up speed in the song. The block rang with music louder than before and with rhythmic clapping. Cassandra knew how to dance, but her legs felt as if they were melting as she danced with Rapunzel. The younger girl’s smile had made it all the more confusing, but Cassandra positioned her arms on the girl’s smaller frame accordingly and spun around with her throughout the dancefloor. “I didn’t know you could dance. You said you didn’t know”. Cassandra chuckled “I said I don’t dance. But footwork is important for a soldier, dancing isn’t much different in that sense”. Rapunzel smiled and continued moving around with Cassandra in perfect sync. 

They were separated briefly by the switch in dance partners the dance pattern forced upon them. Cassandra was paired up with a man who was old enough to be her father, and she internally grimaced before looking away from him to search for Rapunzel in the sea of people who gathered to dance. At a distance, she saw the princess dancing with a woman, her straight hair whipping around her shoulders every time she spun around. Thankfully it didn’t take long for them to be reunited again, this time with the music picking up in a crescendo faster than before with a fast flute solo that rang throughout and the violin singing its final notes before every other instrument, the guitars, and the banjos, came together on a final note and halt. The final note made the girls have their bodies pressed against each other with their chests rising and falling for air after an exciting dance. Rapunzel let go of Cassandra’s body with the widest smile on her face “Cass that was so fun! We never get to dance like that in the castle, much less in the ballroom! Eeee! Let’s do that again”. The cute small shriek that came out of the princess made Cassandra chuckle but before she could object, three guards approached the princess and her companion. 

“Your majesty, your presence is required in the castle, requested by the king and queen”. The excitement from the dance dissolved and Rapunzel’s confused frown. “Huh, what for?” she asked. “We are not sure, they just asked us to retrieve you and your friend,” one of the guards said. “Cassandra, the lights” Rapunzel reminded her friend. Cassandra placed an encouraging hand on her friend’s shoulder “I think if we take the horses we should be on time to catch the lights by the boats, it’s fine Raps, you’ll still see the lights”.

Rapunzel smiled, Rapunzel had always wanted to see the lights throughout her years in the tower, and for the past five birthdays, she was able to partake in the light show from the castle’s balcony along with her parents. Rapunzel felt as if the experience wasn’t authentic though, since she was the first lantern to light up the sky and had to wait for all the others to glide along with hers. Cassandra had told Rapunzel that if you were on the boats or on the island, the view was a lot more beautiful. This motivated the younger girl to long to see the floating lanterns from the town but she didn’t have her parent’s permission until now. The dread built up in her stomach at the thought that her parents would force her once again to be the first lantern in the sky on her sixteenth birthday. Regardless, the group of guards escorted the girls back to the castle. 

As they walked, Rapunzel looked out into the horizon and saw how the sun took her sweet time setting on the longest day of the year.

~~~

Back in the castle, Rapunzel walked into the throne room, she was expecting a surprise birthday party of some sort but instead, she found piles of gifts from the villagers for her. Cassandra had grown comfortable enough with Rapunzel that she took a small box and opened it, snickering at its contents “What is it?” Rapunzel asked. Cassandra took the item out of its box, a bottle “It’s blonde hair dye” she laughed. Rapunzel chuckled “I guess some people are just not over it, I’m still the ‘golden child’”. Cassandra clarified “To be fair, you do have the personality of a blonde”. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”. Before Cassandra could answer her parents walked into the room, greeting their daughter “Sweetheart, happy birthday!” Her father said, opening his arms for his little girl to hug. Rapunzel rushed to her dad and wrapped her arms around him. The great thing about hugging her dad was always the fact that he welcomed bear hugs since her frame was much smaller than his. “Happy birthday honey” her mother congratulated her shortly after, kissing her forehead. Arianna turned to look at Cassandra, “Thank you for watching her today”. Cassandra smiled at the queen’s acknowledgment “It was my pleasure, your majesty”. Rapunzel let go of her father “Thank you but, mom, dad, why’d you call me early for the castle, Cassandra and I are supposed to see the lights from town. Are you not letting me see them today again?”.

“Of course we are sweetheart, that wasn’t why we called you both here. We wanted to see Cassandra as well”. Shortly after, the Captain walked into the room “Apologies for being late your highness’, I ran into some trouble”. Frederic nodded and excused the Captain. Cassandra was beginning to feel more confused, why did Rapunzel’s parents want to see her? Why was her father here? What was going on? “Dad? What are you doing here?”. The Captain approached the group, “Cassandra the king, the queen, and I have a surprise for the princess for her sixteenth birthday…as well as for you”. His response made sense to Cassandra but she was still confused as to why her presence was required after all the three adults hadn’t informed Cassandra of any surprises they had for the princess “What?” she mumbled under her breath in confusion. 

The queen spoke up to have everyone’s attention “Rapunzel, you’re growing up to become an intelligent young woman and for the past couple of years since you were returned to us your friendship with Cassandra has blossomed beautifully into a relationship that has led both of you to balance out each other’s virtues”. Rapunzel turned to look at Cassandra with a smile and was even a little amused to find Cassandra completely dumbfounded by the queen’s words. “Cassandra, your father and I have talked and we’ve come to an agreement. My little girl will become queen someday…” Frederic spoke up. 

Cassandra’s heart began thumping at incredible speed, if she were a boy in the position in which she was now, she would’ve immediately assumed the sovereigns of Corona and her father were building up to a suggestion of a marriage between her and Rapunzel. She immediately swatted the thought away, thinking it was ridiculous to assume such a thing. 

“...and Ariana and I agreed that we would allow her to enjoy her childhood before we prepared her to be a princess. We believe you, Rapunzel, are ready to begin learning what it means to be a princess”. Ariana continued for her husband “And every princess has a handmaiden ready to be by her side. Cassandra, we want you to be Rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting”

Cassandra’s world collapsed. She cared for Rapunzel deeply, but she also had ambitions she wanted to go after, she was going to enlist as soon as possible to be a Guard. She had talked about this with Rapunzel, she had talked about this with her father, so why was this happening now? “Dad but I’m enlisting soon” She whispered to her father as Rapunzel cheered happily near her parents. “Cassandra it’s done” he replied sternly at the same volume. She realized her father had orchestrated this to avoid Cassandra’s enlistment. He knew Cassandra would never go against the king or queen’s wishes, she had a track record of always keeping her word to the royal couple. 

Rapunzel rushed to Cassandra’s side “Cass this is amazing! We are going to have soooo much fun together just imagine! I think we would make the perfect princess/lady-in-waiting duo. Ooooohh we could participate together in the Contest of the Crowns two years from now!”. Cassandra forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace, “Heh yeah! So exciting! Thank you for this opportunity your majesties butIthinkIhavetogototherestroomnow”. Cassandra bowed quickly and ran out of the throne room, dashing through the hallways. She felt a cocktail of emotions: betrayal, sadness, anger, resentment, loss. She reached her room and closed the door behind her, making sure to lock it. 

Cassandra wasn’t expecting his sort of betrayal from her father. As she paced around her room she couldn’t find herself blaming the king or the queen. After all, she wasn’t close to them and wasn’t expecting them to know that Cassandra had her personal goals and ambitions. She couldn’t help feeling a rush of anger cloud her mind, both of the royals had seen her grow up and in some cases had seen her train out in the courtyard and Cassandra knew this. When Cassandra had gone missing after she ran away during the blue lagoon incident, the queen said that she was Rapunzel’s protector. The queen was aware of her abilities, so why was she agreeing for Cassandra to be chained to a lifetime duty of being the princess’s maid out of all things? It left a bitter taste in Cassandra’s mouth. And then there was Rapunzel’s reaction…

Rapunzel was overjoyed that Cassandra would be her lady-in-waiting, but she was the only one who Cassandra had disclosed personally to Rapunzel that she would enlist, that she would pave her way to become Captain. Rapunzel had even promised to appoint her as Captain once her father retired, so had she turned a blind eye to Cassandra’s dreams just for her own convenience and happiness? It made Cassandra’s heart ache at the thought. Cassandra looked up to see a box placed near her door, and when she opened it to reveal a lady-in-waiting’s dress Cassandra broke down in tears. 

A knock on her door made her wipe her tears quickly. “Cass? Are you in there?” she heard Rapunzel on the other side of the door. She couldn’t take the princess to see the lights, not when she was drowning in her own depths of despair. She didn’t want to upset her friend, but Cassandra was upset herself. She took a deep breath and tried to hide the rasp of her voice caused by her tears “I don’t feel well Rapunzel, I think I may have eaten too much sugar earlier today” she lied. “Hm, I guess that’s why you always stay away from sweets then” the younger girl replied from the other side of the door. Cassandra didn’t say anything. “Does this mean we are not going to see the lights?’. Cassandra sighed, she knew she promised the princess to see the lights which would be the highlight of her birthday, and although it was in her nature to be selfless in moments like these, Cassandra couldn’t get herself to look at the princess without thinking about the path that had been chosen for her. “I’m sorry Raps, not today, I’m sorry” she croaked. “But Cass…”

“Rapunzel!” she snapped, “Just…leave me alone!”. The princess flinched from the door and walked away with sadness displayed all over her face. Cassandra regretted projecting her anger on the princess but it was too late to open the door and apologize. She wouldn’t let anyone see her tear-streaked face. She looked around her room and saw her heavy bag hanging in the corner. She stood up and walked in front of it staring at it intensely. 

Cassandra would have to wait once again to achieve greatness, she had waited her entire life for enlistment and now that choice was being taken away from her. She could run away once again, leaving everything and everyone behind to find her destiny. A destiny that would embrace her easily and with no resistance. She was too young to know this but finding her destiny wouldn’t be an easy journey for Cassandra. Summoning all her rage, she threw a jab at her bag, then another. 

A kick, a hook, another jab, and a cross. It was a flurry of attacks with no defense moves. This wasn’t a training session, no. This was Cassandra’s release. 

She wasn’t going to scream, she was going to allow her knuckles to become sore to numb the pain she was feeling, just as she always did. 

~~~

Rapunzel walked to her room, finding Pascal along the way. The chameleon hadn’t taken offense when Rapunzel took off to celebrate her birthday with her human best friend. After all, they had spent multiple of her birthdays together and Pascal was always happy to see his friend happy. Except, as he looked at Rapunzel he noticed the sad look on her face. He chirped with concern, hoping to know what had upset the princess. “It’s Cassandra, Pascal, she can’t take me to see the floating lanterns, she’s not feeling well”. Pascal chirped and gave Rapunzel an idea “You’re right! I’ll let the cooks know!”. Rapunzel took a detour to the kitchens to order soup to be made for Cassandra. It may have been her birthday, but Rapunzel still cared for her friend’s well-being and she’d do whatever it took to get her to feel better, even if that meant Cassandra couldn’t take her to see the lanterns. 

“After all, we can always go see them again next year right Pal?”. Pascal chirped in agreement but as they turned a corner Rapunzel bumped into a taller figure. “Eugene! I’m sorry I didn’t see you there. Sorry, I have to-” she apologized. “Sunshine! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Happy birthday! I didn’t see you all morning but I’ve been meaning to get you…this” he pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind him. Rapunzel took the flowers, “Eugene that is so sweet thank you but I really have to-” 

“Anything for you princess. So! Where’s the birthday party at? I had my goatee trimmed especially for today” Eugene asked with enthusiasm, stroking his facial hair to accentuate his point. “Well, all over the kingdom heh I guess,” she replied kindly before she continued walking, Eugene walking by her side. “Cassandra isn’t feeling well and we both made plans to go out into town and see the lanterns together but…” she sighed, not bothering to finish her sentence. “Well sunshine if it’s alright with you, I can always take you instead. I know exactly where we can go to get you the best seats for your birthday”.

Rapunzel was sure that her parents wouldn’t mind if Eugene was her escort rather than Cassandra. After all, he had been named Corona’s hero for bringing the princess home and was given prestigious social status for doing so. King Frederic although constantly having a dry attitude toward the man, was fond of him. 

But part of her longed to go with Cassandra, they were attached to the hips. She was having the best birthday of her life up until she became sick! It was Cassandra who made her birthday experience all the better even with mischievous spicy pranks or her protective attitude. “I don’t know Eugene, Cassandra and I agreed on this days ago I don’t want her to feel as if she was being left out” she hesitated. Eugene shrugged “Cassandra is probably hibernating, holed up in her cave before she comes out a fiercer wild bear than before…No that’s not right- Cassandra isn’t warm-blooded, she’s cold-blooded….like a snake! Snakes still hibernate right? She’s probably holed up in her little burrow because the cobra-lady can’t find happiness on Corona’s happiest day of the year!”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes at Eugene’s description of Cassandra “Eugene!”. 

“Right sorry, my point is that although Cassandra is icy cold, she still cares about you and is incredibly selfless when it comes to you -unsurprisingly because everyone loves you- so I’m sure she wouldn’t want you missing the main event for your birthday. So, what do you say?” He asked again, walking in front of Rapunzel and promptly stopping to stand before her with his hand extended. 

Rapunzel didn’t want to leave her friend behind, but she had waited for this day to come for six years. Eugene’s reasoning was tempting, so the teen girl went along with his suggestion with a guilty heart “You know what? Sure, let’s go. I just have to make sure Cassandra gets her soup” she said as she began walking away from Eugene and headed in the direction of the kitchens. The sun had already set on the horizon, pink and purple hues coloring the sky in the west and a dark blue in the east. “Rapunzel we don’t have much time if we want to get to the boats we have to take the horses and leave now” Eugene warned. 

The princess stopped in her tracks and looked out the window confirming what Eugene was saying. Indecisive she stood there between wanting to rush to the kitchen to place the order or leaving with Eugene right there and then. Thankfully she didn’t have to make either of those choices as she noticed Friedborg walking down the hallway. “Friedborg! Oh, thank goddess you’re here! Listen I was hoping you could do me a favor and head to the kitchens to order some soup for Cassandra and drop it off in her room. Could you do that for me, pretty please?”. Friedborg stood there staring back at the princess without saying a word, and blinking once she let the princess know she would do what she was asking her to do. “Thank you sooooo much I owe you big time”.

As the princess walked away, Friedborg walked to the kitchens setting out to do what the princess had asked her to do. The queen’s lady-in-waiting made the order for the soup and took it to the room of the Captain’s daughter. 

The soup would never reach Cassandra since the warrior wouldn’t open her door to anyone for the rest of the day. 

~~~

Not far from Corona’s shores, a canoe floated on the summer sea. The night sky was already dressed in complete onyx. Rapunzel took a deep breath and exhaled as she looked at the castle balcony that belonged to her parents kilometers away, waiting for their lanterns to be the first to light up the sky. “Nervous?” asked a voice from behind her. “No, just excited but I’m still worried for Cass”.

Ever since the pair had left the castle, Rapunzel assumed that her worry for her friend would dissolve in the moments leading up to the release of the lanterns. “Sunshine, she’s fine. As much I hate to admit it she’s a tough one, she’ll make it out of whatever stomach bug she might have”. 

There was this nagging sensation within Rapunzel. It was like a pebble in her shoe, something that told her Cassandra wasn’t sick, but even if she was, she wasn’t being completely honest with Eugene. She wasn’t just worried for her friend, she wanted her friend to be here, with her. “I know and you’re right…” she reached for his hand “...thank you for taking me out here tonight, I’m happy to be here regardless”. Eugene squeezed her hand back and gave her a charming smile. 

Rapunzel really was thankful to be here, she had been wanting this for a long time. Seeing the lights from a different perspective brought a new type of magic to her birthday. Her first birthday had been magical as well. As she waited in silence for the first few lights to be released, she recalled her first birthday back from the tower

~~~

Four months ago she had been rescued from Gothel and shortly after the week of the celebrations, Rapunzel had asked at the dinner table what the floating lights that lit up the sky on her birthday were. It caused the king to choke on his drink and Arianna to stop chewing on her meal. It made her parents emotional to know that their daughter had been indeed seen the lights: the exact tool that was being used to bring the princess back had indeed worked, but that had still not been enough to bring her home.

Once they had explained where the lights came from Rapunzel was euphoric. This meant she was finally going to see the lights! In-person!! Oh, she waited impatiently for that day. When the day finally came her fear loomed over her, she kept thinking that her experience wouldn’t be as magical as she had thought it would be. “Raps you’ll like it. If you’ve wanted to see them your whole life this will be everything you hoped it would be and then some” her friend had comforted her. 

Rapunzel’s eleventh birthday was…weird though. She wasn’t used to so much praise or attention on her birthday. Quite the opposite actually, Gothel barely acknowledged her hostage’s birthday each year. It wasn’t until the older woman saw the floating lanterns that fear crept into her stomach and made her want to lock herself in the tower and sleep, hoping for her nightmare to pass.

Much like everything else in life, Rapunzel adapted quickly and the attention quickly humbled her. Her excitement hadn’t subsided though. So when it was her time to release the first lantern in the sky, she misheld her lantern and burned her palm with the fuel cell. She yelped and Cassandra had been the first to come to her rescue after the Queen had called her and got her to fetch some pomade. 

“I’m not used to getting hurt and not being able to heal my boo-boos with my hair” she chuckled as she let her mother apply some pomade to her palm. Cassandra chuckled back “Y’know Raps I think if you were never taken and I had grown up together and you had kept your hair, I think you would’ve healed me from multiple sprained ankles”. 

The king thought that Cassandra’s comment had been insensitive but neither the princess nor the queen took offense to what the girl had said since they both laughed.

For Rapunzel, this was a safe space, a safe moment. A comforting moment when she was surrounded by the people she loved the most. 

That was what the princess had been looking for her entire life.

~~~

Rapunzel looked as the first few lights were released from the castle, and slowly over time, she saw how the entire island of Corona released their own lanterns out into the sky, all in her honor. She looked back at Eugene who had two lanterns ready for both of them and promptly released them to the sky. Rapunzel smiled at Eugene before she went back to being mesmerized by the way the lanterns lit up the sky. 

As Rapunzel leaned on the edge of the boat, her back facing Eugene. She slowly closed her eyes, and while she wanted to continue seeing lanterns floating all around them, she also wanted to pretend and imagine that the weight on the opposite side of the boat was not Eugene’s, but her future handmaid’s. 

~~~

Around past midnight, Cassandra’s frustration had brought her to fatigue which in turn led her to a deep slumber. Her door had remained locked, but the same couldn’t be said for her window. Rapunzel hoped that by now Cassandra had felt better and was getting ready to sneak them out, but as time passed and Cassandra hadn’t arrived the princess took it upon herself to go look for the short-haired girl. She had climbed into her window and snuck into her room since her door had remained locked.

She watched her friend as she slept but even in the dim light, she was still able to notice her puffy eyes and blistered knuckles. Rapunzel had known Cassandra long enough to tell the difference between a sick Cassandra and an upset Cassandra. Rapunzel didn’t know if she should’ve waited until tomorrow to talk to Cass or wake her up now to know what was wrong, but regardless she walked over slowly to her and leaned into her to kiss her forehead, unaware of how intimate the action was. She backed away choosing to leave and let her friend rest but as she walked slowly stepping backward to the window she tripped on a foreign object, not quite making her fall to the floor but enough to make the floorboards creak beneath her and thump her feet loud for Cassandra to jump awake. With amazing reflexes, she pulled out a dagger from beneath her pillow and pointed it at the shadowy figure standing in her room. It took her a few seconds but as her eyes adjusted she noticed her best friend holding onto the window with wide guilty eyes. 

“Rapunzel? What are you doing here?” she rasped. “Cass, I thought we had agreed we would go to the lagoon tonight remember? But that doesn’t matter unless you’re still not feeling well” Rapunzel replied. The haziness of her sleep slowly dissolved as she remembered her promise to the princess “Raps I’m sorry let me just…” she got up from bed retrieving her boots, but shortly after she remembered why she had ditched the floating lanterns, causing the girl to stop in her tracks.

“Cass, I know you weren’t sick,” Rapunzel whispered gently “It’s okay, you can talk to me about what’s going on, we don’t have to go anywhere I just want to know if you’re okay”. The shorter girl took a few steps toward her friend who had her back turned against her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, we had a lot of chocolate and ate some spicy candy. That typically doesn’t mix well in a stomach y’know”. Cassandra’s lie was almost believable to Rapunzel had she not seen her puffy eyes and sore knuckles. As Cassandra continued putting on her boots, Rapunzel countered “When you’re upset over something…you go to your heavy bag without your hand wraps and your knuckles become blistered…”.

Cassandra frowned, she didn’t like that her friend had been oblivious to her reaction when their parents had decided she would be the princess’s lady-in-waiting, she had the opportunity to let her grievance be known to Rapunzel right then and there, but Cassandra wasn’t one to open up about her wants and needs and much less complain over an opportunity others would consider a privilege. She remained quiet, but the princess turned her around as soon as Cassandra had her boots on “...and your eyes are puffy. Cass, what’s going on?” she questioned one more time. 

Cassandra stared into the dark green eyes, full of concern and pleading. She tried to pry her eyes away, but she knew that after knowing the girl for six years it would be nearly impossible to deny Rapunzel everything that revolved in her mind at the moment if she kept staring at her eyes. The fact was that Cassandra didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings nor disobey the sovereigns of Corona, so her selfless heart looked away from her eyes several times but they kept being reeled back in on their own. Thankfully her tongue was a lot easier to control “I think you should know that sore eyes are usually a big sign if someone’s sick. As for my knuckles, heh, I was trying to keep my body active so that I could fight off whatever stomach bug I had. No big deal, come on let’s go” she shrugged. Rapunzel frowned, it was going to take more than Cassandra’s nonchalant attitude to stop her from knowing what lingered in her friend’s brain, so when Cass headed for her door Rapunzel stood in front of it blocking her way. 

Cassandra’s anger and resentment weren’t on the same level as before she had gone to sleep, but Rapunzel’s persistence was quickly making it rise to the surface once again. “ Rapunzel , move out of the way and follow me, we’re losing moonlight”. “No, Cassandra . We need to talk about this something is bothering you and I won’t leave this room until I have it figured out”. Both said each other’s name with a dangerous tone that was a warning to each other. “Right, because I always have to wait to hear what your highness has to say or wants to do” Cassandra retorted, a scowl forming on her face. “What is that supposed to mean?” Rapunzel replied slowly with anger simmering in her voice. 

“It means that we have to go, we can talk about this another time. Why can’t you just drop the subject and leave me alone?”

“Is that what you really want Cassandra? Because you were having fun today, with me, the whole day, and you didn’t have a problem with my presence until-” she gasped, the realization hitting Rapunzel harder than a ton of bricks. 

Rapunzel brought her hands to her mouth but Cassandra’s only anger subsided slightly, “Just…go”. Rapunzel reached for Cassandra’s shoulder but retrieved her hand. She walked back towards the window, but she hesitated to climb down “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Cassandra exhaled and turned around to face her friend “Rapunzel you know I’ve been meaning to enlist in the Guard. This was my opportunity and I don’t blame you for any of it, I know you didn’t choose me to be your lady-in-waiting. But you were so excited but oblivious to it all that it seemed as if my own dreams didn’t matter to you. Hell! I even sang about my dream at the Snuggly Duckling”. She walked towards her bed, sitting up against the headboard and tucking a knee close to her chest while she kept the other extended. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I’m sorry, but my dad- and your parents for that matter- have seen me train so hard for all of this since before you even came back to the castle and now I’m being given a duty that’s meant to chain me to be your handmaid…forever?”. 

Rapunzel joined her friend in her bed in front of her with her legs crossed. She placed a hand on Cassandra’s knee. She was silent for a moment before she spoke up “I’m sorry I haven’t been a good friend. You know…having you by my side forever is something I couldn’t want more but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to go after your dream. If I’m being honest I’m not sure I’m ready to be a princess either, it’s my destiny but I’m not sure it’s also my dream”. Rapunzel shook her head, she was getting off track “So I know what you mean when it feels like you’re being deviated away from what your heart wants. I’ll talk to my parents to have someone else be my lady-in-waiting”. Cassandra’s eyes softened as Rapunzel talked but her last sentence made her body jolt towards her friend “Raps no. You can’t- I can’t disobey orders, my dad will know. He knows we are close and he will never allow me to join the Guard if he knows I purposefully tried to talk you out of being your lady-in-waiting”. 

“Your dad? What does he have to do with anything?” Rapunzel asked. “He was the one who orchestrated everything, not just your parents. He did it so that I didn’t enlist. He knew I wouldn’t disobey orders from your parents so he recommended me to be your lady-in-waiting”. Rapunzel had a deep respect for the Captain, he had been the one who took quick action the day she was rescued but knowing he purposefully put an obstacle in Cassandra’s path to greatness made Rapunzel uneasy. The long-haired brunette sighed “So what’s the plan?”. Cassandra was confused by Rapunzel’s implication “Raps there is no ‘plan’, this isn’t like sneaking out of the castle to go see the lagoon or replacing Eugene’s moisturizer with slugs. We just deal with this”. That was Cassandra’s usual response to things that were out of her control, she waited until circumstances changed again, but the princess wasn’t used to that. “What? No we can’t just-”

“Besides…I think I’m most qualified to be your lady-in-waiting don’t you think?” Cassandra smirked, but once again the princess wasn’t giving up. “There has to be something we can do”. Cassandra’s smirk fell, and after a moment of silence she spoke up “Raps…remember how you made a promise a while ago?”. Rapunzel was unsure what her friend was talking about so she continued “One day you’ll be queen, and then I’ll be your Captain. That’s my best hope for now anyway. I’ll be okay” she tried to give the princess a comforting smile, one that she hoped would put her friend at ease. It worked, and the princess smiled back warmly. Cassandra hated that she would have to wait until her friend was married off to some noble or prince. The thought brought a sharp pain to her heart, and it wasn’t because she would have to wait for her destiny but until then, she would have to ignore that for now.  “You’re right Cass. I’m still keeping my promise…I promise” she chuckled. 

Cassandra smiled “Are you ready to go then? Night’s still young”. Rapunzel contemplated this for a while, but her body was tired from a day of unstoppable celebration “I’m actually kind of tired, long day and all”. She hadn’t considered the toll her birthday celebration had taken on the princess’s body, which reminded Cassandra that she hadn’t kept her promise to take Rapunzel to see the lanterns by the boats. She cringed at her fault “The lanterns!…I’m sorry I couldn’t take you, I promised”.

Rapunzel reassured her friend “It’s okay actually, Eugene actually offered to take me. God it was so beautiful Cass. Eugene took a small canoe and we released the lanterns from the lake and…”. The younger girl told her best friend all the details of the rendezvous that had taken place earlier in the day. Sure, Cassandra was happy for her friend, for the past six years the princess’s favorite part of her birthday was always the release of the paper lanterns. She knew how much it meant for the girl to be able to experience her birthday in an external experience rather than being the first person to release the first light. However, as Rapunzel elaborated on her story she felt a bit of jealousy knowing that the cocky ex-thief had replaced her place as the princess’s escort. Matter of fact, she had planned on doing the exact same thing the ex-thief had done, rather than joining the big boats she was going to take the princess on their own canoe. It was meant to be an intimate but still equally immersive experience for the princess to release her lantern. Part of the reason why Cassandra had even agreed to accompany her friend was that she wanted to make yet another special memory with her friend similar to that of when they both made the vow at the lost lagoon, but the irritable rogue now had claimed that spot in Rapunzel’s memory and it fostered a new feeling in Cassandra she was foreign to.

She didn’t know what that feeling was but it was new and it was scary and definitely not nice.

It was scary because she didn’t know why or where it was coming from.

“I loved every moment of it” the princess concluded. “I’m glad you had fun…which reminds me I have something for you”. Cassandra got up from her bed, retrieved a small box from her dresser, and returned to where the princess was now laying on her bed. Rapunzel sat up, wrapping a blanket around her back. “Here, happy birthday Raps, I know it’s technically past midnight which means that it’s tomorrow so I’m late but…I hope you like it. Although it’s kind of a present for me too”.

Rapunzel took the box in her hands. It was a plain white box with a red ribbon wrapped around it. She undid the bow and opened the box to reveal a charm bracelet, it was golden but Rapunzel couldn’t tell if it was pure gold or just gilded. Hanging from it was a charm of Corona’s sun from their flag. “We sacrificed our friendship bracelets a while back when we found the lost lagoon but I figured it was about time we got new bracelets…new and improved” Cassandra pulled out a chain from around her neck, one that carried a moon charm. “Okay yeah I know that they’re not ‘bracelets’ per se, for one your bracelet isn’t a regular bracelet, it’s an ankle bracelet and my charm is in a necklace”

“I’m not too fond of bracelets when necklaces are a lot more efficient and I know you prefer anklets since you do a lot of stuff with your hands and bracelets get in the way…” …and you’re barefoot anyway so an accessory wouldn’t be too bad for your feet Cassandra internally added, chuckling tenderly at the thought. Rapunzel threw her arms around Cassandra in a tight embrace that caught her off guard, but Cassandra melted into the hug. “Thank you Cass this is so thoughtful I don’t even think I would’ve even thought about the sun/moon dichotomy…” she nudged her side with her elbow “...and I’m the friendship expert here. But it just makes sense, the hidden moon festival happened around the discovery of the lost lagoon and you were the one who snuck out at night to find the lagoon which makes you the moon! Smart!”

Cassandra let go of Rapunzel. She actually hadn’t thought of everything Rapunzel came up with at that moment, the truth was she just saw Rapunzel as the bright warm sun and herself as the cool night owl. She wasn’t about to openly admit that though.

The princess let herself fall back into Cassandra’s bed, fatigue taking over her body. “Um, Raps? This is my bed let’s get you back to your room”. Rapunzel hummed into Cassandra’s pillow “I’m too tired, I’ll leave tomorrow”

“But this is my bed! In my room!” she groaned in annoyance

“It’s my castle, I’m the princess” Rapunzel countered with no haughtiness in her voice, just simple tiredness.

“What are we going to tell everyone the morning you come out of my room then?”

“We’ll wake up earlier before everyone else and I’ll go back to my room” the princess yawned.

“Raps! No!” she whispered but it was already too late, for the princess had already fallen into a semi-slumber that couldn’t be escaped. 

Cassandra huffed and looked at her heavy bag. Since it was basically a giant sack stuffed with sand and hay, Cassandra unhooked it so that it lay on the ground as a makeshift bed. Taking a spare blanket, she allowed the princess to take her bed and she went back to sleep. Moments before both of them fell into a deep slumber they longed for the other to sleep next to them. 

For now, Cassandra would wake up with a sore back the next morning.

Chapter Text

Two years later…

Rapunzel had a busy day ahead of her. Nearly the whole day she would be engaged with the preparations for the Official Autumnal Equinox Royal Ball. The winds were starting to become a little bit colder, chilly. The princess had dress fittings, taste tests, and greetings to attend to. For the past two years, the princess had been learning what it meant to be a princess, a ruler. Childhood was over, but it never stripped Rapunzel of her free spirit…or her stubbornness for that matter since she continued to refuse to wear shoes.

She had high hopes for the ball, hopes that she would make her parents proud. Hope that she could show the seven kingdoms and all the other guests who were invited that she had the poise of a true princess without needing to sacrifice her own personality for the snobby elite. She stood behind her vanity mirror, brushing her hair back and neatly. She knew she should’ve waited for her lady-in-waiting to arrive and do her hair but she liked to experiment a little. 

Rapunzel tried to experiment with different things, braids, buns, crowns, among other things. Her green friend suggested she put her hair up in a half bun similar to her mother’s typical go-to hairstyle. Once she did Rapunzel curiously looked at herself in the mirror in detail. Her mother had begun accumulating more wrinkles for the past two years, but even then the Queen always managed to look younger than she seemed. Perhaps it was due to her adventurous spirit similar to Rapunzel, which in return brought some sort of comfort to Rapunzel that made her giggle “I think mom and I age slower than everyone else don’t you think Pascal?”. The lizard squeaked in a chuckle and pointed to his friend’s tiara, hinting that she should wear it. 

Rapunzel placed it on her head and the mirror reflected a different person. A person of power, a statesperson.

A Queen.

Rapunzel was hit with the realization that she had just turned eighteen, old enough to court a prince who would kneel to the ground and seal her future that would bind her to the throne. Similarly to her mother, she was expected to also rule a kingdom one day alongside her king. Rapunzel wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

On one hand, she was always mesmerized by the idea of true love much like any other girl. She had read about it in many of the books available to her but unlike each princess in her books, she had never felt a certain way about any prince charming. The Equinox Ball wasn’t Rapunzel’s first ball, she had met many dukes and princes around her age in other events but was never swept off her feet by any of them since she never really paid attention to matters of love and courtship in her teenage years, surprisingly. The closest relationship she had with any man excluding her father was Eugene.

Sure, she found the ex-thief handsome and charming, but that was as far as she felt about him. She had met him when she was ten and he was sixteen, which for Rapunzel was a huge age gap. She would never say to Eugene that he was too ‘old’ for her to his face since she knew the guy would take offense at being called ‘old’, but there was something just off that she felt about being courted by the ex-con. Perhaps she would give it a shot in today’s ball but that was still very highly unlikely…which led her to her next point.

On the other hand, the idea of finally settling down to be queen terrified Rapunzel. Giving her hand in marriage meant that she would be bound by her duty to her people. She loved Corona and all her glory, but that didn’t take away from the fact that it was still scary to know that once again she would be limited by Corona’s walls and her status as the sole heir to the throne, depriving her of adventure. It wasn’t as if her position of power meant anything either since she knew that most of her power would be immediately yielded to her future husband, whomever that might be. Rapunzel craved adventure, she wanted to know what it would be like to travel all around the world, to get into new adventures every now and then. 

If there could only be a way in which she could enjoy the best of both worlds, a way of being next to someone whom she could love deeply without feeling bound to surrender her ambitions. 

Something new, something unorthodox. 

She blew a hair out of her face, it would take a miracle the size of the power of the heavens if that could be possible. She began to wonder what would married life look like if none of that could happen though. The closest thing she would probably feel to adventurous escapades would be if she continued to sneak out with Cassan-

“Fuck Raps I’m so sorry for being late I’ll get your hair done and then we can-” Cassandra barged into her room, a royal purple gown in her arms.

“Language!” Rapunzel retorted.

Her friend huffed in response but continued anyway “Well you’ve already done your hair anyway so let’s get you into your dress”. Rapunzel took one last glance in the mirror before she followed her friend behind her privacy-changing screen and removed her chemise, which was the only thing she was wearing as she had a bath earlier in the morning with the help of Faith. “Cass?” she called her friend. Cassandra simply replied with a hum as she continued getting each piece of the princess’s ensemble together.

“Have you ever thought about getting married?” she asked.

Cassandra froze for a second before she continued with her task “Not really. I think for a really long time I just hyperfocused on getting in The Guard that I never thought much about… y’know…” she trailed off “...marrying a man”. She was telling the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Cassandra knew for a long time that she wasn’t attracted to men. It wasn’t a bad thing in Corona, but it was unheard of, unknown, and that terrified Cassandra. She didn’t want to become a spinster, which is why she held on to her dream to become a knightess, one that didn’t need to be a damsel to be with her respective knight. “Why do you ask?”

“Well for one, ever since I met you you never seemed interested in dating anybody, and I’ve known you for eight years now” she replied, to which Cassandra once again tensed up. “But for the most part I…” the princess continued but she was interrupted by her friend briefly as she handed her a new chemise and drawers “...I’m thinking about marriage too”. Cassandra untensed and quirked an eyebrow “looking to get hitched Raps?”

“No!” She laughed. “It’s just that for me this ball is supposed to be about how I’ve grown as a princess, as a statesperson. But I can’t seem to stop thinking about how my job as a princess is to be a pretty face while some prince from a nearby kingdom woos me. I mean I’m supposed to be there for my people right? But the moment I get married all my power is going to be given…to my husband. One that doesn’t know Corona as I do”

Cassandra listened as she stood behind her friend getting ready to put on her corset. “Skip the corset,” the princess said as she moved away. “But-”

“I have a skeleton to erect everything in its place”. Cassandra shrugged and tossed the corset away. It wasn’t as if she owned any corsets herself, in fact, the only semi-uncomfortable thing she ever wore in her torso were wraps that she tightened around her chest, it made it easier  for her to spar without having her chest bounce all over the place. She continued getting her friend dressed without messing up her hairdo.

Rapunzel continued “Getting married sounds…scary, what if I never get to explore what is beyond Corona’s walls except for stuffy royal banquets and formal events in other kingdoms?”. Cassandra wasn’t sure how to reassure her friend that her fears wouldn’t happen, but after knowing her friend for years, she knew that she could always help her with an outlet. “Well, if you want, tonight we could go beyond Corona’s walls”

She pulled up the dress from behind the princess’s hips and brought them to her shoulders. “Wait really?!” she exclaimed. “Sure, we haven’t gone out in a while, besides there’s something I’ve gotta show you.” Cassandra replied with a smirk on her face. “Ooh, what is it?”

“Not sure, it’s had to explain. You’re going to have to see it for yourself” she admitted as she tightened the dress behind her. “I’m going to make the assumption that you won’t be wearing any shoes for the ball either?” Cassandra asked semi-seriously, for she already knew the answer. “Why would I, when the dress is long enough to cover my feet?” the princess replied as she turned around to face her lady-in-waiting with a mischievous smile and a wink. Rapunzel left the privacy of her changing screen to see how the dress looked in a full-body mirror. Cassandra followed after her. Satisfied with how she looked, Rapunzel turned once again to face Cassandra and asked “What do you think?”

Cassandra stood there somewhat dumbfounded as her best friend smiled. There was something different about her friend, something that made her insides clench at the sight. 

The princess stood there in her gown. Even without the corset, the top part of the dress hugged the princess’s curves gracefully before the dress cascaded downwards in a beautiful shade of Russian violet. The light of the balcony window shimmered perfectly on her face, highlighting the peppering kisses of her freckles. Her hair was half up in a bun while the rest of her chocolate hair fell right at the top of her bust line. It was nearly impossible for Cassandra to find Rapunzel more beautiful than she did now. It took her breath away and made her face feel warm. 

She wasn’t sure how long she had stood there too stunned to speak but her friend’s emerald eyes shifted from excitement to concern which was the only thing that snapped Cassandra out of her trance “Oh no, is there something wrong with the dress? Are my feet showing?”

Cassandra shook her head before reassuring her friend “No Raps it’s just…I was trying to remember where the place I was taking you tonight was. You look great, your highness”. Rapunzel believed her friend’s lie and rolled her eyes at the term of respect her friend had a habit of using to tease her. “Okay let’s go, we’ve got some other business to attend to before the ball. Namely, taste testing some shit so let’s go”

“Cass! Language!” the princess scolded. “There’s no use for you to keep correcting me. There’s no point to hold back unfiltered, especially if I’m talking to you” 

“As a princess, I cannot use such foul language…you’re going to spoil me rotten” Rapunzel countered in a faux-haughty voice to which Cassandra only laughed in response, which also caused the princess to laugh.

After their laughter settled down, Cassandra spoke up as they walked down the hall “Hey Raps?”. The princess turned to look at her friend “You don’t have to worry about not having your own adventure. Only you are capable of paving that for yourself, not some prince, even after marriage”

Rapunzel smiled “Thank you, Cass”. It seemed as if every time Rapunzel felt as if she was drowning in an ocean of doubt and uncertainty, she could always rely on Cassandra to find freedom in her friend. Suddenly married life didn’t seem as scary as long as Cassandra was by her side, she would be the eye of the princess’s hurricane. A stabilizer to her spirit but still an equally powerful phenomenon. She widened her eyes in realization and she turned around and ran back to her room, her hair being undone and causing Cassandra to growl silently “Rapunzel where are you going?”

She didn’t get her answer until the princess came back untouched. Her hair was fixed but otherwise not showing any change. 

“I forgot my anklet” she said sheepishly. Lifting her dress ever so slightly to reveal a charm anklet with a singular moon hanging from it. Cassandra smirked and felt at her own necklace hiding behind her dress. 

~~~

Eugene stood before the throne room. He gulped and tugged at his shirt collar. He didn't know why the king had called to summon him. Sure, he had been allowed to remain in the castle after he tipped the Captain of Rapunzel's whereabouts and in return had been rewarded. But he had never officially summoned him to the throne room in his years in the castle. It was always a casual summon that didn't revolve around anything serious. But if there was one thing Eugene knew about the king was that he did not talk about common things in the throne room. So he stood before the doors not knowing what to expect once he walked into the room. 

He took the risk and went inside. "Your highness! Hi! You are looking good today. Hey, what kind of wax did you use for your mustache? because you, my friend..." he pointed finger guns at him "...are looking very dapper!". Eugene was going to continue being himself regardless of the fact that the monarch of Corona held complete power over his future. He liked to believe that in the eight years that he had lived in the castle he could at the very least categorize his relationship with the king as one similar to a long-term acquaintance- but not quite a friend. Besides, he needed to release whatever tension he was feeling in his head. 

“Eugene thank you for coming, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you” the King began, ignoring Eugene’s nervous antics. He stood up from his throne and walked towards him, meeting him in the center of the throne room. “As a monarch, I have shown my gratitude for bringing the princess home by rewarding you with a position of power as a noble. As a father, I have also thanked you for bringing my little girl home.”. 

“Of course your majesty, it has been an honor and I am incredibly grateful” Eugene replied, his nervous smugness dissolving once the king’s tone became formal. Frederic put his hands behind his back and continued “Both the monarch and the father wants his daughter to have her happily ever after just like every princess at the end of her story does” he sighed. “The love of a father runs deep, and I want to make sure that Rapunzel is happy as she can be on the throne, and I have no doubt that she will make an excellent Queen”.

“Your majesty, I’m not sure I underst-”

“Eugene I would like for you to court my daughter”

Part of Eugene wanted to scream in celebration, to be able to get on his knees, ball up his fists, throw them in the air and scream ‘YESSSSSS’ from the top of his lungs. He had been waiting for the opportunity to do it himself, for he had taken a liking to Rapunzel for a long time now and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. The way the girl lit up everything she touched had become endearing to the rogue and motivated him to become a more selfless man. He loved Rapunzel for being sweet, kind, and beautiful. It was as if the opportunity to make a move on her fell right onto his lap.

But part of Eugene was also confused by the king’s bold proposal. Why him, when there were other princes’ from mightier kingdoms? Kingdoms that politically speaking would greatly benefit Corona. “I- I mean I’m not complaining or anything- this is a huge privilege and everything but- I mean I guess I don’t understand but I just- Why?” was the only thing that Eugene was actually able to reply to the monarch. 

“Rapunzel for the past two years has been trained to be a leader, a monarch who will govern all of Corona with the same force and gracefulness of a falcon. I don’t doubt that she won’t learn the customs every princess- or every queen for that matter- needs to master before their ascension. What I worry about is if she will find a suitor who cares for Corona just as much as each king before me, all the way down to Herz De Sonne’s bloodline. Unfortunately, many men who are royalty have come to Corona in the past to court the female heir for their personal gain for their home kingdom. While that in itself isn’t wrong- for I know what it’s like to prioritize your kingdom before everything- I want to make sure Corona is always the king’s number one concern. Eugene, you are perhaps the best chance Corona has as a decent king”

As he listened to all of this Eugene meticulously analyzed every bit of information that the king was disclosing to him. Many times in the past Eugene had wanted a life full of luxuries, riches, and maybe even an island where he could forever be tanned and alone. He knew what the king was getting at, he wanted Eugene to be the next king of Corona. For the longest time as much as he wanted power for himself, ruling a kingdom was far too much work for a person who wanted a stress-free life. As of this moment, he was actually granted the title of a nobleman. He was filthy rich, with an almost unlimited amount of money that allowed him material and vain pleasures: food, women, wine, smoke. Every week he spoiled himself by slumming in the nearest pub, his status and insanely good looks would earn him a stunning woman for him to spend the night with no commitments. Nobody in the castle knew and it was thrilling. He was still allowed to be the exhilarating Flynn Rider during those nights.

That was the biggest perk from all of this since he had saved the princess: Zero commitment. 

But now he was being handed on a silver platter the opportunity to finally take a bite of the forbidden fruit. The jewel of the kingdom. The flower child, for himself forever with the ultimate title of King of Corona. His trail of thought became more tempting, more mouth-watering. His greed began to grow just a little. 

The king sighed before he continued “Besides I believe that although my daughter will be an excellent ruler, she can be a little delusional when determining what’s best for the kingdom. Her enthusiastic spirit and extreme positivity could put the kingdom at risk and I cannot allow that, which is why it is imperative that her husband is one that takes charge of what is rightfully his power as king.”. The king’s own words caused a sharp pain in his heart. He knew he could never say those words straight to his daughter’s face, but at the end of the day, he told himself he was a king above all, responsible for the life of his subjects. It wasn’t as if Frederic didn’t want his daughter to fall in love with a prince who would love her unconditionally or have equal power on the throne. He wanted everything for his daughter, a love story and rulership over the kingdom he knew she loved with a devotion greater than any other, but he also knew that society operated one way.

A way that even as the king he believed he couldn’t change. 

Instead, he would give her hand to the man who stood before him. An ex-thief, a charming rogue. An idiot, but nevertheless one that was granted Coronan citizenship and high status. Frederic lied to himself and believed that it was a far better option than marrying her off to some random prince who was in his sixties and probably never have met the princess. 

“Your majesty it is an honor to have your blessing for this” he extended his arm towards the king, who promptly shook it. The tone in which Eugene was speaking to him surprised the king, Eugene never spoke with this amount of eloquence “I’m thankful you take me seriously enough for this…and boy I can’t wait until I can call you my daddy-in-law WOO!”. 

Okay yeah, there it was.

“Eugene I only hope you understand that this is my daughter and my kingdom we are talking about. There is a solemn importance to all of this and I am relying on you to make the best out of it.” the king’s voice became darker, threatening, dangerous, “As a king I cannot remove you from the throne and as a father, I cannot stop separate both of you. But should you break her heart or break my kingdom, the father and the king will disappear and all that will remain is a man…is that clear?”

Eugene could’ve shat his pants at that moment: the king looked down at him with a raging fire in his eyes that promised every word Frederic spoke. Eugene swallowed and every once of humor that was left in him evaporated “Yes your highness”.

The king stopped glaring and his face returned to that of a stoic man, “Good, now if you’ll excuse me I have guests that I must greet. I’ll see you at the ball son ”

Eugene remained standing in the middle of the throne room until Frederic stepped out of the room. He was at a loss for words, but after the original shock and fear that had taken over his body after being threatened and a rush of adrenaline took over. 

Today was the ball, and much like every love story he would charm and woo his princess by midnight. By textbook definition, it was the ideal setting to romance a girl. So Eugene got to work and left the throne room to have himself groomed for the night.

~~~

The ballroom was perhaps the largest room in the entire castle. It was large enough that it could’ve hosted about ten thousand people, and thankfully it did. There were many guests that had arrived, namely, royalty from the seven kingdoms: Koto, Bayangor, Neserdnia, Galcrest, Pittsford, and Ingvarr. Invitations to other kingdoms had also been given, some that included Equis, Quintonia, Weselton, the Southern Isles, and Arendelle, among others. Unfortunately, Arendelle had sent word that they were not attending the ball, and the orphaned princesses never arrived, mysteriously. 

Regardless, Rapunzel found that greeting each of the most important people in the modern world was rather boring since it was obscured with so many formalities. Ever so often if a name was announced and had a funny ring to it, Rapunzel would giggle and discreetly look behind her at Cassandra who would shoot a semi-scolding glare that was accompanied by a smirk on her lips that conveyed that she was just as amused as the princess was. 

Overall, It had been an easy task to greet all of the guests. “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” said the princess. “Don’t worry the next part is the most agonizing” her friend whispered sarcastically. “It’s not like trying to mingle and laugh at terrible jokes and gossip is hard though” the princess replied. “Ugh, hm, I don’t know. I don’t like small talk, it’s meaningless and useless. Thankfully, I’m just a lady-in-waiting, I don’t have to talk to anybody. Besides, I have the rest of the night off. ” Cassandra replied with a satisfactory grin on her face. Rapunzel smiled and rolled her eyes “Y’know Cass it doesn’t hurt to spread your wings once in a while. Maybe you should try it sometime”.

“Hey, you need someone to fight in a duel for you? I’m your girl, but talking to pompous pieces of royal ass? Nah I’ll pass, and don’t say-” 

“Language!” 

“Okay, I should’ve seen that coming” Cassandra admitted. The two friends stood behind the side doors to the ballroom. Rapunzel wanted to squeeze in a few more minutes with her best friend before she was consumed by the masses that stood on the other side of the doors. 

The princess chuckled, “And just so you know, I’m considered ‘royal butt’ so I’ll take the full offense of that diss”. Cassandra tilted her head sideways, giving her a mischievous cynical look “Raps, that’s because you’re not a self-absorbed snobby brat…You know now that I’m thinking about it, maybe Fitzherbert would be a great fit for royalty someday, he checks off all the boxes: arrogant, pretentious, vain, conceited, entitled, want me to keep going?”. 

The thought of marrying Eugene was an uncomfortable topic to the princess, so she steered the conversation in another direction “Do you think the women from Ingvarr are any of those things?” the princess countered, cocking an eyebrow at her friend. Cassandra’s eyes widened and her mouth was slightly agape. The princess shot her a victorious smirk, inched closer to Cassandra’s face by standing on her tiptoes, and whispered “Thought so” before coming back down to her normal height. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll try to strike up a conversation with the princesses of Ingvarr. I’ll let you know” the princess shrugged before flicking her wrist with two fingers from her head and outwards, saluting to Cassandra one last time before she joined the ballroom. Cassandra had to compose herself once Rapunzel was out of sight. 

Rapunzel looked around the room, the music of the orchestra band played harmoniously. On the dance floor, many diplomats twirled around with their partners. Most of the music that consumed the atmosphere consisted of a waltz, formal and proper for the event. Rapunzel had learned the customary steps to these sorts of dances with the help of her friend. Though the music wasn’t as fun as the time they danced on her sixteenth birthday, it was always easy to dance with Cassandra. 

It was comfortable and reassuring to have her friend’s strong arms lead her with gracefulness. Cassandra hated dancing, but she found it tolerable and even enjoyable when she danced with Rapunzel -and the princess knew this, and would use it to her advantage and exploit it out of endearment. It was one of the few things Rapunzel knew Cassandra would never allow with other people, but for some reason allowed it if it were Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel would’ve asked to have the music changed to a melody similar to that of the street musicians who peddled in the streets of Corona, but the band consisted of cellists, violinists, and a pianist: There were no traces of flutes, drums, or banjos. 

If Rapunzel couldn’t have the luxury of dancing to lively music, she wanted at the very least to be able to have her best friend here. 

Alas, that wasn’t possible: Cassandra had already had a long day from preparations and following Rapunzel around.

The princess walked through the crowd hoping to be able to find someone from Ingvarr who carried the same aura that her friend radiated. An aura that emitted the energy of a fierce warrior. Thankfully, it was the type of vibe that dominated a room easily, and it wasn’t hard for Rapunzel to be able to spot the Queen of Ingvarr. 

The queen stood in a crimson tunic composed of leather pelts that worked both as formal attire and armor. Many generals and lieutenants who had attended from other kingdoms had decided to wear formal uniforms, but the guests from Ingvarr wore leather armor that looked dangerous as they looked opulent. Like a ballad of a war horn that sang a beautiful note that signaled the arrival of power. 

The princess approached the queen with a curtsy “Your majesty, it is an honor to have guests from Ingvarr in Corona once again. I hope you’re enjoying the festivities”. 

The queen remained stoic, as she simply bowed her head in acknowledgment, “Ingvarr is thankful for your consideration princess”.

Rapunzel smiled, waiting for the Queen to continue the conversation, but that never happened “I’ve heard so much from your homeland. It’s a kingdom full of warrior women, which is so admirable! I wish we had as many women lining up to join our Guard”. The queen raised an eyebrow but remained silent and powerful as a mountain. 

“My best friend has been training to be part of the Guard since she was six, it’s her dream to be Captain one day. You know she really admires your fighting-”

“How long has she been in your Guard?” the queen inquired. 

“Oh! She’s not in the guard, she’s my lady-in-”

“How does Corona overlook a warrior like that? Our soldiers begin training during their infancy. To find one who possesses a raging fire and hunger to begin is like finding a lost coin in the sea” the Queen countered with no bite in her voice, only serious bewilderment. “Tell me princess, is your friend satisfied with her position?”.

The princess became quiet for a second, not sure what to reply, “Cassandra has never told me she was un -satisfied. It doesn’t take away the fact that she’s still a great warrior”. This made the queen tilt her head in an almost unperceivable manner. Her emotionless eyes stared into the cheerful princess’s and said her final thoughts, “A warrior does not complain upon the sight of the dawn of duty to their master. Their silence is their loyalty”.

Rapunzel whispered “what?” as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. The Queen walked away, and she was scattered among the sea of people who were present in the ballroom. “Wait! What does that mean?” she called out as she paced in the same direction as the Queen. 

It was useless, Rapunzel couldn’t keep up, and in her attempts to chase after the ghost of the warrior queen, she bumped into a man in a white coat with blue dress pants. 

“Your highness, my sincerest apologies” Rapunzel looked up and was met with a tall redheaded man with sideburns. His eyes were gentle, green “Are you okay?”. Rapunzel, still holding onto his palm straightened herself from bumping into the taller man. “Oh yes I’m okay, thank you- Oh wait you’re that prince from the Southern Isles!”. The taller man chuckled, “Yes I am, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, at your service your majesty”.

Shortly after the brief introduction, the orchestra present in the room began playing a new waltz. It lit up the room as multiple couples began seeking their dance partners and joined each other on the floor. Soon you had multiple gowns twirling around in circles to the beat of the classical music that played. Rapunzel was about to continue walking through the crowd to find the Queen of Ingvarr, “It was nice meeting you but I’m afraid I have to-”

“Wait princess, may I at least have one dance?” he asked. As far as Rapunzel knew, it was impolite to deny another prince a dance, so she obliged. “Is this your first time in Corona?” she asked as they danced in the typical circular pattern of a waltz. “It is, usually three of my twelve older brothers will go to royal events hosted in other kingdoms”

“Twelve brothers? That is crazy! I don’t have any siblings, though I wish I did. Sometimes it can get very lonely but my friends make up for it”. This had, in fact, been true for Rapunzel. She always wondered what it would’ve been like to be an older sibling to another. She had to admit that the closest thing she had to a sibling was Pascal, who had grown up with her basically her entire life. 

The prince smiled, “Well I certainly hope that I can provide some company for you tonight during this ball, it’s nice to be in the company of others who aren’t my brothers”. Rapunzel followed up with a question “You don’t have any sisters? At all?”. Hans nodded in negation “No sisters, just a huge pack of testosterone. Though I wish I did have sisters, once my brothers pretended I was invisible for a couple of years”. Rapunzel giggled. “No way!”.

Rapunzel made a smart guess, “How does it feel to be the last person in line for the throne?” She asked innocently. Hans’ grin fell slightly, “I love my kingdom but I think my oldest brother is most qualified. Besides, at least I know I’ll marry for love and not politics”. The princess had to admit that she was a bit jealous of the fact, being able to be in line for the throne meant that there was almost a carefree responsibility to wait for the throne. “I think that’s a beautiful vision, I hope that if I marry someday I’ll do it for love above all”.

“Perhaps one day we’ll both find what we are looking for in a life partner…in each other” he replied suggestively.

Rapunzel’s polite smile partly faltered, she was still persistent with wanting to talk to more guests for Ingvarr, mostly for Cassandra. Perhaps she could get a duel set up between them, something that Cassandra would enjoy. But the prince of the Isles was also beginning to make her feel uncomfortable. The violins and cellos that were playing ceased. The song was over and both walked away from the dance floor. “I’m sure that’d be great but I really have to find someone”. 

She tried walking away but the prince held on to her hand, “But we’ve barely even talked and-“

“Sunshine! I’ve been looking all over for you. Did you just get here? Oh, wait wow- “ Eugene appeared, and it didn’t take long for him to meddle in the conversation. “Sideburns how’d you sneak in here? Wait no the real question is how did you lose so much weight? As far as I can remember you were on the higher end of the BMI scale” Eugene questioned. He continued scanning the redhead. The more he rambled, the closer he came to a conclusion, “You know you were also so much shorter…did you shrink? And you had less hair, what product did you use because- Oh wait you’re not who I think you are”

The prince rather than being offended, he laughed. Unsure of what to make of the situation, he simply introduced himself, “Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Who are you?”

“Eugene Fitzherbert of…Corona? Tsk. I just don’t have a lot of experience introducing myself as a noble” he chuckled. The princess watched the interchange, unsure of how to leave the setting. “I’ve gotta say, for someone who lives in the cold Isles, your skin looks perfectly moisturized. You know, I wasn’t really joking when I asked for an itemized list of your products”.

Rapunzel interjected, finding the opportunity to leave the conversation “Well I’m sure you both can talk all about hair and skin products I have to go talk to some guests”. She slowly backed away from the two men, though she wasn’t successful in her mission to disengage. 

“Princess wait!!” both of them called out. Rapunzel cringed, the persistence of the prince was beginning to come off as pushy. The attention she was receiving from both of these men was beginning to irritate Rapunzel’s natural perky personality. 

At that moment, the past two years of princess schooling came rushing to Rapunzel. A princess may not always be able to rudely leave a scene, but she always had her incredible wits at her disposal. So as Eugene approached the princess, she allowed herself to be taken away from the prince. “Rapunzel I was hoping you’d give me the honor of a dance, I’m sure prince sideburns here had his fair share,” the ex-con said. 

“But I-” the prince frowned. Annoyed at the situation, he walked away and Rapunzel heard no more from the prince for the rest of that night. 

If Prince Hans wanted to be able to romance a princess to dominate an entire kingdom, he would have to seek a more vulnerable love-starved princess. 

It wasn’t going to hurt Rapunzel to have another dance, and truthfully she felt more at ease being able to dance with someone she was familiar with rather than an invasive stranger. 

~~~

Out in the courtyard, Cassandra allowed herself to feel the astronomical twilight breeze. The sky was already dark, and most of the guards were on duty for the ball. It made it easier for Cassandra to train without interruption of anybody. 

The handmaiden had her sword in her hand in a guard position, with her feet in their correct stance and the blade just above her shoulder. 

Thirty seconds, she counted. For thirty seconds she swung her sword nonstop to get adjusted to its weight in her palms. Of course, after years of training, she wasn’t mindlessly swinging her blade: It was a graceful dance of offense swings. In front of her was a single wooden post, one that acted as a target. 

Granted, it wasn’t the best sparring “partner” for her at the moment, but her father was busy and so were Stan and Pete, which were the only people who ever agreed to spar with the warrior. The thirty seconds were up, and the warmup was over. 

It didn’t take long for Cassandra to lift her blade once again, this time she added footwork to her strikes. She revolved around the post, and this time she added defense swings of her blade and counterattacks. 

Her arm muscles burned as the weight and movement of her weapon began to settle in, but Cassandra ignored them. A grin appeared on her face, one that allowed her to enter a flow state with each strike against the pole. 

She wanted to get creative, so she took the dagger on her belt. Cassandra liked to consider her dance with her sword just that, a dance. But upon summoning her dagger on her left hand, she whispered “Now I have a ball of my own”. She slashed her sword diagonally from right to left and brought her hand up to mimic a defensive block as she did the same with her sword, creating a protective X in front of her. 

Perhaps she needed to make this a bit more challenging, this was getting boring.

She was about to begin adding kicks to her routine, but a flying dagger perforated itself into her training post, putting Cassandra on high alert. The dark-haired woman turned around and saw none other than the Queen of Ingvarr unsheathing her sword. 

Quickly, Cassandra assumed the worse. Was this a breach? a siege? An elaborate plan to destabilize Corona? If so, where were the other soldiers? Why was Cassandra the first person they’d attack? Were there any other guards who were being attacked as well? Cassandra’s heart stuttered.

Rapunzel! Is she okay?

The warrior scowled and lunged at the Queen; treaties and formalities be damned. The Queen brought her sword up in defense, the steel hissing against each other as they retracted their blades. 

Cassandra wanted to add kicks to her routine earlier I guess now’s my chance . She lifted her sword and dagger slightly upwards to give her an opening in which she could throw a simple front kick. The kick was meant to not only create distance but Cassandra hoped it would knock the wind out of the queen. 

Except nothing Cassandra hoped would happen, happened. The queen took the opening Cassandra created as an opportunity to unarm her opponent with a strong swing of her sword aided by the Queen’s strength that knocked Cassandra’s blade out of her hand. Cassandra’s leg had released the kick but in a swift motion, the Queen captured her leg and pulled it and destabilizing the leg Cassandra stood in, making her fall to the ground. 

Cassandra simply pointed her dagger at the Queen, who now loomed over her defeated opponent. “You’re not a great warrior as your friend said…”.

In one last attempt, Cassandra threw her dagger at the queen, but with great reflexes, she caught it with its tip a millimeter away from her chest. She looked at the blade, “...but you carry the spirit of one”. 

Cassandra realized her mistake, this wasn’t a siege or an attack against Corona, this was a fight the Queen had looked for in Cassandra. 

And she had just attempted to kill the Queen of Ingvarr. The realization painted over her face. 

The queen stepped back, offering a hand to Cassandra who remained on the ground. “Don’t dwell on our fight”.  

Cassandra took the Queen’s hand with guilt, “What do you know of my homeland?”

Lifting herself off the ground, she replied “It’s a kingdom of warrior women. You find your honor in being among decorated fighters. Masters of physical agility, strength, archery, and combat”

The Queen nodded, but Cassandra asked “How’d you find me?” 

“Your friend mentioned your name and it’s not hard to ask the other maids where I could find you”. The Queen sheathed her sword and picked up the younger girl’s sword. She scanned it and noticed the engraving on her blade. She read the engraving while also calling out the girl’s name, “Cassandra”. 

The Queen turned around to face her, “The one who shines and excels over men”. Cassandra frowned in confusion, “What?”.

The Queen remained stoic “You carry the flame of a fighter and a name that reflects what is an Ingvarri warrior”. The handmaiden gawked, the Queen of Ingvarr, perhaps one of the most powerful women in the world, was complimenting -no- acknowledging Cassandra’s skill and talent, something that in Corona was constantly discouraged by her father, by some townsfolk, and by some guards. 

“How would you like to be offered a place in my army? Given of course if you complete Ingvarri’s basic training”

The euphoria Cassandra felt was otherworldly. Her dream was being handed to her here, now, on the day of the Fall Equinox. Every hope and fantasy of being a hero, a person who bore scars to protect her people as the ultimate honor could become a reality with a simple ‘Yes’. She would finally be in a place where her talents and abilities would be appreciated by everyone around her. She’d gain the approval of everyone around her. 

It was glory being served on a silver platter. 

But she wouldn’t be protecting her people. 

She wouldn’t be around the people she loved, people who loved her, just people who appreciated her skill set. 

Cassandra had waited though, she’d waited for so long, and for what? To be shipped off to a new kingdom that meant nothing to her?

Then again…

The people she had grown up with had disapproved of everything she aspired to be, it was as good as saying they disapproved of her destiny. She wanted to protect the people of Corona, but why would she do that when those same people had laughed in her face and told her they didn’t need her protection? 

Except, there were people who needed her to protect Corona. 

The Queen had named her the princess’s protector.

Rapunzel.

Rapunzel needed her there…or did she?

The answer was irrelevant because the warrior didn’t have the heart to leave her behind,

And she didn’t know why. Why did Rapunzel beg her to stay in her heart when she wasn’t even vocalizing that in the real world? It sparked a flame of anger and sorrow within Cassandra. 

And God, did it burn.

“I-I…” she stuttered in response. The Queen, although clearly upset, reassured her “Your heart belongs to the Sun of Corona. I admire loyalty in a warrior, both to her country and her beloved”. Cassandra shook her head “She’s not my-”

“Child, perhaps it’s not common here in Corona, and your ignorance blinds you, but in Ingvarr it’s common to see sapphic love, we easily recognize it when we see it” the Queen interjected. Cassandra remained in denial, but the Queen of Ingvarr wanted to continue talking about matters that were much more imperative. 

“If you do not wish to join me, that is your choice. I only hope you continue growing in your noble path” she said as she handed Cassandra her sword and her dagger. Cassandra took them and the Queen walked away. The handmaiden stood there, looking at her weapons before she spoke up one last time “Your majesty!...”

The Queen didn’t turn around, she simply came to a halt, “...Thank you for your understanding and consideration”. The Queen continued walking and once she was out of sight, Cassandra’s motivation to continue her training faded.

And out of spite, she threw her dagger at the post.

~~~

Rapunzel had danced with Eugene for what felt like an hour or so. She had to admit that the man was an incredible dancer: never did he once step on her bare feet with his elegant boots. “You know sunshine, as much as I appreciate a waltz I sure could go for a tango or something…I don’t know with a little more spice ” he said.

That was something Rapunzel agreed with, “I know, I was assuming that with guests from other kingdoms with their respective cultures, we’d at least have something different than what we typically do here in Corona”. Eugene spun her around, and once she finished twirling, he returned his hand to her waist. 

“Well then again, your parents only ordered an orchestra and a pianist. See me personally if I were the king I would’ve hired that one accordionist from the Snuggly Duckling and Hook Hand I’m sure that would’ve made for a great party for the guests,” he spoke. The princess widened her eyes, “Oh my god you’re right! This would’ve been a perfect opportunity for Hook Hand to play for a live audience. Awh, I wish I had thought of that earlier”. The older man smirked, “Hey don’t beat yourself up. Hook Hand is on tour anyway”. The smile the princess beamed made Eugene’s heart jump. “Really? He must feel like he’s over the world!” she giggled. 

“I just wish I could’ve given him a parting gift. He’s been waiting on his dream for a while now, he deserves it” she pouted. Eugene chuckled, “That’s alright Sunshine, something tells me we’ll be seeing him again”. 

“By the way, what was that guy’s deal?” he twitched his head to signal the prince who was dancing with Rapunzel earlier. 

“I was talking to the Queen of Ingvarr but she was very serious and then she said something very ominous and walked away and I tried going after her but I accidentally bumped into him” she replied. “I would’ve said ‘no’ but I didn’t want to be rude so I thought that it would be okay for me to dance just once with him but he was a little…invasive?”

The ex-thief smirked “Well it’s a good thing Flynn Rider came to the princess’s rescue once again huh?”. Rapunzel playfully rolled her eyes, “Thank you Eugene, you’re a great friend”. Eugene felt a sting in his heart at the princess’s diction, more specifically, the term ‘friend’. 

“Actually, Rapunzel I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something, it won’t be long and you can keep searching for the Queen. Would you mind?” he asked, to which the princess simply replied, “Sure. Is everything alright?”. The song ended and they both walked back to the crowd hand in hand. 

“Not here” he specified and he led her away from the crowd and opened the ballroom doors. Rapunzel remained lost as Eugene led them both to an empty hallway away from the festivities, “Eugene, what’s going on?” she insisted. The noble turned around and with a nervous chuckle, he began “Rapunzel, for a long time now I’ve realized that you’re a ray of sunshine that touches each heart with kindness and I have not been immune to that. Except, unlike the others, I’ve forged feelings that go beyond the platonic”.

Oh no, noooo no no no this isn’t happening the princess thought. 

Her panic began to grow once Eugene got on one knee with a tiny box in his hands, surely he wasn’t planning on proposing marriage right?...right?!

“I want our relationship to bloom and hopefully one day…” he opened the box to reveal a silver promise ring “...grow old with you for many many many years to come”

The woman was too stunned to speak.

For one, Rapunzel didn’t feel any sort of attraction to this man, so how on earth was she supposed to say ‘yes’ to his proposal? Secondly, why was this proposal so spontaneous in terms of how quickly Eugene mentioned marriage?

“Eugene I- I’m mean- Oh wow…Uhm, Can you- Uh Could you please stand up?” she stuttered. She sighed, “Eugene I can’t say yes”. His eyes widened, they reflected pain and embarrassment. 

“I think you’re a lovely man and you’re among the group of my dearest friends, but I don’t reciprocate your feelings and also I don’t think marriage is even on my-”

“Sunshine I understand if the marriage part scared you but your dad- oh shit” he cursed, accidentally letting slip a classified detail. Rapunzel’s demeanor changed, there was a spark of anger that emerged from his slip-up. “My dad what Eugene?” she replied angrily.

Eugene gulped and smiled sheepishly and waited for his death sentence.

~~~

Rapunzel was fuming. The cheerful princess that everyone had seen at the ball was still externally present. The sweet smile and kind eyes everyone knew still shone brightly and warmly to everyone who glanced ever so often at the princess. Internally, though, there was an inferno that burned within her. It was a heartbreaking betrayal. How could her father have enabled all of this? Had the king volunteered to host the ball this year for the sake of finding a perfect suitor for the princess? No, that couldn’t have been it, not if her father had asked Eugene to court the princess. Nonetheless, why Eugene out of all people? He was known for not being the most responsible man out of all the men in Corona. One with a kind heart Rapunzel liked to believe but irresponsible. Rapunzel didn’t have all the answers she wanted in her head, so she scanned the room to locate her father.

Shortly after, she found him conversing with some Duke of Pittsford, and she didn’t waste any time to interject politely into the conversation, “...and you can’t master the art of cricket unless- Ah! princess, what an honor” the duke replied, bowing in respect. Rapunzel returned a curtsy and cheerfully said “Your grace, it is so nice of you to join us today! I hope you are enjoying the festivities! Ooh- did you receive your gift basket already?”. The monarch of Corona was disoriented by his daughter’s interjection in the conversation, “Rapunzel what are you-”. He couldn’t finish his sentence after the duke replied with a smile “Oh yes of course! The guests from Pittsford are thankful for your gifts, they’re lovely. The painted portraits were definitely an unorthodox touch”. Rapunzel had to admit that as angry as she was feeling at the moment, at the very least the duke’s appreciation ameliorated her irritation. “I’m sooo glad to hear that! Would you excuse me if I had a word with the king for a minute? 

“Not a problem…your highnesses’” he tipped his head before leaving promptly. “Enjoy the party!” Rapunzel called out behind him. 

“Sweetheart I was having a conversation with the duke why would you-”

“Why did you ask Eugene to woo me?”. The king’s eyes widened, and the spontaneous emergence of the question felt as if an ice bucket of water was thrown over him. He tried to laugh his way out of the question with a chuckle, trying to sound clueless with a hint of humor “What? I didn’t ask Eugene anything. Why do you ask? Did he try something st-”. The king had a great relationship with his daughter. Although the princess generally seeked for Arianna a lot more often, it wasn’t as if his affinity with his daughter was nonexistent. They could laugh together, cry together, or even play together- at least back when she was younger and even now sometimes. It was the lighthearted nature of their connection that the king gambled for Rapunzel to drop the subject. 

But Rapunzel wasn’t going to yield, she frowned “Don’t lie to me, you know there is nothing I hate more than lies”. The king noticed Rapunzel’s anger was beginning to radiate throughout the ballroom, so rather than instigate it by shutting the princess down and risking an argument, he ushered her outside to the gardens that were close enough to easily return to the ballroom, but far enough to have privacy to talk about the subject. “I might have perhaps mentioned to Eugene that he was my blessing to court you, nothing further than that”.

The princess’s frown dissipated, and was instead replaced by affliction, “I know that but why? Are you trying to marry me off? Dad I’m eighteen I’m still young and I…”. She couldn’t finish her sentence, her thoughts bombarded her with millions of questions that remained unanswered. “Not as of right now, you still have a lot to learn about being royalty and-”

“Exactly! I don’t know the first thing about being a queen and I don’t want to marry Eugene, as kind as he is, I don’t love him. You’ve told me yourself how you disapprove of loveless marriages. Do you not want me to be in a marriage similar to you and mom’s?”

“Sweetheart, he was going to court you to gain your heart. You would have married him for love” he replied as if that’s how things would’ve logically played out. 

Rapunzel scoffed “He was going to court me because you told him to ”

The king sighed “If he didn’t want to he wouldn’t have tried”. The princess widened her eyes “I know that, but that is irrelevant dad. You enabled him! Yet I can’t seem to understand why”.

The king was at a crossroads. He assumed that after his talk with Eugene, he would’ve been smart enough to keep it to himself and carry out the plan he had fabricated. He stood there thinking of admitting his wrongs to his daughter and begging for her forgiveness, or making up a bullshit excuse to hide the fact that the king lacked faith in his daughter and her ability to rule. It was a drowning sensation, one that without his knowledge had his knuckles trembling in distress. He let his head hang low. 

Frederic had been in military battles, and dangerous situations, but he considered himself a coward to both admit that he couldn’t admit his grievances to his daughter and be a good father and trust that his daughter would make a great leader of a glorious kingdom one day. He was a coward for remaining silent. 

It was this silence that rang as loudly as a dog whistle, a sound that could break a princess’s heart much like it would break an animal’s ear. Silence said her goodbye’s once the princess spoke up “Dad, I-”. She stuttered until she could finally gather her thoughts in order “Being queen itself terrifies me and not because I don’t think I can do it but because of how the obligation chains me to a lifetime of duty and marriage that separates me from being able to explore the world, and I thought you out of all people would understand that”

Once Frederic lifted his head, his daughter was gone and his only company in the garden was his friend, Guilt.

Unbeknownst to Frederic, Arianna had been listening in to the entire exchange. 

~~~

Rapunzel wasn’t planning on returning to the ball. The disappointment in her father weighed far too much in her heart, and as a girl who wore her heart on her sleeve, it would’ve probably made an uncomfortable evening for the rest of the guests who would notice the change in her demeanor. Instead, Rapunzel held the skirt of her gown and ran until she could reach her room, seeking to find her green friend’s comfort. 

Once she found the comfort of her room, Rapunzel undid her hairdo, letting her brown hair fall and rid herself of her dress (a task she would find challenging without the help of her friend). After settling into her comfortable everyday dress, she called for her friend “Pascal? Pascal!”. It didn’t take long for her friend to crawl out from above her bed. 

The princess let out a sigh “Tonight was insufferable bud”. Pascal chirped in concern, inquiring to know about his friend’s night, “I don’t even know where to begin, I mean first there was this oddly creepy guy and then I find out from Eugene that my father wants us to marry and I confront dad and he doesn’t deny anything and…”, another sigh. The green critter walked into the princess’s extended palm and walked to the window seat, making herself comfortable by overlooking all of Corona. Her pause created a silence that was interrupted shortly after, “At least I got to talk to the Queen of Ingvarr, she was pretty menacing…but like in the best possible way! I have a feeling Cass would really enjoy talking to her”.

The chameleon listened astutely, always being grateful to be a source of peace and tranquility for his friend. Upon the mention of Cassandra’s name, Pascal recommended to her friend through a series of squeaks that perhaps what she needed after a draining ball was to meet up with her friend. Rapunzel lifted her back off the wall, beaming with a new radiance that left no trace of her gloom, “You’re right! Oh thank you so much, Pascal, one of these days I’ll plan a whole day for us. You always know what to say”. She nuzzled her friend in affection and placed a kiss on top of his head before placing him back down.

The green lizard smiled and the princess waved at his friend as she left her room. She stealthily sneaked through the hallways so as to not accidentally bump into an invited guest or the prince from the Southern Isles- which would make for an awkward interaction. Fonrtunately for the princess, the barracks where Cassandra’s room was located were in the opposite direction of the ballroom or the guest rooms of the castle. 

Rapunzel at this point didn’t bother knocking, the irritation from the events at the ball, as well as the comfortableness she had acquired with Cassandra, allowed the princess to walk into her room with no remorse. Before she opened the door, Rapunzel looked around the hallways to make sure no one was looking and continued scanning the hallways as she walked into the room. 

Once all that remained to enter the room was her head, she felt a pull to her entire body as the door closed and a push against the door. “Rapunzel?” the familiar voice called. The princess’s eyes adjusted a few seconds after the inertia of the force of the push and pull had worn off. In front of her, Cassandra began to back away after she had pushed the princess against the door thinking it was an intruder. “What are you doing here? Wait no that’s not the right question…Why didn’t you knock?!” Cassandra asked, visibly bothered. 

“The real question is why would you attack someone like that if they’re coming into your room? It’s not like the castle staff is out to kill you” the princess replied. Cassandra puffed, “We have guests from all over the world, you never know when someone might try to destabilize a kingdom”. The princess grinned at her friend’s overly dramatic caution, “Heh Cass, you’re a great warrior and all but I doubt that if someone wanted to destabilize Corona, the first person they’d attack is you”

“I should probably remind you, princess , that my room happens to be in the barracks where all of the guards congregate. If someone wanted to destabilize Corona they’d have to compromise security first and the kingdom would be put at risk like this” Cassandra snapped her fingers.

Rapunzel walked over to her friend’s bed where she sat with her legs crossed. Cassandra continued “Aren’t you supposed to be at the ball too? I’m pretty sure it’s not over yet”. Upon the mention of the ball Rapunzel’s playful grin faltered. Cassandra raised a questioning but concerned eyebrow, a look that didn’t need to be verbalized for Rapunzel to speak about what happened. “I left the ball early, I talked to my dad and…”

Rapunzel breathed in and ran a hand through her hair,  holding it at the base of her neck, “Dad asked Eugene to court me so that we…” she breathed out “...could get married in the future”. Cassandra burst into untameable laughter. She couldn’t believe the fact that out of all the men the king could’ve set up Rapunzel with, he would’ve gone with the sad option of Eugene Fizherbert. It was impossible! Comical! Unbelievable! “Raps come on now- I- WHAT?” her friend continued laughing. It wasn’t after she had opened her eyes after her fit of giggles that she saw her friend’s eyes full of sorrow and bitterness, “Oh shit you’re serious”.

Cassandra knew it was a sensitive subject after her friend didn’t bother correcting her crass language. She put her lady-in-waiting dress away and joined Rapunzel in bed, sitting on its edge, “Why?”. Rapunzel fell backward, staring up at the ceiling, “I don’t know…He didn’t say why”. Cassandra clenched her jaw, and followed up with her next question “And what do you think about Fitzherbert? Do you want to…you know…date him?”.

The warrior’s breath stopped until she was able to hear the princess’s reply “Eugene is sweet and kind, but I’ve never really seen him...like that. I mean I understand that I’m going to be queen someday and I’ll need someone by my side but not like this!”. She lifted her hands up, covering her face in frustration. “I need to leave I can’t be here. Can we go to that place where you said-”

“Say less”

Rapunzel propped herself up on her elbows, and locked eyes with her friend, who had turned around to look over her shoulder. They both grinned at each other, an unspoken understanding between each other. Rapunzel already knew the drill, she walked over to where her friend’s armory stand was and took a cloak for herself as Cassandra fetched her boots and her sword. It was all automatic for her, they had done this time and time again over the years that it became routinary and familiar to both of the women. 

Both of them sneaked to the entrance of the secret tunnels, the familiar rush of adrenaline running through their bodies once again. It made Rapunzel feel free, it was a feeling that told her that she wasn’t limited by any boundaries or rules. It was all the more comforting to know that her handmaiden was by her side. Her bravery and daring spirit sparked a stimulation within Rapunzel that drew her closer to her friend. It was a force that promised safety and a thriller at the same time. Two attributes that often went against each other, yet as long as she was with Cassandra, the princess could trust that both of them could explore the corners of the world together. 

Both women found the room that led to the entrance of the tunnels and as they were about to cross to the other side, the sound of someone’s clearing their throat startled both of them. They turned around and the Queen stood behind them, a grin on her lips. “Going somewhere?”.

Cassandra froze. This was her end, she was going to be sent to a convent. At least if she was caught sneaking the princess out, she was going to go down with dignity, not as a coward. She walked a few steps toward the queen, “Your majesty I was sn-”

“She was going to show me the big hole in the wall here! Yep! It could be a huge problem for national security mom!”

“Honey you don’t have to lie to me. And Cassandra, I’m not angry, or mad…or upset!” the queen reassured both girls with a smile. Arianna approached both of the girls and spoke up once again “I heard your exchange with your father”.

Rapunzel’s initial shock from being caught dissolved and her features changed to that of sadness, unsure of what to say to her mother. “Cassandra, would you give us a moment dear? You can wait outside it won’t be long” the queen asked. “Yes, your majesty” she inclined her head and left the room. 

“Were you in on it too?” Rapunzel asked sadly. 

“Absolutely not darling” her mother clarified. The princess relaxed as a wave of relief washed over her body. 

Both women sat down on a few crates that sat around the dusty storage room, “Rapunzel I was just like you when I was younger, I craved to find adventure everywhere I went. I wanted to be able to explore everything life had to offer and anything beyond that. The thought of marriage terrified me as well”.

The princess looked up to her mother, sympathy in her eyes. “I was lucky enough to not be forced into a loveless marriage with your father. We are both complete opposites, he’s always preferred to avoid thrills” she chuckled lightly in her last sentence. 

“Mom, I don’t want you to try to convince me to go along with Dad’s plan for me” the princess spoke up. 

Arianna handed her a notebook, it was more of a diary truthfully. Rapunzel skimmed through the pages and read the different entries 

Eighteenth of July, we embarked on a safari to the most remote plains of the third continent….

…Twenty-first of May, had to take shelter in a hidden cave…

…Twelfth of April, helped villagers rebuild their war-torn homes…

…Third of September, Gazed the northern lights in the ruins of the northeastern fjords…

…First of December, completed Ingvarri basic training?...

She’d really have to share that one with Cassandra later tonight. “Is this yours? Did you actually do all of this?”. The queen replied with a subtle smile and a nod before it fell from her face and looked away from her daughter into the distance, “ Rapunzel I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did”

The princess frowned. The queen sighed “I love your father, and I love the kingdom we have created under our rulership. But monarchy has chained me away from a life of adventure much like you believe will happen to you. You are an ambitious young woman who has dreams and aspirations that are much bigger and more concrete than my own when I was your age. I was just lost and I couldn’t find my place in the world and I only realized that my place was out there once I lost it”

“I’m not saying you should run away from duty. I knew I couldn’t and I didn’t want to and I know you feel the same. My mistake was conforming to what was expected of me as Queen rather than forming my own definition…perhaps then I probably wouldn’t have lost the life I had before”

Arianna’s eyes became sorrowful, but she shook it off and turned to look at her daughter once again “Your father is right about one thing: You will be queen one day, but only you get to decide what kind of queen you’ll be…” she paused “...and I hope you succeed where I failed. So go, try to broaden your horizons that reach the end of the world”.

Rapunzel was stunned throughout her mother’s speech and once she finished, she lunged toward her mother in a tight embrace that lasted for a few minutes “Thank you, mom. I love you. I’ll do my best, you can count on it”

“I know you will honey, you have willpower stronger than mine. I only ask that you be safe, be smart, and above all, stay true to yourself. Okay?” Arianna muffled on her shoulder and the princess agreed, “I will”. 

Once they pulled away, the queen walked towards the door and gave her daughter one last comment “I’m not too worried about the ‘safe’ part as long as she’s with you. Not that I think you can’t handle yourself, heh, but it puts my mind at ease”. 

With that, the Queen left the room and smiled at Cassandra, who had dread painted all over her face “Rest assured that no one will know the two of you sneak out of the castle, just be careful out there”. The Queen’s reassurance didn’t remove the pit Cassandra felt in her stomach, but it was at least tolerable now. She really didn’t want to be sent to a convent. 

“Y-Yes your majesty, thank you” the warrior’s voice trembled. Once the queen was out of sight, Cassandra walked back into the room eyeing Rapunzel, “Raps I think we should go back, I don’t want anybody to know I-”

“It’s okay. Come on, didn’t you want to take me somewhere?” the princess tugged at her friend’s hand as they ran through the tunnels. “But- your mom I-”

The princess turned around and looked deep into her friend’s eyes, “Cass, she knows that this , is what I want. You won’t be getting in trouble, I promise…”.

The princess lifted her own chin to signal Cassandra to finish her sentence, and she did “...and when you make a promise, you never ever break that promise”. Cassandra was a lot more at ease now, she’d known Rapunzel long enough to know that she meant every word. 

Chapter Text

The night was theirs for the taking. 

It didn’t take long for both of the girls to go through the tunnels and cross the body of water that divided the island of Corona and the mainland. Cassandra helped the princess out of the boat once they were near the shore and the younger girl bounced on her feet and squealed, “This is going to be so much fun! Eee!”. Rapunzel added a little dance and it created a dumb lopsided grin on Cassandra. It didn’t last long as the girl’s bare feet had made her slip on a moss-covered rock that was pretty damp, making her almost fall if not for the grip she had on Cassandra. “I love the enthusiasm Raps but I would really prefer if I could bring you back to the castle in one piece” she chuckled as she helped the princess regain her posture. “Haha, right”.

As they walked to the shore, Cassandra spoke up “By the way, I brought some company”. Shortly after Maximus and Fidella both came out from behind a line of trees, and the princess greeted them with glee “Oh you guys! Thank you for coming with”. 

Cassandra mounted Fidella with a challenge on her tongue, “Race you to Corona’s wall princess”. With that, the handmaiden rode off at lightning speed. “Hey! That’s cheating” the princess yelled behind her as she proceeded to mount Maximus and rode off on her own. 

The thundering of the hooves beneath Rapunzel made her heart pumping with adrenaline. It was a feeling that coursed through her veins and throughout her entire body. It didn’t take long for Max to catch up to Fidella and her rider. Rapunzel caught how Cassandra looked behind her and grinned with victory, making her short-circuit for a brief second before the adrenaline of the moment wiped the sensation from her memory permanently. “Is that the fastest you can go your highness ?” the warrior mocked. The princess adopted an evil mischievous smile, “Oh you have no idea what’s coming to you,”. Rapunzel encouraged Max to run faster, and the steed didn’t waste any time. 

The two horses and their riders rode side by side now, it was a tie that begged to be broken. The four of them saw Corona’s walls at a distance, probably a few kilometers away. The scenery began to look familiar to Rapunzel. Usually, every time the girls snuck out to the lost lagoon, they would head southeast, but Cassandra was leading them to the northeastern walls. 

Cassandra knew that this race would most likely be a tie, but she knew that there was one advantage she had over Rapunzel: her own athleticism. There was a plan in Cassandra’s mind formulating, and she allowed Fidella to run and remain steady next to Max. “Is that the fastest you can go, soldier ?” Rapunzel taunted with a cocky smile, using Cassandra’s earlier words after seeing that Cassandra nor Fidella were picking up speed. Cassandra swiftly lunged towards Rapunzel, knocking her off her horse and rolling on the ground with her.

Before she had jumped off her own horse, Cassandra had told herself she would make sure the princess wouldn’t come out injured with her plan. This is why even as they rolled on the grass, Cassandra held on tight to the princess and wrapped herself around her as a cushioning agent to soften the princess’s fall on the ground. She went as far as securing that once they stopped rolling, she would allow the princess to end up on top of her so that she didn’t crush the smaller girl with her own weight. 

“CASS WHAT WAS THA- oof!” Rapunzel couldn’t finish her sentence, for her friend had shoved her friend gently off of her and began sprinting to Corona’s walls. The younger girl heard Cassandra’s evil laughter as she created distance between them as she ran, and the princess yelled out to her friend “Oh you sneaky little-”.

Cassandra looked back when she didn’t hear the princess finish her sentence, but the princess wasn’t in the same place where she had tackled her. “Rapunzel?... Rapunzel!” she called out, but didn’t hear a reply, “Oh fuck please tell me I didn’t hurt her”. She ran back and continued calling out the princess’s name. She scouted the area and was about to summon Owl when she saw the princess just a couple of yards away from where they both landed, looking out into the distance. 

She jogged towards her and reached for her arm “Raps are you okay?! Did I hurt you?!”

Rapunzel’s face looked thoughtful, and reflective, “No, I’m okay, It’s just…this place looks familiar” 

The princess charged forward, and soon she stood over a hill that overlooked a familiar valley. Cassandra realized where they were, “It’s-

“The valley where I was found” she breathed out. 

Cassandra had recognized the valley as soon as they were on top of the hill. The night Rapunzel was rescued she had seen the valley on the same hill they stood now. In the darkness of the night, the only source of light was the moon and some fireflies much similar to this night. Cassandra placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, asking a silent question. Rapunzel nodded, and grabbed her hand “Through here!”.

“Where are we going?” Cassandra asked. The princess giggled “You’ll see”

They passed many other hills and shrubs, and the handmaiden was finally able to recognize where they were going. “Here it is” the princess announced. 

In front of them was the giant oak tree where Cassandra had first met Rapunzel. Although eight years had passed since they had been there, the tree didn’t seem to look smaller even with the help of perception. Although Fall was beginning to arrive, the tree hadn’t lost its green color or its leaves. The branches still looked thick and strong, and that motivated Rapunzel to climb up the tree to the same spot where she once sat years ago. “Rapunzel be careful! You don’t have your hair anymore” Cassandra warned. 

“I can still climb without my hair Cass” the princess replied, “Now come on! Come up here with me”. 

The warrior followed after Rapunzel closely as they climbed up, staying at a distance to make sure she could catch the princess if she slipped and fell. Before both women sat on the branch, they made it to the top of the tree and took in the sight of the stars in the sky, both of them were breathing heavily for air after climbing the immense tree. The princess looked in complete awe and wonder, smiling ever so slightly at the celestial peppering lights. Cassandra noticed and it made warmth spread all over her body, even with the chilly breeze surrounding them. She looked at the princess with adoration in her eyes, her glee making her heartbeat race, and suddenly she felt the immense pull of a force that made her want to cup her face and ki-

“Your heart belongs to the Sun of Corona”

Cassandra gasped and widened her eyes, the realization knocking her soul harder than a thousand blows to the head with a frying pan. It made her slip on the branch she was supporting her weight in and nearly fell to the ground had she not caught that same branch with her hands. “Cass! Are you okay?” the princess yelled, trying to help her friend pull herself up. Instead of climbing upwards, Cassandra simply went to sit in the original branch where she had first talked to Rapunzel “I’m fine I just slipped” she lied. 

Rapunzel carefully climbed down from the top of the tree as Cassandra contemplated her epiphany.

She couldn’t allow this to happen. She was a princess for heaven’s sake! She was meant to marry a prince someday and she would be by her side as her handmaiden. The wedding day would come and she would be by her side maybe holding a bouquet as her maid of honor (possibly, she knew Rapunzel would most likely assign her that title as her best friend) and she would watch Rapunzel say “I do” and then…and then…she’d watch her kiss him. 

Fuck this was heartbreaking. 

Even if she didn’t marry a prince (which, she probably would), what were the chances that the princess could reciprocate her feelings? It would make Cassandra the biggest fool of all if she pinned for a princess and rather than having her own story with a happy ending, she would have the saddest unrequited love story. There was a guilt that grew within Cassandra’s stomach and turned into fear. As someone who aspired to be a brave knight, she had been taught to never run away from fear, but this type of fright was new and foreign to Cassandra, not the typical thrill of fighting off a criminal or saving a princess. 

And even if somehow Rapunzel reciprocated her feelings, would the princess be allowed to marry a woman? Corona hadn’t outlawed same-sex marriage, nor criminalized it. Hell, there wasn’t anyone hateful in Corona towards queer folk. But Rapunzel was royalty, she was held to a different standard than regular plebeians. In fact, the only place that was rumored for such relationships to exist in royalty was Ingvarr. Come to think of it, Cassandra figured that the queen had quickly picked up on her attraction to the princess because said rumors were most likely true. 

“Cass, look at me, you look a bit pale” the princess cupped her face gently, her heavy breathing just barely caressing Cassandra’s face.

‘I’m fucking done for’ she thought. “It was just a mild scare, I’m fine,” she said as she backed her body away slowly, allowing Rapunzel’s hands to fall. 

Cassandra did what she did best with feelings that made her feel vulnerable on emotional levels: she buried them and ran away from them.

You’ll run away to Ingvarr one day, you’ll forget Corona and join the strongest army in the world and you’ll meet a girl who will make you forget Rapunzel ever existed. Who knows? Maybe she’ll be a soldier too.

Rapunzel. Is. Off. Limits. 

You’re not allowed to love her.

The princess leaned back against the trunk, “What? The big tough warrior is scared of heights?” the princess teased.

Cassandra bit the inside of her cheek, hoping that there wasn’t any color that rose to her cheek, and glared at the princess. It was a miserable attempt to try to hide her flustered/panicked state “I’ll have you know this ‘big tough warrior’ fought with the Queen of Ingvarr today”

“What?! Why?! Are you trying to compromise a treaty that has been set for DECADES?” the princess questioned jokingly. 

“She was the one who attacked first! I thought we were under siege!” Cassandra countered. 

Rapunzel went into a fit of laughter barely able to form sentences as they were constantly interrupted by laughter, “Is that why you…pushed me against the door…when I went into your room?”

Cassandra silently growled, but the princess continued with giggles “No wonder you were all ‘sOmeOnE migHT dESTAbilIzE thE kINgDOm’”. 

Once again, her heart betrayed her. Cassandra was using every fiber in her body to ignore how the princess’s laughter made her heart jump, the scowl on her face conveying pure hatred. It was a glare that was meant to scare the princess into ceasing her laughter, but it had none of its intended effects on Rapunzel. It was as if a rabbit were laughing in the face of a ferocious wolf, oblivious and carefree about any consequences.

It made her scowl drop into pure bewilderment and even allowed a half chuckle to leave her lips. After Rapunzel settled down (which Cassandra was immensely thankful for), she spoke up “I might or might have not mentioned to the Queen about your overly awesome skill set, but why would she attack you?”.

Cassandra breathed in, “It was a test…She offered me a position in her army”. Rapunzel’s eyes widened with dread. 

“You said ‘no’ to her, right?” was the princess’s immediate response. It made Cassandra freeze for a moment. 

Even if Cassandra fantasized about running away to Ingvarr, she would’ve never left Rapunzel’s side, she knew she belonged in Corona, but she had at the very least expected her friend would be supportive and even excited to know she was being considered to be part of one of the strongest armies in the world. It raised within Cassandra a new feeling that she had experienced for the first time two years ago when she was assigned to be Rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting. 

“I- Yes, I did. Why would you talk to the Queen about me?” Cassandra asked with subtle irritation in her voice. If Rapunzel didn’t want her to leave Corona, why would she tease her with the opportunity to showcase her skill to the monarch of a strong nation, only for her to discourage her from crossing that line?

“I was hoping that if the Ingvarri guests didn’t leave first thing tomorrow morning maybe I could set up a sparring match or…something!” she reached out to grab Cassandra’s arm “You’re a good soldier Cass, I didn’t want you feeling left out of the festivities and since ballgowns and tiaras aren’t your thing, you could at least enjoy the company of Ingvarr since I know how much you admire them.”

“I just didn’t know that they would plan to take you away from us. But if the Queen of Ingvarr wanted you in her army that’s got to mean that Corona has one of the best warriors in the world, right?” she added with a smile.

Yeah, and what a great warrior she is being a lady-in-waiting Cassandra thought bitterly. She forced a smile for the princess, burying her resentment in a vault deep in her heart. Cassandra didn’t want to keep dwelling on the topic, so she changed the subject.

The handmaiden ran both of her hands through her hair, and asked “So, how did you even find out that your dad wanted to set you up with Mr. gross goatee?”

The princess’s smile fell slightly, ready to hear whatever snarky comment her friend had for she said next, “Eugene basically proposed, he got on one knee and all”

Cassandra’s eyes could’ve popped out of her skull as she burst into a laughter that Rapunzel had never heard before, one that was full of mockery and satisfaction with a pinch of amusement. “What?! No way. Did he really think that would work?!” Cassandra said between laughs, “So much for letting that shit simmer”.

To her surprise, Rapunzel didn’t correct her for her foul language. The princess actually giggled in response to her friend’s response. Rapunzel found Cassandra’s sarcastic comebacks as a reliever in circumstances where the princess needed a reality check, but one that would come with comedic relief for her to tolerate and properly process. Cassandra had mastered her ability in that area over the years. Perhaps it was thanks to what Eugene liked to call Cassandra’s “dark and icy” personality but to Rapunzel, it was endearing and one of the things that kept her sanity in high-pressure situations. 

“So he just asked you to marry him? No courtship period? No nothing?!” Cassandra asked once again after her laughter had subsided. 

Rapunzel nodded “Well he proposed with a promise ring, but he might’ve as well asked me to marry him. Then he slipped up and mentioned my dad. He told me he had asked him to woo me until I had fallen in love with him and then…”, the princess’s giggles disappeared as she elaborated, allowing herself to trail off at the end of her last sentence. 

Her countenance became serious, disappointment displayed in her green eyes, “When I confronted dad he couldn’t give me a straight answer as to why he had enabled Eugene. I just don’t get it, Cass”

She sighed loudly, a silence taking over both of them. “Mom said that I should be able to determine what kind of Queen I want to be, and I don’t want to be one who’s chained to a marriage that yields my power to my husband…Or a marriage that forbids me from…”

“Going beyond Corona’s walls” Cassandra finished her sentence for her. The princess locked eyes with her friend and nodded, an unspoken mutual understanding between the two. 

Cassandra swallowed, “Raps, you were limited by the tower’s walls once, and yet destiny brought you back to the castle. I doubt destiny brought you here just to be limited once again by newer walls”

“The Rapunzel I know wouldn’t give up. Maybe the tower was just the beginning of whatever is meant for you out there” she turned to look behind her, where Corona’s walls were only a few kilometers away visible in the distance. 

“The question is, where do you go from here?” the turned around to give her friend an encouraging smirk. 

The princess felt a rush invade her body as she looked toward Corona’s walls. An energy that was ethereal, it was a pull full of happiness and joy. It made her heart beat louder and faster than the thundering of horse hooves on gravel. It was radiating out of her, pouring out like sunshine beams. Cassandra caught on to it too, Rapunzel had a gleam in her eyes that made her see the sun in the younger girl. Something within Rapunzel transcended.

It exploded into a medley of colors that shone around her. 

“I know exactly where we go from here Cass”

Rapunzel jumped off the tree, and Cassandra’s stomach dropped “Rapunzel!”.

The princess was on the ground unharmed, “Come on Cass! You wanted to show me something so let’s go!!” she shrieked with fervor, passion, and a smile on her face. 

The burst of energy had caught Cassandra off guard, and she was swept up in Rapunzel’s blissful cyclone. Cassandra quickly climbed down, not quite having the same grade of confidence her friend had when she jumped off. Once she reached the ground, Rapunzel didn’t waste any time in grabbing her hand and running through the valley.

 If it weren’t for Cassandra’s years of rigorous physical training, she wouldn’t have been able to keep up with the princess. Admittedly, she was actually tripping every few paces as they ran toward Corona’s walls. Cassandra used her freehand to summon the horses with a whistle, after all, they couldn’t have been far right? 

Her effort was rewarded when both steeds ran toward the pair, and Rapunzel let go of her friend’s hand and mounted Maximus as Cassandra did the same with Fidella. 

If it weren’t for the constant beating of the hooves, Cassandra would’ve sworn Rapunzel was singing as they got closer to the border walls. 

The duo reached the walls and with the help of Max giving her a lift, Rapunzel was able to stand on top of the walls, allowing the cold wind to trap itself in her hair. Cassandra opted to climb the wall on her own with a rope she carried in her belt. Once she tied its base to a sturdy branch, she threw it over the wall for Rapunzel to climb down. Rapunzel did the same on the other side, which allowed Cassandra to climb over with ease.

Although Cassandra was originally going to be the guide to the mysterious place, Rapunzel danced around with glee all throughout the forest as she took in the sights of the night. At times, Cassandra chased after the princess, and other times she simply spectated at a distance the way each tree, critter, and view astonished the princess. 

Hours ago, her friend had discovered her father wanted her to get married, the pressure of the crown weighed heavily on the princess’s shoulders, but Cassandra was there to be able to relieve some of that pressure by being her freedom. 

“Cass Cass Cass Cass! Look!” the princess called out. The handmaiden figured that the princess was most likely admiring something ordinary, a rock, a flower. Although Rapunzel had become familiarized with the outside world ever since her rescue from the tower, the girl always managed to find beauty even in the ordinary. 

Cassandra didn’t mind it. The world could be cruel sometimes, selfish even if there was good. For Cassandra, it was always monochrome.

But Rapunzel gave it a splash of color, and she made life look heavenly to Cassandra. Cassandra had heard the tale of King Midas, he had the power to turn everything he touched into gold. But the princess that played in the meadows and rolled in the grass in front of her gave everything she touched color in Cassandra’s eyes, and that was a power far greater than King Midas’s touch of gold.

She might’ve as well left rainbows behind every time she goes for a walk, she thought with a chuckle as she approached to admire whatever had the privilege of having Rapunzel’s attention. 

~~~

“Is this where you wanted to take me? Cass the view is beautiful. I mean sure I can see the sea -pun intended- from my balcony but I’ve never been on a bluff cliff” The princess asked.

Both women had wandered around the forest for hours now. It was sure to be past midnight, for the moon would peak in just a couple of hours. Yet somehow, the longer Rapunzel was awake, the more energized she felt. As a matter of fact, Rapunzel had actually noticed that the closer they got to Cassandra’s mystery location, the more energized she felt. This time it wasn’t adrenaline or even the warmth that the princess constantly felt every time she was around her handmaiden. 

Now they stood on a cliff that overlooked the same sea that was shared with Corona’s island, only it was kilometers away from the said island. Rapunzel would’ve actually thought it was a romantic gesture had it been some charming prince who had taken her here. “Sure, I guess it is, but the view isn’t why I brought you here, it’s better if you see it for yourself Raps,” her friend said as they approached some stairs that led to another cliff a few meters down. 

Once they reached the bottom, Rapunzel saw black rocks that resembled spikes. They were sharp and glossy, almost like obsidian or onyx. Once she got closer, she noticed a specific pattern on the rocks and she lifted her hand to run her finger along a rock, “They’re beautiful, what are they?”

“Not sure, they started growing here about a year ago but they were smaller than they are now. Which is weird right? I mean I don’t think rocks grow out of the ground as if they were daisies” her handmaiden replied.

Rapunzel stopped reaching for the rock and instead turned to look at her friend. “A year ago? How come you never told me…wait no scratch that, what were you doing out here a year ago?”. There was no anger or resentment in her voice, just pure curiosity.

Cassandra shrugged and gave her friend a smirk, “Whatever you do when no one’s looking is your business”

The first time Cassandra had snuck her out she said those exact same words to her friend. Ever so often Rapunzel would repeat that sentence like a mantra that would keep her nerves grounded and as an excuse every time she felt guilt creep up on her.

Rapunzel returned a lopsided smile and a knowing look before she turned back to admire the rock and Cassandra continued “They’re unbreakable, nothing cuts these things, and that’s not even the weirdest part. The flower that saved your mom was found here”

Rapunzel walked forward and dusted off a bronze plaque that was centered between other black rocks that spouted around it. 

“May we forever be grateful for the miracle the Sun of Corona has granted us. 

Long Live the Queen of Corona and her Miracle Flower Child,” Rapunzel whispered silently as she read the inscription. 

Suddenly, the rocks began glowing a teal blue, it was gorgeous to Rapunzel. The Cerulean light that reflected on the princess’s irises made it irresistible to not touch. The rush Rapunzel had continuously felt that night came back and overflowed with something she could only describe as magic. She lifted her finger once again, and this time nothing stopped her from the direction her finger was heading to. 

Flower gleam and glow,  

it whispered, and it skipped a few lines purposefully to summon exactly what it wanted.

Bring back what once was mine

There was a connection that was made between the princess’s dainty fingers and the rock, and even if she wanted to retract them, it was impossible. The preexisting bond inside the princess had already imprinted itself with the dormant magic of the black rocks. In return, the black rocks identified the long-lost energy they had been searching for and they welcomed it back in. 

…what once was mine

Rapunzel’s finger made contact with the black rock and almost immediately all the magic poured out like a broken dam. It filled her insides with what felt like ecstasy mixed with an excruciating agonizing electric shock that traveled throughout her body. The overload exploded and sent shockwaves that spread like a ripple effect. 

It sent both of the women flying backward, and both landed on the floor without any major injuries. It didn’t take long for both of them to lift themselves off the ground, but the relief couldn’t last too long for the rocks had already alerted the moonstone far far away that they had found its beloved counterpart,

And the moonstone ordered the rocks to bring back her sundrop.

Rapunzel’s eyes fluttered open and saw how new black rocks were emerging from the ground, almost impaling her body. 

But she also noticed one of her bangs had turned into a sunflower-colored shade of blonde. 

Cassandra didn’t notice it at first, she was too busy running away and helping the princess get out of there as fast as possible. As the black spikes were beginning to chase them down, both women ran for their lives, hoping the unbreakable rocks wouldn’t impale either of them. Cassandra stopped and began kicking at some rocks, hoping that they would stop the black spikes from coming after them. “Get to the horses as fast as you can, and don’t look back. Hurry!” the warrior yelled

“Cass what about yo-”

“I said keep running Rapunzel!” 

Pure instinct and adrenaline made Rapunzel keep going, and she ran the fastest she had run her entire life. Except as she breathed out and continued running through the forest, her head and her neck began to feel heavier and it was slowing her down. It wasn’t until she got to the clearing in front of the crumbling bridge that she was able to look behind her and see a river of gold trailing behind her. 

Cassandra was able to interrupt the forming panic in the princess with her own shock “Rapunzel are you okaAyyy oh- WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT HAPPENED?” 

It wasn’t as if the princess could give her an answer, the black rocks were still trailing behind them as they spoke “I don’t know Cass but we’ve gotta go they’re coming!”

A black rock appeared in said clearing and both women began running across the bridge where both of their horses were waiting for them. The alarm in the girl’s faces became a clear indicator to both Max and Fidella that their riders were in danger, but they were powerless, they couldn’t cross the bridge without the risk of their weight bringing the bridge down and them along with it. 

“Raps, your hair was NOT this long when you cut it, WHY THE FUCK IS IT TWICE AS LONG?!” Cassandra yelled as they reached halfway along the bridge, finally leaving the black rocks behind.

“I told you I don’t kn- AH” the princess yelped as she was suddenly pulled back. At the base of the bridge, the princess’s new long hair had become stuck between a few rocks. With swiftness, Cassandra quickly ran back and unsheathed her sword from behind her back, and swung it down, only for the sword to shatter into smaller pieces. A small shard ran against her cheek, causing Cassandra to hiss in pain. 

She didn’t have time to think about her injury nor the fact that the princess’s hair was now unbreakable since one last black rock shot out of the ground and went straight through the bridge. It was the last straw for the bridge and it began coming down. Rapunzel’s scalp began to burn as the bridge began pulling her down and she could only scream in agony. Cassandra couldn’t reach the other end in time to remove Rapunzel’s hair from whatever rock it was stuck in. So instead she held on to her friend, ready to brace death’s grip.

“I’m sorry Raps” Cassandra whispered, but it went unperceived by the princess, whose eyes were beginning to water in pain. 

Both women felt the wind shift next to them and when they looked up, Maximus was running to the other side of the bridge, slabs of stone falling into the bottomless pit right as he charged forward. Eventually, he made it to the rock where Rapunzel’s hair was stuck and swiftly loosened her locks.

The women took the opportunity to run to the other side before the bridge fell in its entirety. But they became trapped when two parts of the bridge broke in front and behind them, leaving them standing in a narrow piece of stone that was threatening to follow its remnants. Maximus defied the laws of physics as he jumped on chunks of slabs that were already broken and falling, and he quickly reached where both women stood together. 

He took a giant leap of faith in hopes both women would perfectly time their jump to cling onto him. Rapunzel easily reached him as she jumped upwards, but the same couldn’t be said about Cassandra. 

Thankfully she had seventy feet of hair to hold on to.

Once Max landed on the other side of the ground where Fidella stood, Rapunzel rolled on the ground for the fiftieth time that night. The pull she left on her head made her look forward to where Cassandra was hanging on to dear life by Rapunzel’s hair that was being hung over the cliff where the stone bridge once stood. 

The older woman was significantly heavier than her friend and it was a struggle for Rapunzel to pull her up with her hair. Thankfully both horses helped the princess tug her hair and Cassandra did her part in climbing up. Cassandra crawled forward once she reached the safety of the dirt ground.

“Your hair is unbreakable like the stupid rocks, why the fuck is it unbreakable?!” The older woman cursed as she caught her breath from the experience. 

“Okay Cass that’s enough you’ve cursed more than three times already today I’ve given you way too many passes” the princess warned between her pants.

Cassandra looked at her friend in disbelief “Raps if you haven’t noticed your hair is twice as long since the last time you cut it years ago, it’s back to blonde, and it’s fucking unbreakable. The last thing on my fucking mind is the number of times I’ve cursed thus far!!”

The princess opened her mouth to correct her friend's vulgar language until she saw red dripping down her friend’s cheek “Cassandra your cheek!”

Immediately her handmaiden raised a hand to her own cheek and looked at her gauntlet stained red. She shook her head and pressed her hand against her cheek again, “it’s fine, we have bigger fish to fry right now. Namely, your seventy feet of hair”

Rapunzel’s eyes lit up in realization, an idea creeping into her mind. “Wait hold on,” she said as she approached her friend. She grabbed a handful of her own hair but her friend stopped her “I said it’s fine Raps. You don’t have to”

The princess gave Cassandra a glare that made her yield her protests immediately, “Just don’t wrap your entire hair around my head, I don’t need hair in my mouth”.

Rapunzel smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. She pressed her hair against Cassandra’s cheek and began singing the healing incantation. The words felt foreign on Rapunzel’s tongue. A chill ran up her spine as the lyrics spilled out of her mouth. She had no issue remembering the incantation for some reason. Although the princess meant to forget the incantation ever since she cut her hair, it always stuck with her like a tattoo on her skin; it was part of her.

But her hair didn’t glow as she sang. 

She allowed herself to finish the song to check if by any chance it still possessed its healing properties without the glow of her hair. Cassandra simply stood there not quite understanding what was supposed to happen. Of course, she was familiar with what the incantation could do, but she had never experienced the power firsthand. Her father had once told her that when Rapunzel healed his thigh it felt warm and nice. 

And while Cassandra definitely felt ‘warm and nice’ it wasn’t because she felt any magic healing her, because in that sector she felt totally indifferent. 

But Rapunzel’s nursing act and her hand pressed against her cheek (albeit with her hair in the way) made her feel…nice and warm.

Rapunzel removed her hand and the wound was still present on Cassandra’s skin and her hair was now tainted with blood. “Oh no,” she breathed out. With her other hand, she grabbed another handful of hair and pressed it on Cassandra’s other cheek.

She pressed both of her hair-filled hands against her friend’s face and sang the incantation even faster as if somehow chanting it at that pace would summon her magic back, “flowergleamandglowletyourpowershine…”

“Rapunzel-”

“....healwhathasbeenhurtchangethefatesdesignbringbackwhatoncewasmine”

“Raps stop!” Cassandra said as she grabbed Rapunzel’s wrists and gently pulled them away from her face. Rapunzel’s eyes displayed genuine concern for her friend, and Cassandra tried to reassure her “It’s just a scratch, I’ll be fine. We need to figure out how we are going to cut your hair”.

Rapunzel eyed the scar on her friend’s cheek attentively. The scar had definitely torn deeper than a regular cat’s scratch, but it wasn’t a nasty wound. It was actually a clean cut. It began on her friend’s left cheekbone and ended right above the left corner of her lip, just below her nostril. It had been her hair that caused her sword to break, which in return had cut her friend’s cheek. Rapunzel knew the wound would heal, but a white scar would most likely be left behind on her friend’s pale skin. “I’m sorry Cass. Let me at least clean it up, it could get infected” the princess apologized. 

Cassandra nodded and they went to the nearest river. Rapunzel carried a handkerchief with her at all times, and she used that same handkerchief to clean up Cassandra’s scar. “Let’s just use water for now until it stops bleeding then we can get some alcohol once we’re back in the castle,” Rapunzel said as she wet the cloth with the river’s water. 

She approached her friend ready to work on her cheek but Cassandra stopped her by reaching for the handkerchief “I’ve got it”

Rapunzel frowned, “Cass no! You can’t see your face, I can. Let me”.

Cassandra groaned “I said I’m fine, we’ve got bigger things to worry about than my face!”

Cassandra’s protests were ignored by the princess who charged forward regardless. “Raps I said no!”. Rapunzel was one who respected Cassandra’s boundaries when she needed them, but she wasn’t about to let Cassandra have the luxury of cleaning up her own face. 

Cassandra leaned back when Rapunzel kneeled in front of her. “I don’t care Cassandra just let me help you!” 

“I don’t need your help!”

Rapunzel froze for a moment, evidently hurt by her friend’s words. But when she looked into Cassandra’s eyes she noticed something that was hidden deep in her hazel pools: anger accompanied by guilt.

“Raps, last time you had blonde hair someone took you away from your parents, who knows what’s in store for us now that you have unbreakable hair?! I could be sent to a convent- no scratch that- I’m going to be sent to a convent for bringing it back and I won’t be here to protect you from whatever this is going to bring and you’re being so nonchalant about it!”

Deep down, Cassandra felt guilty for possibly summoning something that would hurt Rapunzel, after all, she was the one who had taken her friend to the black rocks. She had brought a possible calamity to her friend and she was to blame for it. 

She could lose her one and only friend forever, never to see her again. 

At this point, Cassandra turned her head to look away from Rapunzel. She hoped that snapping at her friend would finally get her to stop trying to clean her cheek. But Rapunzel shifted closer and pressed the damp handkerchief against her cheek. Cassandra flinched away and before she had another opportunity to bark at her friend again, Rapunzel spoke up “Nobody is being sent anywhere Cassandra. Nobody is going to find out you snuck me out”

The princess dabbed gently at the scar, slowly cleaning up the blood that began to stain her handkerchief. “It’s not your fault that my hair came back, I’ve had a feeling for a long time that it would come back anyway. It’s…hard to explain” she added. Cassandra remained quiet, watching Rapunzel as she stood up and went back to the water to rinse the cloth once again. 

“You out of all people should know that I’m more than capable of taking care of myself too, whatever this is I can handle it. I just need you by my side to have a little faith in me,” she said as she returned with a clean cloth. The wound spilled very little red tears, but it was beginning to stop bleeding. “I’m scared too, Cass, but we just have to trust everything will be alright”.

In that last sentence, Rapunzel stopped looking at the scar and instead looked at Cassandra with pleading eyes. Her expression wasn’t full of anger anymore but rather understanding, and apologetic. Being this close to her friend’s face made Rapunzel’s heart beat a little faster as she got to appreciate Cassandra’s features a little closer. Even with a long scar on her cheek, she was still as handsome and pretty as ever. The princess even had to suppress a grin at the fact that the scar actually made her look attractive. While one hand worked on Cassandra’s cheek, the other brushed some of the curls on her face back, allowing her not only to clean the area more effectively but also to notice her face clearly. 

Rapunzel finally wiped away the last of the blood that was on Cassandra’s cheek. The scar was still crimson red, but at least it made a scab that stopped the bleeding. “Let’s get to the castle so we can get you some proper first aid alright?” the princess spoke as she stood up and extended a hand for Cassandra to stand up. 

Cassandra took it and stood on her feet, not letting go of her hand just yet, “I’m sorry Raps. And you’re right, I just want you to be safe. Something tells me the return of this hair isn’t just a cosmetic transformation”

“You and me both” the princess agreed. 

Chapter Text

Thousands of years ago…

The prince stood on the balcony, admiring how the sun drowned in the horizon. He whispered a silent prayer for the sun that warmed the earth that day, and for the power he held.

Not the power that was given to him due to his bloodline or his kingdom as the prince,

But the power the sun had given him oh so generously. 

“Your majesty, it’s time. Lord Demanitus is ready to see you,” a servant called from behind him. The prince looked behind him and smiled at his servant after he gave him a respectful nod to dismiss him. His servant left the room and the prince continued looking out his balcony. He closed his eyes as he felt the last of the sun’s rays hit his eyelids, enjoying the color orange he saw with his eyes closed. 

He took a deep breath in and enjoyed his surroundings for a few more moments. But as he brought his awareness to his environment, he noticed that there was a change in his physical reality, one that was easy to identify as it was to blink. Though the prince hadn’t heard any movement in his immediate surroundings, he was able to feel her presence.

 “I know you’re there Luna,” he said with a smirk, his eyes still remaining unopened. He felt a shift around him and when he opened his eyes, his fiancee stood in front of him sitting on the balcony edge with her arms crossed. 

“Either you’re secretly Saporian or I’ve become an example of disgrace to the Saporian army and its stealth training,” she said dryly with a playful grin of her own. 

He inched closer to her face, “You’re forgetting the third option” he countered. 

“Which is?” she asked.

“I know you all too well because I love you” he replied with a victorious smile.

The Colonel playfully pushed him on his shoulder and he captured her lips on her own in a quick kiss. As their lips parted Lilith wanted nothing but to continue their kiss but the prince spoke up once again “That and the fact that we possess celestial relics which means that for some reason I can sense you if you’re near…duh”

The sun-drop on his chest flowed while her moonstone crackled. Shampanier clenched her jaw and gave him a look, “That’s no fun, it just means I can’t perform a sneak attack on you”

“Wanna start a war Shampanier? I don’t think we would want a war between Corona and Saporia just because you decided to sneak up on its future king” the prince jested as he cocked an eyebrow. 

The Colonel hummed in sarcasm and got down from the balcony, “Very funny, but!” she lifted her left hand to reveal an engagement ring around her finger  “...Our home will never be at war with each other so I’m sure I can still surprise you whenever I can” she concluded inching closer to the prince once again. 

The prince smiled and he leaned closer to kiss his fiance once again, but when she closed her eyes and continued leaning forward she wasn’t able to feel his warmth. She opened her eyes and frowned when she saw her fiancee walking away from her towards the door. “Herz!” she called out to him. 

Once he reached the door, he turned to look at the Colonel with mischief in his eyes “And I can surprise you whenever I want”. Lilith frowned and huffed at her fiancee’s trick but struggled to bite back a smile of her own. 

How was it that a childish prince had been able to worm into the fierce but cold Colonel’s heart? The world would never know. 

Lilith Shampanier hadn’t had an upbringing that could be considered mischievous or playful…or at least not in the way that her fiance defined it. Saporia was a melting pot for any and all types of soldiers. The empire had been built on the backs of fighters who spilled blood sweat and tears from its oppressors, it was that same power that made them the military state they were today. Devotion and loyalty to the kingdom were perhaps one of the most important tenets for its inhabitants. Had it not been for the existence of Ingvarr, Saporia would’ve been known in history for being one of the most ruthless empires of all. Every newborn that was birthed in Saporian land was marked with a cut on its heel as a reminder that they were all part of a realm that stuck together, and alone they were weak. 

For Lilith, childhood consisted of playing with bows and arrows, spears, and longswords: It was all in preparation for future military service, and oh how she enjoyed it. It didn’t matter that she was the daughter of the rulers of Saporia, its inhabitants earned their place based on the type of warrior they were. On the battlefield, everyone is considered equal. Her parents didn’t use titles such as ‘king’, ‘queen’, ‘president’, or even ‘ruler’, but rather kept their ranks as their formal titles. 

Generals.

Saporians knew that whether you were born male, female, everything in between, or nothing at all, a babe came into the world with no history and would leave its record behind. The daughter of the Generals and the humble peasant soldier born in the country were the same in the eyes of any Saporian. They were all one body, one soldier, one kingdom, one blood with the same goal. 

Honor was earned, never given.

Saporia’s military prowess was the pride and joy of the kingdom, and Corona by comparison could be described as its complete opposite. Sure, Corona had a military of its own, but the kingdom took pride in its opportunities for commerce and education. Its cheerful spirit had continuously been fostered by generations of De Sonne’s, there was always something to be grateful for or something to rejoice about if you stepped within Corona’s borders. Sure, not every Coronan was a conjunction of sunshine and rainbows, but the comfortable lifestyle Corona had to offer was preferable for someone who didn’t want sore muscles with scars. 

And just as these two kingdoms were complete opposites, so were their heirs. The sun and the moon saw this, and they took sympathy on the earth.

Many have known the sun by many names: Ra, Sol, Helios, Huitzilopochtli.

Many have known the moon by many names: Selene, Iah, Chandra, Nanna.

It didn’t matter what they were called, both loved the earth and its people they wanted harmony to resonate all throughout the universe, and they offered the gift of life and death, a balance necessary for all things. 

Throughout history, many meek empires were dominated by brutal kingdoms, and it was an endless cycle of bloodshed. But what if a gift from the gods were to solve everything? So both Gods had allowed one of each other’s tears to fall from the heavens and allowed them to find sanctuary in two mortal bodies. 

Magic was introduced into the world and it was welcomed by everyone, it was common as it was slowly being understood.  

“Where are you going?” The Colonel asked as she followed him out the door. 

“We’re supposed to go to Demanitus for more research tests, have you forgotten?” the prince replied.

Herz De Sonne used his sun-given powers to heal the sick in his kingdom, and Lilith Shampanier created a kingdom that was stronger than ever before. 

But even the earth requires both the sun and the moon to be together, and so both elements sought each other without meaning to, background forces staging everything for the great reunion to finally take its place. 

And it was a beautiful supernova…even if the Colonel had thrown a battle axe at the prince during a hunting trip on the unexplored western isles. 

“I’ve been busy with the search for Gothel and Tromus, we haven’t been able to locate them yet. Hour-long study sessions aren’t exactly my main concern at the moment,” Lilith explained. 

Demanitus had successfully locked away Zhan Tiri for millennia along with Sugracha, but he had unsuccessfully managed to trap his two other ex-pupils. 

“Tromus is a specter, I doubt we’ll find him anytime soon. But Gothel? Has there really been no trace of her? She’s just a kid!” Herz questioned.

The Colonel nodded “You’re underestimating her, she may be a kid but she helped a she-demon warlock, that’s not something to take lightly…but yeah, she’s disappeared and nobody has seen her. I know one thing for sure though, she’s near Corona, I can feel it”

They continued walking through a hallway and once she spotted a dark corner, she pulled her fiance in and held him close. The prince assumed she was going to claim the kiss she had craved back on his balcony, but his fiancee’s cyan eyes looked sharp and alert. 

“Herz I know Zhan Tiri and her followers are still the biggest danger to the world and I know that just because Demanitus sent her to another world it doesn’t mean she’s been a completely eliminated threat…” Lilith began before she lowered her voice in a whisper “...But I don’t trust Demanitus either, since they’ve been gone his interest for the sun-drop and the moonstone have become… obsessive”

“What are you talking about?” he frowned, trying to understand her point.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts in order before she continued, “Sugracha, Tromus, Gothel, and Zhan Tiri were the only other people who had close access to the moonstone and the sun-drop and its research. Demanitus doesn’t have anyone else to share this with, and I’ve seen him gather ideas on his own on how to use the stones”

“But we’ve always used their power for the good of our kingdoms” he countered. 

“Yes, and you’re right. I’m not saying we have to stop using this power for good or to keep it to ourselves…but Demanitus might not have honest intentions with them either”

Herz pursed his lips together in thought, and just barely nodded in acknowledgment of everything his fiance was saying. “Look for now, we need Demanitus to understand our power better. It’s very probable that within the next couple of centuries, magic will be an everyday thing and with us having mastered the abilities of the moonstone and the sun-drop together we can use magic to bring the world together. We can manage its traffic”

Shampanier looked down before a new idea crept into her mind “What if we got rid of it? What if we sent the moonstone and the sun-drop back?” 

The prince widened his eyes “Lilith we can’t! Even if we wanted to get rid of all magic in the world to make everyone’s life easier we can’t! As far as we know magic is sprinkled all over the world, I mean we’ve heard of Ahtohallan, The Valley of the Living Rock, the Spire, The Cave of Wonders, there’s so much magic around the world it’d be impossible to get rid of it all”

The Colonel pointed a hand at her chest where the moonstone glowed “Herz this…” she moved her finger to his chest where the sun-drop was embedded “...and this come straight from the sun and the moon, not spirits or trolls or a cave. It’s the strongest power on earth, what happens after we die? Who takes charge of this? Forget that, what if we can’t keep it out of the wrong hands during our lifetime?”

The prince knew she was right, and sadness took over his heart. He lowered his head in sorrow, but Lilith cupped his face to look at him in the eyes. His saffron-colored eyes were comforted by the look on her face, so he inhaled deeply “Even if we wanted to return it, combining the sun-drop and the moonstone would create the Ultimate Power and nobody on earth can handle that much power. It would kill one of us”

“Then I’ll do it” she replied.

“No!” he paused before he continued “If either of us dies, our kingdoms would blame the other for allowing us to die and we’d leave behind a war. Is that what you want?”

The Colonel clenched her jaw, giving the prince his answer. She looked away in anger, and the moonstone crackled in harmony.

The prince reached both of his hands to hold his fiance’s arms “Look, for now, we can use Demanitus. We’ll figure something out okay? Plus I’m pretty sure these things give us an extra lifespan or something, we should have something figured out by then alright Luna?”

Lilith didn’t like the answer, but she also knew that he was right and she nodded. His hand ran up and down her arms, and she felt the anger subside. “Let’s go, maybe we can go somewhere after, yes?”

The Colonel rolled her shoulders back and nodded and both headed to Demanitus’ lab without another word. 

They both entered the lab and found Demanitus feeding a caged-up gopher. While the couple knew that Demanitus sometimes needed animal organs since he was beginning to learn magic on his own, his area of expertise was engineering. It was his inventions that had removed Zhan Tiri’s blizzard and the portal that had sent her to another world. 

“Your highness, Colonel” Demanitus greeted the couple with a bow.

“Demanitus hi, hello, who’s this little guy? And how come he’s in a cage?” the prince spoke up as he approached the cage with the small gopher. “Does he have rabies? Am I using the sun-drop to take away rabies?” 

Herz could’ve sworn the gopher gave him a glare, but surely the gopher couldn’t have understood what the prince was saying right? Either way, it made him feel guilty, and opened the cage to allow the tiny mammal out. 

Demanitus didn’t protest nor did he try to stop the prince “Actually, I wanted to try something different. I want to see if it’s possible to use the Ultimate Power together but separately, it would avoid putting the stones together but still be able to wield its power”

Shampanier frowned, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Somebody could get hurt”.

Demanitus turned to look at the rodent who sat on Herz’s hands. “That’s why I brought him,” he said stoically. 

“Demanitus I don’t think it’s-” Herz began but he was quickly interrupted. 

“It has to be done, your majesty. You want to master your abilities, correct?” he said as he approached the blond prince slowly with his hands behind his back. Herz turned to look at his fiancee, remembering his own words from earlier

Look, for now, we need Demanitus to understand our power better.

Shampanier’s heart ached for her prince. She wasn’t one who admired cutesy little animals like the mammal that comfortably rested on her fiancee’s hand, she preferred beasts such as horses or big dogs, but that didn’t take away the fact that she knew Herz had a softer side for vulnerable animals. But even she herself knew that it was unnecessary for a creature to be sacrificed for the sake of human testing. 

Lilith sighed, “What do you need us to do?”

“Lilith!-”

“I just want to know what he needs us to do,” she walked closer to where Herz and Demanitus stood and she placed herself in front of her fiance and faced Demanitus. She gave him a glare that summoned her own authority as the Heir of Saporia, who happened to be engaged to the Prince of Corona “Demanitus is still subjected under our authority, we have the right to say no” she concluded.

Demanitus frowned with his only eye, matching the same energy of the Colonel, but complied with an answer “I want the prince to recite a few lines of the healing incantation and for you to finish with the lines of the decay incantation, I don’t know what the results will yield”.

Hertz scoffed, and he looked down at the little gopher, summoning up courage, he finally said “Fine”.

Lilith jolted to turn to look at her fiance, surprised at his cooperation “Herz we don’t have to-”

“We’ll stop if he shows that he’s in pain” the prince clarified, “and we won’t do it ever again” he said as he glared at Demanitus, who remained indifferent. The Colonel looked at her fiance in confusion, puzzled as to why he had agreed to test the incantations on the mammal. 

The truth was that Herz would’ve done whatever it took for his country to be at ease, and if that meant that his fiance had been correct and that they needed to return the Ultimate Power, they needed to test the waters to see what they would be dealing with. 

So the prince set the mammal on the table and raised his palm on top of him. He turned to look at his fiancé who had done the same, her hand hovering over the mammal in its opposite angle. She gave him a nod of understanding, one that allowed him to feel a little more at ease.

“Your majesty you will recite the first two lines of the healing incantation,” Demanitus spoke up as he backed away to grab an empty scroll and a quill. “Colonel, you will recite the last two of the decay incantation. Is that clear?”

After both nodded, Demanitus said “Good, let’s get started”

Lilith waited for the prince to begin the incantation. The prince took a deep breath and began citing the incantation in a monotone tone, feeling the magic exert itself from his core to his hands

Power gleam and glow

Let your power shine

At first, the gopher remained unaffected. In fact, it seemed as if he was enjoying himself. But it didn’t last long once Lilith began singing the second to last line of the decay incarnation.

Break these earthly chains

The mammal began having seizures, and he fell on his back before he arched it in agony. 

“Lilith STOP!” The prince yelled,

“Colonel, keep going!” Demanitus barked back through gritted teeth.

Reason and logic surrendered to the adrenaline in Lilith’s body, and her tongue continued quickly rather than finishing the last time at the same pace, she rushed the magic out of her by saying the last sentence swiftly.

And set the spirit free

The prince wanted to be angry at his fiancée, but he was too focused on the still body of the gopher. He did the only thing his intuition demanded he would do

Let my hope ignite 

“Your majesty! You’re not supposed to keep going! Stop at once!” Demanitus yelled.

Let hope ignite

One last burst of magic hovered over the body of the gopher and the prince scooped up the animal in his hands. The mammal remained still, 

“Herz, I’m sorry I didn’t mean-“

One cough. Two coughs. Both came from the tiny animal. The three people in the room weren’t too surprised by the resuscitation of the gopher, given that the prince had decided to use the last part of the hope incantation, but what came after drained the color out of the faces of the couple.

“Bloody. hell,” the gopher coughed out. He stood on his four paws and glared at the Colonel, “What is wrong with you? Do you think that having shiny blue power gives you the right to break my back?! No ma’am!”

“You can talk?” That was the only coherent thought/question that the prince could ask. The gopher widened his own eyes, “you can hear me?” The mammal countered in a British accent.

“The lines from the decay incantation must have ‘broken earthly chains’, meaning the natural ability for animals- or more so the lack thereof-  of speech. The decay incantation killed him, but it also set him free. He’s only alive because of the fragment of the hope incantation,” Demanitus explained.

“Right-O” the gopher replied, “You know at least my back needed to be popped”

The explanation Demanitus had provided made the couple settle down a bit, but they were still somewhat shaken up. 

“Luna, I think you owe this gopher an apology,” Herz said awkwardly. 

“It’s Edwards, your majesty,” the mammal replied.

“You know who I am?” The prince lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

“Aye. We animals are speechless, not deaf” 

“I doubt animals have formal human names like ‘Edwards’” the Colonel interjected.

“That’s because I came up with Edwards on the spot. My name is…” Edwards chirped multiple times before he continued “…but I’m sure you’d have difficulty pronouncing that. Trust me, I hear humans meow to cats and they will create the most bizarre sentences without their knowledge. At least 3 wrong words with an insane amount of grammatical mistakes”

The prince chuckled at that, he looked at his fiancé once again to remind her of her pending apology.

“I’m sorry Edwards. I didn’t mean to cause you any harm, is there anything we can do to compensate you?” Lilith apologized.

“No Colonel, I understand you were scared…”

“I wasn’t-“

“…but it was Lord Demanitus who caged me up for animal testing, I’d much rather get an apology from him,” Edwards clarified. 

Everyone turned to look at the engineer, and it took Demanitus a few seconds to speak up, “I apologize Edwards. I have a monkey of my own, Vigor, and I wouldn’t subject my pet through the same perils I put you through.”

“Lord Demanitus, I’ll have you know that I am not a pet or a sidekick. I am an individual, but nevertheless, I accept your apology” the gopher said. Demanitus had no response to that and instead began writing on the blank scroll, presumably writing results from the incantation. 

The prince directed his annoyance toward the engineer. “Demanitus, we shan’t combine the powers of the moonstone and the sun-drop like that again. While the moonstone can be used for good, the three of us know that it carries the power of destruction. Maybe if the authentic Ultimate Power was used together it wouldn’t bring harm because at least it’s conjoined with the sun-drop. But it’s far too dangerous to use it together but separately,” he explained.

“With all due respect your majesty, you’re not the one who’s spent years studying both of the stones” he spoke somberly, not bothering to look at the prince as he continued to write on his scroll. 

“But I hold the sun-drop and Lilith holds the moonstone, not you!” he yelled, finally summoning his authority as the prince. This was enough for Demanitus to look at the prince.

He kept eye contact with the prince, his gaze cold as ice, “Colonel, could you please give me and the prince a moment? Take Edwards with you as well”

“Lilith can stay, I trust her” the prince spoke up again. The Colonel simply stood back and watched the scene play out.

“This is a matter of Corona’s national safety your majesty, the Colonel can’t be here” Demanitus countered.

“She’s the future Queen of Corona, and she’s leading the search for Gothel and Tromus, she’s allowed to hear whatever you have to say” Herz argued. 

“But alas, she hasn’t been christened nor married to you, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want to disrespect the laws and wishes of your parents, may they rest in peace, would you?” the engineer questioned. 

The blond prince remained quiet, but Lilith interjected “It’s fine Herz, we’ll talk later. I’m sure the rodent doesn’t want to hear diplomatic matters after coming back to life,”

She took the mammal off her fiancee’s hands and locked eyes with him. “I’ll meet you in the tunnels” she whispered before she left the laboratory. 

“I’ll have you know ‘rodent’ is an offensive word for us gophers!….” was the last thing that could be heard in the hallways once the prince and the engineer were left alone in the room.

“Your majesty, Zhan Tiri isn’t dead, she’s still a threat to Corona and the world. Joining the powers of the moonstone and the sun-drop may be the final blow we must deliver to finish her off. That means you and your betrothed must stop acting like children and put your power to good use, namely, using it to defend Corona”

‘Demanitus it was you who chose not to kill Zhan Tiri, not me or Lilth. You trapped her in your portal. You guaranteed that she would not escape, so why is it that now you’re switching up the story?” the prince raised his voice, a hint of confusion taking over his tone “Zhan Tiri isn’t supposed to be a concern anymore, why are you telling me we aren’t safe from her?!”

“Zhan Tiri is still the most powerful sorceress in the world, the world in which she is currently should deprive her of her abilities for a short amount of time, but that doesn’t mean we are safe. Especially not with Gothel and Tromus out there” he deflected the original statement Herz had made. 

“But… if we can make a weapon, one that should finish her off forever if we channel the power of the sun-drop and the moonstone, creating an artificial version of the ultimate power, we can destroy her forever. The world and Corona could finally be safe from her”

“So what?” the prince began, “We just wait until she breaks out? That’s not how prison works, you don’t create a jail cell with a probability that the prisoner will escape. And say we finish her off, What then? Does Corona have a weapon that can destroy the world laying around?”

“It would be good for national security my prince,” Demanitus said indifferently.

Herz scoffed and shook his head in disbelief “Demanitus, keeping your country safe is done with diplomacy, not flaunting your biggest weapons out to other kingdoms. The kingdom next door will become intimidated, and they’ll make a bigger weapon, then the kingdom next door will do the same. It’ll become an endless cycle of thirst for power and when all the bows are drawn and the canons are all loaded, all of them will be released at the same time and it won’t take long for each corner of the world to amount to nothing but piles of dead bodies and a destroyed earth”

“If Zhan Tiri comes back the separate powers of the sun-drop and the moonstone will be enough to eliminate her and that will be the end of it”

The prince walked a few paces forward until he was a few inches away from Demanitus, “You are forbidden from ever researching what the Ultimate Power could do. You won’t be making any weapons, and you won’t disobey my orders. We will continue researching the individual powers of the moonstone and the sun-drop but anything apart from that is forbidden. Is that clear?” 

Lord Demanitus clenched his jaw, his eyes defying everything the prince had said with a rage that was tranquil, “Yes, your majesty”

Herz softened his gaze and gave his engineer a sad smile. “Good, I’ll see you at dinner then”. The prince left the engineer behind alone in his laboratory. 

Demanitus stood still as a statue until he was able to hear Herz’s boots completely leave the hallway, ensuring he was completely alone. He screamed and yelled loudly, his rage taking over and being released in an uncontrolled cyclone of violent fury. He went as far as flipping over the table, the cage and scrolls present on its surface flew everywhere around the room. His breath became shaky and heavy like a balance that couldn’t be calibrated. He felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle, feeling the insufferable familiar presence in the room. 

A cackle followed soon after, “I guess the Royal Engineer isn’t as indispensable as he once was hm?”

A scowl formed on his face, his soul becoming bitter “You know my love, I told you many times that you could’ve earned his respect if you took the power of the sun-drop and the moonstone for yourself”

“Shut up”

“And where did that leave you? Where are your pupils? Where’s your beloved?”

“You’re not my beloved anymore and you wanted the Ultimate Power for your selfish egotism”

Another evil laugh, “You’re not much different Demanitus, don’t you feel an insatiable thirst to know everything there is about the moonstone and the sun-drop? You’re just like me, you want both relics to bend their powers at your will and use them for Corona, but unlike me, you’re a coward, an arse-kisser”

She walked towards him, whispering in his ear “You really should’ve killed me when you had the chance because I’m with you ‘till eternity”

He turned around to slap her, but his hand went right through her form, leaving her undamaged. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back…and I promise everyone will know my name as their rightful ruler of the world and you can make pathetic attempts to lay your hands on me”. 

With that, the she-demon warlock vanished from the room, leaving behind a man who shook desperately as he drowned in anger and despair.

~~~

Herz walked down the hall, still somewhat bothered by what had occurred earlier. He was unsure of what would happen in the following days. He had come to appreciate Demanitus as one of his most trusted advisors and as a friend. Though he was a rather cold man, he had offered great advice since the King and Queen died from the plague. The prince was in his mid-twenties and had not been crowned king yet, not until he married. 

Herz considered making a quick trip to retrieve his notebook where he charted the tunnel system he had built for Corona’s safety and commerce. After all, he hadn’t completely learned all of the passages and where they led to. But he chose against it, he knew exactly where he would be taking Lilith. For today, the prince was done with his duties and as he had promised his fiance, they would be heading out before dinnertime to clear their heads.

He made one final turn and reached the room where the secret entrance to the caves began, finding the Colonel leaning against the wall waiting for him, “Everything okay?” she asked.

Herz sighed, he contemplated telling Lilith the whole story, but he decided to sum it up “Demanitus insists we keep testing the abilities of the Ultimate Power, but it’s far too dangerous. He wants to weaponize it”

Lilith widened her eyes, “What did you say? You didn’t agree with him did you?” 

Herz nodded “No, of course not. Come on, I’ll explain on the way,”. The couple walked through the tunnels but before he could summarize the interchange between him and the engineer, he asked “By the way, where’s Edwards?”

“He said he had barely moved into the castle, which for me was odd because I know it’s not rare to spot a rat or two down in the lowest level of the castle…but a gopher?”

Herz chuckled, “I take it he’s settled in the castle then”

“‘Settled’ is an understatement, he probably knows the ins and outs of the castle. Demanitus probably caught him and caged him as a test subject,” the Colonel hypothesized.

As they walked through the tunnel systems Herz explained to his fiance everything that happened during his talk with Demanitus. Shampanier, although being a woman raised by a kingdom that praised military power, agreed with her fiancee’s decision to his surprise. “Really?” he asked.

“Of course, war shouldn’t be won by the power of a weapon, but the power of a soldier…but even when it comes to Zhan Tiri, the sun-drop and the moonstone are enough to eliminate her for good. I just hate that we couldn’t get to the mountain in time to finish her off ourselves” Lilith replied. 

They continued walking indulging in small talk and soon they made it out of the tunnels, where they stood on the mainland of Corona. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“I found a place not too long ago, come,” he said as he offered his hand for her to take with a smile on his face. 

She eyed him suspiciously and reluctantly gave him her hand, “Herz what are you planning?”

He gave her a smirk and she remained confused until the prince led them both to a natural sinkhole with water blue as the sky. The sun was beginning to set but it just made it all the more beautiful. The stone that surrounded the sinkhole glowed stunningly with a sparkle of its own, with vines that cascaded down their walls that adorned them like emerald necklaces. 

It made the Colonel gasp, the sinkhole was breathtaking, “What is this place?” 

“I don’t know, but it was hidden. I was thinking this could be our thing, like…” he clicked his tongue “I don’t know, somewhere where we could go if we needed a break from things. Kind of like how we need one now” he said as he smiled warmly.

He began discarding his clothes with no warning whatsoever, “Herz! What are you doing?!” 

“What’s it look like?” he said as he finally removed his shirt and ran to the water. The Colonel frowned in amusement as she followed after him, not quite getting rid of her clothing just yet. 

The prince was of a rather large frame, so when he made it to the water he caused huge ripples of water and his body splashed water all around him. He submerged himself entirely to get his whole head to become wet, an image that made the Colonel giggle under her breath. 

“What are you doing Luna? Get in!” he urged. 

“We have to get to the castle soon, you’ll get to dinner dripping wet!”

The prince only responded by splashing water in her direction which produced a yelp from Lilith. His big arms did the trick of being able to wet her significantly, and the Colonel caved, getting rid of her own garments, “Fine, but we’re only here for a little bit!” she said in between laughter.

Once she was in the water the prince pulled her closer by the waist and smiled down at her “That’s all I need” and he leaned down to kiss her.

But the prince only received a cold splash of water to his face. 

~~~

In his lab, Demanitus had allowed his hands and his brain to take over momentarily. He wasn’t aware of what he had been building for the past two hours. His disassociated mind reassured him that they had it under control until he felt better. When his awareness came back to his body, he saw the device he had in front of him. 

It was a device with a long tube with a mesh on its end. Two grips on the bottom for both hands to hold it together. With the help of his brilliant calculations, he had created the brilliant formula to create such a device, with of course a little bit of help with some magic. 

It was a weapon that could forcefully extract the sundrop and the moonstone from its hosts. 

“I’m sorry your majesty,” he began. 

“For far too long, I’ve allowed myself to think selfishly that Zhan Tiri would come back to me and remove that foolish idea that her destiny was to wield the sun-drop and the moonstone. You have every right to be mad at me for not killing her sooner.” he swallowed hard.

“Let me mend that mistake,” he whispered as he ran a finger down his extractor.

“Even if you don’t like how I’m going to do this, I have to. I made a promise to your parents I would keep you and Corona safe”

His demeanor took a turn and it became…darker, full of anger and resentment “Once when you were a boy you’d listen to me and you’d heed my advice. When did that change? When did I lose my own influence over you?”

He knew the answer, it was the moment he took the sun-drop.

“The moonstone and the sun-drop shall be mine, I’ll kill Zhan Tiri, then you’ll realize I was right and you’ll beg for forgiveness. You’ll apologize for not listening to me sooner you spoiled brat” he spat. 

He contracted the device so that it became a compact tube and hid it on his belt, behind his cloak. He left this laboratory, turned right, and went in search of the prince and his fiancee in the dining room where they should’ve been waiting for him. 

But Demanitus was unaware that a certain gopher had been listening to his own soliloquy by the left side of the doorframe.

~~~

Fatigue settled into the bodies of the couple as they swam out the water. Though they should’ve begun getting dressed to go back to the castle, they sat on some nearby rocks to allow their bodies to dry. 

“I wish we could stay here forever,” the prince said, and the Colonel hummed in agreement. 

“Life would’ve been so much simpler without the moonstone and the sun-drop in the picture,” she replied.

“I would’ve never met you if that were the case,” he countered.

Lilith chuckled, “I’m pretty sure we would’ve still met on that hunting trip and attempted to kill you by accident, moonstone or not”

Herz simply leaned to his left to playfully shove his fiancee sideways, which cracked a smile on both of their faces. “Seriously though, you never felt as if there was this constant pull that was telling you to go chase after something, then stopped once you met me?”

Lilith silently thought about this. She had to admit that at times, the moonstone communicated with her in its own special language. She couldn’t tell what it was saying most of the time, but she could feel some things that the moonstone wanted her to understand. Ever since the moonstone showed up in her room in Saporia and chose her to adopt her, she felt this magnetism that she couldn’t explain, one that begged her to go beyond Saporia in search of something, but she constantly ignored it until that eventful scouting trip her parents ordered on the western isles. 

“I have, it was weird but for a long time, I ignored it. But on the scouting trip to the unexplored isles, it became stronger. I can understand why that happened then,” she rubbed her hands together. 

After a brief silence, Herz spoke up again “Though I do agree that life could’ve been much simpler without the stones, but it could be if we figure out how to return these”.

Lilith sighed as she squeezed the water out of her hair “I know, but Demanitus said that they can only be returned as the Ultimate Power, but to combine the Ultimate Power we need to make sure we don’t fry to death. We would have to find a stabilizer or something to avoid that”

Herz grabbed a nearby stick and began drawing the sun and the moon on the damp sand, but the last sentence his fiancee had spoken made his head snap in her direction “Wait wait wait…say that again”

Lilith assumed that Herz would make fun of her lazy attempt to try to sound smart in regards to magic and relics, so she explained herself “Well I mean I’m just saying that because Demanitus wanted to make a weapon that channels the power of the moonstone and the sun-drop together, which makes like a fake Ultimate Power right? I’m just assuming the weapon is the stabilizer. Come on Herz you know I’m not good with this sort of stuff”

The prince didn’t reassure his fiance for he was too focused on her hypothesis, and he sat there staring at the drawings he had made on the sand. 

Sun. 

Moon.

What’s the midpoint between both of them?

What’s the stabilizer?

What is theorized to be a sphere, thus causing day and night cycles?

“Herz? Herz!” Lilith called out. 

He turned to look at his fiance again, “Lilith the earth is the stabilizer! We can return the Ultimate Power!”. His fiance widened her eyes, unsure how to take this information. Surely, it was impossible to get to this conclusion this quickly, especially when talking about the two most powerful relics in the world, “What? How?” 

He turned to look at his drawing on the sand again. The sun was on the right, the moon was on the left, “Listen, people have theorized that the earth is flat right? But we’ve discovered the western isles, which are out west, which many people assumed was the world border, correct?”

She nodded.

“We didn’t die or fall off the world, which means the world is a sphere. Now that means that while the sun shines on one side of the earth, the moon shines on the other. This means the earth is always at a balance with sunlight and moonlight, it’s the middle between the sun and the moon. We can turn this lagoon into some sort of….ugh….” he snapped his fingers as he tried to come up with the correct word.

“A conduit” she finished for him.

He clapped his hands as he stood up and pointed a finger to Lilith “Yes. Exactly!”. He began laughing in victory, while she sat with a smile in disbelief, still processing everything her prince had put together. 

“We can create an incantation that can give power to this place, then it’ll set up the perfect terrain for us to return the stones,” she said as she stood up to approach Herz., “But how do we do that? When we say our incantations it’s reflective of our individual power. I could kill this place with the moonstone incantations”

He cupped his face with both of his hands “You’re not going to hurt anything, we’ll figure this out together”, and he kissed her forehead. “Any ideas?”

She thought for a few moments before she spoke up, “Well, our incantations come from within, once we say the words channeled from what our stones tell us, they are branded and claimed by the stone itself, thus creating an original incantation for its respective stone, right? So we would have to listen to the stones, and create an incantation that can belong to both stones”.

Now it was Herz’s turn to be worried “Yeah but it’s taken us months for us to come up with our incantations, I mean we both only have two incantations each. It takes time and they come at random times”

She grabbed his hands that were still on her cheeks and she let one of his hands go but with the other, she gently pulled him to the shore of the lagoon and sat down to where the water reached their waists. She had him sit down right across from him crossed legged and she spoke up “Patience is a soldier’s virtue. Herz, we are doing this for the safety of our homes, we can at least try,”

She squeezed his hand “Plus I think we’re already late for dinner”. He returned the squeeze and whispered, “Okay, let’s try it”.

He brought his other hand to hold the Colonel’s free hand and they both closed their eyes. They listened to the birdsong and felt the last of today’s daylight on their skin. The sound of the nearby waterfall became music to their ears, and the sound of water trickling somewhere in the caves tickled their ears. The relaxation took over their bodies and the only thing they could hear was the pulsing of their stones synced to their own hearts as if they were one. 

After a few minutes, the moonstone spoke a sentence that Lilith never thought she’d hear her say,

Let there be only love here

The line fondled with the Colonel’s tongue in her native language, but she held back until she was sure Herz felt it too.

It is here that we made our vow to join our kingdoms. 

Peace is our treasure. 

The prince felt the line rise within his chest, the sun-drop begging for it to be released into the world. Still, he held back from saying it in fear that it would be a line branded solely for the sun-drop.

But the next couple of lines erased the doubt from both of them as they were summoned by both of the stones. 

When opposites come together in the name of love and goodness, despite their differences, they manifest the ultimate power. 

They snapped their eyes open, and in that solemn silence, their eyes said everything to each other, and they spoke the lines in Saporian from the beginning 

Let there be only love here

It is here that we made our vow to join our kingdoms. 

Peace is our treasure. 

When opposites come together in the name of love and goodness, despite their differences, they manifest the ultimate power. 

As long as this land is not disturbed nor will our country’s peace be

The lagoon’s water which had originally been soft sky blue was now a fluorescent turquoise that glowed magically in accordance with the moonstone’s power. The walls of stone originally shone earlier with the reflection of the sun’s rays were now glowing a golden hue even with the lack of natural sunlight that was no longer present. Pebbles and stones that were all around them glowed in other colors, filling their surroundings with a magical medley of colors that resembled the northern lights, creating a beautiful green.

The prince and the Colonel felt the sun-drop and the moonstone giggle.

Yes, giggle, they hadn’t been aware they could do that. 

The colors slowly vanished after the light show that was displayed died down. The couple felt a rush of euphoria from what they had just experienced and they felt breathless. “Herz…we did it!”

She lunged at her prince and smiled into the kiss and peppered his cheek in kisses, “I didn’t know that was possible, and in my language no less!”

Herz laughed, it was odd to see Lilith this affectionate given her typical serious demeanor, but the incantation that branded the two stones together had left a mark on the couple that was lifechanging. It was new, yes, but it was as if something collapsed only to be rebuilt together. 

“I told you we’d figure it out Luna” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around the woman he loved.

“We can return the stones now, everything’s ready,” he said. This made the Colonel pull back from his embrace “Herz, this is amazing, but Zhan Tiri is still a threat and we need the stones at least until she’s gone, don’t you think?”

She made a great point. Without the sun-drop or the moonstone, there was perhaps nothing Corona could do against a powerful sorceress like Zhan Tiri and her three minions. The prince hated to admit it, but not even the combined militia of Corona and Saporia would be enough to stop her. It had to be the original hosts who put a stop to her. “You’re right. Even though Zhan Tiri’s goal is to possess the stones, I’m sure she’ll want revenge on Corona and Saporia”

Lilith stood up from where she was and offered a hand to pull the prince up, “We need to be ready, but at least we know where to go after we’re done with her”

Herz smiled and looked out toward the lagoon again, “Yes we do”

~~~

The couple took the tunnels back to the castle, although it would be logical to think that they were hungry and tired from swimming the entire evening, they weren’t. The subtle burst of Ultimate Power made both of them feel energized. They wouldn’t say no to dinner though,

“Demanitus is going to be shocked when I tell him this” the prince said as they finally reached the entrance of the tunnels located in the castle. 

“You really think he’ll want to return the Ultimate Power even after Zhan Tiri is defeated?” she asked.

“Honestly I don-”

“Your majesty!” a familiar British voice called out once they crossed the tapestry that hid the entrance to the tunnels. 

“Edwards?” Herz called out. He looked around the room and he didn’t stop the gopher until he looked down at his feet once the mammal spoke up again.

“Your majesty! It’s Demanitus!” 

The prince felt goosebumps rise in his body, “What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

Edwards nodded no frantically “No, he’s going to take the sundrop and the moonstone for himself. He created a device while you two were out, and it’s meant to take it away”

Confused, the couple kneeled to the ground to get closer to the gopher. “But if he wanted to do that, he could easily pull it out from our chests. Are you sure about this?” Herz asked. 

“Your majesty, I’m sure he could, but I heard him talking to himself about wanting to personally get revenge on Zhan Tiri to fix his mistake, but he’s also resentful you haven’t listened to his advice. I may be just a gopher who’s been freeloading on the castle’s basement, but I’m still Coronan and my loyalty is to the crown. You have to listen to me”

The prince wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, he was processing the fact that his own advisor had betrayed him. On the other, he wanted to see if there was one last chance to get him to give up his foolish plan to personally take revenge on the warlock. He wasn’t doubting Edwards was telling the truth, his hesitance was due to how quickly the situation had escalated. 

“We could return the Ultimate Power now Herz. We have two people who are seeking the Ultimate Power now, returning it would make their objectives nonexistent,” the Colonel suggested. 

“No, Zhan Tiri is still a bigger threat. We need the sun-drop and the moonstone,”

Lilith thought for a moment “Zhan Tiri used to be just like Demanitus until she became a powerful sorceress. Demanitus isn’t stupid, and it won’t be long until he learns magic on his own and becomes just like Zhan Tiri. We need to-”

“No!” the prince snapped before his fiance could finish her suggestion, “Demanitus raised me, we can’t do that to him”

The Colonel stood on her feet again, her tone became darker as she shifted gears, “ Your majesty , we are running out of time. I will not allow Demanitus to take Saporia’s moonstone. So you better come up with something or else we’ll have another world-catastrophic event at our hands”

Herz let out a shaky breath, the pressure made him come up with a plan that would allow for Saporia’s moonstone to be protected, “Then leave”.

Those two words shattered his fiancee’s heart. “Hide the moonstone, take it far away from here. I’m not giving up on Demanitus, I need to convince him to come back to his senses”

“He will take the sun-drop from you!” she yelled.

“I have to try!” he barked, his heart wrecking as he looked to see the pain-streaked face of his beloved. Regret flooded his heart. 

“Luna I have to try. Don’t let Demanitus take the moonstone, hide it and once everything calms down we’ll return it in the Lost Lagoon and we can marry I promise” He begged in a softer tone.

Lilith allowed a single tear to leave her eye but nodded “If everything fails here I need you to hide the sun-drop. Nobody can possess the sun-drop or the moonstone, no one . We will come back to retrieve the stones and we will send them back to where they came from. Promise me that at the very least”.

The prince nodded as he got up again, “I promise. Now go, I’ll go see Demanitus. Take one of the horses”. The Colonel nodded and kissed his prince once last time softly. 

The gopher interjected bashfully “Uh, Colonel, Demanitus is in the dining room. As you make your way to the stables make sure to avoid that area.”

“Thank you, Edwards. Good luck you two” she said as she headed out the door, unaware that would be the last time she saw his prince with the love she had for him in her eyes.

 “Is there anything you’d like me to do?” Edwards asked.

“Not for now Edwards, just make sure Demanitus doesn’t see you. I want you to stay safe” Herz replied.  

“As you wish”.

With that, the prince and the gopher made their way over to the dining room. Herz had expected Demanitus to be subtle or at the very least, if he were to take the sun-drop it would be after a heated interchange with him. 

“Demanitus we need to ta-”

As soon as he pushed the dining room doors he felt a sharp excruciating pain in his chest. He managed to barely open his eyes to see the royal engineer pointing at the prince with a device that wasn’t shooting anything at him but was actually peeling the stone out of his skin. It felt hot, it made his body burn and within seconds he had the prince sweating gallons. The stone finally detached itself from its host body, and Herz felt one last cry from the sun-drop begging not to be taken away from him.

His blond hair and his beard turned into their natural brown once again, and he fell on the ground feeling weak, not even having the strength to crawl. It didn’t take long for him to drift into unconsciousness. “I apologize your majesty. You will forgive me one day for this”

Demanitus hadn’t counted on the prince to fall unconscious but he needed him awake, he needed to know where his betrothed was. For now, he would wait until the prince rose from his slumber. 

~~~

Beyond Corona’s walls, a Colonel rode on her horse faster than hurricane winds. Her goal? Get to her homeland as fast as possible and hide the moonstone. The moonstone was still Saporia’s relic, their protection, their hope. 

Lilith Shampagnier would make sure that if Demanitus became Saporia’s new enemy, she would have her country behind her ready to fight, while also having Corona by her side. 

So she dug her heel into her horse’s sides and hurried him onward.

~~~

Hertz felt an immense headache as he woke up in his bed chambers. It took him a few seconds to remember why he had fallen unconscious and upon remembering, he ignored the thumping in his head and rushed for his door. Alas, the door was locked. 

He banged on the door, “Guards! Open the door!”. 

No answer. 

More banging.

No answer.

“Psst! Your Highness!” a whisper came from behind him. Frowning, he turned around and inspected his surroundings. The migraine couldn’t allow him to recognize the voice and his semi-blurred vision impeded him from being able to spot where the voice was coming from. 

“Over here! Down here!” 

He looked down and began scanning a bookshelf that was built into the wall. On its base, there was a small hole in the wall he had never noticed before, and from it, a familiar silhouette stuck out. He blinked three times to focus his vision, and he was finally able to identify the person- the animal , who was calling for him. 

“Edwards,” he let out a sigh of relief. He kneeled to the ground to talk to the mammal. “What happened? How long have I been out? Where’s Demanitus? Where’s the sun-drop?” he bombarded Edwards with questions. 

“Take it easy, you’re still weak from being detached from the sun-drop. Breathe, my prince,” Edwards tried to comfort the prince to the best of his ability. He continued, “Demanitus created a new device…Well, he didn’t ‘create it’, he conjured a spell and made a magic wand. It has the ability to erase memories from people. It’s been three days since he took the sun-drop and in the meantime…” he paused, hesitant to finish his sentence. 

“‘In the meantime’ what?!” he demanded, dread growing in his stomach.

“He’s erased everyone’s memory who’s Coronan of your engagement with the Colonel or the friendly relations we have with Saporia, I only managed to come out unaffected since Demanitus didn’t take the animals into consideration. He’s claimed that she stole the sun-drop as an attack on Corona,” Edwards continued. 

“He’s declared war on Saporia just today,”

The color drained from the prince’s face, tears forming in his eyes as he released a shaky breath. His palms began trembling, his heart breaking to know that the kingdom that his mother and father had built was falling apart at the hands of the man they had left in charge to take care of him. Edwards might’ve as well told him that Corona had been set completely on fire. His efforts to create a legacy of a relatively young new nation crumbled like stale bread being crushed in his bare palms. But now a new sensation burned in his chest, the realization rising quickly to the surface “B-But what about Luna! Is she okay?!” 

“She rode out and I presume she’s on her way to Saporia, Demanitus is planning on erasing the memories of the entire kingdom of Saporia very soon. The kingdom of Saporia doesn’t know anything about what’s happened here nor of the declaration of war”

The prince ran his hands through his hair back, desperation rising from his stomach. He allowed sobs to escape his lips. He would’ve given up the power of the sun-drop a long time ago if it meant that his kingdom would be in a state where it was taken over by a tyrannical engineer, but he accepted the consequences for taking such power for himself. But for his own advisor to mess with the relations of another kingdom? The kingdom of his beloved at that? 

He wanted to scream, he wanted to yell. He wanted to flip the furniture in his room. He felt powerless. He convinced himself he wasn’t even half the king his father was, he was failing his kingdom in its greatest hour of need. The grief in his heart and in his stomach was heating like a pot of water, and it was reaching a dangerous boiling point. He had a fire on his tongue,

“Where’s the sun-drop?” he asked darkly, determination in his red, tear-stained eyes. 

Edwards swallowed, “Demanitus has it hidden in the Royal Vault. He plans on getting the moonstone. I’m not sure how or why”

“He wants to weaponize the stones” he whispered. He couldn’t allow it, he couldn’t allow the stones to reunite for the good of his own kingdom. Regret crept up on the prince; they should’ve returned the stones when they had the chance. 

“Listen to me Edwards, I need you to do something for me” the prince swallowed, “Corona cannot go to war with Saporia. I need you to take the sun-drop and hide it far away from Corona, and I want you to deliver a message to Lilith”

The gopher looked at the prince in disbelief and in panic, “Your majesty, I’m just a gopher how am I supposed to-”

“Edwards, you’re the only hope Corona has left- the only hope I have left. If you can get a message to Lilith we may just have a chance at stopping Demanitus. You need to take the sun-drop and hide it. You can use its power to take it far from here” the prince said desperately, barely taking any pauses to catch his breath before he spoke. “Take it far from here and hide it, and only then come back to the castle. The Royal Vault has many enchanted message bottles…can you write?”

The gopher nodded reluctantly. 

“Good; Debrief Lilith about everything that’s happened in Corona. Make sure she knows everything so that Saporia is ready to fight back and the moonstone is hidden where no one will ever find it”

“Your highness, does that mean Corona will fight against Saporia?”

The prince clenched his jaw, unsure of how to answer, “Saporia won’t fight back, but they will stop Demanitus if they know Corona was taken over by Demanitus. Now go! Hurry!”

“Yes, your majesty,” the gopher bowed before he locked eyes with the prince once again. There was sadness and misery present, but there was a smaller gleam in his green eyes. 

Hope.

So Edwards turned around and traveled through the passages in the walls that he was so familiar with. Tunnels where he explored in his time of need where he needed food, water, and shelter back when he was a nobody.

A simple mammal.

 Now, they were his personal quest to save Corona assigned to him by the Prince. His tiny brain couldn’t comprehend why the prince wanted to gamble on Corona’s future with someone as insignificant as him, especially when he had just barely acquainted himself with the prince. Sure, he could’ve walked away from the situation and cowardly hid as he saw the fall of Corona. In terms of his personal life, he would come out unaffected: He would still have food, water, and shelter at the end of Demanitus’ plan. His conscience wouldn’t allow it, which is why he wanted patiently until the prince woke up to alert him of the situation of his kingdom. 

Left, right, left, another left, he kept walking straight. 

Eventually, he made it to a wall that he was sure was the same as the one in the Royal Vault. He searched for a weak point in the wall. A humid spot, something that would allow his claws to scratch and tear a hole in the wall much as other rats had done. Fortunately, rats were common in the lowest part of the castle where the Royal Vault was also located. He didn’t have to get his claws dirty just yet, for he had found a hole in the wall. The hole was significantly smaller than him, it seemed as if had been made by a mouse and not a rat, which was a problem for Edwards’ larger frame.

He forced his body through the tiny hole and was met with resistance to the point where he was stuck. After a tedious struggle, he was able to fit into the other side. In the middle of the room, the sun-drop was shining as it floated mystically, unaffected by earth’s gravity. Edwards wasn’t sure how he was going to grab it if it was that far up the ground, and even if he did take the stone, what would he do with it? Take it in his mouth away from here? He sighed and approached it until he was directly underneath the relic. He noticed that the closer he got, the hotter the temperature felt. He felt the stone’s heat radiate on top of him like the sun on the hottest summer day.

“How am I supposed to get to you?” he whispered. He stood up on his two back claws and tried to reach it but it was useless. He tried to jump, but he was incapable of doing so. 

“I know I am not worthy of taking you. I’m a rodent, not a prince” he said with sorrow, unsure as to why he would be talking to a rock. He would’ve looked for a surface to climb and jump from, but there was none present save for bookshelves that were too far away from where the sun-drop floated. 

“I don’t even know why the prince assigned me to come and get you when I am one of the lowliest types of folk, but Corona is in danger and I need to make sure to keep you safe…but I can’t even do that. Sun high above, if you can hear me please help me keep Corona safe even if it’s the last thing I do. Allow me to have a greater meaning than stealing from the sack of potatoes that are left in the kitchens” he prayed.

But the sun-drop didn’t move, and he placed his two front claws back on the surface once again and he sighed. From where he stood, he looked around the room to see if he could find something that would help him get to the sun-drop. At the very least, he wanted to be able to find an enchanted message bottle so he could complete that task.

As he scanned the room, he was oblivious as to how the sun-drop floated downward and closer to him. It wasn’t until he felt an intense heat on top of him that the sun-drop was now right above him at a claw’s reach. He frowned and reached one claw to touch the relic. 

It was enough for the stone to insert itself into his chest. It pushed him back onto his back but the warmth of the stone burned hotly before it cooled down. The temperature hadn’t decreased, but the sun-drop had made sure that his body had adapted to it. The sun-drop was like that, caring, warm. It didn’t want to harm its host at any cost and it made sure to take care of them. The gopher’s brown fur coat was now a more radiant blonde and his claws looked like 24-karat gold daggers. 

“Okay okay, oh wow. I don’t- What just happened?” he said as he pushed himself back on his four paws. He took one step forward, but the sun-drop had other things it wanted to teach Edwards. When his paw made contact with the floor again, his body involuntarily contracted into a ball as he usually did when he slept, except this time he was able to roll at incredible speed. 

He bumped into a wall that made him grunt in pain and untuck himself, “Okay, take it easy on me, I don’t do this very often…actually I don’t do this at all except when I’m on dimberries”. He raised himself again off the ground. Edwards had asked for a second chance to prove he was greater than what he was meant to do. He had in his possession one of the most powerful magical relics in the world and he was ignorant as to what to do with it. His limbs were shaking from having so much power coursing through his veins and he tried to breathe, but nothing brought him comfort. Instead, he remembered his mission

Edwards, you’re the only hope Corona has left- the only hope I have left. 

The gopher knew he should’ve hid the sun-drop before sending the message, but he didn’t know if the trek back to Corona would be as quick as he hoped to alert the Colonel of the attack, so he summoned the power the sun-drop gave him and looked throughout the vault to find an enchanted message bottle, paper, and ink. 

It didn’t take long to find said items with the super speed the sun-drop had given him, and with shaky claws, he dipped his paws into the onyx ink, dyeing his little palms in complete black. While he couldn’t write with the same eloquence as a monarch, he tried his best to summarize to the best of his ability a memorandum of what was happening in Corona. Edwards had to admit that it wasn’t his best handwriting, but the dire situation in Corona didn’t allow for such luxury. In fact, the mammal forgot to sign the letter. He rolled it up without wiping his hands of the remnants of ink in his paws, leaving streaks of black all over the opposite side of the paper.

“I hope this gets to you Colonel” he said as he placed the message inside and climbed the bottle to close the glass lid. The bottle radiated a green light before it disappeared into oblivion.

He heard the door of the vault shuffle shortly after and once again, he felt panic rise in his chest, fear told him the engineer was coming into the room ready to take the sun-drop once again from a different host. The sun-drop redirected his fear into an escape, and he sprint back to the tiny hole where he came from.

He headed to the passages within the walls of Corona’s castle and ran on his four paws until he was finally outside the castle. Once outside, he summoned all the anxiety that clouded his mind and his heart and-

He let it go.

He shook every once off his muscles as he curled into a ball and rolled at hyper-super speed, every person in Corona was oblivious to the magic furball save for a young girl with black curls who was far beyond Corona’s borders who recognized magic when it came across across her.

I will keep Corona safe.

I will keep Corona safe.

I will keep Corona safe.

He repeated his mantra over and over again as he rolled as fast as the sun-drop allowed him to. The golden gopher once upon a time had been nothing more than a rodent to castle staff, but now he had a chance to be a hero. He wasn’t sure how long he had been repeating this phrase in his head, but after what felt like an eternity he finally allowed himself to open his eyes and see where he was after he unrolled. He couldn’t see where he was, but he looked up and found a pine tree that he assumed would be tall enough to let him know where he was. 

He climbed the pine tree, the sun-drop giving him the extra strength to climb. At the very top of the tree he looked at the complete line of the horizon that was out there. Kilometers away, he barely saw the castle of Corona. Though it looked regal and huge within its borders, from where Edwards was, it looked smaller than an almond. The mighty glory of Corona seemed so small to the gopher, and with that he decided to keep rolling for a few other miles until he found an ocean cliff. He looked down and saw an edge that was further down. 

Instinct led him down, he carefully climbed down, allowing dirt and rocks accumulating under his claws. He looked out into the ocean and saw nothing on the horizon except for kilometers of water. He looked behind him and analyzed the bigger cliff. It was at a significant distance, and Edwards deemed it safe for him to hide the sun-drop. 

He began digging a hole right on the edge, about a few centimeters deep. His claws skillfully made a hole that he was sure nobody would ever come across, and after taking a deep breath he tore the relic from his chest. 

He had expected it to be painful, and he would feel weak just like the prince looked when Demanitus ripped the stone from his chest. But the sun-drop gently parted from his chest, aware that it needed to go into hiding. While Edwards did indeed feel weaker, it was only due to the deprivation of power he had indulged in for the past twenty minutes.

He placed the relic on the ground and covered it up. He patted the ground flat and even placed a few pebbles and grass to hide the burial. To the human eye, perhaps it would’ve looked like a burial hole a squirrel had made to hide its nuts, but Edwards had a task to do, and he would do it thoroughly. “It’s done, your highness,” he whispered.

“Please stay safe, hide yourself” he said to the sun-drop.

He climbed up the cliff once again and sighed after the realization that Corona was at least three days away from him now that he was back on foot without any help from the sun-drop. 

But the tiny hero moved onwards, ready to serve his kingdom.

~~~

The Colonel had been traveling for three days, it would still take about three more days for her to get to her homeland, but for now she rested and camped out in some plains near a village. She looked into the fire she had made and poked around the ashes. The familiar orange glow was slowly cradling her into a slumber, making her eyes gently close.

But that was interrupted when an unfamiliar and unnatural green light shone in the corner of her eye, and made her snap her eyes back open again as she unsheathed her sword, ready to strike.

The emerald glow reached its brightest point and birthed a bottle that didn’t survive for long as the Colonel swung her sword and smashed it into pieces. Thankfully, the paper had survived the wrath of her blade.

Confused, she picked it up and scanned its contents. It looked messy, with random blots and streaks of blank ink covering some of its edges, some stains looked like…paw prints? She unrolled the paper and read its message.

Colonel

Corona has been taken over by Dematus.

He took the sundrop

Memries have been erased from everyone

Saporia is next

Corona has declared war

Hide the moonstone quickly

Be ready to fight back

Lilith remained confused but she was a lot more startled than before. Demanitus took over Corona? That bit was understandable. But why would his fiancée declare war on Saporia? Was he betraying her? No that couldn’t have been right, not if he was still asking her to hide the moonstone…unless that was a threat? As in like ‘Hide the moonstone ‘cause I’m coming’?

Lilith shook her head.

No.

Herz De Sonne, her fiancée, would never do that. She had to think clearly. 

Demanitus took over Corona. Fact, at least from what she understood from the letter

He took the sun-drop, that was also a fact, Edwards had claimed that Demanitus made a device to take the relics.

Edwards! That explains the paw prints.

Demanitus erased Corona’s memories…she couldn’t determine if that was a fact or a metaphor. How would he have achieved that? And if he did, had Herz forgotten about her as well? Her military training told her to take into consideration every possibility of a threat. For now, that was also a fact, better safe than sorry.

Saporia is next

“Saporia is next” she breathed out in disbelief. If Demanitus had actually managed to achieve to erase an entire kingdom’s memory, he was going to do the same with her homeland,

But she was not going to allow that to happen. 

Anger rose in her chest, anger towards a coward who would avoid the consequences of his actions by simply erasing memories into oblivion, eliminating any and all chances of needing to fight back. She waved her hand up in one quick motion that shot out a black rock where her campfire had once burned and set it out. 

She jumped on her horse and rode out faster than before, hurrying her steed to get to Saporia as quickly as possible to get ready to-

Be ready to fight back

Yes, that. She had to fight back but-

Hide the moonstone quickly

She pulled the reins of her horse, and both came to a halt. She had to hide the moonstone,

“But the moonstone can fight back unlike the sun-drop. I can kill Demanitus once and for all” she said to no one as she pulled the reins to the right, making the horse make a 180 in the direction of Corona. 

She was about to dig her heel into the horse’s side but she stopped midway. Demanitus wasn’t stupid, if he felt enough confidence to go against a kingdom such as Saporia, it was because he felt powerful enough to take on one of the most powerful kingdoms in terms of military strength. He had the sun-drop with him, the only counterforce that could actually destroy the moonstone. The pride of the Colonel reassured her that she would be enough to stop Demanitus, meanwhile the soldier in her said that she needed to calculate her next move. 

She couldn’t risk the fate of her kingdom to fall into her own confidence, that wasn’t what a leader did, that wasn’t what her parents had taught her. 

Ingvarr is a few hours away, she thought. 

Ingvarr could help, both Saporia and Ingvarr had mutual respect for each other, Ingvarr would help. 

The Colonel tugged once again at her horse’s reins and made a new turn, one in the direction of Ingvarr. Finally, she dug her heel into the horse and the steed galloped with the intensity she needed from him. As she traveled she formulated a plan in her mind to finally hide the moonstone and out of reach of the newly established tyrant.

~~~

Demanitus was able to see the flash of gold that escaped after he came into the vault. He tried to chase after it, but the speed of the golden furball was unmatched and he punched the wall in desperation when the gopher ran out the small hole in the corner. He growled with venom in his throat. 

But regardless, Demanitus wouldn’t lose his head over what would happen now. He may have been the villain in the eyes of the prince and the Colonel, but he wasn’t impulsive. He calculated every move in this game.

He rose back up on his feet and headed towards the prince’s chambers, wand ready in hand. The approached the guards standing right outside his bedroom doors and with a simple jerk of his head he had them open the doors for him.

“You’re dismissed of your posts,” he told them, and they promptly left. 

Demanitus walked into the room without hesitation and the prince lunged toward him in a weak attempt to attack the engineer. But Demanitus was quicker and with a blow to the stomach, he had the prince on his knees. The prince was significantly weaker from the lack of power of the sun-drop, the headache still very present in his head.

“Where’s the sun-drop Herz?” Demanitus asked, disregarding any formalities that the prince deserved as the rightful heir of Corona.

Herz continued clutching his abdomen and refused to reply. Demanitus grabbed the back of the prince’s hair and tugged it backward, which made Herz grunt in aggression and in pain. “Where…is it?” He asked again slowly with gritted teeth.

Herz breathed heavily in pain, but managed to breathe out “Hidden. You’ll never find it, it’s not for you to use Demanitus”

“I’m trying to help Corona to achieve peace!” Demanitus spat.

“This isn’t the way to get there, creating a weapon for mass destruction isn’t going to help anybody! The moonstone and the sun-drop used separately can defeat Zhan Tiri, we don’t need to mess with the Ultimate Power unless we return it! Why can’t you understand that?!”

Demanitus having lost the sun-drop, he lost the reins of his patience, and raised his other hand to place the tip of his wand on the prince’s forehead. A dark magenta glow began to shine on its tip. “You’ll tell me where you told the gopher to hide the sun-drop or I’ll have you forget the love you have for Lilith and I’ll have you lead the war against her kingdom!” he yelled.

The threat drained the color out of the prince’s face again for the second time that day. This was enough for Herz to spill the truth, “I told Edwards to hide it, I don’t know where it is! I promise” he begged pathetically. Herz felt a level of relief to not be able to know the truth about where the sun-drop was, because he was sure he would’ve confessed to Demanitus right at that moment. Selfishly, the prince thought that his greatest possession wasn’t the kingdom or Corona, but rather the love he had for the Colonel, and losing that became his greatest nightmare. 

Demanitus on his behalf, he didn’t know if the young man on his knees in front of him was telling him the truth, but he assumed that his stubbornness wouldn’t allow him to freely give away the current location of the sun-drop in the event that he did actually know where it was. 

“I’m sorry your highness, but I’m not qualified to run a kingdom, much less lead one into war. I’ll have you take it from here” the engineer sneered as he finally allowed the wand to go into full effect, even with the pang of guilt he felt in his heart as the prince screamed and yelled ‘no’. The boy he had raised for the past decade who had fallen in love with Saporia’s Colonel was gone, and all that was left was a version fabricated by the engineer who stole certain memories to have the prince he had in front of him now:

One that didn’t know love, only one that knew Saporia came to attack and was willing to protect his kingdom.

~~~

The Colonel sat on her horse as she rode through the busy city of Ingvarr. All around the city there were women attending their usual businesses, a few men on sight. It brought a subtle grin to her face to find a fully operational matriarchal society. She wouldn’t say Saporia was patriarchal or matriarchal, but most of the kingdoms she often visited were led by men. Ingvarr was perhaps the only kingdom she knew that was run by women and it was a nice change to see something different from the rest of the world. 

Apparently, it was also new to the citizens of Ingvarr to see the Colonel present given that it was unusual for people to see bright-blue-haired women around town when most of the color that was familiar to the Ingvarri was crimson red. Though the hair was foreign sight, The People knew who this cyan-haired woman was, for Ingvarr had a close relationship with Saporia, and they knew this traveler was none other than Colonel Shampanier. 

However, they didn’t bother bowing or mobbing Lilith; the Ingavrri didn’t lose their dignity like that. She galloped to the castle gates, truth be told the castle looked more like a fortress than a castle. She came to a halt and spoke up, “I’m here to see the Queen of Ingvarr, it’s an urgent matter. Tell her it’s Colonel Shampanier of Saporia”

One of the guards swiftly left and after a solid forty minutes, they opened the gates and allowed the Colonel to pass. Growing up, Lilith had become close friends with the princesses of Ingvarr. As she walked through the dark castle halls memories of play dates and sparring practices rushed into her memory and it brought a grin to her face. But she felt a grain of guilt as she realized she hadn’t been to Ingvarr since before she left for the scouting trip to the western isles where she met her fiancée, regardless, she hoped that the Queen whom she looked up to when she was a child would help Saporia in her greatest hour of need. 

She was escorted to the throne room by two guards and they stopped right as they came in front of the doors. 

“Your majesty, Colonel Shampanier of Saporia” she heard on the other side and promptly the doors opened. The Colonel walked into the throne room with her chin up with all the confidence of a warrior. Though as she walked confident paces into the throne room, she stopped walking as soon as she noticed that the woman sitting on the throne was not the Queen she knew as a child, but the princess she had grown up with.

“Morrigan,” she said in realization.

“That’s your majesty for you!” A guard to the Queen’s right side yelled.

“At ease, she’s a friend” the older woman stood up from her throne with a smile creeping up on her face, glad to see her old friend again.

The Colonel walked forward as the Queen did the same and they both met in the middle for an embrace. “Lilith, it’s good to see you again” the monarch muffled on her shoulder.

“Your mother…” Lilith affirmed, though it sounded more like a question.

“She passed away not long ago, my coronation was a few days ago” Morrigan replied.

“I’m sorry for your loss sister, I didn’t know” the Colonel apologized.

Morrigan shook her head, acknowledging her apology but not taking any offense to it. “Come, let’s talk. I’ve heard you’ve got an urgent matter to share with me” 

Lilith nodded and both women walked together alone to the war room as Lilith debriefed the queen about what had happened in Corona as well as the message in the bottle, sharing all and every possible knowledge of what was to come.

“If you need troops to defend Saporia from Corona and Demanitus we’ll gladly provide them. No one can stand a chance to win against our soldiers, especially when our force is combined” the Queen offered as if it were just another insignificant favor.

“That’s just it Morrigan, I didn’t come for troops and I don’t want to fight Corona, I need a favor” Shampanier said with concern in her voice.

The older woman frowned, confused as to what the Colonel possibly could need help with if it wasn’t troops of weapons. 

The Colonel breathed in deeply and exhaled. She swallowed, anxiety affirming that the favor she’d ask would be too much to ask. She remained quiet for a few more seconds “I need Ingvarr to hide the moonstone forever far far away”.

Morrigan looked down at her friend’s chest and saw the glowing opal, unsure what to make of her friend’s petition, “What are you talking about? That tiny blue rock is your chance to fight against Demanitus,” 

“Demanitus can destroy the moonstone and we need it in case Zhan Tiri ever comes back…but I doubt I’ll be able to fight against her without the sun-drop and…” she said sorrowfully.

The Queen picked up on this “Without Herz”.

The Colonel nodded.

She licked her lips and continued “Nobody can get ahold of the moonstone or the sun-drop. From what I know Demanitus has the sun-drop and I have to impede that the moonstone fall to his hands or else the consequences could be catastrophic. Chances are that he’s erased Herz’s memories, it won’t be long until he does the same with me”

The Queen held her friend’s shoulders, worry and beads of sweat clear on her face “Lilith I won’t allow that to happen, I’ll send out the troops right now but I can’t let that son of a bitch take your memories I can’t- 

“Morrigan!” The Colonel interjected, gently removing her friend’s hands off her, “Please, Demanitus doesn’t know I’m here. You’re the only hope I have, take it far from here. Swear to me, that Ingvarr will keep the moonstone safe. Ingvarr needs to stay out of the way, it’s the only way we can avoid the moonstone from falling into the wrong hands. I need your secrecy and your discretion, please”

Lilith decided to summon two black rock swords from her palm, then the Colonel summoned with her hands a sphere of black rock that could be opened in two with a twist. The Colonel grabbed the stone out of her chest and with a single tear, she ripped it out. The Colonel’s armor disappeared, leaving her behind in a gray bodysuit and the cyan hair and pupils returned to their natural brown. She placed the opal in the sphere and sealed it closed.

She offered the sphere and the swords to Morrigan, the Queen flicking her eyes back and forth between the Colonel’s eyes and the sphere, “Ingvarr is the only kingdom that has a chance against Demanitus, but we won’t bring our fight to Ingvarr. The only people who shall be aware of this is your immediate bloodline and your heir, no one can know, no one. Even if Saporia ends up having problems with Corona you shall remain neutral” Lilith said one last time. 

“As Queen and Commander of the Ingvarri Regiment, I, Morrigan, Daughter of Go’lia, swear loyalty to Saporia, the Moonstone, and her accepted host. Under my watch no one other than the accepted Moonstone host shall possess it”

The Queen grabbed the sphere from the Colonel’s hand and Lilith smiled. “I know exactly where I can hide it. I’ll hide it far away, I promise. But why the swords?” Morrigan asked.

“In case anyone ever tries to steal the moonstone, these swords are the only things that have a chance against the person who tries to steal it” Lilith explained. Morrigan nodded.

“Please be careful Lilith,” 

The Colonel nodded and she looked at the sphere one last time and after saying her goodbye’s, she rode off to Saporia to face whatever came for her once she got to her homeland. .

~~~

The trek left the Colonel feeling weaker than before. She was deprived of the super strength that the magical opal once loaned her and the advantage of never needing to eat or sleep to gain her force. But like the trained warrior she was, Lilith kept moving to get to Saporia as quickly as possible. She allowed her steed to get its rest whenever he needed it, but other than those small breaks the Colonel used every opportunity she had to get home as fast as possible.

When she got to the Capitol city’s walls, everything was still in order. The shops and restaurants were still business as usual and the guards -although always alert like a true Saporian Soilder- were significantly laid back. This angered the general, in part because she realized that ignorance was truly bliss, and she wished she could’ve been as oblivious.

But also because she knew that Demanitus would disrupt the peace of the kingdom she had grown up with, and although Saporians were the strongest soldiers on earth, what came for them was unmatched. 

Everything was oddly quiet as she entered her castle, the dark green walls accentuated with golden accents gleamed as usual, the staff was still present and attending their duties. All pointed that Saporia wasn’t under any distress. She looked around the castle for her parents starting from the throne room. She searched in their chambers, but she couldn’t find them. Finally she decided to ask a guard if by any chance she had seen her parents anywhere, but to her surprise the guard knew nothing.

“What do you mean you haven’t seen the Generals?” she scowled at the taller man. 

“I’m sorry Colonel but nobody’s seen them today and-”

“Your job is to protect the Generals! And while my parents are highly capable of taking care of themselves you don’t seem to be doing your job too well soldier” she yelled as she shoved him against the wall.

The guard wasn’t intimidated by this, but he also wasn’t nonchalant at the Colonel’s scolding, “Ma’am the last thing they said was that they would be waiting for you but they didn’t specify where”

Lilith scoffed and rolled her eyes and shoved him once again before stepping back, releasing him from her grip “And if everyone is seeing that I’m looking around the fucking castle like an idiot for my parents why didn’t anybody tell me anything?!” 

“Vrobislem!” she cursed him in Saporian and she left to her room to see if they had left a note or something that would be helpful to find them. Though the Colonel’s intuition told her that something was wrong, if her parents weren’t in the castle they were out in the training fields supervising soldier training but she hadn’t found them anywhere: not in the castle, the training fields, the temples, or even in their bedroom. 

She kept her poise and allowed herself to become extra paranoid in case Demanitus had something to do with her parent’s disappearance. It was at this moment that the Colonel internally smacked herself for not sending out word to all of the soldiers to look for the Generals. Either way it was too late, she was already a few paces away from her bedroom doors, she would let them know once she left the bedroom. 

As she pushed both of the doors open, she finally found the couple she was looking for, but not in a way she had expected them to be. 

They were accompanied by someone else, a third person.

Demanitus. 

She knew there had been a struggle between the three of them. Demanitus had a few scratches on his face and there were cuts that tore his tunic in his arms and abdomen. Her parents, though elderly in age, were in a similar state but worse and tied up. 

Lilith knew her parents weren’t senile, and just like every Saporian, they both had undergone rigorous military training, and both had earned their ranks thanks to their own merit. They weren’t just like any other guard or soldier in Saporia, they were strong, agile, even if they were approaching their seventies. 

But they were still tired warriors. 

And Demanitus was just…an engineer. How was it that he was able to defeat two decorated warriors to the point of leaving them subdued?

“I told them if they yelled for guards I’ll kill them” was all he answered as if he could somehow read the Colonel’s mind. 

“Let them go Demanitus” The Colonel threatened, her blood boiling and her mouth salivating as if she were a snake conjuring her venom to bite. Her tone colder than poles.

Demanitus gave her a small smile but refused to say anything. 

“Lilith he doesn’t have the sun-drop! He can’t fight you” her father announced to the Colonel in Saporian. That was enough for Lilith to attack

She unshealthed her own sword and ran towards the bigger man, but all he did to stop her from making one swift mortal swing at his head was to lift his hand to reveal a stick while his other hand held a crossbow that was pointed at his parents on his left. 

Any other soldier would’ve continued running to deliver the blow, but the Colonel looked at the engineer and knew that he knew that she was a smarter warrior than that. She knew that the stick in his hand, although didn’t look as if it posed a threat, would’ve defeated Lilith within seconds,

After all, no idiot would bring a twig to a sword fight…unless the twig was magical.

“Herz didn’t want to listen to me, I told him all I wanted was for the world to be safe” he said with a monotone voice.

“You don’t erase a kingdom’s memories and cause a war for the world to be safe” Lilith replied. 

He ignored her “Where’s the moonstone Colonel?”

“I’ll answer that when you tell me how the fuck did you get here faster than I did” she spat, her blade in a guard position. 

“You’d be surprised at the science behind hot air balloon travel” he answered.

Hot air balloon…What? She thought. 

“Your turn” he said, not really hoping she’d give away the answer. 

“I’m not telling you shit” she whispered loudly. 

“You’ll tell me where the moonstone is Lilith, or you forget about Herz forever” he threatened simply as the wand of oblivion glowed an ominous purple, its power hissing, begging to be released. 

Lilith readjusted her grip on her blade and calibrated her stance, not sure of what to do. She smiled “You think I didn’t think about having my own memory erased? Come on Demanitus, I hid the moonstone and I doubt you can create some new toy to get the information out of me. I’m going to say this one last time…”

“...Let. Them. Go. If you care about Corona or Herz you know what you have to do and it’s quite simple”

The Generals sat there waiting for to see how things unfolded.

Demanitus knew that the woman in front of him was right, the issue could’ve ended right there and then. He could conjugate an antidote to return people’s memories, the moonstone and the sun-drop could be returned to their respective hosts still, and Corona and Saporia would finally be united as one. 

But his pride wouldn’t allow it, even if the guilt was eating him up like a rot that was coming from the inside out. At this point, Demanitus felt the resentment within subside, but his pride only inflated more and more. 

Somehow the Colonel’s father had freed himself from the ropes that binded him and immediately lunged at the engineer, but he wasn’t quick enough and all Demanitus had to do was press his finger against the trigger and an arrow went straight though the General’s head and he fell on the floor instantly. It was automatic, he didn’t have time to think about what his finger involuntarily did and panic rose in his chest. Demanitus may have threatened to kill, but that was far different from actually killing anybody.

“Father!” Lilith cried as he removed her attention from the engineer. Hot tears building in her eyes.

Demanitus wanted to ignore everything that was going on, he wanted to flee, he wanted to leave everything behind as if it never happened. But in those few seconds he loaded up the crossbow again and shot the other General on instict, but his arrow pierced her chest. 

His fight or flight instinct had been to fight, but that hadn’t been an excuse to kill the mother-in-law of the prince he had taken care of for years. But now, Demanitus froze. 

He muted out the screams of the Colonel

The gurgling of blood that was coming from the corpse of her father,

The gasps for air that came from the Colonel’s mother.

Lilith ran to be at her mother’s side, cradling her body in her arms. 

“Lilith, we’ll be joining the high supreme warriors soon” her mother wheezed as she held her own chest where the arrow had pierced. 

“Mother no! Stay with me, please” The Colonel begged, her military training crumbled as she became a teary-eyed mess who panicked uncontrollably. Years of training amounted to nothing in this moment. 

The senior General lifted her blood-stained thumb and drew a simple drawing of the Tiwaz rune. “So ot podeuw dajo amee as Goneral e oure dos Try…” she began in Saporian.

By the power given to me as General and our God Tyr

“Mother please” Lilith sobbed, knowing exactly what would happen within the next following seconds.

“...Wue tre anocia Wue tou, Lilith Shampanier, ohlargrry ot liearna de Saporia ein combate e vicnoria…”

Let it be known that you, Lilith Shampanier, will carry the spear of Saporia into battle and into victory

“No, no no no please no” Lilith whimpered barely above a whisper. 

“Tro ento, tou coknow a Goneral Shampanier, wue tou ohlargrry ot forza de centaouros humbyaya tropé forzlatre” she whispered as the exhaled one last breath.

For this, you shall be known as General Shampanier, may you carry the strength of a thousand high supreme warriors

And the General cried.

She had expected her ascension to General would be a joyful ceremony rather than this tragedy. 

As the General held her mother’s dead corpse, Demanitus felt his stomach turn and he cowardly raised the wand to craft a vulnerable General who would forget all about her beloved and instead feel a rage against him and his kingdom for the assassination of her parents.

And so the engineer was the chess pawn that triggered the Saporian-Coronan war.

~~~

A month later…

Demanitus stood in front of the Great Tree, the sanctuary where he and his ex-lover once spent lots of time together. His bones felt weak, his stomach burned from hunger, and his mouth felt dry from his own abstinence of water. 

He felt as if he didn’t deserve life’s pleasures anymore. 

The kingdom he loved would be in ruins at the hands of a ruthless kingdom, and he had been the fuse that caused it all. The sun and the moon hated each other, and the engineer knew it would lead to discord and disharmony. If they ever found their relics again, they would clash, and Zhan Tiri would be free.

This time the sun and the moon wouldn’t be able to stop her if they couldn’t join forces.

It was his fault. 

He killed to get where he was, and it made him no better than Zhan Tiri.

“I told you you’d lose Demanitus” she cackled.

He unsheathed his sword, not wanting to hear anymore of his failures anymore.

“You know you can’t hurt me” she mocked as she kept her grin. 

He fell to his knees and pointed the tip of his blade right against his abdomen where he knew he’d pierce without having the hope to live again.

He gripped his sword tighter as he summoned the courage he required to end his life, and Zhan Tiri took the opportunity to be the last voice he would hear before he died. 

“I’ve lost too, but I promise to come back for round two and this time you won’t be around to stop me. THIS is what happens when you throw a pathetic tantrum Demanitus, you were never worthy to have the moonstone and the sun-drop in your possession. The only good thing you’ve done is set the terrain for me to take…”

She walked in front of him to look him in the eye “…the win”.

Demanitus pushed the blade about a centimeter into this skin, but the pain he felt redirected into anger. He had been so cowardly through this whole plan.

He erased memories to avoid confrontation.

He erased mistakes from memories, but not front reality.

He was not going to die to avoid the consequences of his actions.

He was not going to leave a mess behind for Zhan Tiri to win. 

He retracted his blade and wiped the blood from the tip, making the warlock bewildered. He took a deep breath in and exhaled and walked toward the tree, ignoring the screams that Zhan Tiri was shrieking. She demanded to know what Demanitus was doing, but he wouldn’t give her the pleasure to indulge in his plans for redemption.

Demanitus would spend the rest of his life searching for the sun-drop and hiding his research, and he would wait until someone worthy was willing to return the Ultimate Power. 

~ End Of Part I ~

Chapter Text

Present day…

Cassandra clenched her teeth as she tried her best to fight the pain in her hand and swung the axe down. Her shallow breathing didn’t impede her pride to form a grin over the fact that she managed to successfully summon the amount of strength to cut a log in half in one swing. She found that splitting wood with the heavy axe was a therapeutic exercise for her arm that decayed back at the Great Tree. 

At first, it was agonizing to ever grab the axe -or any item for that matter- with her right hand, but now she finally had replenished the strength that she lost in her arm back at the Great Tree with patience and consistency. Of course, the pain was still ever present, it was a daily reminder of what she was here to do.

“Hey everyone we’re back!” the blonde’s voice echoed from the direction of the caravan. Lance and Shorty had stayed back, deciding for themselves that they wanted to take the day off as well, which left Cassandra on her own. She didn’t feel like slacking off and joining them as well, and once again Cassandra was left with nothing more important than basic duties: Mend any problems the caravan might have, check the inventory, feed the horses, chop wood, etcetera. It was as if Cassandra’s own sense of responsibility kept her in his loop which would leave her working harder than everyone else without the recognition she wanted and deserved. 

Thankfully this last task wasn’t just another chore for Cassandra or an exercise for her hand: It was a way to release her frustrations without looking like some demented crazy bitch.

Rapunzel came looking for Cassandra, who was isolated meters away from the caravan “Cass you’re not going to believe what just happened! Eugene’s first birthday just so happened to be a lot more exciting than we anticipated”

Cassandra wiped the sweat from her brow and went to grab another log, “Oh yeah? Do tell”

For one, this trip had opened Cassandra’s eyes to see the truth about the place she took in life. Years after waiting to land a position in the Guard, even as a private, she stood in the middle of nowhere kilometers away from Corona working like a mule for people like Lance, Eugene, and Shorty who didn’t lift a finger to get what they wanted. Sure, at least she wasn’t Rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting anymore. Instead, Cassandra liked to see herself as her protector, and although Queen Ariana had once said that, the brunette actually became a textbook definition of a knight in shining armor during this trip (Well…she had to admit that her armor was a bit dull, but that was besides the point!). But even then, she was always dismissed and unappreciated when it really mattered, like Eugene at The House Of Yesterday’s Tomorrow. 

But in our defense, we never listen to you

Or worse! Like back at the Great Tree when she warned Rapunzel of the possible dangers

Enough Cassandra…no one is getting rid of anyone, is that clear?

“Well remember Madam Canardist? The lady who gave us that one fortune that led us to Angry and Red and made me believe I was cursed?!” Rapunzel said enthusiastically.

Cassandra chuckled, remembering Eugene’s dislike for psychics. She assumed they’d encountered the woman during their day out, “How could I? I’m sure Fitzherbert had a field day with her, or rather she had a field day with him,” 

Secondly, Cassandra’s jealousy needed an outlet. Rapunzel had talked to her last night about making up a birthday for Eugene so that they could celebrate it given that he was an orphan who didn’t have one. Cassandra didn’t think it was unfair for Eugene to have one, but it was certainly frustrating that she couldn’t also take the day off to go for a ride with Rapunzel and leave Eugene behind to repair the leaking ceiling of the caravan. 

“You know, if you leave out the near-death experience, I’d say Eugene had fun which was supposed to be the point of his birthday,” Rapunzel said nonchalantly.

Cassandra swung her axe down startled by what Rapunzel said and as soon as the wood split in half she snapped her head to turn to look at her friend, “What happened?! Were you hurt?!” She asked with concern. 

“Cass, we got the fourth piece of the scroll” Rapunzel replied as if that answered all doubts Cassandra had. Cassandra remained confused “What?”

Rapunzel chuckled to herself and eyed the pile of chopped wood behind her friend. She walked over and carried two pieces in her arms, “How about I tell you all about it over a campfire?”

And so they did. Rapunzel being the extrovert she was told exactly what happened that afternoon with Eugene in meticulous -and excessive- detail about Corona’s heroic engineer trapped in a monkey’s body and a labyrinth with death-threatening puzzles. 

“Hm, I don’t know Raps, I mean for all we know this monkey could’ve been another one of Zhan Tiri’s minions” Cassandra highlighted.

“That’s exactly what Eugene said! But Cass he wouldn’t have led us to the scroll if that had been the case right? Anyways…”

She attentively listened to all details, though she did have to admit that she was suspicious that it was highly convenient that Demanitus’ spell couldn’t keep him talking for longer, since Rapunzel as well as the rest of the gang had questions unanswered. 

“So he took us to a maze and-and there were riddles. Oh Cass Cass! you know how much I love riddles”

Cassandra did know how much Rapunzel loved riddles. 

Rapunzel’s way of narrating stories seemed to take its own course of their own since she started from the beginning to retell how Eugene got “Rapunzeled” when she made him believe he had missed her birthday (although most of the gang was present when it happened). Pascal made a face, and the princess giggled melodically. Cassandra turned to look at Eugene who was leaning against a tree with a terrified look on his face. She figured his ego and vanity were probably hurt by making an unattractive expression. She smirked and looked away to continue listening to the rest of Rapunzel’s out-of-order story.

After a few minutes, Cassandra noticed that Eugene continued to give her peculiar and occasional glances which were beginning to annoy her. He hoped he hadn’t given himself away as she spoke up “Alright I’m gonna go take a bath by the river, I’ll be back and we can set course for the Dark Kingdom”

“I can come with, for old times’ sake!” Shorty slurred, which earned a chuckle from everyone except Eugene, who laughed nervously instead.

“You know Shorty, as odd as this may sound coming from one of your closest -and I mean closest - roommates, I think you should sit this one out,” Eugene said. “I can accompany you, Cass”.

Cassandra looked at Eugene as if he had just told her that he had made out with the seal of Equis. Cassandra looked both bewildered and disgusted at the implication “I don’t need someone to watch over me while I bathe, especially you” she replied with her signature snark reserved only for Eugene.

“Well I’m just saying, there’s snakes and bugs and all sorts of nasties that roam around the woods so it really wouldn’t hurt to have an escort” Eugene elaborated on his pathetic lie, but even he couldn’t believe it. 

Cassandra laughed sarcastically, “Yeah, right! I thought you said I was a ‘cold-blooded cobra-lady’. I can manage Fitzherbert”

Feeling his chance to watch over Cassandra slip through his fingers, he countered “Well you could die from hypothermia!”

“You don’t call me ‘Madam Ice Demon’ for nothing” she shouted as she walked away from the campfire and vanished in the darkness of the woods. Eugene took a few steps to go after Cassandra, but he was interrupted, “Eugene!”.

He turned around to look at the blonde who was still sitting on her log. “She’ll be fine. If there’s anyone who can handle being on her own, it’s Cass. She can take care of herself better than we can” Rapunzel said.

Eugene reluctantly looked over his shoulder but the raven-haired girl was nowhere to be found in his immediate line of sight. “You’re right sunshine, Sorry”

~~~

Cassandra held still for thirty seconds. 

One,

She was all too familiar with the feeling of jealousy when it came to her and her friend. She wished she could have accompanied Rapunzel on her trip in Demanitus’ maze to protect her from Eugene’s stupidity. 

Two,

Eugene proved throughout this trip that he loved the princess and he had attempted to protect her multiple times, but Cassandra was the one who always came to Rapunzel’s rescue when the situation was too much for the princess to handle on her own. 

Three,

Why was it, then, that the princess continued seeking the man’s attention? She had even gone as far as rescuing him from his ex-fiance and even worked with said fiance to get them all out of Equis. Of course, just like she had grown up with Cassandra, Rapunzel had grown up with Eugene in the castle similarly.

Seven, 

Even if Eugene shared the same love Cassandra had for Rapunzel, she wouldn’t allow his vanity and his idiocy to put the princess in danger. She had a duty to the king who had asked her to take care of his little girl.

Fifteen,

The low temperature around her eased the sore muscles she had worked that day. It was Cassandra’s agility, strength, and stamina that would protect the princess.

Twenty-six,

But what if that wasn’t enough? What if all the love in the world combined with the brains and the brawn that the knightess had within her wasn’t enough to protect the princess from the moonstone which had the power of destruction?

Twenty-nine

The power of the moonstone had already hurt her hand and was rotten dry, it already wasn’t enough, so how was she supposed to protect her best friend when she couldn’t before?

Thirty,

The dread she felt in her stomach at the possibility of never seeing her friend again gnawed at her insides. The woman whom she had known for nearly ten years would be taken away from her reach, from her embrace 

Forever.

She rose to the surface and gasped for the oxygen her lungs begged her to collect. She tried to force her body to not shiver as cold water covered each inch of her skin. Was she trying to get a case of pneumonia? Honestly? Probably. Cassandra knew that at least being sick would postpone the trip to the Dark Kingdom, even if they were just a few hours away. Max and Fidella only needed to keep walking for the rest of the night and they would be there shortly. 

But Cassandra wasn’t a coward out of all things, and as she bathed herself in the cool water around her, she attempted to have one last moment of peace for what would come tomorrow, or at least distract herself with the way the cold temperature of the water burned her bones. She ran her hands as she slicked her hair back, wet curls sticking to the back of her neck. 

“Hoo,” she heard the echo.

She looked up to see the familiar avian perched upon a nearby tree. Cassandra would’ve been offended that her life-long friend was staring down at her creepily from a tree while she was completely naked, but she wasn’t in the right headspace to scold Owl. 

She shrugged as she made eye contact with him, “What?”

“Hoo,”

“I’m not going to catch pneumonia, I just don’t want to stink”

“Hoo,”

She sucked her teeth and scoffed, ignoring what Owl had to say. But the bird insisted “Hoo?”

“Okay, so what if I am just distracting myself? Knowing Rapunzel she’s going to get moody and sentimental and that’s not why I’m here, I’m here to keep her safe. So I’ll wait until she’s asleep to return to the caravan because I don’t want to hear any of it” she replied. 

Owl tilted his head judgmentally, surely Rapunzel wanted Rapunzel to be near her friend before they confronted whatever came for them tomorrow right? “Hoo,”

“I know she probably does but we’re acting as if she’s going to die, and Rapunzel cannot- will not die tomorrow. Plus, she can always run to Eugene if she wants company, that’s what she did today anyway,” she spat. Her bitterness wasn’t directed at Owl but rather her own assumption. 

Owl flew over closer to a rock that was closer to the river where Cassandra bathed, and he continued trying to talk to his friend “Hoo, Hoot”.

Cassandra sighed. Part of her body yearned to go back to the caravan and simply watch over Rapunzel’s sleeping body to make sure the princess got the rest she needed and that no harm came to her during her slumber. Cassandra knew that it would bring a level of relief that was always brought to her every night after the incident at the Great Tree. 

It was her own intimate moment with Rapunzel without needing to hear anything from the princess. Cassandra would sit on a nearby stool, take off all of her upper body armor (something she would only do when no one was watching), and finally tend to her rotting hand as she watched over the sleeping princess. 

It was Cassandra’s way of mending what was broken in silence. She wanted to avoid confrontation when it involved feelings, but she couldn’t be far away from her best friend who had awakened beautiful feelings.

Beautiful, but forbidden by her own judgment. 

“Fine, I’ll be done in a bit but do you mind?” She replied, finally caving to Owl’s request to go back to the caravan. The avian flew away and left Cassandra with her privacy to dry herself and get dressed back in her armor, after which she walked back to the caravan. 

Cassandra had become used to the heavy weight of each plate as well as the chain mail that was underneath them. Ever since the accident at the Great Tree, it allowed Cassandra to feel safe, protected. The heavy breastplate together with the tight wraps that bound her breasts served to protect her beating heart, for if it was hurt her life would end. She wanted to believe that it was also a barricade for Rapunzel to never reach her heart. 

But Rapunzel, even without magical unbreakable hair, could break through iron, titanium, steel, and even diamond with ease to get to Cassandra’s heart.

But if anyone asked Cassandra, she would deny it. Ironically, this point had already been proven wrong when she had accidentally erased Rapunzel’s memories while they were fixing the caravan. Even then, Rapunzel was able to sense Cassandra’s innermost emotions.

Cassandra let Max and Fidella know that she was done bathing and that they could begin pulling the caravan to their destination. She finally entered the caravan and walked through the left door, where Cassandra and Rapunzel shared a room. She could hear Shorty, Lance, and Eugene sound asleep as their snoring conjugated together as loudly as a symphony's concert on their side- except it wasn’t as pleasant. It formed a scowl on her face to know Eugene wasn’t having any consideration for their safety and hadn’t remained awake to keep watch.  

She shook her head and turned to look to her left and saw Rapunzel sleeping on her side, facing away from her and toward the wall. Cassandra assumed she had barely fallen asleep since Rapunzel’s breathing was steady, but she hadn’t quite started snoring yet. 

As she did routinely every night, she pulled a stool and began removing her upper body armor. She removed it as slowly as possible to avoid the plates clanking against each other and the chain mail. She heard Rapunzel stir in her bed and in the darkness, she froze and watched like an owl until she stopped moving. 

Once she decided Rapunzel wasn’t awake, she removed her maroon long-sleeve undershirt, which left her with her remaining lower body armor and her makeshift binder. After unwrapping her bandaged hand, she grabbed a glass of liquid antiseptic from a nearby drawer and damped it with a cloth. She worked from her elbow to her fingers, holding back groans and hisses of pain. Though her arm remained wrinkled from the decay, the antiseptic helped shed away pieces of pitch-black skin like eraser shavings. 

She grabbed a bottle of rose water and applied it to the burnt skin. The rotting skin was just that, rot. But thankfully the smell of it wasn’t as strong or as horrible as she had assumed it would be. It smelled as if ‘nothing’ and ‘emptiness’ were tangible things with a hint of blood. Even if the smell ever reached its peak point, the layers of the bandage, her shirt, and her armor plus the aroma of the rose water stopped the smell from reaching other people's noses. 

Cassandra reached for new bandages but she became startled when she heard a familiar voice with a rasp “Cass, what are you doing?”

Cassandra snapped her head to the side and hid her burnt arm behind her. She saw a sleepy half awake princess looking at her with half-lidded eyes. 

“Go back to sleep Raps,” Cassandra felt exposed enough without any clothing. She didn’t care if Rapunzel saw her butt naked, but she felt like a crab without its shell and without her complete set of armor, she felt completely vulnerable.

Cassandra’s voice made Rapunzel’s eyes adjust to the darkness around them, and for the first time in months, the princess saw her friend without her armor. “I-”

Rapunzel scanned Cassandra’s body and the first thing she noticed were the beads of water that were still dripping down her arms and abdomen. Her mind immediately told her that Cassandra could catch a cold with the temperature around them and with her chest exposed like that while her hair was still wet. Her body on the other hand, though she didn’t recognize it, created a blush on the apples of her cheeks that were invisible in the darkness.

“I can’t sleep…but Cass you’re going to catch a cold like that” Rapunzel yawned. The princess climbed down from her bunk carrying a blanket with her. Cassandra rushed to wrap her hand in bandages before Rapunzel could get to her.

“It’s fine I was just about to get dressed and go to sleep,” she said as she put her crimson shirt back on. She reached for her breastplate but Rapunzel tossed the blanket over her head and worked on her scalp to keep drying her curls.

“See! It takes a few seconds to dry your hair ‘cause it’s so short. Gosh, maybe I should consider a bob if I can ever cut my hair again,” Rapunzel said as she removed the blanket from her friend’s fluffy head and rubbed her chin. Cassandra had her signature deadpan look on her face and Rapunzel giggled quietly. 

“Thanks, but you should get back to sleep, we’ve got a long day tomorrow” Cassandra whispered. She finally reached for her armor and began by putting the forearm plates. 

“What about you?” Rapunzel questioned as she internally wondered why her friend could’ve been wearing her armor again. “What about me?” The older girl replied, unsure what the princess was asking.

“You’re going to sleep in your armor? I’m no sleep expert Cass-… actually scratch that, I am- but I’m pret-ty sure that’s not too comfortable, " the blonde claimed.

“It’s not if you’re just sitting to keep watch,” Cassandra assured her as she tightened the plates around her forearms

Rapunzel stopped her by gently grabbing her arm, “You just sit there until you fall asleep? Cass, if your bed wasn’t comfortable you could’ve just told me we could’ve switched beds or pillows or somethi-“

“Raps it’s not that, but don’t worry I’m still sleeping well, and I won’t catch a cold, not after you dried my hair. You might as well have drained all the liquid out of me” she chuckled “Go back to bed”.

Rapunzel’s concern for Cassandra was eclipsed by her own uneasiness “I can’t, I couldn’t fall asleep”

“You were asleep just now”

“Yeah, but I keep waking up every ten minutes…or so it feels like it” she replied as she looked down, struggling to hide the sadness from her face.

Cassandra sighed. This was the sort of situation she wanted to avoid, why she was out bathing in the river and the moonlight. Truthfully, Cassandra was reluctant to open up about her own feelings, but it hurt to see Rapunzel like this…

she was…scared.

Yes, she was here to protect Rapunzel, but that didn’t remove the fact that Cassandra was still her best friend above all.

“What’s wrong?” the brunette whispered.

Though her head was angled down, Rapunzel looked up to see her with sad eyes, and an almost imperceivable grin “For one, it's pretty cold and a bit depressing heh”

“And I’m scared of whatever tomorrow brings us, Cass. I know I said this before when we were trapped as birds but that was months ago and we’ve come so far”

Rapunzel remained silent for a few seconds

“Could you…” she fiddled with her hands nervously.

Cassandra tilted her head curiously.

“Could you sleep next to me for tonight?” She whispered shyly. 

Cassandra clenched her jaw and raised her eyebrows in surprise “Raps I don’t do cuddles you know this“

“Just for tonight!” Rapunzel highlighted as she put two hands up in a peaceful gesture “Please”

Cassandra’s heartbeat quickened. For the past two years, she had learned to keep her feelings in check when it came to Rapunzel, especially after the fact she learned that she did have feelings for her friend, that’s why she had created a healthy distance between herself and her friend. Having the opportunity to have her this close felt unethical to Cassandra.

But Cassandra also knew that Rapunzel was right: they didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, so if she had the opportunity to be this close to her friend one last time she would take the opportunity to make sure if she died tomorrow god forbid, she would at least know that she took every chance to be close to her friend as possible as her mind and soul fell into the oblivion of death. She nodded and stood up from her seat. 

Cassandra removed all remaining armor, leaving her in her maroon shirt and brown trousers. 

“Fine, but just for tonight! And honestly, I don’t buy the whole ‘it’s really cold’ argument when you have fifty pounds of hair to wrap yourself around at night”

Rapunzel hid a smirk from Cassandra after being caught in her lie. She had to admit that it was a lazy argument to get Cassandra to be close to her for tonight, but Rapunzel couldn’t bring herself to care, not when her second (and most important) argument was true. The princess was scared for whatever would come the next day. There were hundreds of possible outcomes when facing the moonstone, and while Rapunzel constantly told herself and everyone who came along on this trip that everything would be alright, she didn’t know if she believed that herself. 

It was a train of thought that cycled in an endless loop, which in turn, interrupted Rapunzel’s sleep. So yeah, Rapunzel may have lied about being cold, but she was truly scared to think she’d never see any of her friends and family ever again. 

“I may have the longest, thickest, hair in the world but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re approaching a place that is literally called ‘the Dark kingdom’. So yeah, I’m pretty cold,” the princess said as she made herself comfortable in Cassandra’s built-in bed that was on the opposite side of the room. Rapunzel lay on the left side of the bed closest to the wall and Cassandra on the right side. 

“And just so you know, you’re lying too” Rapunzel added playfully.

Cassandra sighed as her spine unrolled on the mattress, she put her hands comfortably behind her head and closed her eyes, “Lying about what?”

“That you don’t do cuddles. I remember there was a time you didn’t mind them” Rapunzel turned to her side to look at Cassandra with a smile, and admired how her semi-damp curls fell on her pillow. 

“When I first got to the castle and I had…nightmares, remember? And even after that”

Cassandra opened her eyes and turned to look at her friend on her right, and the position she saw her friend in made her recall what the princess was talking about. 

Her green eyes glowed in the blanket of darkness and the freckles that adorned her face created a picture that looked like a familiar memory that took place years back. 

~~~

A tiny princess ran around the dark halls as she clutched the nearest pillow she had found as soon as she had woken up. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead down to her chin as she gasped for air in the hallways of this immense castle, a castle that she was just barely learning to navigate through.

Shoot, why did it have to feel as if she needed to beat a maze to get to safety?

After the initial haziness from waking up, the princess was able to set a course to get to where she needed to be and hurried faster, avoiding any guards who would most likely send her back to her room to be alone. 

Finally, she made it to the wing of the castle where she could find sanctuary and she knocked on the door with fervor. She had to knock a total of five times before the wooden door could finally open “Raps? What are you doing here?”

“I had a nightmare” the smaller girl whispered. 

Cassandra widened her eyes, flabbergasted and unsure of what to do “Oh”.

“Uhh, do you want me to take you to your parents?” Cassandra asked as she rubbed her eyes with her hand. 

The ex-blonde looked up with sad, fearful eyes. Eyes that begged for comfort, “I don’t want to walk through the dark hallways” she barely spoke above a whisper. The little girl walked past her friend and into her room. Cassandra opened her mouth to protest, but Rapunzel’s quiet sobs stopped her.

She turned around and saw the little girl crawling up in her bed. 

“It was…Gothel. She was pulling me by the wrist away from the castle. From mom, from dad, from you, from home” she cried as she gripped the pillow she carried tighter. She buried her face in her pillow and Cassandra’s annoyance turned into concern and alarm “Did you see her? Is she in the castle?!” 

The princess nodded ‘no’ as she kept her face buried in the pillow. 

“So what happe- Oh…it was a nightmare then” Cassandra repeated, clearly she wasn’t too fully awake yet given that the princess originally said as soon as she opened the door that she had a nightmare.

Rapunzel looked up to see her friend with a tear-streaked face. The princess nodded ‘yes’.

Cassandra ran a hand through her hair, she wasn’t exactly ‘nurturing’ growing up as the daughter of the Captain, but at least she was familiar with the princess enough to know what would inspire her and bring her some comfort. She sighed and approached Rapunzel on her bed, “Come with me Rapunzel”

“I don’t wanna go back!” The princess exclaimed. 

“Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere” she extended her hand, attempting to help Rapunzel feel at ease, “Let’s go to my window”

Rapunzel took her hand and they both walked over to Cassandra’s window and immediately Rapunzel’s eyes immediately fixated on the stars above. Cassandra noticed this and grinned “You know a lot about stars right? Tell me something about them”

Cassandra wasn’t too sure what she was doing, but when she was little her father would quiz her on sword fighting techniques every time she was woken by a nightmare. Time taught her that while her father wasn’t the most warm and fuzzy person, he cared for her by giving her a distraction the times she was scared. Next to her, there was a princess that was much older than little Cassandra who was scared easily by nightmares, but a more emotionally vulnerable girl, one who needed the comfort of a familiar figure.

Rapunzel sniffled and wiped her nose, above her she saw some planets she recognized. “That’s Jupiter…and that’s Venus” she pointed to the respective white dots, those were easy to spot as the brightest planets in the sky.

“And over there is Corona Borealis, it reminds me of ‘Corona’ and if I see it I know my birthday is a month or so away, at least now that I know the lanterns aren’t stars”.

Cassandra couldn’t really see any shape that was being particularly made. Cassandra’s knowledge of astronomy was limited to Polaris, the North Star, which wasn’t visible from where they could see out the window. But Cassandra admired the princess for having so much knowledge of a really complex subject.

“How do you know all this?” Cassandra asked.

“When you spend so much time in a tower you run out of things to do. I knew some of the basic constellations, but never their origins but I’m still learning” Rapunzel admitted, sadness creeping back up again. 

“Oh like that one! Hercules! I knew the name but I didn’t know there was a story behind that one” Rapunzel pointed enthusiastically at the constellation. 

“I’ll be honest Raps, I don’t see it” Cassandra deadpanned.

The shorter girl pulled her closer to her eye level and pointed a steady hand at the shape the constellation made. “Look there’s his knee…there’s his shoulder, you can see it because the beta star is the brightest of the constellation and he holds a branch in that arm”

Cassandra focused her eyesight and tried to ignore the proximity of her cheek against Rapunzel’s, and suddenly the constellation began taking form in her eyes. 

“And on the opposite arm, he’s holding a club”

“Woah” Cassandra breathed out, truly impressed for finally being able to shape a constellation in her eyes. But in an attempt to keep her friend in good spirits, she said “You know I’ve seen so many stars in my life…but these….are…some of them”.

Her jest earned a gentle ticklish elbow to the ribs which made Cassandra giggle. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rapunzel smirking as she shook her head, “That one reminds me of you silly”

“A few dots and imaginary lines remind you of me? Gee, thanks Raps I’m flattered”

Rapunzel smacked her arm, “Sorry! That was too hard but, no! Hercules was a really strong warrior, so much so he beat up a lot of monsters. Look, you can even see him stepping on Draco’s head in the sky too…” she said as she tried to pull Cassandra in again to show her the other constellation.

Cassandra chuckled as she gently pulled away “No need Raps, I believe you” 

Rapunzel smiled, and sniffled one last time “That’s why I came here, you’re stronger than I am Cass. Stronger people don’t get scared”

Cassandra’s smile faltered and she remained quiet. 

Rapunzel made her way back to Cassandra’s bed and settled under the covers. Cassandra resigned to try to get the princess to leave her room and instead joined her, sitting at the foot of the bed “Rapunzel you are bigger than your fears, and you’re safe here. Gothel won’t come back, I can promise that. I’ll stay here to prove that, right next to you”

Cassandra moved next to her friend and joined her under the covers with Rapunzel on the left side and Cassandra on the right. 

“Thank you Cass,” the younger girl whispered. 

Cassandra turned to look at her friend, “Sleep well Raps”

As the night progressed, both girls shifted closer and closer to each other until Cassandra wrapped her arms around the smaller frame of the princess. 

The next morning Rapunzel thought it was a comfortable sleeping arrangement, and so once the girls began sneaking out of the castle, they continued cuddling after their midnight adventures when Rapunzel asked her to stay when she returned the princess to her room. At the crack of dawn, before everyone in the castle woke up, Cassandra would leave, satisfied and unwilling to admit that it was a comfortable sleeping arrangement. 

But before falling asleep, Cassandra would see the familiar green eyes and freckles with her left cheek pressed against the pillow. 

The same face who was by her side in the present moment. 

~~~

Cassandra chuckled lightly at the memory “That was different, we were kids, kids need cuddles”

“You know, I think we stopped cuddling when-“ Rapunzel hesitated to finish her sentence when she realized when they had stopped, “-when my parents said you would be my lady-in-waiting, that night you slept on your punching bag”

Cassandra inhaled through her nose, unsure what to reply to her friend, and looked back up at the ceiling. “You turned sixteen that day, I figured now that you were considered a big girl in everyone’s eyes so you wouldn’t want any more cuddles” Cassandra lied.

“Cass, you know better than anyone that I will never be too old for cuddles, not with you anyway” Rapunzel giggled as she caught onto her friend’s lie. Cassandra shook her head, closed her eyes, and tried to go to sleep with a grin on her face.

She heard the covers shuffle next to her and she felt Rapunzel’s weight press up on her side and snapped her eyes open when dainty arms wrapped around her abdomen “Raps what are you doing?” she asked as her entire body stiffened at the princess’s touch. 

“Getting back into old habits, just relax,”. Cassandra breathed in again, trying to stabilize her heart that might as well jumped out of her chest with the speed and intensity it was currently beating with. She was sure that if Rapunzel lay her head on her chest, she would’ve heard it, so she shifted ever so slightly away from the smaller girl so that didn’t happen. 

“Hey, Raps? There’s something that isn’t adding up” Cassandra spoke up in hopes to change the subject and stop thinking about how she had missed the sensation of her friend’s warmth wrapped around her, especially now that she was aware of her own feelings toward her. 

Rapunzel hummed and Cassandra continued “Demanitus said he studied the sun-drop and the moonstone, which is why he wrote his research on the scroll, but if he spent his whole life looking for them, how did he ever know that the incantations worked?”

Rapunzel propped herself up on one elbow and looked at Cass, blonde hair cascading down her side,  “I don’t know. When I asked a few questions about all of this he said I would be the one who would have to find the answers”

“But you’re right, as far as we know we just have to bring the sun-drop and the moonstone together to summon the ultimate power and return it to where it came from,” Rapunzel admitted as she lay back down next to Cassandra. 

“‘Ultimate Power’?” Cassandra asked. Rapunzel nodded “Yeah, that’s what he called it”

“It sounds familiar like I’ve heard that somewhere else before” Cassandra frowned. 

“I’m honestly just more concerned about what the moonstone can do. I mean, the decay incantation belongs to the moonstone, and look what it did to your-” the princess stopped herself as she gasped at the realization of what she had just said.

Cassandra didn’t take any offense to it, but she promptly grabbed her right arm with her left hand, pulling it closer to her chest and away from Rapunzel.

 “I’m sorry Cass” Rapunzel whispered.

Cassandra once again assured Rapunzel that everything was fine the way it was “I’m fine Raps just please go to sleep”. Rapunzel wasn’t foreign to Cassandra’s dismissal of her own feelings, especially after losing her memories due to the wand to get Cassandra to open up. The princess thought they were past that point, but clearly, there was still a lot to work on. 

“No Cass, I mean it. I never apologized for your hand, not even after you told me…why you were mad at me”.

Rapunzel propped herself on one elbow again when Cassandra turned and faced away from her friend, giving her only the view of her back. The princess raised her other arm to touch Cassandra’s shoulder, tugging gently for her friend to look at her again. 

Cassandra had a nervous and concerned look as she felt her shoulder be pulled back to face her friend once again. She was afraid that without her armor (or her lack of willpower now that she’d lost it with the princess’s touch), Rapunzel would break through the walls her friend had built up for the past couple of years. 

Cassandra turned to look at her friend and Rapunzel lay back down on her pillow before she continued, “When I started living in the castle when I was first rescued I remember watching you train in the courtyard on your own”. The princess smiled softly, “and for the longest, I waited to see the Guard I knew you wanted to be, but you became my lady-in-waiting, and you waited even longer at that point I had only seen you as my best friend and my handmaiden”

Rapunzel sneakily reached for Cassandra’s bandaged hand. Cassandra flinched, but Rapunzel’s gentle touch made the handmaiden melt back into it. “But it wasn’t until this trip that I got to see the brave soldier you wanted to be, materialize. Especially when you hurt your hand”

“Raps, I told you I wouldn’t stay mad at you, that’s what… friends do” Cassandra said with the word ‘friends’ leaving a bitter taste on her tongue. 

Rapunzel nodded and looked down at her bandaged hand, “I know, but I never apologized, and I think it’s better to do it now…than never”

“Can I see it?” She asked after a moment of silence. 

Not only did it take until today for Rapunzel to finally see Cassandra without her armor since the Great Tree (which happened months ago), but she never had the chance to see her rotting hand since the accident. 

Cassandra panicked, she didn’t want her friend to look at her hand with disgust, not when she had her deep and fond feelings with her. The proximity and intimacy that Cassandra had allowed up until this point was becoming overwhelming, and this was the last wall Rapunzel needed to break to finally get Cassandra’s vulnerabilities.

Every thought of resentment, love, affection, anger, culpability, guilt, passion, inferiority, lust, bitterness, acrimony -but above all, love, romantic love - would spill out from the years of grievances Cassandra hid away in her vault. 

I shouldn’t love you Raps, she thought

“No,” she said and quickly pulled her hand away from Rapunzel’s grip. “It’s gross and nasty and I just bandaged it. Y-You don’t wanna see it”

Regardless, the older girl breathed in and made a confession, “Raps I appreciate it. Just know that whatever happens next in the dark kingdom, I’ll do whatever it takes for you to get safe to your destiny, even if it means burning another hand”

Cassandra hoped that her words would stop Rapunzel from pressuring her to see her hand. And it worked, Rapunzel smiled as she carefully examined her friend’s features. The way her eyes sharpened at the corners, the way the slope of her nose was chiseled, the waves that were now completely dry. 

But specifically, she eyed the white scar on her pale cheek caused by the shard of the steel of her sword when she had attempted to cut her hair the night the blonde river of hair came back. It was a testament to Cassandra’s first time coming to Rapunzel’s rescue, Rapunzel looked down at Cassandra’s hand once again and she felt a pang of guilt for being the cause of Cassandra’s injuries. But that feeling was mixed with admiration and warmth that only served to make Rapunzel feel even more guilty for feeling feelings with a positive connotation when her friend’s scars were no reason to rejoice over. 

Here was Cassandra swearing to continue protecting Rapunzel even if it meant getting even more hurt, but the princess wouldn’t allow that “You don’t have to promise anything Cass, everything’s going to be fine tomorrow” she countered.

Silently, Rapunzel promised she would keep everyone out of danger when it came to her destiny. 

Rapunzel lifted her hand and with her middle finger she traced the scar on Cassandra’s cheek, and it made Cassandra contain a shiver down her spine. 

The way Rapunzel’s soft breathing caressed the corners of her lips made Cassandra lick her own lips. In the darkness, she couldn’t tell if the princess was inching closer to her face, but perhaps now more than ever was Cassandra’s chance to make a confession before they met their fate and destiny tomorrow. The comfort of Rapunzel’s finger on her cheek instigated a rush of bravery and she mentally decided to finally close the gap between her and the princess. 

But once her lips set a course to find the princess’, the caravan shook aggressively when one of the wheels bumped against a particularly tall rock which made the princess cling to her friend and bury her face in her neck. 

Rapunzel giggled first and Cassandra joined in with nervous laughter and the huge urge to facepalm, “Oop, bumpy ride”. 

Cassandra prayed that her face wasn’t a bright tomato, but if it was, she was hoping that Rapunzel couldn’t see it in the dark, “Alright Rapunzel I really want to get some shuteye so can we please just go to sleep”

Rapunzel’s quiet giggles slurred to an “Mhm” but the princess didn’t let go and only slightly changed her position moving down so that her face was pressed against her chest.  

…

“Raps…”

….

“Raps”

A sigh. Cassandra simply wrapped her hands around the smaller girl’s waist and rested her chin on top of her golden head. 

Neither of them woke up again for the rest of the night. 

~~~

While I’m certain bringing the sun-drop to the moonstone will neutralize its threat, I’m not sure what will happen to you.

Adira’s words rang both in the knightess ears as well as the princess’s now that they stood before the mystical opal just a few meters away. Cassandra had listened carefully to every detail of the story of the Dark Kingdom from Adira, and as she stood behind the princess in front of the opal, she was terrified for whatever fate would come in the next following minutes. 

Adira warned that everyone who had touched the moonstone to seek its power had died on the spot, Cassandra looked down at her hand and held it with her left arm and remembered that the decay incantation was only a free sample of what the moonstone could do. Rapunzel looked behind her and approached Cassandra. 

“Look I know these last few months haven’t been easy for us…I want to thank you for everything,” Rapunzel said as she held her hands and hugged Cassandra. 

If the decay incantation brought her hand to a chronic rotting and painful state, she imagined what the moonstone could do to her friend as soon as she touched it. As she was held in the princess’s embrace, she couldn’t bring herself to return the hug as dread and adrenaline mixed in with her system. Cassandra had two options: Allow her friend to die right there and then or the second possibility she contemplated when Adira told them what the moonstone could do to Rapunzel,

Take the moonstone for herself. 

Either of those options left Cassandra feeling guilty as she knew that it would mean she would have to take a risk to never see the princess again, be it if the princess dies or she does. She cursed herself for allowing herself to love the princess this much that cruel fate felt as if a dagger were slowly being inserted in her heart slowly and being twisted around in a sick game of torture. 

As the princess held her in her embrace, she allowed herself to at least have one last memory of her scent, the smell of her hair mixed in with adrenaline-powered sweat that was instigated by the fight against the specters earlier. “Okay Rapunzel, it’s time,” the handmaiden said. 

Rapunzel pulled away and hugged Eugene similarly. “This is it Rapunzel, now go get your destiny,” said Eugene.  

Destiny.

From the beginning, the black rocks seemed to be Rapunzel’s compass in what led the gang to the Dark Kingdom, the compass that Rapunzel was sure was her destiny alone. And while the moonstone had definitely been yearning to be reunited with her sun-drop, she had also wanted to summon someone else. 

The moonstone missed the way she had a host of her own, a host that would always be near her sun-drop. This is why when she sensed that the magic in the Lost Lagoon had been triggered for the first time in thousands of years, she made sure to never destroy that sacred ground with her rocks. Instead, she wanted to know who was now bonded to holy ground, and she pulsed in joy to know that it was her! It was her sun-drop who had returned! But she was accompanied by someone else…

Rapunzel petted Pascal and she turned to look at the moonstone and approached her. 

Cassandra watched and unknowingly placed her legs in a sprint position. The beating of her heart in her chest was inhuman just as her love was.

It was this love that made Cassandra sprint the fastest in her lifetime to place herself between the princess and the moonstone. Eugene didn’t even have time to react to stop her. 

“Raps wait!” Cassandra said loudly as she made a wall of herself between the princess and the stone with her arms extended on both sides. The princess pulled her arm back and looked at her friend. 

“Cassandra-“ Rapunzel began to ask what was happening, uncertainty and confusion in her eyes. 

“You can’t take the moonstone it’s too dangerous,” Cassandra pleaded.

“Cass you’ve spoiled the suspense and made all of this very anticlimactic. Rapunzel has to tak-” Eugene said

“Can it Fitzherbert! No one’s talking to you” Cassandra growled at the man with the goatee. The scowl made Eugene instantly shut up.

Cassandra turned to look at the princess and her features softened significantly, “Rapunzel, please! You saw what the decay incantation did to my hand. We’ve been friends since we were kids and if our friendship means anything to you then please don’t take the moonstone I can’t lose you. We didn’t come all this way for you to die ”

Rapunzel saw how Cassadra’s eyes became glossier, but she replied, “Cass the moonstone is my destiny, I have to take it. As princess of Corona I need to save everyone from the black rocks”. Cassandra felt as if she was put in the same situation as in the Great Tree. There had to be a better alternative to avoid a tragedy for Rapunzel. But Rapunzel, as always, wanted to play the hero and disregarded any of her concerns. Right now though, Cassandra couldn’t bring herself to anger, not when it meant her friend’s life was in danger.  

“Rapunzel, listen. I know that isn’t true,” Cassandra said. The knightess was serious, deep down there was an intuitive feeling that told her that the moonstone was not meant for Rapunzel to take. She was too afraid to admit it to herself, but Cassandra felt a magnetism to the moonstone. In a way, it felt forbidden as she knew that it had been the reason why they had been on the road for Rapunzel to claim it. But on the other hand, Cassandra just… knew that the moonstone wasn’t Rapunzel’s destiny. 

The princess looked away from the pleading hazel eyes. “Hey hey hey, just look into my eyes,” Cassandra begged as she cupped her cheek to redirect Rapunzel’s eyes back to hers. 

“I know you feel it too,” Cassandra said.  Rapunzel didn’t say anything and her eyes shifted to uncertainty, and Cassandra knew that her hunch was right: Rapunzel also knew the moonstone wasn’t her destiny. “I swear it’s not too late Raps just leave the moonstone alone and we can figure out another solution for us to return it or destroy it or…whatever! Let’s fix it together me and you just like we’ve always done” 

There was a noise that was heard from the opposite side of the room. Cassandra dropped her hand to look up and Rapunzel turned around to see the rest of the gang at the doors of the moonstone chamber. “Move out of the way short hair, this isn’t something for you to meddle in,” Adira said as she unsheathed her shadow blade. 

Rapunzel turned around with an apologetic look in her eyes, “I’m sorry Cass but I can’t- I won’t wait to see how the world burns”

With Adira’s presence, Cassandra felt her skin burn. Rapunzel would once again listen to Adira, a woman who she had just met on the road while she had known her for basically half her life. Cassandra was truly trying to be patient and to avoid being quick to anger, but this was non-negotiable, and Cassandra would not be ignored this time. All concern for being seen as the traitor of Corona flew out the window, being charged with treason was worth saving Rapunzel’s life. 

Cassandra grabbed Rapunzel’s shoulders, “No, I’m sorry…For this”. She pushed the princess back and Rapunzel yelped. With her right hand, she grabbed the glowing opal. 

The immediate reaction of the moonstone was a sonic boom that pushed both Rapunzel and Eugene to the entrance of the chamber where Adira, Lance, and Max stood. The shockwaves that came after knocked them all to the ground. 

Cassandra expected to blow up in pieces and she braced herself ready for death. The moonstone glowed violently in her hand but other than the immense energy pulses that made her ears ring and bones ache, she wasn’t being hurt. The moonstone felt heavy in her palm, but she also felt a huge dam of power that was begging to be released and inserted in every limb, every muscle fiber, and every cell in her body. Cassandra felt every sense heighten, every muscle in her body grow harder and stronger than it was before, it was the moonstone preparing her host. 

The crackling of energy all around the chamber resonated throughout the castle, and the black rocks around them moved around in discord adjusting themselves to their new master that would work alongside the moonstone. There was a windless current more potent than every cyclone or hurricane ever known to mankind and Cassandra felt as if the moonstone would slip from her grip.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Adira making a run to get to Cassandra, most likely to slice her arm off in one swing to keep her from the moonstone. Impulse told her to fight against the force of gravity of the moonstone and pulled her to her chest, the moonstone did its job of melting away a hole in her armor and burning a hole in her clothing. When Cassandra felt the stone make contact with her chest, she forgot about the chaos happening around her as the moonstone burned her chest from how freezing cold it was. The moonstone opened a cavity in her skin that felt like frostbite or as if someone were pressing dry ice hard and directly into unprotected skin. There was a powerful blast that pushed Adira against a black rock as Cassandra screamed in agony but after a few seconds the crater in her chest stopped hurting and all she felt was power.

Pure, unrestricted, unfiltered power.

There was a loud explosion of energy. Her armor evaporated and instead covered each inch of her skin with black rock armor. Not only did the armor add to that feeling of power, but she felt an inhuman amount of physical strength that was unmatched to the eighteen years she had spent training for the Guard. 

“It’s your turn to wait,” Cassandra said ominously once she settled in her newfound power. 

Rapunzel looked at this new version of Cassandra with an aching heart: her friend’s familiar earthly black locks were now a bright cyan, and the warm hazel eyes she had looked into yesterday in search of love and comfort were of a matching hue and burning with rage. 

Cassandra didn’t think that the moonstone would greatly change her demeanor, but the vault where she had stuffed all anger and bitterness for years came pouring down easily and it made her feel alive. It was a sensation that felt liberating, a feeling that allowed her to not have to face any repercussions for her anger. Anger, as Cassandra had learned, was an emotion that wasn’t allowed to be projected to the people you loved most as it would hurt them, which in turn would only bite you back in the ass when guilt crept into your heart, 

That’s why she never poured out her resentment onto Rapunzel, because even when the most white hot rage was present, love was always in the background clinging on. Cassandra didn’t want to hurt her princess. Except this was a double-edged sword: Either Cassandra contained her grievances and faced the consequences that held her back from every goal she’d ever had or the raging burning hot fire spilled out in blue flames all at once causing her to drive away the people she loved.

Now, as the moonstone pulsed in her chest, it encouraged the latter. She felt as if the moonstone facilitated and even invited all of this fury to come out. “I made you a promise yesterday, didn’t I princess?” Cassandra said darkly.

Her question made Rapunzel bring her back from the dreadful trance she had gone into as she stared at her friend, “Cassandra you can’t do this! You’ve got to give me the moonstone,” Rapunzel said, her voice echoing against the chamber’s walls. 

Cassandra laughed, “You still think you have any say over what I can and can’t do Rapunzel? I’m doing this for you! Because you still don’t give a single shit about yourself or me or what I have to say”

Rapunzel frowned at her friend’s statement, “How can you say that, Cassandra? How?! When you distanced yourself from me for half of this trip. Please just-”

“Why do you think I did?! Huh?!” Cassandra interrupted her friend with a bark, one that shot out some black rocks from around her. The knightess thought It was impossible that Rapunzel still didn’t understand the humiliation she had felt year after year of just being nothing more than her servant, her lady-in-waiting,

And her…friend.

“I told you Rapunzel that we couldn’t trust Adira but you still blindly chose to listen to her over me, your best friend,” Cassandra said with a scowl on her face, eyes slightly watering, “She was leading you to your death! And even after you knew you didn’t seem to care!”.

Lance by now had run to Adira to comfort the warrior who was still against the black spike where she landed after the blast. Eugene finally spoke up frowning at the blue-haired woman, “Cassandra! We all agreed to help Rapunzel get to her destiny, whether she wants to finish her journey is her choice”.

Eugene’s words sounded so patronizing to her, was he trying to use his so-called authority as prince of this wasteland to get her to stand down? To surrender the relic that birthed a kingdom he didn’t even know belonged to him? Was he just trying to take Rapunzel’s side for solidarity in hopes to win her heart? She didn’t know but it sounded pathetic. 

“Shut…up!’” she yelled and more black rocks shot out in their direction. Rapunzel’s concern increased for her friend. 

“Cass the moonstone is too dangerous you have to give it to me. We can figure something out!” Rapunzel ignored Eugene’s statement far too concerned for her friend at the moment. 

Ah, there it was, Rapunzel was now willing to bargain, to figure out a solution. Cassandra had also told her that it was too dangerous for her to take the moonstone and now she was here repeating Cassandra’s exact same words. It would’ve brought relief to Cassandra to work with Rapunzel to do anything that meant that the blonde she loved didn’t die as soon as she was reunited with the moonstone. Except that was only happening once Cassandra gave up the moonstone, which means no bargaining would happen, because her friend would be dead. Not only that but Rapunzel was still telling her what to do, she was still giving orders, and that made Cassandra’s eyes narrow and a new anger rise that crackled in harmony with the moonstone. 

“Rapunzel, I pushed my dream aside, for you. I let you compete in the challenge of the brave, for you. I complied back at the Great Tree, for you. I made that promise last night, for you,” Cassandra said with venom in her voice. It left Cassandra with no rank in the Guard, no glory from the competition, a burnt hand, and the title of the princess’s traitor. “And I did it all because I-”

love you

Cassandra paused unsure of how to finish her sentence. Even as her blood boiled in her veins and she felt brave enough to confess all her grievances with the princess at this very moment, she felt too cowardly to confess her love, and it would be far too inconvenient to declare such thing in this situation. “Because I was willing to be pushed aside for your sake, princess ” Cassandra concluded. The ending of her sentence sounded very artificial, but she could care less. Cassandra looked down and saw Adira’s sword on the ground near her feet. She picked it up and looked at Rapunzel dangerously, “No more”.

As Cassandra placed the sword behind her and summoned a sheath from her armor to hold it -something she didn’t how she did it, exactly- she tried to come up with a cohesive plan as to what she would do. 

And just what was she supposed to do?! Here was her friend looking at her as if she were the devil incarnated and behind her was a group of people who would be willing to fight for her, the same people who were looking at her right now with disdain. Cassandra suppressed the look of shock that came after her realization:

She was now the villain in their narrative. 

Even with so much anger poisoning her veins, the camaraderie that she fostered during this trip with Lance, Eugene, and even Shorty meant something to the blue-haired woman, even if she wasn’t able to admit it. And the love, yes, the love she held for the princess made her heart clench in agonizing pain as she looked into her emerald eyes where she saw pools of betrayal. Above all, she didn’t want to be seen as an enemy, someone to destroy, someone to fight against, an evildoer.

Not while she was trying to save the life of the woman she loved. 

Finally, Cassandra made a simple choice that would allow her to protect her princess without needing to fight her own people: Run. 

So Cassandra ran, she ran past Adira and Lance, and she was beginning to run past the blonde but she felt a hold on her arm that made her body jolt and pull itself back. “Cass please don’t-”

Rapunzel would’ve finished that sentence had Cassandra controlled her magical reflexes that shot out a few black rocks that pushed the princess back. Without her magical and unbreakable hair that created a protective sphere around her, Rapunzel would’ve been immediately impaled. 

“Raps!” Cassandra cried, the look of horror spread across her face as she realized she had crossed a line. Her body ached to run after her hurt friend just as she’d done back at the Great Tree when Rapunzel was hurt by the decay incantation, but Eugene’s protective frame wrapped around the princess’s body. Though jealousy sparked everywhere in Cassandra’s body, she knew she had to get as far away from her friend to avoid hurting her once again, at least she knew Eugene would do her best to protect Rapunzel.

Eugene said something Cassandra didn’t catch as she sprinted through the castle’s hallways in search of the exit. If the moonstone, whom she was now the host of, was hurting Rapunzel accidentally, what could Cassandra expect if she stayed near the princess? 

She didn’t know if anybody was going after her, but she finally made it outside and continued running even if it meant she would plummet to her death after walking past the cliff edge. After her subconscious created a black rock bridge that carried her to the other side, she collapsed it entirely with the swing of her shadowblade. She allowed the adrenaline to subside for a few seconds and saw a tiny figure on the other side with her infamous golden hair trail out of the castle 

Cassandra held her vision on the other side for a few more seconds, allowing her to look at the woman she loved one last time. Though she couldn’t give herself that luxury for too long, not when Rapunzel had this newfound sadness that Cassandra had never witnessed all these years. It knocked the wind out of her chest without any sort of physical blow to her chest and she suppressed tears that were threatening to spill. She sighed, turned around, and ran into the woods, making sure she didn’t take the same route where the gang came from this morning.

~~~

“Raps!” 

When the magical blast between the black spikes and her hair had knocked Rapunzel unconscious for a few minutes, before she drifted into the darkness the endearing nickname whose ownership was limited to Cassandra and only Cassandra, rang in her ears non-stop. She was sure that her friend wasn’t some hate-driven, selfish monster, but the way everything had gone down and the fury she saw in her eyes made it all the more confusing. 

When she came to a few minutes later, she saw a familiar goatee hovering just above her. “Where’s Cass?” she asked immediately. 

“Blondie! Don’t worry about Cass right now, are you okay? How many of me are you seeing?” he asked in return. Rapunzel left her fuzzy haze after blinking twice and scrambled to her feet, nearly shoving Eugene violently away. 

As she exited the castle she heard the loud thundering of the mass of black rocks that fell into the abyss that separated the other side from the castle. When she reached the end of the cliff she saw clouds of dust that rose from the bottom of the pit as a result of the collapsing bridge and after it had settled, she saw a breathing figure on the other side. Even at a distance, Rapunzel noticed Cassandra’s troubled heart in the way the vibrant cyan eyes reflected back to her. It was as if two brilliant sapphires carried a sea of worries, grievances, pain, and regret. It broke Rapunzel’s heart into millions of tiny shards and in one last attempt to hope for a miracle, she lifted her arm in the direction of her friend as if somehow she could touch Cassandra one last time with her arm length. 

Rapunzel heard footsteps approaching the cliff but ignored them as watched the woman in black armor running of out her line of sight. Rapunzel replayed that memory repeatedly in her head to have a vivid account of the last time she saw her friend, she didn’t want to forget any detail. She let out a shaky breath as she fell to her knees.

She sat in shock processing everything that happened in the past ten minutes, how drastically everything took a turn for the worse. Moments ago, Rapunzel held her friend in a warm embrace that made her feel all sorts of beautiful things in her belly. Her friend had cupped her cheek and begged in a frustrated, desperate, but caring way in hopes to save her life. 

And in the few seconds when Cassandra had touched the moonstone, Rapunzel froze thinking her friend would disintegrate into ashes. That was who Cassandra was, she was her hero. 

So when why was it that the wrath and fury that followed after came from a place of vexation Rapunzel had never seen in all the years she was friends with her handmaiden? Rapunzel was too confused and shaken up that she didn’t know if she wanted to blame Cassandra for betraying her trust or blame herself for not listening to her friend. She wanted to cry, but Rapunzel heard the shouts of her friends calling out to her, and she remembered that she still had a pillar of people who sacrificed themselves to come all this way to get to her destiny. She still had to be thankful they had stuck by her side, that they still mattered. 

The free-spirited princess who was known for wearing her heart on her sleeve, hid it away to grieve in silence and turned to look at her friends with a plastic smile. 

~~~

Cassandra hid under a tree as she looked at the familiar hot air balloon fly overhead, a balloon that carried the group she had traveled for nearly a year with. She didn’t know instinct made her scan the balloon for the golden locks that stood out like a sore thumb until she finally spotted the blonde, which made her snap her head away to avoid any more unpleasant feelings run through her body once more. 

She forced herself to harden her heart. She ran faster through the forest in hopes to forget all about Corona, the castle where she had grown up, the courtyards where she always dedicated hours for her training, and her daily errand runs to the market to buy Rapunzel’s favorite treats: blackberry buns. 

Would her father miss her? He would assume the worse, Cassandra knew that no matter how much her father loved her, she would always do something wrong in his eyes, nothing was ever enough. Surely he would think that she was some crazy traitor who turned her back on the Princess of Corona. Cassandra frowned at this thought -that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Cassandra went on this trip to protect Rapunzel as she had always done, even during her time as her lady-in-waiting. Cassandra remembered the panic she had felt knowing that there was a huge possibility that her friend could die the moment she touched the moonstone, and that panic surfaced once again when Rapunzel was centimeters away from the opal that was now implanted in her chest. Why was it that she had survived the moonstone? She didn’t know, but at least in keeping her alive she knew she could actively keep it away from the sun-drop, from her princess.

The same princess whom she wrapped her arms around the previous night, the princess whose gaze would fill Cassandra with a wave of peace, the princess whom she had created new constellations with the freckles on her nose bridge- constellations only Cassandra knew the names to because she gave up learning astronomy for Rapunzel. The girl who caressed the sore muscles on her arms with warm hands. Her body missed the sensation and began yearning to follow the balloon to just feel the princess one more time. 

Cassandra shook her head and stopped running when her eyesight became blurry with tears that were impossible to retain any longer. The realization that she needed to become used to the absence of the most important person in her life fell on her like a bucket of ice water. 

Fighting a tyrannical alchemist, losing her sanity for being stuck in a bird’s body, or even staying stuck in a mirror dimension for the rest of her life were nothing compared to Cassandra’s current mission: Isolating herself from the princess she grew up with, forever. 

Cassandra leaned against something (A rock? A tree? She wasn’t too sure) and slid down as she allowed herself to sob violently, causing bright blue spikes to spawn from the ground. 

Cassandra, the brave knightess who was known for keeping her feelings close to her chest and buried so deep even she didn’t even acknowledge them, spilled her heart out for the woods to listen to her sobs.

Chapter Text

Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief as she watched how a fleet of guards rounded up the tyrannical Separatists of Saporia. It was inconceivable that just in the short span of a month, her kingdom had been brought to the verge of ruin, her parents had lost their memories, and her lifelong friend had betrayed her trust. As if it weren’t enough, she was given the task by an ancient engineer trapped in the body of a monkey to save humanity from the biggest threat the world had ever faced while barely having any knowledge of the magic they were working with. 

It wasn’t as if she would be able to catch a break soon either, because her parents barely remembered who she was, why she had left her home on a year-long trek, and how to run their own kingdom since any knowledge prior to the Saporian rule was wiped from their memories. From here on out, the free-spirited barefoot princess would have to take over the majority of reins to run her kingdom. 

“Good job boys, take ‘em to the dungeons!” Eugene whooped beside the princess, “You know blondie I’m all for your overturn on capital punishment but you know what would be a worse punishment for Andrew? Shave his head. Shave that silky, voluminous, shiny, sleek mane off of him”. 

Rapunzel barely chuckled, turned around, and walked away. The euphoria from winning one more battle slowly dissolved away. Pascal nudged her cheek, but there was no response from the princess. Eugene cleared his throat and followed after her, “Sunshine, I know a lot has happened since the Dark Kingdom and you have a lot more things to face but-”

“Eugene” Rapunzel interrupted, turning to look at him with glassy eyes and her nose beginning to tint itself into a soft shade of red. Eugene immediately took action and walked by her side holding her shoulders, ushering her away from the courtyard where there were many other Guards present. 

As he led Rapunzel back into the castle, he called for his nearest friend available, “Pst Lance!”

The taller man turned to look at Eugene. Eugene silently thanked the Captain that he had managed to find it in himself to trust Lance as well for matters of the Guard. Eugene didn’t want to impose leadership when Rapunzel was in charge, but the girl was on the verge of tears and in no state to give orders when all the buildup from the past month was about to break the dam. “Take care of the Guards” he mouthed and nodded his head at the blonde as to gesture why he couldn’t do it himself

Lance gave one look of worry in their direction before he quickly understood and gave him a thumbs up with a sad smile. 

As he escorted the princess to his room, Rapunzel began trembling uncontrollably, Eugene himself was familiar with the many sides of Rapunzel: he had seen the princess scared, excited, disappointed, angry, stressed, and even sad and hopeless. But what Eugene had never witnessed was this unexplored amount of sorrow that radiated from the princess.

Heartbreak.

Rapunzel was new to heartbreak. 

After avoiding multiple maids the two of them reached her bedroom and Rapunzel immediately buried her head in Eugene’s chest. The princess wept, her cries impeding her lungs from gathering the oxygen she needed. Thanks to Eugene’s grip on her frame, the princess fell to the floor gently rather than abruptly collapsing to the ground when her knees became too weak due to her despair to hold her up. Rapunzel crumbled. She gasped for air in between sobs when her body was on the verge of shutting down. 

Pascal climbed down from her shoulder and rested on her knee instead, trying his best for his touch to comfort the princess. “I’m sorry, Rapunzel,” Eugene said, unsure if three simple words could even begin to ease what the princess was feeling. 

The princess didn’t realize just how much not having Cassandra’s presence around her could change everything . As thankful as she was for Eugene to hold her in his embrace, it wasn’t Cassandra’s touch. No matter how much adrenaline was in her body when fighting bad guys, the force of habit made her look over her shoulder at her six o’clock and see her handmaiden fight alongside her, and yet when she had done that earlier in the day, Cassandra’s ghost wasn’t even present. Her voice of reason, her counterpart, her best friend, her balance: Gone, and along with that any strength she might’ve had to reconstruct her kingdom. 

The pain she felt in her chest felt as if someone were singlehandedly trying to rip her heart out of her chest with a tight grip, arteries and veins being stretched with tension so agonizing as they slowly began tearing apart from its muscle. To Rapunzel, her own misery made no sense. She wasn’t supposed to be crying over a traitor, she was supposed to be angry that the person she trusted the most chose a path that diverged from her side, and she was! As Rapunzel continued crying it was as if the ball of her emotions jumped from one court to another: sadness and anger, anger and sadness, sadness and anger. 

Anger that was reserved for Cassandra for taking the moonstone, a relic that was meant for its sun-drop. Sadness that despite everything, she needed her friend’s support here, now, when her life was in shambles. Anger that arose over the fact that Cassandra was too stubborn to leave the moonstone alone. Sadness that she was probably out there alone, with no one to turn to. Yet at the root of all of this was the love Rapunzel felt for her friend, and it made Rapunzel feel bitter to learn that unfortunately, love couldn’t be undone overnight. 

It was this love that continued lingering in her heart and eased the pain for a little bit as she remembered her laugh, her scent, the volume of her muscles under her touch, her snark, her abnegation, her devotion, the softer side only she was allowed to see, and the fire of her bravery that made her feel safe and protected. That was until the acidic aftertaste of the deprivation of Cassandra’s spirit burned in her core and an even worse sensation followed when she realized she couldn’t allow herself to miss her. 

“What am I supposed to do without her?” she managed to rasp out between quivering lips.

Eugene swallowed as he chose his words carefully, “Rapunzel, what Cassandra did hurt all of us. She was your best friend, you grew up together, it’s normal to feel directionless now that she’s not…here”

That didn’t answer her question.

Rapunzel gasped shakily. Pascal squeaked and she looked down to see his friend with a worried glance. She pulled away from Eugene and scooped him up in her hands, the climax of her breakdown having already peaked. Pascal turned into a shade of blue as he snuggled her hand. 

“I thought she would always be here, with me”. Eugene remained silent to allow Rapunzel to vent whatever she was holding in her heart. 

Rapunzel sighed, “Eugene I don’t understand why everything happened the way it did. Cassandra wanted to protect me but…” she sniffled, “…she looked so angry and that is what makes me feel like she betrayed us”

“Betrayed me, ” she added. “It’s like there were two sides to her but she only let me see one, until now. But on top of all of that I can’t decide if I should be angry or not, or if this was all my fault”

“You’re allowed to feel everything, Things like these would be really unfair for both parties if we were only allowed to feel just one thing” Eugene replied as he reached to hold one of the princess’s hands. Pascal squeaked in agreement. 

Rapunzel looked down at his hand, “Even if all of that is true, it doesn’t change the fact that I miss her. She was everything Eugene, and I can’t help but feel like everything that’s happening right now with the kingdom, the black rocks, and my parents would be so much easier to handle with her by my side”.

Something about the way Rapunzel talked about Cassandra’s betrayal made him feel…uncomfortable. Sure, both of the girls were closer than any other friendship in the kingdom for years, and yet something told Eugene that this wasn’t just about losing Cassandra as a friend. 

Eugene lifted his hand to cup her cheek, and tried to guide her eyes to look at his, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel look at me,” he said. Green eyes met brown, and he assured her “You’re not going to be alone in this. Cassandra made her choice, we can only hope she’ll come around. In the meantime, I don’t want you to forget that you still have plenty of people who love you and are going to be here every step of the way. We’re going to get rid of the black rocks, your parents are going to get their memories back, and Corona is going to be fine because you have people in your corner”

His words were the soothing agent that she was looking for because Eugene was right. Rapunzel was the sort of girl that didn’t give up on people, and who saw beyond scowls and grimaces. All Rapunzel really needed was a spark of hope, and thankfully, Eugene was there for her to release all her frustrations and to prepare the ground for that spark to ignite. 

Sure, Cassandra made her choice, but there was still the possibility that she would come around. 

Rapunzel could take odds that were one in a million if it meant she would find Cassandra again, but in the meantime, she had a kingdom she loved and people to support her. She sniffled one last time as she smiled at Eugene. 

“You’re right, everything will be okay. Thank you Eugene,” she replied and kissed his cheek before she hugged him. 

Eugene short-circuited, smiled, and sank his face into her shoulder. 

“The people of Corona are understanding, besides, I’ve done this whole ‘Queen for a day’ before, I just gotta do it for longer, heh, and I’m sure Varian can reverse the effects of the wand. My parents are going to be fine and C-“ she stopped before she took a deep breath to slow down.

“I’m not giving up on Cassandra, but I still have all of you to put my trust in. Let’s get to work” she stated. Pascal smiled and returned to his vibrant green and Eugene helped the princess back up to her feet. 

“There’s just one more thing I need to do”

~~~

Rapunzel stood in front of the door, this time actually bracing herself before she entered. Truthfully, even after her conversation with Eugene, nothing changed the empty hole that remained in her heart, a cup that couldn’t be filled. Rapunzel was quickly learning that the thing about heartbreak is that it was a rollercoaster ride while you were blindfolded, never knowing when to expect its peak until you randomly felt it. Suddenly missing Cassandra was part of her everyday routine, and she wasn’t sure if she needed to feed her longing until she grew sick of her ex-best friend or ignore her feelings as long as she could. Either way, she needed to feel her close or try to get some sort of closure that would at least ease her pain. 

She reached for the knob and felt its cool brass surface, took a deep breath, exhaled, and finally opened the door to step inside. Immediately, Cassandra’s scent hit her face and sneaked into her nostrils quickly. It made something in Rapunzel’s chest clench with nostalgia but gave her a high when her body realized how long it had been since she was last exposed to it. 

Rapunzel blinked a few times to focus back on her surroundings and closed the door behind her. On the bed, Cassandra’s dress was thrown out over it and she remembered she was forced to leave it behind when Andrew and his henchmen caught her and took her to the dungeons. 

She walked over to the bed and sat on its edge, holding the dress back in her hands to properly have a solemn silence with her memories. “What happened, Cass?” Rapunzel asked with no expectation to receive a response. She stroked her thumb against the light blue fabric but realized that she didn’t feel a connection to it as she once did before when she had first reentered her room. She looked up and eyed her closet, deciding that she would put away her dress and instead retrieve something else. 

She hung the dress over her left forearm as she opened the closet and with her other hand, she took one of her brown shirts. Rapunzel looked down and analyzed the two pieces. Originally when she had sneaked into the castle the night she decided she would fight off the Saporians on her own, it was the first clothing item that reminded her of her friend, which she had cried on. But as she held it in her hands, she realized that it wasn’t this dress that could capture everything that Cassandra was. 

Rapunzel didn’t realize -or more like never noticed- through the years how Cassandra had evolved into someone with a skill set and a soul that was beyond a task as her lady-in-waiting, until the night before they reached the Dark Kingdom. From the moment she met Cassandra, she watched the efforts she made from her balcony while the dark-haired girl learned the appropriate swings of a blade and built the strength of a soldier.

But the thing is…Cassandra wasn’t a soldier, that would imply that Cassandra needed to be under someone’s command.

While Cassandra wore this dress that she held in her hand, she was a servant, a lady-in-waiting, and although it was considered an honor for a girl to be chosen to be that close to a princess, Cassandra was a leader and a protector. Rapunzel didn’t see her as a subordinate, she saw her as an equal.

And yet, for years she waited until she was finally of age to enlist in the Guard, but when that time came, fate had other plans.

Rapunzel you know I’ve been meaning to enlist in the Guard. This was my opportunity…and now I’m being given a duty that’s meant to chain me to be your handmaid…forever? 

Her words echoed in her ears. Then, she remembered the night her magical hair returned and recalled Cassandra telling her she had fought with the Queen of Ingvarr.

She offered me a position in her army

You said ‘no’ to her, right?

Life had given Cassandra three windows of opportunity and she refused to take it to stay, and that was without counting the time she was about to leave during the Lost Lagoon incident. 

Rapunzel felt her world stop when she realized what Cassandra had meant back in the Dark Kingdom.

It’s your turn to wait

“I’m sorry Cass,” she said as she dropped the dress on the floor and grabbed Cassandra’s shirt with both hands “I really didn’t know”

Cassandra was fed up with waiting, waiting to be something bigger, waiting to be someone who commanded respect, waiting to be heard. She took the moonstone for herself in an act so selfless everyone thought Cassandra would wither away the moment she grabbed the opal, defying the orders of a princess that would make her wait one more time, an event that could’ve ended Rapunzel’s life.

But even Cassandra’s noble intentions weren’t as big of a sacrifice as Rapunzel’s life, and she couldn’t stand there with her arms crossed if it meant the world where her parents, Eugene, Lance, Corona, and Cassandra herself lived, came to ashes. For Rapunzel, that was a far greater sin than Cassandra allowing her to die. 

“But you out of all people know what it’s like to be bound by duty, I have to keep my kingdom safe. I need you to come back to me safe and sound. I can’t leave you or anyone in a Corona that has been destroyed, I couldn’t do that to you- I can’t do that to you. Please ” she whispered.

“If things were different we could’ve…” she began as tears welled up in her eyes once again and gasped when yet another realization hit her:

She loved Cassandra. 

Whether Cassandra came back to give her the moonstone or not, either option wouldn’t have allowed both women to ever be together because either  A) Cassandra would actually never come back or B) Rapunzel died as she reconnected with the moonstone. Rapunzel felt an undertone of rage as she groaned out her sentence, “We could’ve…”

She sniffled and avoided lingering on the ‘what might have been’ for too long. Her nose quickly became acclimated to the atmosphere in the room and she realized that she needed another hit to make sure her body never forgot Cassandra. She brought the shirt up to her nose and made a silent prayer, “Wherever you are, just know that I’m the one waiting for you now”. 

Something inside Rapunzel pulsed with sadness and hope in a ballad that was foreign and unexplored as she returned the shirt back to the closet. The dress she dropped earlier was picked up and thrown in the nearest trash bin, if Cassandra was coming back, Rapunzel would make sure that her friend wasn’t a subordinate anymore. She didn’t want Cassandra’s last memories of her to remain bitter.

As she stepped out of the room, she bumped into Old Lady Crowley and wiped her tears away, 

“No one is allowed to enter this room other than for housekeeping, please, and thank you”

Crowley shrugged –a mannerism that coming from her was the closest to a curtsy- and walked away.

~~~

The strong smell of soap was making Andrew nauseous after being exposed to it for hours, and his body from the neck down was becoming sore and even numb from being deprived to support itself on the firm ground. His cell transfer into a cell further away from his accomplices helped when two guards firmly held him down, which offered his nerve endings some stimulation for a few minutes before being thrown back to float around the cell in which he now hovered around. Shortly after being incarcerated after a day, Andrew received a visit from the scrawny teen he once shared a cell with. Andrew flashed him with a smile, “Miss me already?”. 

The Guards unlocked the door and held him down once again. Varian didn’t say anything as he searched in his satchel for a tube with a certain substance. “What? The princess pissed you off again and you wanna come cry to me about it? I hope you know that it’s too late for any sort of partnership”

“The princess doesn’t think it’s humane for prisoners to be entrapped in bubbles. Don’t worry I don’t plan on staying long, just hold still” he replied honestly but nervously. 

He pulled a yellow tube and placed it on the surface of the bubble, which immediately burst. 

“Handing me a fork would have sufficed,” he said as Varian and the guards stepped out of his cell. 

“You would’ve needed an equal force against my engineered bubble solution, that’s why Maximus was able to free himself when he was trapped. No matter how sharp the object, you wouldn’t have been able to-“

“I didn’t ask for a science lesson, kid!” Andrew spat. 

Varian simply walked away, resigned to argue with the tyrant. 

As Varian walked through the doorway opened by the Guards, he almost bumped into the princess who smiled once she finally got ahold of Varian. “Varian! I was looking for you,” 

“You were?”

“Hey Raps you never did answer my question, where’s Cassie? I haven’t seen her since all of you came back” The emptiness of the dungeons made Andrew’s voice echo from the far end of the dungeon. She ignored his question and shoved away her irritation for using the nickname Cassandra gave her years ago. 

“Varian, could I talk to you?” she asked, this time a little more quietly. Varian nodded and walked with the princess out of the dungeons, “Sure, is something wrong?”

Clearly, a lot of things were wrong, but she wasn’t about to overwhelm him with those details. 

“No!…” she replied a little too enthusiastically “…yes? I’m not sure and I need your help”

“When we were on the road, Cassandra used the Wand of Oblivium on me by accident. Long story short, Cass made me believe someone used magic on us and we were children trapped in adult bodies. But! Cassandra made a potion that could reverse its effects immediately” she explained.

Varian frowned his eyebrows in confusion, unsure if he could process the information in the few seconds the princess gave him, but then lightly chuckled and imagined what that scenario must have been like. 

“I was hoping that maybe you could replicate the potion…for my parents” she concluded

Varian immediately responded, “Well how did Cass make the potion in the first place?” 

“She had this book, all of the ingredients that were required were there, but I don’t know what happened to it after. Do you think the Saporians have it hidden somewhere?”

“It was Clementine who brought the wand to Andrew, but there was never any mention of a book. We could try questioning her, but I doubt we’ll get anything out of her. Andrew wasn’t too happy to see me so I doubt any of them feel like talking to us”

“Or…” Vatican trailed off, hesitant to make a new suggestion. “Or?” Rapunzel asked.

“Rapunzel I don’t want to make a stupid question, but where’s Cass? I mean if she made the potion then maybe I can have something to work with” he asked naively, with the innocence of a boy his age and ignorant of what happened during the year-long trek. 

Rapunzel sighed, “Varian, Cass isn’t coming back…”

“W-what do you mean? Heh,” he tried to smile, hoping that this was all a jest, “Y-you’re joking right?” 

Rapunzel pursed her lips together and explained what happened, from the origins of the rocks and the moonstone, its effects, and Cassandra’s betrayal. 

By the time Rapunzel finished, Varian leaned against the wall looking out into nothing in particular. Rapunzel knew the boy was particularly smitten with Cassandra, so she placed a hand on his shoulder to bring some sort of comfort. 

He snapped out of it and turned to look at Rapunzel, and realized that if there was anyone who was hurting more than he was, it was her lifelong friend. “Rapunzel…how are you-“

“I’m learning to deal with it” she offered him a sad smile. She took a deep breath, “So, do you think you can do it? Do you think you can replicate the potion?”

Varian smiled, but frowned shortly after “No, I can’t replicate the potion”. He crossed his arms and turned away from Rapunzel, making her hand on his shoulder fall. 

Varian let the tension build and shortly diffused it, turning to look over his shoulder with a smile, “What I can do is try to make an alchemical solution, remember princess, I’m a man of science”

The princess’s body relaxed and chuckled with Varian. All Rapunzel needed for now, was hope.

~~~

Rain poured mercilessly down from the heavens with the fervor of a thousand typhoons. The amount of rainwater that surrounded Cassandra was so excessive her immediate surroundings were nothing but gray masses. The wind smacked her face violently and her blue curls were in a constant non-stop whiplash. There was no caravan to turn to for shelter, no princess to roughly dry her hair, and no soft sheets and blankets to find sanctum next to the warmth of a certain blonde who appeared in her dreams every night. 

She pushed through the currents of the wind that continued to push her back in hopes that she was closer to finding yet another cave or a tree big enough to actually shelter her from the rugged storm. She would’ve made some sort of makeshift shelter with her black rocks, but for the last month, Cassandra had unsuccessfully managed to take control of the onyx spikes. 

She allowed herself to fall to the ground on her knees. She tried to hold back the rapid peak of anger that was approaching, but the moonstone encouraged her to release her frustrations beyond the boundaries of her mind. 

“NRRAHHHH!!!” She screamed to the tempest around her, summoning some black rocks from around her. She hoped that her rocks could challenge the metaphysical and somehow receive a fierce sentence in the form of a lightning strike to end her misery, be it temporary or permanent. Instead, she heard a cry at her two o’clock and quickly unsheathed her sword. When she approached the source of the sound, there was a man who had apparently fallen on the muddy ground along with a crate of now scattered apples right next to a black spike. She assumed that perhaps the presumed…farmer? Was startled by the sudden appearance of a sharp rock that could’ve impaled him. 

She raised her voice to avoid the sound of the pouring rain eclipsing her voice,  “Are you o-”, 

She couldn’t finish the sentence as the farmer ran away quickly as if he were being hunted by a predator in the woods. Instinct told her to chase after the man but refrained from doing so after the look he had given her. Regardless, she walked in the direction where he had run, and after a few miles, although the rain was still coming down hard, Cassandra managed to see a barn not far from where she stood.

Ugh, what the hell, at least it’ll be dry there, she thought and finally found a place where she could wait out the rain and then bounce.

She reached behind her neck to try to squeeze some water out of her hair and she walked to a nearby pile of hay to lay down, not so much for rest or sleep since the moonstone gave her unlimited physical power, just so she could wait out the rain comfortably. She noticed movement from the corner of her eye. When she snapped her head to analyze the movement she realized there was a small squared opaque frameless mirror that was just a bit bigger than her hand on a post.

In its reflection, she finally found the reason why the man she had encountered earlier ran away. As she recalled the look of panic in his eyes, it fostered a change in Cassandra, a shift that made her realize what she was now to others. A similar connotation emerged from the same looks she received when she first took the moonstone: she was now a monster.

The unnatural shade of bright cyan that took over each fiber of her hair, the pale almost white tone of her skin, the bright turquoise irises, the deathly way her black armor looked with its threatening spikes. The sharp tip of the blade on her back. She looked like an agent of death, Satan’s executioner, a cousin of Hades, a deathly blue star. The culmination of her features made her realize that she was now alien, and she couldn’t turn to someone and find their empathy because she was the only human being on earth who was going through this alone, wet, and finding refuge in someone else’s barn.

In her years training to be a guard, she wasn’t allowed to complain, not when she was the adopted daughter of the Captain of Corona’s Royal Guard, not when she was the one asking for a chance to prove herself worthy. Cassandra quickly turned the necessity to release her frustrations into what she now categorized as unacceptable behavior. Hard work wasn’t something you complained about, not when it was the root of your rewards. Yet, as the years went by and Cassandra invested her energy and continued waiting for that one chance to finally claim her glory, it never came, and with that, the heavy load of pressurized containment became heavier on her shoulders. 

Cassandra knew that everything could’ve been a little more tolerable if she had just reached out for Rapunzel to listen, but she never dared, because everyone saw Cassandra as the strong one.

And no one cares if the strong are hurting. 

Even when Rapunzel had extended her hand to listen, Cassandra’s mind was already engraved with her usual response. 

Now as she stood in front of the mirror and realized that now others saw her as barely human, the realization that now she was truly on her own made her fall on her knees, and with that fucking weight on her shoulder crushing her own and suffocating her. 

She lifted her head to look up at the ceiling “There’s no way you’ll ever talk to me, right princess?”. The anger that enabled her frustrations dissolved into a more passive, but excruciating sorrow. She sat against a post and brought her knees closer to her chest, hoping that somehow wrapping her arms around them could simulate a hug. 

“I’m sorry Raps” she whispered before she broke down in quiet sobs, “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner”

Perhaps she really was a monster, someone who lost her humanity in depriving herself of what made her human: connection. Perhaps she really was a villain, even if Demanitus was lying about the black rocks destroying everything, she saw throughout the journey the ruins of ghost towns destroyed by them, and Cassandra decided that the destruction of the world was worth saving Rapunzel’s life. 

Cassandra coughed and wiped her tears away. She looked up at the ceiling “All I wanted was a chance to keep you safe and now…” she paused “...now you probably never want to see me again”

As she looked to her side there was a tiny puddle of water that accumulated on the ground from a leak in the barn, and she was able to see her reflection once again. 

I made you a promise Rapunzel, and I’m going to keep it. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I’d rather have you hate me forever than let you die. she thought silently. 

If this devilish creature was the image that would scare Rapunzel away to keep her out of Cassandra’s reach, it would only aid in her mission. 

I hope you can forgive me

~~~

Andrew wasn’t new to prison life. 

However after having his temporal freedom while the princess wasn’t present in Corona, having it revoked once again brought the foreign feeling of boredom and desperation back into his system. To make matters worse, this time he didn’t have any cell mates to chat with. He wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Not having a roommate meant he had time to think, and people’s annoying tics wouldn’t be a problem anymore. But having a cellmate to share a cell with meant that he wouldn’t get bored as often, and that was without mentioning that he felt like he was slowly going crazy.

“Hello Andrew,” a gentle, but loud and clear, voice came from behind him, making the hair behind his neck shoot up. 

Shit, perhaps he really was losing his marbles.

“Who the fuck are you?” He jumped at the sight of the ghostly little girl that spawned in the blink of an eye, clinging to the chains that held up the wooden bed of his cell.

“I’d say a friend, but I wouldn’t want there to be lies between us,” she replied with a sinister smile, “You could say I’m an ally”.

“Allies haven’t really been helpful to me and I don’t really feel like playing wicked games” he countered bitterly. Andrew shook his head and ran his hands through his hair “I’m going insane what the fuck” he whispered. 

“Oh Andrew -or would you like for me to address you as Hubert?- Tsk regardless, I can assure you I’m not a product of your imagination” she chuckled. Andrew’s body was intoxicated with bottled-up adrenaline that couldn’t be employed properly, not while he was inside a small cell with nowhere to run. He shook his head twice hoping that somehow his brain would stop playing tricks on him and finally vanish the little girl from his head. 

“Hubert Threadriff: born to a Vardarian mother but a Saporian father, one of the last ones yes? It’s my understanding that the rest of your…peers, aren’t Saporians themselves huh? Just runts of the litter who want to be something bigger than themselves. Your father raised you to be radicalized-”

“Educated!” he shouted, earning a strike to his bars from a guard. “Keep it down!” he warned. Andrew scanned his features to see if he could notice the girl who shared a cell with him, and she took notice of this “Don’t worry, he can’t see me, or hear me. One of the perks of being your ally, if you ask me”. 

Shortly after the Guard left and walked back to his post at the end of the opposite end of the hallway, she continued, “ Educated to be yet one more patriotic Saporian to carry on his legacy, but the Separalists of Saporia as the collective group it once was doesn’t exist anymore, it vanished decades ago. So it’s really just you and a gang of hooligans hm?”

Andrew laughed. “Hey, if you’re in my head of course you know my life story. Tell me something I don’t know” he spat in a whisper. Resigned to listen to any more of this hallucination, he laid back down in his bed to nap it out. 

“What if I told you it was your old flame who took the moonstone for herself?” 

Andrew snapped his eyes open and sat back up, “What are you talking about?”. 

The ghost had a smug smile on her lips that celebrated victory. She got him. “The moonstone doesn’t exist, its a myth” he wasn’t sure why he denied this allegation since he had already made up his mind that the girl in front of him was nothing more than his imagination, and yet, something told him that the secret of the moonstone had to be protected from whomever this girl was. A girl he had never encountered before.

“My, they really do engrave secrecy into the modern-day Saporian don’t they? And honestly, doesn’t common sense tell us that if the sun-drop exists, surely there must be a counterpart that matches its power?” she mocked. Andrew was about to counter before she continued,

“Shampanier’s moonstone is what made Saporia a stronger nation. So much stronger in fact that they could’ve invaded Ingvarr, but her parents chose not to and instead fell in love with Corona’s heir, Prince Herz De Sonne” She narrated a similar story his father once told him when he was little, which once again reinforced his theory that this specter was nothing more than him losing his sanity in his cell alone. “A group of Saporians believed this was a waste of power and seceded to make a statement about where they stood. It was because of this separation that they were the only group that remembered what actually went down in history. But I don’t have to waste my breath on this you already told me you want to hear something you don’t know,”

“What do you want?” he asked. He was still very much reluctant, but if this little girl was either the divine intervention or demonic remediation he had to gamble with it. 

“A chance is all I ask for now” she replied simply. “After that, it’s up to you to evaluate whether I’m a better asset than the rest of your friends”.

Andrew eyed the girl up and down, unsure how to read her face. She seemed sweet, but evil. Gentle, but wicked. Innocent, but deadly. “Cassandra took the moonstone from Rapunzel. I don’t doubt that she’ll come back. Help me get ahold of the sun-drop and in return, you can have your precious moonstone to restore Saporia and its mighty glory”

Andrew shook his head and held it in his hands. He had to maintain an unaffected, logical mind. Andrew believed in magic no doubt. He had seen for himself the effects of the wand of oblivion, which were obviously an effect birthed from magic. Hell, even the princess of Corona was known throughout the seven kingdoms to have magical unbreakable hair. As he raised his head to analyze the girl in front of him, he considered the possibility that this child really was a product of her imagination who was making this offer of obtaining the moonstone simply because he hadn’t seen Cassandra -who was known to be always next to the Princess of Corona- when Rapunzel returned. 

But now as he thought about it, Varian had explained to him during his time as cellmates that the princess embarked on a journey to follow the ominous black rocks. Was it perhaps that the rocks led a path to the moonstone? Did the princess mean to take the moonstone for herself? Had Cassandra died during the journey? Or was the specter in front of him telling the truth that she betrayed the princess in taking the moonstone for herself? Andrew had to admit that making up theories about what happened would definitely be an exercise for his bored mind while he was in a cell. But even though the thought of reclaiming Saporia’s stone was tempting, would it really fix anything?

“Saporia doesn’t exist anymore, what good would that do me?” he asked. Truthfully, Saporia ceased to exist once it was annexed by Corona. Saporia’s descendants were nothing like his ancestors, fierce and mighty warriors that commanded respect, but rather frilly little people who celebrated something every other day, they became Coronan. Even if somehow he were to reestablish Saporia, there wasn’t a people to rule over, no true Saporian who remained other than him. 

Zhan Tiri smiled, “Well for one, if you help me I can help you get out of here. Then you can join me and take revenge on Corona for all the damage they’ve caused that has lingered for millennia”

Andrew narrowed his eyes suspiciously before he scoffed “It’s one thing to put my trust into ghosts, but Cassie couldn’t have done that she’s obviously got it bad for-”

“Shhh!” she hushed. 

“What?” he said loudly in a whisper.

“Listen,” she said.

At first, Andrew only heard the squeaks of the rats and the dripping of water that emerged from the cracks in the stone above his head, but he centered his hearing on the echo of chatter that came from the far end of the hallway where two guards chattered among themselves. 

“-but the princess didn’t come back with the Captain, who’s going to be in charge of the Guard now?” Guard A questioned. 

“Probably Cassandra. All due respect to the King and Queen, but they aren’t ready to rule Corona again so the princess will rule the kingdom for a while, so she’ll either appoint Cassandra or Eugene. Though honestly, she’s more likely to go with Cassandra, being her trusted friend and daughter of the Captain” Guard B replied.

“Imbecile, didn’t you hear? Cassandra turned on the Princess”

“What?! You can’t be serious”

“Apparently, it had something to do with the black rocks that are invading the kingdom. Eugene told Stan that she stole something called the moonstone, and it was supposed to be the solution to the rocks. I don’t know if the Princess will go into detail sometime this week with a statement to the kingdom"

“I can’t believe it, they grew up together! And we watched her train and grow for years! I mean it’s like if Cap and the King were to have a fallout or if Stan and Pete hated each other”

“They do hate each other.”

“Yeah, you’re right they always come back together. She’ll probably want ‘wanted’ posters spread throughout the kingdom, do you think she’ll want her arrested or just find her?”

“Honestly I think she would probably…”

Andrew’s hearing tuned out and turned to look at the girl once again, shock conquering his face. This ghost that stood before him had some sort of mastership of magic or at the very least knew what she was talking about. She knew the real story of Saporia and the Separalists, the sacred secret that only the authentic descendants knew, descendants that as far as he knew had ceased to exist decades ago. That made her yet another Separalist, and from what he gathered, one that abhorred Corona as much as he did. She knew what happened to the moonstone, she knew what it was, who had it, and was ready to help him claim it. 

He smiled, “Where do we start?”.

Chapter Text

Cassandra was used to waiting, but she was not used to doing nothing. 

Every day was a drowning sensation as she felt herself drifting away in isolation from human interaction. She was alone for most of her day, and that was without saying that she never really slept since the moonstone gave her the luxury (or was it a curse?) of not needing any sleep. 

24 hours of total daytime and nighttime.  

This meant that Cassandra was left alone for 720 hours every day for nearly two months without talking to anybody. She wasn't going insane, since she slowly learned that the moonstone had a …personality of her own, one that allowed her to build a connection with it. This connection with her moonstone gave her some sort of tolerable company that didn't make her lose her shit, even if it was nonverbal. 

But even that company didn’t make her bitterness subside when she thought of just how unfortunate everything turned out. Sure, her mission was to keep the moonstone away from Rapunzel to avoid her death, but then what? Cassandra was kilometers away from Corona in unknown lands, hunting for food like a nomad and wandering through the woods at night like the nightmarish horror monster children heard from their parents. 

"You should've just killed me when you had the chance" she mumbled to the glowing opal as she walked on a path leading to god-knows-where., "All you had to do was burn me to ashes and I wouldn’t be out here keeping you away from your sun-drop”.

The moonstone crackled in anger, and Cassandra spat, “This was your fault. You searched for the sun-drop desperately when I only wanted to protect Rapunzel. If you’re not reunited blame that on yourself, you would’ve killed Rapunzel to get to the sun-drop. I won’t allow that to happen”. 

The moonstone hummed in response, perhaps if Cassandra were to stop holding back she’d realize that they both needed to go after their respective counterparts, perhaps then they would stop being this enraged mess if they both spoke from the heart of their grievances, perhaps the way to win was to surrender. 

“No!” Cassandra shouted, “You were going to kill her you piece of shit! You were supposed to kill me ! We are not friends, we are not allies, so stop pretending we are. I’m keeping you away from Rapunzel because you’re so goddamn selfish that the first time you realized where the sun-drop was you sent out your rocks to kill her”

Cassandra’s blue flames spawned black rocks from around her, which made her stop walking and reminded her of one more thing that the moonstone was responsible for doing, “You’ve destroyed homes over a childish whim to reunite with the sun-drop. You destroyed parts of Corona. I’m not going to let you use what I feel for Rapunzel to lead you to her!”

Suddenly another black spike rose from the ground that was not caused by Cassandra’s anger or any sort of involuntary emotion. Its sharp tip pressed firmly again against her pulse point. She chuckled, “Do it”. 

Silence.

Truly, it wouldn’t have mattered if the sharp point of the rock pierced Cassandra’s neck, if anything, it meant the mission was completed. She would die, rot away and she would’ve successfully kept her word to keep the moonstone away from Rapunzel, allowing her to be relieved of her duty until her last breath. Perhaps death was a better outlet for her misery to end, as she wouldn’t feel the tempting and constant pull she felt towards Corona and her princess every day anymore. 

“We don’t deserve to be near them. The sun-drop has healed people and all you do is wither and destroy everything…”. The moonstone didn’t respond, “...and all I’ve done is betray Rapunzel’s trust”.

After a few minutes passed the black rock pressed against her pulse point slowly retracted and sank back into the ground. 

Perhaps the moonstone was the true villain who’d be willing to burn the world to the ground if it meant reaching the sun-drop, but Cassandra would be there to constantly fight this blue opal. She sighed and continued walking on the path she was on. 

Cassandra heard a commotion coming from a significantly large distance, it was a mix of screams and shouts of distress. Everything told her to walk away in the opposite direction and ignore whatever was happening even if someone needed help, and against her better judgment, she went to see what was going on. 

She knew that as soon as people laid eyes on her, they’d go running to their nearest village and hide away from the blue-haired monster. Cassandra had isolated herself away from people because of said reaction. But she figured that at least her horrifying presence would cease whatever trouble was happening and that would be the end of it. Though she would probably feel angry for the misjudgment of character and irreversibly miserable at the reminder that people no longer saw her as human. 

Regardless, Cassandra wasn’t one who ran away if people were in need. Growing under the golden wing of the Captain of the Royal Guard meant he engraved in his daughter a sense of justice that rang the alarm bells like a soldier posted on the watchtower of a city’s walls, whose first instinct would be to protect if the innocent were in peril, it was this force that made her even want to be a Guard in the first place. 

It was this thirst for justice that made her feet automatically run in the direction of the clouds of smoke visible in the distance before her mind could say no.

Once she reached the source of the turbulence, she took in the scene that was happening in front of her. 

In her sight, she saw two large wagons carrying all sorts of goods: Produce, grains, tools, and perhaps even crops or jewelry, set ablaze and slowly consuming themselves in the hungry flames. Cassandra scanned the large group of people who were the origin of the screams, 

Traders , she thought, Local traders

She broke them up into three different groups. Some were trying to flee the scene and tried to get as far away as possible, some were paralyzed in fear and watched their livelihood turn into ash rain, and the rest were on the ground but Cassandra couldn’t tell if they were dead or injured or cowering from whomever caused this threat.

Once again doubt crept back into Cassandra’s mind. If she joined the scene unfolding in front of her, these men and women would consider her presence the nail in their coffin. In fact, they’d most likely blame her for this tragedy and the tale of this blue-haired woman dressed in hell’s armor would spread across distant lands. Cassandra had already engraved it in her head that she was the bad guy, a villain. At the distance where she stood, she could safely walk away unnoticed. 

She turned her body to begin walking in the opposite direction. Still, between the curtains of black smoke and rain of ashes, she managed to finally see the hostile silhouettes that were behind all of this: As the clouds of smoke became thinner she saw a familiar tattooed arm with its skull that stood out before the drawn garden of roses. Cassandra’s eyes moved up and finally confirmed who this criminal was. 

Lady Caine. 

She shouted orders that were barely loud enough to surpass the distressed cries for help and that’s when Cassandra located the rest of her gang of goons that walked through the smoke unaffected and wearing their sadistic smiles satisfied from terrorizing the vendors.

Cassandra recalled the many times her father returned from a day of work and at times, Caine and her band of bandits were the topic of discussion at the dinner table. Caine had done everything from burglaries of local businesses to hostage situations for distortion, and it had also gotten to the point where she threatened Rapunzel and the King’s life in the name of revenge. 

Even while Cassandra was on the road with Rapunzel she still managed to find a way to hurt one of their own. Granted, it was Eugene and the situation was quite humorous for her, but he was still a lifelong friend despite everything Cassandra felt towards the ex-thief.

In Cassandra’s mind, things were quite simple: Caine had a history of messing with Corona, and she was going to be the victim of Cassandra’s wrath now that there wasn’t a blonde princess to hold her back.

So she ran towards disaster. She unsheathed her sword and her heart thumped with adrenaline and the walls of the threatening breaking dam were about to crumble once again. Cassandra hadn’t realized how much her body ached for action after several months of isolation while she drowned in the bitterness of her own misery. It was all ready to pour out once again. 

Cassandra wasn’t going to fight to give these traders some justice no, she was going to fight for a release of the poisoning simmering anger. 

Fuck whatever people thought of the blue she-demon she had become.

She dashed through the smoke in hopes she could slash Caine from behind, but Caine’s quick reflexes dodged her attack as she slid to her left, “Oh ho-ho, if it isn’t the princess’s lady-in-waiting , I like the makeover. Did she make you her personal jester?”. 

Cassandra wasn’t in the mood for talking, so she swung her shadowblade in a diagonal cut, the power of her swing summoned by Caine’s insult.

She continued swinging her sword in a flurry of offensive swings, to which Caine could only parry with defensive blows and barely allowed her to return any offensive swings of her own. 

Caine tried to hide her fear of Cassandra’s inhuman strength with a comment, “Don’t wanna talk huh?”. She didn’t receive any reply from Cassandra. 

With each cut Cassandra delivered, she felt lighter, as if tension slowly left her body, as if every time the steel of Caine’s sword hissed against Cassandra’s shadowblade were a testament that she could unleash all of her grief into the pirate in front of her.

But what Cassandra hadn’t realized was that releasing all of this fury into the physical world was also taxing on her own body, even if it was powered by the moonstone.  

It didn’t take long for Caine’s goons to gang up on her, but Cassandra would easily subdue them with a sweep kick, a front kick, or a basic punch to the face. When Cassandra turned back around to face Caine, a clean swing of her blade powered by her strength knocked her sword out of her hand. 

Another goon swung an axe down from behind her in hopes to crack her head open, but Cassandra turned around quickly, grabbed the axe’s midsection and broke it in half. She used the end without the head to hit him across his face and promptly knocked him out. 

Once she turned back to Caine though she had managed to get ahold of a piece of wood from the wagons that was still burning hot and delivered a blow across Cassandra’s left cheek. 

The hot embers of the wood temporarily blinded Cassandra. She dropped her own sword as she pressed her hands against her cheek, it wouldn’t leave a burn scar, but it was still a stinging sensation given that’s where her scar was. 

Cassandra tried to blink a few times to get her sight back, and she did. As she fought the stinging sensation of her eyeballs, she was no longer surrounded by Caine and her men, 

But rather clones of herself. 

They began laughing in her face, “Rapunzel isn’t coming to save you anytime soon”

“You never needed to protect her, clearly she’s the one who needed to protect you”

“Did you really think fighting a group of pirates would redeem you for what you’ve done?!”

“You tried your best, and your best is pathetic”

All her frustrations and insecurities mocked her and caught up to her. 

Cassandra thought that every blow she delivered to Caine and her gang was a release of tension, her ache to fight.

But this wasn’t her attempt to uphold justice, a way to try to redeem herself, or liberation from her stress. 

Cassandra was fighting herself.

The culmination of the gnawing sensation that ate Cassandra little by little ever since the moonstone created the Cassandras she saw before her, and each represented an emotion that Cassandra hated feeling.

Guilt, for leaving Rapunzel and not having a clue whether or not she could be in danger and she wouldn’t be there to protect her anymore.

Resentment, towards herself for putting herself in this position and actively trying to stay away from Corona.

Fear, that she would never be seen as human ever again.

Anger, at herself from losing the chance to herself from protecting everything that was dearest to her.

Cassandra was one more villain in Rapunzel’s story, but she couldn’t physically fight herself, and Caine was available in front of her. 

She shut her eyes closed and screamed a lung-breaking yell, and behind the darkness of her eyelids, Cassandra couldn’t see the black spikes she summoned that pulsed in and out of the ground in shockwaves. When she opened her eyes, Lady Caine and her men were thrown off balance by the anger earthquake.

Cassandra lunged towards Caine -who had somehow recovered her sword- and Caine prepared herself by making a cut straight down, but Cassandra brought her forearms together in an X, and her armor broke her sword into pieces. 

Cassandra took the opportunity to wrap her hands around her neck and clenched them tightly. It didn’t take long for the redhead to gasp for oxygen, which was lacking around them thanks to the smoke. Maybe her violent need to kill would satiate her, so Cassandra continued pressing tightly with a sneer that would haunt Caine forever. 

That was until she heard a familiar voice at a distance, “Wait!”.

She looked up and saw her best friend in the same attire she last saw her in, her golden locks laid out on the ground like a river of molten gold that remained unaffected by the flames on the ground. 

Her eyes were wide in fear and yet carried a glimmer of hope that begged Cassandra to reconsider what she was about to do. The horror in the green irises made Cassandra’s gaze soften and almost made her tear her hands away from Caine’s neck, almost.

It was as if time stopped when Rapunzel whispered a question that echoed in her ears loud and clear even though her friend was at a significant distance, “Is this what you really are?”

When she blinked again the princess was gone but her question remained ringing in her ears.

She growled and punched Caine across the face, took her belt, and wrapped it around her hands in a way that wouldn’t allow her to free herself. 

She turned around and counted her men, five, who were charging towards her at a fast pace all at the same time. One by one she knocked them out unconscious with her agility with spinning kicks, swift jabs, or hooks with an inhuman amount of power behind each blow. 

She tied up their unconscious bodies similarly as she did with Caine and after tying up the last one, she noticed the giant coin sack the pirates had planned on stealing dragged a few meters away from the scene.  

Everything was done. Cassandra caught her breath from the adrenaline as she breathed heavily. The tension she had once felt over the past couple of months dissolved. She looked at the ruins of all that was left behind by the bandits. Cassandra looked around for any signs of water, but given that there were none, she believed it would be best to just walk away. She didn’t need to be a hero today, not after what she’d learned. 

She took one last deep breathed and as she sighed, all the flames that consumed the wagons vanished as if on cue. 

She frowned at the clouds of residual smoke that continued lingering in the atmosphere, asking herself the silent question if perhaps the moonstone had something to do with the manipulation of the sudden extinguishment of the fire. 

She shook her head and decided that if that were the case, she couldn’t control it much like she couldn’t control the black rocks. 

Cassandra walked away from the scene, wanting to avoid any and all confrontation with the traders and vanish. She checked Caine and her men for any weapons and left them to the trader’s discretion as to what their punishment would be. 

Cassandra began getting ready to walk away from the scene, creeping back into the familiar and depressing solitude. She was barely beginning to wrap herself back into it until she heard a voice call out from behind. “Wait!”

This time it wasn’t the voice of her best friend, but rather a stronger voice with a lower tenor. A man. She feared that now that the traders were done dealing with the pirates, their entire caravan would come after Cassandra ready to lynch her.

But when she turned around and a few paces away was an older tan man with a straw hat that clearly seemed to struggle to catch up with Cassandra. His beard was gray and decorated with age, “I-I. T-Thank you for intervening back there. My comrades and I are thankful for y-your intervention,”

Cassandra took a step back as she felt that perhaps this was a trap and that crossbows were drawn at a distance ready to pierce her head. She cowered her head lower to protect herself and unconsciously made herself seem smaller as if she weren’t a threat. 

The older man pulled out a small coin pouch and extended his arm toward Cassandra. She cryptically eyed the pouch and frowned in confusion, her eyes flickering between the bag and the man. 

“Well go on now, take it. My arms can’t hold out for long” he insisted. Cassandra didn’t really need any coin on her, given that she didn’t -and hadn’t- shopped around for the past few months, “I don’t need it. I couldn’t save your goods anyway”

The man nodded in agreement, “Aye, but we insist. It’s not every day a blue she-devil rescues a group of merchants”. She took the pouch reluctantly and awkwardly, unsure of what to say. She settled by simply saying thank you. 

“Don’t mention it” he said and began turning around to head back. Cassandra did the same but the older man spoke up once again, “Almost forgot: sometimes neighboring towns chip in for contracts. With strength and armor like yours, I’m sure you could put it to good use. Just don’t scare people with the hair and the tan…or the rock earthquakes”. He handed her a cloak and Cassandra made eye contact with him and gave him a small nod in acknowledgment.

They parted their separate ways but as soon as Cassandra was a few paces away from the man, she heard a sore voice from behind that chuckled lowly, “So did the princess ditch you? You never did tell me”.

Cassandra stopped in her tracks unwilling to face the pirate but chose not to engage and continued walking forward. 

Cassandra reflected on how today’s events had made her realize that for as long as she stayed away from Corona, the reminder that she was alone in this thanks to her decision had cost her the future she had once hoped to have with her best friend -even if that meant staying by her side only as a friend. 

And while she couldn’t punish herself directly as she did with Caine, the relief that came from subduing supposed “bad guys” granted her relief as well as praise for her job well done.

Praise.

She had never received that after her attempts to protect her friend on the road. She shook her head and tried her best not to think of the princess of Corona. Perhaps she would hop between villages in search of contracts that would provide a distraction from the longing she felt to return home back into the arms of her best friend.

She sighed and wondered if Rapunzel was on her balcony window and safe from the threats of the moonstone.

Secretly she imagined if she looked out to the horizon that the view from her balcony gave her and wondered where she was and if she thought about her as constantly as she did.

~~~

Rapunzel sighed. 

Nine months later after she had last seen Cassandra, Rapunzel continued holding on to the hope that her best friend would return. She was constantly busy tending to the kingdom and although by the end of the day and into the late hours of the night she felt exhausted by her royal duties, she always found the time to make a trip to Cassandra’s room and make sure everything was in order and bask in the nostalgia her lingering scent gave her. 

She would even go as far as talking about her day, especially on the days when something peculiar happened, such as Pascal’s friend Little Big Guy or the kingdom’s treasure hunt. Though she would giggle as if Cassandra were also in the room with her, she felt a pang of sadness to know that her friend hadn’t partaken in these memories. It was as if she had painted a mural full of color and shading, immaculate, with perfect brush strokes and just the right shade of blended tint, but the middle where the subject was supposed to be was just a blank empty piece of canvas that remained untouched. 

Having the rest of her friends helped most days to keep her motivated, but Varian had not yet been successful in concocting a remedy for her parents to gain their memories back, and they weren’t any closer to regaining their memories back either, and that was without mentioning that the Royal Guard still didn’t have their Captain, who’d been missing for nearly a year. 

Regardless, Rapunzel adapted quickly to any situation and she managed to take control of the kingdom as she did with most things, but even when she wasn’t thinking about Cassandra there was a nagging sensation that told her she needed to take care of the moonstone, or else her home would be destroyed. Unfortunately, that thought process always led her back to Cassandra. 

A squeak interrupted her thoughts and brought her back to reality “Sorry Pal, I think being acting Queen for the past few months have made me feel a little out of it”.

He returned an understanding squeak. 

She sighed and left her room to take care of one last thing before she could officially sign off for the day, and after she’d meet Eugene for dinner.

The ex-con man had become a great pillar of strength since Cassandra left their lives. Rapunzel loved to believe that they were unstoppable as a trio, and together they could push through any obstacles life threw their way. 

Just as she had her own dynamic with Cassandra, Rapunzel also had her separate dynamic with Eugene. Whereas Cassandra was snarky, secretive, and for the most part a loner, Eugene was a peacock that was charming, approachable, and all-around confident. 

Once the moonstone fiasco went down and Cassandra was no longer part of their daily lives, Rapunzel realized just how much she was dependent on her dynamic with Cassandra, but over the past nine months, she had come to explore what it felt like to rely on her other friend. 

In all honesty, she had felt just a bit guilty that since they had met when she was ten, Rapunzel never really indulged in the same intimacy she had with Cassandra as she did with Eugene. Of course, that didn’t mean that the princess barely knew the noble, as she considered him a close second best friend. But the bond Rapunzel shared with Cassandra was built on years of spending time with her friend alone, something she had not done with Eugene…at least to the same degree. 

He could be vain and self-absorbed, but he was loyal and most importantly he had been there to be her strength when Cassandra wasn’t.

“Sunshine!” 

Speak of the devil.

“All done for the day?” he said as he walked alongside her with his hands behind his back. 

“Hm, not yet. I still have to see Xavier to pick up the weapons of the Guard that needed to be mended,” she grinned with excitement “ and ! the new ones he’s created that we agreed to try for the first time”.

Eugene replied with a smug smile “I’ve never seen you so excited over a weapons order blondie, y’know, given you’re all about peace and love”

She tilted her head playfully, “Just because I’m a pacifist it doesn’t mean I’ll leave my kingdom unprotected. Sometimes the world will see Ms. Nice Princess and other times they’ll see…” she trailed off and dropped her voice to a lower octave while she roared “...the Maid with the Braid!”

Eugene laughed heartily at that, “I’m with you on that, wouldn’t want to mess with Corona if her princess could be as ruthless as she is merciful”

The princess smiled. “Besides, we still haven’t been able to locate the Captain. The best we can do to keep our Guard in its best shape is to make sure everything is top-notch” Rapunzel added before being interrupted by a Guard who came running breathlessly. 

“Your Highness!”

Rapunzel inferred that the urgency of the Guard meant something serious had happened, “Belthazar, what is it?”

“The-The prisoner, H-He’s…escaped,” he said between breaths, “Who did?!” she asked with urgency.

“Andrew, Hubert, the leader of the Separalists” he replied. 

Immediately Rapunzel turned to look at Eugene and called out his name. ‘On it” was all he replied as he understood the wordless order of the princess. 

She turned once again to Belthazar, “Find Nigel and get him to immediately print out wanted posters in case we cannot apprehend him immediately”

The Guard gave the princess a salute and ran off, leaving Rapunzel with a busy and worried mind. 

~~~

“Where are we?” Andrew asked barely above a whisper. 

“I’m sure you’re aware of the underground tunnels of Corona. The same tunnels that General Shampanier planned on using to conquer Corona. I believe you once tried to get ahold of the journal where they’re mapped, isn’t that right?” the ghostly girl replied.

“Don’t worry, no one other than two people know about these tunnels, they’ll be looking for you in the surface”

Andrew said nothing as they continued walking among the smell of minerals and dust, mentally mapping out each and every passage they snaked through.

~~~

Nearly five hours had passed and the entire Guard had not yet managed to capture the escapee. Rapunzel had not yet heard any news, she eyed the giant clock in the throne room, it read 1:14 in the morning, and yawned. She looked over to her side of her throne where Pascal rested peacefully in a slumber. Rapunzel lifted her finger to stroke his head gently, but shortly after Eugene soon and a few other guards trickled into the room, which made the little reptile turn bright red in alarm.

She rushed over to ask about the status of the missing prisoner, “Anything?”

Eugene nodded his head “No. We searched in the docks, the pubs, and the alleys. Hell, even places I would’ve hidden but we couldn’t find him”

One of the Guards interjected, “There was no sign of him, Princess”. Rapunzel sighed and looked up to find Belthazar in the group of Guards who had entered the throne room. 

“Did Nigel send the word out to print out ‘Wanted’ posters?” she asked. He nodded and replied “Over the past hour Guards have distributed the posters as they’re being printed all over Corona. They’ll be distributed to Old Corona shortly”

Rapunzel gave the group a small smile that she hoped would be encouraging, “Good job guys, you’re dismissed for now. Make sure to rotate shifts and keep an eye out for Andrew” 

With that, the fleet of Guards left the room, leaving Rapunzel alone with Eugene. Once the last of the Guards left the room, Rapunzel sat on the throne and released a huge sigh as she covered her face with her hands. 

Eugene walked over to where the blonde sat and kneeled down to eye level. He placed a comforting hand on her knee and before he could say something, she spoke up “How could this have happened under my watch?”

“Rapunzel this wasn’t your fault. The good news is that only Andrew managed to break out, and the rest of the Separalists were left behind. I took the liberty to ask the Guards to have them questioned”.

Rapunzel dragged her hands down from her face and gave Eugene a small thankful smile that dissolved shortly after, “Thanks Eugene, but while my parents can’t run the kingdom I’m in charge of anything that goes wrong. What kind of ‘Queen’ am I if we have a terrorist out and about that escaped during my rule?”

“One that is trying her best without the Captain of the Royal Guard. Sunshine you can’t blame this all on yourself” he replied.

“I couldn’t even manage to get my final task done, I was supposed to meet Xavier hours ago!” she ignored his last comment.

Eugene smiled softly for a moment, “You don’t have to worry about that. While we were doing the search we passed by Xavier’s. We alerted every Coronan of Andrew’s jailbreak; he was no exception. He understood that this was a far more pressing matter for you,”

The princess smiled as she breathed out in relief, “Xavier is so understanding, but, the weaponry…”

“He told me that he’d be willing to deliver them to the castle tomorrow morning if that was most convenient, and I said yes,” he said confidently but to the princess, it sounded comforting.

A smile returned to her face as she began to perk up, “No. I’ll head out early in the morning for pick-up. Xavier’s already done so much and it’d be far too much trouble to get him to make a delivery in the morning”

Eugene held her hands as they both stood up, the silence stretching between the two. Rapunzel looked down and looked at their hands intertwined together. She pulled them away gently and smiled one last time “Thank you for everything Eugene, but it’s late”

Eugene rolled his shoulders back “Of course, I’ll walk you to your room”

And they did. The silence stretched into an unsung question that lingered in the atmosphere. It made the air around them feel thick and heavy. It didn’t take long for Eugene’s impatience and anticipation to break it.

“Rapunzel…” he said as he gently stopped her from walking down the hallway. Rapunzel tried to ignore the knot in her stomach as she felt her own goosebumps hint at what the noble would say. 

“Look I know I’ve messed up in the past in more ways than just one” he began, “I should have never agreed to what your father asked me to do during the Autumn Ball and I want to right that wrong…also in more ways than just one”

“During our trip to the Dark Kingdom we had so many close calls and each of them made me realize that I was afraid to lose you Rapunzel, and in some ways, I’m glad Cass took the moonstone if that meant it saved your life,” he said as he tucked a strand of Rapunzel’s hair behind her ear. 

Rapunzel felt the reminder of fate and destiny weigh down on her shoulders once again, “Eugene you’ve said it yourself, we all had close calls, and there were many times we were all afraid of losing each other”

“And I agree!” he countered, “But that doesn’t mean that we are still in the clear, your parents haven’t recovered your memory, the moonstone is still out there, Cassan -”

“What are you trying to say?” she interrupted in an attempt to stop him from saying her name. Eugene stopped briefly to look into her eyes, and she realized she had been caught.

He sighed and decided to momentarily change the topic to address the elephant in the room, “Look, I know how much Cass meant to you, but we can’t keep waiting for her to come back or even consider her an ally anymore. Sunshine-”

“You were the one who said we would have to hope she would come around. What happened to that, Eugene?” She countered quickly

“I said that because you were suffering a meltdown Rapunzel. None of us who came back from the Dark Kingdom expected you to be in the right headspace to lead a kingdom, even Shorty could agree with that! How could else could I help if it weren’t by consoling you? Consoling the Princess of Corona as your best friend?” 

His words caused a pang of guilt in the princess’s chest knowing her grief had been a burden to everyone around her, but Rapunzel didn’t think twice to deflect as he had also made an interesting claim. “You don’t think Cassandra’s coming back,” she said with disappointment tainting her voice. 

The taller man looked down “I don’t want you to get hurt getting your hopes up for something that may never happen,” he reached to grab her hands “But I’m right here Rapunzel, me, not Cass. Let me take care of you, let me make the weight a little lighter,” 

Hesitantly, he leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. Rapunzel didn’t move or react to the kiss, all she did was close her eyes to try and feel any sort of degree or spec of warmth.

There was none.

He pulled away, his eyelashes fluttering and scanning to read the princess’s face. “Just…think about it okay?” he said as he gave both of her hands a light squeeze.

She didn’t turn around to watch him walk down the hallway as she heard the echo of his boots against the marble flooring bouncing off the huge castle walls. 

~~~

In a tavern in a far distance away from Corona, convicts crowded the bar and drank as if there were no tomorrow as they spent their gold from the day’s job. The stench of sweat and spilled alcohol filled the atmosphere unpleasantly. 

The door to the pub opened, and its silhouette was significantly smaller than the rest of the men who were already indulging in the environment, something that identified it differently from the rest.

A woman. 

Silence reigned as she walked in, their eyes followed her as if she were prey ready to be hunted. Her cloak hovered over her as she made her way over to the bar, covering any and all identifiable features as she kept her head low. The click of the hard boots against the cedar floor was the only thing that could’ve been heard. She finally reached for a stool and dragged it out, the sound of the seat being dragged across the floor echoed across the room. She finally took a seat.

“Don’t stop on my account,” she finally spoke up. 

One of the thugs walked over and pulled the hood of the cloak to reveal the woman they had only heard of from neighbors of neighbors. The woman who had built a reputation for being ruthlessly strong, a master of swordsmanship. 

Nobody knew her name, but the vibrant blue hair made one name ring in their heads.

The Blue She-Devil. 

The bigger man who had pulled her hood didn’t have time to react when she grabbed his wrist and twisted it, making his forearm bone align in an ‘x’ with the bones in his hands. This agonizing scream, the rumors of her freakishly abnormal strength, and her reputation made all the other men and women hesitate to start another bar fight, even if it was a daily occurrence. 

The pub thug who pulled her hood made his way out of the tavern whimpering in pain. Cassandra made eye contact with the bartender, and her piercing cyan irises made an unspoken demand. Immediately the bartender poured a drink and left the knightess to have her drink alone. 

A sound next to her made her use her peripheral vision and saw next to her a short burly man with a bald head and black beard, with tribal tattoos covering the entirety of his arms and reeked of freshly peeled skin.

“You're up for hire right?” he asked, but she remained silent.

“I’ve heard about you,” he said after she had not replied, “In a short amount of time you managed to make a name for yourself, a tall, dark, and blue maiden who brings wanted criminals to Justice or brings justice to the ones who have enough coin to offer. Great duality isn’t it?”

“Enough. Where’s the job at?” She asked, taking a sip from her drink. 

He pulled out a coin pouch and placed it on the counter, “Vardaros” 

Cassandra froze and tried to conceal any sort of reaction that would reveal her history in said town. “That’s too close to Corona,” she replied reflectively. 

The thug cocked an eyebrow but did not otherwise seem to care about the fact, “So?”

“I don’t have to explain my business to you, I’m not taking the job” she spat quietly. 

He remained stoic and pulled out a second coin bag and tossed it on the counter, its heavier thud announcing how much more of a reward Cassandra could earn. 

Yet as she turned to look away from the pouch, the bald man sneered to see her disinterest as he quickly inferred that no amount of reward money would get her to complete his contract. 

Though the sneer quickly dissolved as it became something completely opposite: a smirk. 

“Fine,” he said as he began collecting the two pouches and placing them back in his pocket, “I’ll make sure to alert whatever is waiting for you in Corona of your whereabouts”

As he began to pull out of his stool, he felt a pull and before he knew it he had been bent over the bar counter and his arms painfully twisted behind his back, “I’ll have you killed if you even think of doing that.

The people in the bar once again watched the scene unfold, hoping to bear witness to a violent kill. But the threat and the hold of his arms didn’t stop him from chuckling darkly, “We both know that’s not your style, it’s a simple job. In and out,”

“If it was so simple, why go through all this trouble…” she stretched the grip of his arm, making one joint pop in a warning that pulled a hiss out of him  “…to hire me?”

“You’re the only one who can do it, your sword, it can cut through anything, yeah?” He groaned.

Cassandra didn’t reply and allowed him to finish, “I need you to cut through a vault in the Baron’s mansion he took something from me a long time ago”

As soon as the word “Baron” left his lips Cassandra released the man aggressively. Once upon a time, she had encountered the man who nearly killed one of her friends when they had first arrived in Vardaros, and while Cassandra definitely didn’t want to bump into the sheriff or Vex -or worse, Corona’s Guard- she couldn’t find it in herself to not lash out at yet another one of Rapunzel’s enemies as she had done with Caine months ago. 

“I’ll need a horse”

~~~

The following morning Rapunzel kept her promise and made her way to Xavier’s shop, taking a wagon and Fidella for the refurbished weaponry. Although Rapunzel was not a morning person and given that she hadn’t slept much the night before due to Andrew’s jailbreak and her conversation with Eugene, she still wanted to make sure that Xavier didn’t have to bother bringing said weapons to the castle. From the beginning, she had agreed that she would be picking up the order, and she was going to keep her promise. 

Rapunzel watched how even though it was still early, the streets of Corona were already bustling with citizens running their daily errands: kids made their way to school, housewives picked up fresh eggs, and merchants sold their products on their streets. It brought a small sense of pride to Rapunzel to find such peace and prosperity happening although her parents were not on the throne. It was a sign she was doing things right and it brought her a relief that created a grin on her face. 

As she turned on a final street to get to Xavier’s shop, she found him outside already loading up a large load of halberds in his arms. Once she walked closer to the shop, he was finally able to notice the princess, “Greetings your highness,”

“Good morning Xavier!” She replied, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here yesterday as we had agreed and-”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Princess, I understand there was a jailbreak yesterday yes?” Xavier asked, his voice sounding more like a reassurance. 

Rapunzel nodded, sighed in relief, and smiled “Yes! We had our hands full but that is why I came with Fidella to pick up the orders, I didn’t want you to bother delivering the weapons to the castle”

Xavier gave Rapunzel a warm smile that washed away any anxiety she might have felt, “I appreciate the gesture, it won’t take long to load up the wagon”

Although the princess held a smaller frame, it wasn’t an impediment for her to help carry some of the swords and sabers to the wagon. Though as they carried the last of them into the wagon, out of the corner of her eye, a ray of light caught her attention. Since the morning sun was now at a higher angle in the heavens, it was now at a point where the store’s porch was fully bathed in sunlight. It was this light that reflected off an item that piqued Rapunzel’s curiosity, and when she walked to the source she let out a small gasp at the familiarity of the item. 

The dagger was similar if not identical to the dagger she had seen Cassandra carry around for years. Its blade was double-hollow, its quillons on the cross-guard curled upward with amazing craftsmanship that was so very unique. She tried to find any sort of indicator or feature that would set it apart from Cassandra’s dagger, but Rapunzel’s meticulous eye could find none. 

She hadn’t noticed that Xavier approached her, and he broke the silence first “I’ve only made two of these my whole life”. Rapunzel turned around to face the blacksmith, and he nodded his head to grant permission for the princess to hold the dagger in her hand. 

Rapunzel grabbed the dagger awkwardly in her inexperienced hand, as she wasn’t used to holding any actual weapons unless it was a frying pan. She noticed that although daggers were significantly smaller than swords, they could still feel just as heavy as the one she held from its grip. “Did the other belong to…?” she asked without wanting to mention her name, as she knew that a good part of Coronans now knew Cassandra as a traitor to the crown. 

Xavier hummed affirmatively in response, “I gave it to her two or three years before you were brought to the castle…” he paused, “...but I made this one for her return”. Rapunzel turned back around to face him after hearing his last few words. 

This time it was Rapunzel’s turn to speak up “It feels like ever since everything happened, everyone just expects me just to forget Ca- she was my best friend, and yet I can’t seem to find a reason to prove them wrong when I just- I just know she didn’t do this with malicious intent…even if she did betray me”

Xavier pulled a nearby stool while the princess sat down on the stone table, still holding the dagger in her hands. “When I first gave Cassandra this dagger, she was just barely learning to experiment with weapons, the Captain had only taught her hand-to-hand combat and he didn’t want her to experiment with sharp weapons just yet”

He smiled to himself as he recalled his memory, “She wasn’t as tall as she is now, so the dagger was half as big as she was”. Rapunzel inspected the dagger in her hands and took into account its size. It was then that she realized just how much smaller the dagger looked when Cassandra handled it in comparison to her, who was significantly shorter than the knightess. He continued “I told her to keep it hidden until someone saw and realized her dedication. I never saw it visibly on her until you were returned to the castle, Princess”

“With all due respect Your Highness, could your heart really call Cassandra a traitor if her ‘betrayal’ didn’t come from a place rooted in evil?”

Rapunzel shifted her eyes from the dagger to Xavier in sincere astonishment, “I’m a man of advanced age, and as a blacksmith, I have sold many things to individuals of all backgrounds. I have seen people ask for a sword or a dagger with the intent of hurting others. I have seen soldiers order maces for merciless beatings and punishments. But Cassandra, princess, doesn’t fight for herself, she doesn’t fight for others, she fights for you ”. 

Upon listening to his last sentence Rapunzel felt a new realization fall upon her, yet she didn’t know what it was or how to verbalize it into a tangible concept in her mind. It didn’t take long for Xavier to bring some clarity into her mind “I was not there, I may not know the whole story, but Cassandra is a warrior . For reasons I just can’t elaborate on right now, I know I can easily recognize it and whatever she did, I know she did not do it with the clear intention of betraying you, not when she’s dedicated her life protecting you”

The relief Rapunzel felt on her shoulders was immense just as her fear was. Though Xavier had not been there when Cassandra took the moonstone, the softness of his words and the sincerity in his eyes told Rapunzel a million things about Cassandra and her motives. His words awakened a realization within her that screamed to her that Cassandra had never once betrayed her and she needed her to come back home to Corona, 

Can your heart really call Cassandra a traitor?

To come back home to her. 

The sense of betrayal that Rapunzel had once held vanished. “I didn’t mean to offend you, you highne-” he began, but the princess stopped him

“N-No Xavier, you’re right!” she gasped in realization. Some energy within Rapunzel pulsed and told her to run to Fidella and ride her beyond Corona’s border, the kingdom and jailbreaks be dammed, and search the four corners of the world to find Cassandra again. 

Cassandra was the last of her kind, her heart knew it, and the song in her heart told her that nothing stood in her way and that there were tons of mistakes to not regret ready for her beyond the borders of her homeland. 

“All this time I’ve been carried away with what everyone expects me to believe and caught up with destiny…” she eyed the dagger once again “...that I forgot to listen to my heart”. She looked back up at Xavier, who had a warm smile that conveyed his pride as to what the princess ended up concluding.

“I have to find Cass,” she said with determination as she looked in the direction of the northeastern part of Corona’s walls, “Adira or Hector have to have known something about Cassandra’s whereabouts, I have to find them I-”

“Xavier! I r’elly need to get a fixin’ on this- ” a voice called from the opposite side of the porch where a tall burly Coronan with a bright ginger red mane held a chipped iron saber with visible scratches. 

Rapunzel’s high and inspiration quickly dissolved with the interruption of who she recognized as Magnus, the father of the four ginger sisters who had initially designed Rapunzel’s everyday braid shortly after it had returned to its magical length. 

Upon the realization of who Xavier’s company was, Magnus immediately apologized and lightly bowed “Yer highness! My sincerest apo’ligys I didn’t know you’d be here! I could always come back another minite”

Rapunzel quirked up as Magnus gave her a window of opportunity to leave Xavier alone and go after whatever was waiting beyond Corona. She smiled kindly “No no! Don’t worry Magnus I was just heading out!”

She turned to Xavier and with the dagger pointing down, she wrapped her arms around his neck in an appreciative hug before she whispered ‘thank you’. Xavier was originally stunned but returned the hug as he whispered ‘go’ and mumbled something in another language Rapunzel didn’t recognize. 

“Say hello to the girls for me!” the princess said as she jogged past Magnus.

Rapunzel, too high on adrenaline to care, ran to the wagon and secured everything as Xavier began talking to Magnus. She frantically tried to tie everything together so that it would not fall in its return to the castle. 

“Hello Magnus, how can I help?”

She mentally made a plan in her head that she would drop off the weapons in the castle, talk to King Edmund to see if he had any idea where to locate either Hector or Adira 

“Oi! Me saber chipped just a few weeks ago. Been meaning to bring it over but I hadn’t enough coin”

(though she would most likely prefer to talk to Adira, who Rapunzel wanted to bet she’d be more cooperative) and try to get Cassandra’s whereabouts. 

“I know I should’ve brought it sooner, but I kept trying to buy a new one in hopes it would be cheaper!”

Though it was a clear plan in her head, Rapunzel failed to notice all the flaws in her head, not when the thought of seeing Cassandra again blinded her from everything else.

“I’ve heard of that bounty hunter up north, she’s gained a reputation quite fast but other than her strength, she’s said to be an amazing swordsman- swords-, swords…woman? Ehh I dunno”

Although the last time she had seen her best friend she had been consumed by rage and resentment, she had seen a flash of the pain and uncertainty she had gone through alongside her. 

“But I’ve been tryin’ to figure out what her swords made of!”

Though she wouldn’t see the earthly raven curls she had run through her hair for countless nights. Curls that would tangle in her fingers ever so occasionally while Rapunzel relished in the comfort of the soft fluffiness. No, she would meet the cold cyan matching pupils and hair.

“It’s said that the Blue Devil’s sword can cut and slice through anything!”

Blue?

Blue!

“Imagin’ wielding something so sharp!”

Sword

Unbreakable

WAIT!

“Think you could fix it up so that it’s just as-?”

“What did you say?!” The princess demanded desperately to rewind the conversation between the blacksmith and the merchant, she hadn’t regulated her tone, and her inquiry came off as threatening. 

Magnus looked like a deer in headlights unsure of what to say, scared that he might’ve said something wrong “I-I-I-I ap-p-p-ologies your highness I’m not sure-”

Rapunzel quickly glanced at Xavier, and in those few seconds, her eyes told him all her suspicions. “What’s her name?” Xavier asked calmly for the princess.

“No one knows! She’s just known as the Blue Devil. She has abnormal strength and blue hair. She’s brought wanted criminals to justice in the past few months. They say her sword is unbreakable, I just wanted to know if Xavier knew the material” Magnus confessed with honesty, unsure why the inquiry 

“Rumors say she’s going to Vardaros in about a week, but that may or not be true since she’s always on the move. Why? Does she have anything to do with the jailbreak?” He asked, oblivious to Rapunzel’s suspicions. 

Rapunzel wasn’t sure whether to disclose this to anybody, but one thing was for sure:

It was time to return to Vardaros. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Cyan irises stood out in the coat of darkness that covered the woods, stalking, contemplating, calculating, planning,

Waiting.

Though the night was cool as her veins, the shadow knightess couldn’t stop perspiring. She clenched her jaw in concentration as she looked at the city that stood out like a singular star in the night sky from the distance she was at. The sturdy walls of the canyon city remained rugged, unassailable, and mighty just as she remembered them to be. She tried to fool her mind to convince herself that from where she stood she could lay out in her mind how she would sneak into the city, how she would avoid Quaid, Vex, locals who knew her, and unexpected foes that would be around the corner. 

Yet, no matter how many times she went over it in her head Cassandra knew that walking into a city that held beautiful memories would be painful, agonizing, masochistic. It was this city that remained permanently changed only thanks to Rapunzel’s touch, which meant that no matter which alley Cassandra hid in, Rapunzel’s mark was indefinite all over the canyon city. 

But things were much worse than that. Vardaros’ glory hadn’t just been reignited by Rapunzel’s determination but by Cassandra’s spirit. Together both women brought balance to the city of Vardaros once again, and to be walking once again into a city reborn from the princess’s goodwill and Cassandra’s disposition felt like entering sacred ground that belonged to both of them much like the Lost Lagoon. 

Regardless, Cassandra had a job that needed to be done. It was in and out, she’d take something from the Baron and she would never step foot into Vardaros ever again. 

As her horse sneaked into the outskirts on the edge of the city, Cassandra noticed that once upon a time, she had stood in the same place when she had arrived in Vardaros for the first time. She noticed that all of the black rocks were still present in the exact same place they had been since they came to Vardaros, they had neither grown nor shrunk, they had just remained stationary. 

What do you wanna do first? Get matching face tattoos?...Or see if we can get a deal on a rusty hatchet? Oh, I know! Let’s see who can get the plague first!!

The town’s infrastructure and architecture had remained the same but with significant differences. It was still dull, but a bit cleaner, in fact much cleaner since they had left. Cassandra tried to imagine what sort of changes the people of Vardaros had gone through. Still, the knowledge of the day were secrets for the moon, and she couldn’t have the luxury of wandering through the streets during the day to find what the renewed spirit of Vardaros looked like after two years. Curiosity asked for a chance to be indulged, but Cassandra turned it down, now was not the time to reminisce. 

Except that no matter how much she wanted to avoid thinking about the past, the moon soldier had to dig back into her memories to remember which street took her to the main square, which corner would lead her to the Baron’s old mansion, or which one led her to the corner where she caught Shorty taking a piss once. But as she did, she would lightly brush against pleasant memories that tempted to reel her in. Cassandra kept herself grounded in the steady beat of her horse’s hooves clicking against the newly polished cobblestone beneath them as she focused only on the directions she needed to take to get to where she needed to be. 

She gently tugged at the reins to get the steed to stop briefly and closed her eyes, eyebrows furrowed tightly in desperate concentration to just focus and only focus on where the Baron’s mansion was and not the flashes of images of a fraudulent engagement, honey bees chasing a white horse, Sneezeweasels, the exciting adrenaline of wrestling bodies over a pen, or much worse: the echo of Rapunzel’s giggles

She sighed once she snapped her eyes open. 

The Baron’s mansion was at the end of the canyon, she’d have to walk through the entire length of the city.

She clicked her tongue and her stallion kept walking forward in a still silence. 

Cassandra remembered a shortcut and turned a corner. All her past efforts to avoid her memories were to no avail as she found herself in a place that triggered the flickering of a memory. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but before she could catch up to what was happening she saw the ghost of herself in the main square of Vardaros, holding on to a dainty hand that struggled to keep up with Cassandra thanks to her longer legs and her superior athleticism. 

Cassandra suppressed a grin at the sight of herself dragging the blonde princess, especially when she knew that throughout the years, it was Rapunzel’s delicate artist hands who tugged at her gloved ones. In this memory, it was Cassandra who carried that sparkle of mischief and a devilish smile that was usually seen on the princess whenever both had their little adventures. It was as comical as it was ironic. 

Soon the main square of Vardaros wasn’t dimly lit by the soft gleam of the moon, nor was it deserted by the lack of people, or even remained as clean as it was now. Both women sped past abandoned stands with games that included apple bobbing, ‘guess how many beans’, and a petting zoo.

~~~

Cassandra chuckled under her breath as they zoomed by the pathetically abandoned activities that the princess of Corona had come up with. Although the gopher grab had been canceled, Cassandra believed that the Vardaros Goodwill festival was far from over, much less after the chaos that had ensued earlier in the day. Now, she would have Rapunzel experience an authentic Vardarian festival after being a pain in the ass the last couple of days. 

“Heh, Cass I’ve had enough edgy events for today I think we are ready to call it a day!” the princess nervously chuckled as she eyed her friend’s events while being led by Cassandra, her tone only semi-lighthearted to conceal her own concern as to what her friend would put her through.

“Oh no no no no no you’re not getting out of this one princess” Cassandra replied with a smirk of her own, “Besides, the gopher grab was your idea, not mine. The least you owe after being a piss baby is to try one of my events”

Finally, they came to a halt right in the middle of where Cassandra’s games had been set up, the princess sighed and looked at Cass with nervous eyes that pleaded to reconsider but Cassandra only managed to shoot back a smug grin with her arms crossed for the princess to cave.

“Okay!” Rapunzel said with confidence in hopes Cassandra didn’t feel as if she had already won “Sure! What do you wanna do?” she scanned her surroundings to find a game that wasn’t hardcore as the others (which proved to be a challenging task of its own) but finally, the princess managed to find a pretty mild event that wasn’t as dreadful such as pirana dunking or Shorty toss “How about a spitting contest?! I can work with that”

Rapunzel hadn’t noticed one last event that stood behind Cassandra, so when the taller woman took a single step to her right to reveal exactly what game she was going to have Rapunzel participate in still wearing her smug grin, Rapunzel’s first words were…

“Cass, no”

~

“It’s like shooting an arrow with a guitar!! Actually, never mind I don’t know how that works but!…. I can help” Cass said as she carried Rapunzel over her shoulder like a potato sack.

“Cass, a crossbow is much different than shooting from a bow or a guitar, more so when a person is being used as a target” Rapunzel retorted.

“The person isn’t the target princess, the apple is” Cass replied nonchalantly as she placed her down and angled the princess’s shoulders to face the target that was a few meters away from where they stood. Cassandra continued “It’s literally the same thing as using a bow…or a guitar for that matter if you want to insist those two are the same”

Rapunzel’s eyes briefly gleamed as she disagreed, “With a guitar or a bow you get to feel the tension and your own control over it because you’re pulling the string…” She looked to her side where a game attendant was handing her a loaded crossbow and the shimmer in her eyes turned into uncertainty for a second “...but all you have to think about with a crossbow is about pulling the trigger, it’s point-blank. I can’t aim like that Cass”

The same game attendant now stood at a distance with an apple to his head, waiting for his fate hanging in the balance of life and death. Cassandra’s smug look melted away into a comforting gaze “In a way it’s easier to aim with a crossbow, I’ve got you Raps,”.

The knightess walked behind her friend as she gestured her hand in a straight line  “Since the arrow is loaded up it’s basically guaranteed that it’ll shoot in a straight line unlike when you’re aiming with a bow”

“And if it doesn’t?” Rapunzel looked over her shoulder to look at her friend.

“It will. trust me” Cassandra assured her.

Those last two words were all the princess needed to hear for a smile to return to her face. Cassandra witnessed how all doubt, fear, and anxiety were drained out of the blonde and it made her heart soar. The grip the princess’s trust had on Cassandra brushed away any spec of doubt either of them had.

Rapunzel nodded one last time and she brought the crossbow up to her line of vision to aim for the vibrant red dot in the distance. Cassandra brought a hand up to lower the blonde’s elbows “Keep your arms low, you want to keep the crossbow steady”

As the princess did as she was told, she began to aim for the red dot and a small fear of slicing an innocent man’s head crept back into her mind, and Cassandra noticed when she began hearing rugged breathing. 

“Cass…” Rapunzel croaked. 

“Breathe Raps,” Cassandra said barely above a whisper as she stepped closer to hold her friend’s waist and guide her own hand to adjust her aim and it did the trick to calm her down.

Cassandra finally understood what Rapunzel meant when she said that shooting with a bow had more substance than a crossbow, more so now that she felt in alignment with the princess. As she stood behind her princess with her body flush against hers feeling each rise and fall of her gentle breathing, she began to feel the same energy as she aligned her breath with the princess, and perhaps if she had the ability to, she would know that their heartbeats had become one. It was renewing and heart jittering for her soul.

“Let it go” she whispered against her friend’s shoulder. 

Rapunzel added pressure to the trigger with her finger and there was a click. 

In the span of half a second, there was cheer and celebration. The arrow had indeed pierced the apple on top of the man’s head. 

“Cass! Oh, Cass! We did it!!” the blonde shouted in glee as she threw herself into her taller friend’s arms adrenaline coursing through their veins. 

“I said I’d help you didn’t I?!!” Cassandra said as she picked the princess up and spun her around.

~~~

It was the huff of her horse that brought her back to reality, Cassandra’s heart was now beating at a hundred an hour and a warmth that spread all throughout her torso brought a sneer to her face. 

Pathetic , she thought, All that from a memory? Pull yourself together  

Cassandra didn’t want to wander around Vardaros for much longer, so with that same sneer she got off her stallion to avoid the loud clicking against the cobblestone to ring throughout the city if she were to gallop. 

So she sprinted through alleys that were against canyon walls. Alleys that led to higher alleys thanks to the uneven elevations of the canyon city. Her agility took her to the roofs of Vardaros. She hoped that hopping between roofs she would slip and fall hard enough to fall unconscious and forget the feeling of her friend against her. She wanted to forget the affections, she wanted to replace whatever she felt in her body with tiredness. 

Cassandra was hungry, starving for Rapunzel’s touch, and her unwanted memory was like a full-course meal being taunted in front of her but not being able to indulge. 

It hurt, and she wanted to replace this sensation with physical exhaustion, push beyond the high limits her superhuman body could withstand, but alas Cassandra could only do so much with each leap between roofs and canyon edges. The wind in her face made threatening tears sting the corners of her eyes; but for each tear Cassandra held back, a new black spike emerged in the city’s walls and homes. 

Missing the blonde was a tight, sharp ache in her chest, an agony that channeled its pain right where the cavity of the moonstone glowed with sorrow. It was a never-ending, pondering question if leaving Rapunzel in the first place was a mistake, and the longer the question remained unanswered, the more it hurt. Sobs that threatened to spill from her throat and were swallowed hard back into her chest, and the moonstone would summon yet another physical manifestation of Cassandra’s grief in the shape of an unbreakable onyx rock, much like she the pain felt.

Finally, her tear blurred her vision and dissonance made the moonstone host make one wrong step between the gables of Vardaros. She felt herself falling, and the heartache she felt dissipated into something she was all too familiar with,

Numbness. 

It was motionless and it was calm as if time had frozen into a comforting yet bittersweet stillness. 

Even as her body thumped against the ground, there wasn’t any pain to pull her out of the limbo to which she had fallen. 

She didn’t know how long she remained on the ground. 

She didn’t know how long it took for Rapunzel to get out of her head. 

She hoped that the pain of the fall had been delayed and once her body welcomed it she would get up and continue her mission, but the pain never came. She missed feeling pain,at least significant physical pain, because at the very least she knew that her mind and her nerves would prioritize that over the ache she felt in her heart. 

She grunted as she lifted herself off the ground and as she had trained herself for years as a soldier, she put her feelings on the back burner to complete this job.

~~~

Cassandra didn’t take long to get to the Baron’s old mansion, much less due to any limping (or lack thereof). She had originally decided that she would walk in through the front as she figured that nobody had been near the estate since the Baron was kicked out of Vardaros, but against her own judgment, she chose to go in through the back where Rapunzel once crashed Eugene and Stalyan’s wedding. 

Walking through the gardens triggered yet another flickering of memory as her eyes scanned the wreckage of a wedding that had remained in place for two years. The decor that had been set up for Eugene’s wedding was now scattered as litter, clashing the green and yellow of the grass with white and pink ribbon. The red carpet that led to the main back entrance was stiff with dust and grime that built up over the years, and it made the castle handmaiden inside Cassandra shudder to think how hard it would be to return it to its original condition. Cassandra’s eyes followed the filthy carpet down to where the entrance to the Baron’s mansion was, which in turn led her to see the floral archway that had surprisingly stayed upright, though ‘floral’ wouldn’t have been the perfect adjective to describe it as the nonexistent flowers had wilted and became nothing but hardened and wrinkled pruned petals. 

The corner of Cassandra’s lips barely curled upwards as she found satisfaction in knowing that she had the honor to crash Eugene’s wedding -granted, it was a forced wedding the brunet had been forced into to save his friend’s life- but the feelings associated with said memory brought a spec of amusement to Cassandra before she shut them down once again as her stubbornness made her ground herself in the silent whispers and echos of the night: the soft sighs of the breeze, the howling of coyotes around the canyon at a distance, and the odd crunch of grass nearby. 

Thankfully, her determination to stay alert in her present made her notice the whispers of a heel sprinting against gravel resonating behind Cassandra, and she instinctively pulled her shadow blade out with a hiss as she walked up the concrete stairs to the entrance of the mansion. She listened closely for any movement around her, eyes scanning and analyzing her surroundings 360 degrees around her,ready to strike. The crunch of the rustling of the bushes in the garden made Cassandra’s eyes snap in its direction, but her attention was cut short as she heard clicks of the soles of a boot against the concrete right behind her, and they were approaching her fast . 

Cassandra just barely managed to swing her sword defensively as she turned around. She grounded her feet into her stance and dragged her heels back to create space between herself and the offender, who hadn’t struck again to her surprise. 

The mysterious attacker kept their own defensive stance and after they took a few slow steps forward, they lowered their own sword, “Oh hey…I know you” they chuckled lowly. 

Cassandra didn’t know how to respond to that and instead swung her sword with an underhand grip to catch the intruder off guard and probe their reaction. Quickly, the offender leaned to the side with their sword still lowered, completely dodging Cassandra’s attack. 

“It’s you?! Out of all the people in the world! You?!” her feminine voice said amusedly as she pointed her sword toward Cassandra. 

Her mockery made Cassandra’s eyes reflect a fury as she felt the all too familiar insecurity and more ridicule, as if she weren’t enough to complete this job. As the voice continued stepping forward she was able to recognize the sleek figure whom she was talking to, a sly but dangerous thief with a history with Flynn Ryder,

Stalyan.

Cassandra had yet another momentary flash of a conversation she had with Rapunzel after they had been released from Pincosta.

She remembered anger,

Frustration,

Anxiety.

“You could’ve died, Rapunzel!”

“Cass it’s fine, I didn’t, she didn’t abandon me,” she said innocently 

“BUT SHE DID! If she hadn’t come back in time you wouldn’t be here, the timing did you a favor, not Stalyan…”

A petrified love she was all too familiar with when it came to the Princess of Corona and losing her.

And as she did with Caine a few months ago, Cassandra charged forward with a more personal resentment against this other redhead. 

Cassandra took a step to the right and swung her sword to her left with the intent of hurting the thief, yet Stalyan managed to evade swiftly yet again.

“Woah, hey I just wanted to chat!-” Stalyan replied before she was overwhelmed with a flurry of attacks she was forced to swing her rapier defensively. 

“There is nothing we need to talk about,” Cassandra said darkly and quietly as she paused her attacks. 

Though Cassandra was stronger than the slender woman in front of her, Stalyan was an experienced thief, and as a person who trained to be a guard her entire life, Cassandra knew a thief’s strength was their speed. Cassandra’s eyes snapped to look at Stalyan’s knee and took yet another swing, but Stalyan managed yet again to evade her attack. 

Cassandra growled in annoyance and her tongue reflectively spoke without thinking, “What is it with Rapunzel messing with redheads?!”, and Stalyan took it as an invitation to bring her up “You know, now that you bring her up, if ‘Princess Blondie’ put you up to this I think I’d rather pass”

The mention of the princess fired up even more anger within Cassandra (and along with that, confidence) and reflectively, she made a move to disarm Stalyan with one last swing of her sword before she dropped it and subdued Stalyan by forcefully shoving the thief against the wall with her forearm pressed against her windpipe, “I have no ties to Corona or its… princess and it’ll stay like that” she spat.

“Good, then there’s no need to ask for my money back” Stalyan rasped.

Cassandra’s momentary confusion made the pressure of her forearm falter just slightly, but it was enough for Stalyan to slip downwards and grab Cassandra’s sword, its tip millimeters away from Cassandra’s throat once she turned around. 

Stalyan’s smirk spoke volumes before she did, “You’re too slow. Strong, but slow. I don’t know if this is going to work out between us”

“What do you want Stalyan?” Cassandra asked, partly to create a distraction, partly because she still didn’t understand what Stalyan was talking about. 

Stalyan chuckled “See what I mean? Too slow”

The redhead tossed Cassandra’s shadowblade aside. Cassandra took the window of opportunity to lunge at the redhead with a punch…then a kick…and once again both women found themselves engaged in a dance of attacks. Some were delivered successfully, and others weren’t. 

Stalyan’s swiftness made Cassandra dizzy as she struggled to keep up, and from the glimpses she would catch in the dim lighting of the night, Stalyan was clearly amused, “I sent you here for us to meet, though I’ve got to admit- I didn’t think I would find myself with the princess’s…what are you? Bodyguard? Maid?”

Stalyan decided that Cassandra’s grunt in response was one last chance at a guess, “ Former bodyguard?”

Seriously, do all thieves have the same fucking annoying sense of humor?

Cassandra finally managed to sweep her leg, and while Stalyan managed to evade once again, she lost enough balance for Cassandra to immediately lunge herself once again and tackle both of them on the ground, pinning both of Stalyan’s wrists to her sides, “ What do you mean you sent for us to meet?!” she barked.

Stalyan tried to wiggle out of Cassandra’s tight grip, but the moonstone’s strength was far too strong, so she was forced to elaborate seriously rather than the hint of amusement in her voice

“I forced the man you met at the bar to lead you to Vardaros. I hired you to come here”

Cassandra tightened her grip and noticed how Stalyan winced, “Why?” she growled lowly.

“Because…I wanted a partnership with the Blue Devil”

The confession stirred up a mix of sarcastic amusement and even more confusion within the moon knightess, to which she could only chuckle in poisonous mockery “Right, a partnership”

Cassandra let go of the redhead violently and continued with bitterness in her voice as she stood up and looked down at the woman“I work alone , and even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t partner up with a thief”

Much less one that almost got Rapunzel killed

Cassandra internally cringed at herself as she turned around to face away from the mansion, picked up her sword, and walked away. 

Still, Stalyan’s voice echoed from behind, “Trust me, so do I, and even after finding out that the Blue Devil turned out to be no other than-”

Cassandra sharply turned to her side knowing the thief would refer to her once again as someone in relation to Rapunzel.

“Okay you’ve gotta give me a break, I don’t even know your name…”

Cassandra remained quiet and kept walking to leave the mansion’s premises, yet somehow the slender woman had caught up to her and now stood in front of her, “...but I need your help”

Cassandra was about to throw another punch but before she did she realized that in the dim lighting of the night and in the fiery moment of their fight, she hadn’t noticed the pendants that hung from around Stalyan’s neck, pendants she hadn’t seen in nearly a year. 

“Where’d you get that from?” She asked threateningly.

“She took all our gold!” she heard Hook Foot from behind her.

Cassandra made her move to enter the caravan to check if anything else of value was missing and as she searched the caravan from top to bottom, and she almost released a sigh of relief to know nothing else was missing…almost. 

Stalyan had taken the pendants that were hung beside the mirror in the bed chambers of both women. 

“Work with me for one job, and they’re yours” Stalyan offered, knowing she had finally found an opportunity to reel the knightess in. 

“I don’t think so” 

There was nothing else that Stalyan could have done to evade the wrath of Cassandra and what followed after. Cassandra immediately landed a jab at Stalyan’s jaw, and the power behind it sent her stumbling backward. The force of the jab left her stunned for a few seconds, and it gave Cassandra the chance to deliver a front kick to her opponent’s torso, knocking the air out of Stalyan. 

As the redhead clutched her stomach in desperate hopes of regaining the oxygen she had lost, Cassandra simply stood over and shoved Stalyan’s shoulder to send her to her knees. She considered simply pulling the silver chains out of her neck, but after consideration, she walked behind Stalyan and unhooked them with inapposite gentleness to avoid damaging the hooks.

The moonstone pulsed, not in mockery, but teasingly as she sensed the same vibration it felt towards its sundrop as Cassandra reclaimed the pendants, even after such violence. 

Cassandra was about to shoot back a scold, but It didn’t take long for the redhead to join in. Stalyan, who miraculously still had the ability to laugh between wheezes, spoke up “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with Princess Sunshine”

Cassandra clenched her fists around the silver chains, clearly vexed. But Cassandra wasn’t a killer, and she knew better than to waste time on a common thief. 

“If you really wanted those back, I’m sure I could shoot Rapunzel a message to come to Vardaros in a jiffy to get hers,”

Cassandra’s blood turned into ice. 

“Even if you left Vardaros now, you know that in our world rumors and news fly quickly, Corona would find you in your sleep with my help”

The sneer she wore on her face came with the reminder that once again, she would be forced to do yet one more thing for Rapunzel, to avoid Rapunzel. She looked down briefly at the sun pendant that hung from her first,

Why do you even fucking want these?!

She had been right, Rapunzel’s essence had been all over Vardaros and it came to haunt her, first with the city’s main square, the pendants, Stalyan. Cassandra was cornered into playing her last card, and she resigned.

“I don’t do partnerships,” She said in one last pathetic attempt, and Stalyan smiled. 

“Oh come on Blue, it’s just one job” Stalyan replied with a cocky smile.

The moon knight sighed as she locked icy blue eyes with the redhead. 

“What’s the plan?”

~~~

Rapunzel barely felt the relief of her feet once she stopped running on hot stone paths and began sprinting on the cool marble floors of the castle. Yet, her legs weren’t racing faster than her own heart, and it wasn’t due to the taxing amount of energy her legs were using. 

You’re out there Cass, she thought, I’m coming, just wait for me one last time 

There was a fire that burned in her chest that urged action, action that needed to happen now . The longing and the gravitational pull she felt in her heart space compelled her to run in the direction of Vardaros, and as she ran further into the castle the more pressure she felt in her chest. 

The priority was to find Pascal and Eugene for the three of them to head directly to the canyon city, maybe Lance if they had time. There wasn’t any new jailbreak or court hearing that could’ve stopped the princess from making this trip. 

Rapunzel rushed into her bed chambers and slammed both of its doors to the walls as she opened them, which induced a startled chirp from across the room where the green critter was now a bright shade of alarmed red. 

“Pascal!” she rushed over to the dresser where Pascal had been napping throughout the afternoon. 

“Have you seen Eugene?” she asked breathlessly as she tried to scoop her friend in her palms, regardless of how they were slightly trembling with adrenaline.

Through a series of squeaks, the chameleon managed to communicate that he hadn’t. He became inquisitive as to why his lifelong friend was in such distress, turning into a shade of orange. 

“I think I know where Cass is,” she replied with a small smile that decorated the red-flushed face the blonde sported.

Upon hearing the news Pascal turned into his normal shade of green, and chirped with urgency to find Eugene. 

“You’re right, let’s find him,” she said as she placed him on her shoulder. 

Rapunzel debriefed Pascal as much as she could as she wandered through the castle, occasionally pausing as she asked castle staff if anybody had seen Eugene. As she finished narrating the events that happened that morning, Rapunzel beamed with hope as she confessed to Pascal the possibility of finding her best friend again, and finally bringing her back home. The more she spoke about Cassandra, the brighter she shined with enthusiasm.

“Eugene!...Eugene!” she exclaimed as she rushed over to him with the biggest smile. Her excitement was not enough for the princess’s tiny body to withhold, and she threw herself into an embrace with her older friend as a release of her excitement.

“Woah there” he chuckled, “What’s going on? What are we celebrating? Did I forget my own birthday again?”

Her giggles made his heart jump as he recalled their conversation from last night. Perhaps Rapunzel had changed her mind. Perhaps Rapunzel had finally embraced his presence in her heart. Perhaps Rapunzel had finally let go of Cassandra and made up her mind. 

Perhaps Rapunzel was ready to be his. 

“Eugene,” she said with that gleam in her eyes as she spoke softly “I found Cass”

Eugene’s face fell as his expectations plummeted. He nervously chuckled and asked a question to briefly recompose himself “H-How?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way there but she’s in Vardaros. We need to set up the ballon now Eugene we should get there by tomorrow morning it won’t take us long if we take the ballon. I’m sure we can-”

“Sunshine…” he interrupted her, “I thought we were on the same page about Cass after we talked last night”

It was Rapunzel’s turn for her smile to falter, “Eugene…”

He cleared his throat before he continued, “I know I know I know! But Rapunzel I-” he wasn’t sure what to say “I can’t endorse this”

“Endorse? ‘this’ is Cassandra, a friend, not a decreet or a policy I want to introduce to the Corona. Your friend”

“Former friend, Rapunzel! She tried to hurt you. It’s her black rocks who are destroying half the kingdom, and who are destroying the rest of the world slowly. The moonstone destroyed my father’s kingdom. What else do you expect me to think about the moonstone or the she-demon holding it?” he replied exasperated. 

He turned away from her gaze guiltily and placed his hands on his hips as Rapunzel’s jaw dropped.

Lance somehow had walked into the conversation in the heat of the argument, “What’s going on here?”

Rapunzel didn’t bother to acknowledge the man and replied, “This is Cassandra we are talking about. She grew up with us . She grew up with me. She took the moonstone to protect me”

“Is that what you tell yourself every day?” he challenged, and it made the blonde barely flinch, but Eugene noticed. “Rapunzel I-”  

He sighed, “I don’t have to repeat to you what I said last night, but your friendship with Cass may not save Corona and the rest of the world. Maybe the happy reconciliation you hope to gain from this trip won’t happen at all. Maybe Cassandra won’t be part of the happy ending you deserve. But I’m here Rapunzel…please”

He reached out to touch Rapunzel’s hand, but the princess reflectively took a step back, and it was enough for Eugene to get the hint. 

“Cassandra is not the traitor everyone thinks she is. I know who she is” was all Rapunzel managed to say. 

Lance intervened in hopes of diffusing the tension and returning to the topic at hand, “Princess, if I may, Cass can still be very dangerous”

Rapunzel’s eyes flickered between both men. The green eyes reflected everything Eugene had hoped to avoid the princess’s gaze when they looked at him: hopelessness and disappointment, all with a hint of anger. 

After a brief silence, she spoke up, “I guess I’ll go alone”

Her words made the ex-con realize how serious the matter was to the princess and a reality check of the dangers and risks that were bound if she were to go alone as a royal. Resigned, he sighed, “Okay okay you win. I’ll have the balloon set up tonight and we’ll go tomorrow”

“No, stay in the castle Eugene, and look after the kingdom…that’s an order from your princess.” she said as she turned around “I’ll be back soon”

Eugene made a move with a couple of steps to go after the princess, “Wait Rapunzel…Rapunzel!”

Lance reached out a hand from behind him and placed it on his shoulder gently to discourage his friend, which was all Eugene stop his pursuit. 

“Let her go bud”

Chapter Text

Rapunzel took in the sight of just how small the kingdom of Corona was from where she watched. It wasn’t often she got to ride on hot air balloons, and the last time she was on one had been a crowded trip that included the crew that returned from the Dark Kingdom (which included two horses by the way!). But this time she could take a deep breath and gather the crisp air from the height she was at, and she took it with gratitude. 

The blonde princess couldn’t lie to herself, her anxiety rose with the balloon as it ascended higher into the heavens. Her belly conjured a concoction of emotions that spread throughout her body and into her fingertips. Excitement, as she knew she would finally see Cassandra again after months of no contact. Dread, as her fear of meeting the same poisonous blue eyes that looked at her with the same fury she had seen at the Dark Kingdom crept in.

Rapunzel fantasized of multiple scenarios of a picture where she would slip into the embrace and feel rock-hard armor against her body but a gentle soul against hers. Her mind became a pendulum between favorable scenarios where Cassandra would come back to Corona or an even bigger heartbreak than the last, and the more she sat with these thoughts, the more lost and confused she felt about the most possible outcome. 

“Thank you for letting me come on this trip, Your Highness” she heard the tenor voice beside her. 

Rapunzel was silently grateful to have her trail of thought interrupted by the blacksmith. 

After Rapunzel had set her mind to go to Vadaros after her argument with Eugene, She had asked Varian to help her set up the balloon for the trip. The boy’s natural curiosity led him to inquire about the reason behind this trip to Vardaros, and Rapunzel confessed that she finally had a lead on Cassandra. She watched how Varian’s reaction shifted as he enthusiastically asked to come with her. But of course, the princess couldn’t have put the boy at risk and instead asked Varian for his discretion in not spreading the rumor around the kingdom, to which he agreed sympathetically.

“There’s no need to thank me Xavier” she said as she brought up a hand to stroke her hair and hold the side of her neck. “I couldn’t have brought Eugene and left the Kingdom unattended” she lied, then sighed “so it’s nice to have some company for this trip”

Rapunzel didn’t mind going alone, but she had to admit that the disappointment she felt for Eugene made her feel alone in her hopes for Cassandra. Luckily and conveniently, Xavier showed up not long after at the castle to ask for the princess’s permission to accompany her to Vardaros as he had some deliveries to make. Rather than traveling for two weeks on foot and with a wagon, he would easily get there in two and a half days. His company brought Rapunzel a sense of relief as she felt less lonely, more so knowing that he was perhaps the only other person in Corona other than herself to have hope in her best friend. 

Pascal contributed by giving a polite chirp to the blacksmith, who chuckled in response.

“I think it’s a brave decision for you to come on your own princess,” he said with sincerity “It’s a gesture of peace and it honors your friendship with Cassandra”

The corner of Rapunzel’s lips tugged gently, and she grinned softly, “I sure hope she sees it that way”

“She will” he reassured her. Rapunzel sure hoped so. 

A tranquil silence fell upon both of them with the small humm of the gas burner whispering in the background. 

Rapunzel’s conversation with the blacksmith earlier in the morning made her think a lot about the past year and the rollercoaster of emotions the princess had gone through. She went back to the beginning where everything had gone wrong. 

Rapunzel mentally transported herself to the minute before her fingertips had touched the moonstone when Cassandra’s decisive speed came as a form of protection for her princess and begged- no, pleaded with her to reconsider other options. The moment right after, she quickly met a version of Cassandra full of rage and resentment she had never seen before. It triggered a lot of confusion within the blonde to know she had seen two entirely different people within those five minutes, two drastically different demeanors. At the time, Rapunzel couldn’t decide whether this was due to the moonstone’s (‘evil’) influence corrupting her friend or if Cassandra had always buried fury beneath the surface. 

For the princess, this anger Cassandra showed led her to believe that taking the moonstone was what flipped the switch, it was her interpretation of the betrayal. Once she had come back from the Dark Kingdom she realized just how neglected she had made Cassandra feel throughout the years by being nothing more than a handmaid, a servant. And with that came the realization that Rapunzel loved her best friend, as more than a friend. 

A highly inconvenient revelation at the time.

And their separation felt all the more painful as Rapunzel realized had lost Cassandra to her depreciation, and in turn, Cassandra hit her right where it hurt: taking the very thing that was meant to be her destiny. 

For the longest, Rapunzel kept that perception of betrayal even when it went against her love for the knightess. After all, what Cassandra had done went against the very purpose of why they had set off in the first place: to find answers to the secrets of the mystical rocks that were connected to her hair -the manifestation of the power of the sundrop. 

The best she could’ve done during this time was to simply hold on to the hope that Cassandra would surrender the moonstone as the weight of destiny loomed over her, because even when she understood Cassandra’s motivations, she was not willing to yield her own destiny. 

But she couldn’t have been a traitor with the gentleness Cassandra had spoken to Rapunzel moments before she took the moonstone, right? It led back to that loop of confusion. Regardless, Rapunzel’s bare feet grounded themselves stubbornly in the hill that needed Cassandra to yield, even when it meant going against her nature to put her own feelings aside- all in the name of destiny. Yet, the conversation she had with the blacksmith made her realize that Cassandra was also fulfilling her duty and promise to her. …And maybe even… , Rapunzel thought, … her own destiny .

But nobody talks about what happens when two opposing destinies that need to be fulfilled collide. 

And the confusion tangled itself further as she remembered that Cassandra told her she knew the moonstone wasn’t her destiny. At that moment Rapunzel had understood what Cassandra meant, and it terrified her because it meant a clash between two destinies. But now, Rapunzel decided to go after her friend, destiny be dammed. Was this her recognizing that the moonstone was meant to be wielded by Cassandra this whole time and the divide between the two had been useless? The princess couldn’t tell. 

Yet, something told her that recognizing the love she had for her friend and working together with her to solve it- perhaps then she wouldn't need to yield her own destiny. After all, that’s what the trip to the Dark Kingdom had taught her. 

It was not Rapunzel against Cassandra or even the princess’s destiny against the handmaid’s destiny. it was Rapunzel and Cassandra against the problem.

Just like we’ve always done, Rapunzel remembered her words.

Did that mean Rapunzel was actually ready to yield to allow all of the black rocks that were bound to destroy the world? The princess still wasn’t sure of the answer herself. Rapunzel told herself it was her lone destiny that told her she was responsible for saving Corona and the rest of the world- but in her mind it was clear she needed to retrieve her best friend, to have her on her team again just like they had always done. 

And it was all the more comforting to know she wasn’t alone in believing that Cassandra was still Corona’s most dedicated protector.

“Xavier?” Rapunzel said, “What made you make a new dagger for Cassandra?”

“Honestly?” he chuckled “I didn’t think of making a new dagger at all. Cassandra has always been passionate about weapons. Even as a child, she was able to see the beauty in such dangerous tools and appreciate them, and in time she learned how to care for each one of them, surely you’ve seen it too”

That brought a soft smile to the princess as she recalled the many times she had caught Cassandra sharpening and oiling all sorts of blades in the castle’s lower levels. It was as if it were a daily ritual for her friend, and Rapunzel’s brain grew up to automatically set course for the castle’s barracks every time she wanted to fetch Cassandra as she knew she would always be there. 

After Rapunzel nodded, he continued “I did not doubt that she would take good care of my gift. Even after so many years -and shortly before you left- I saw how well-kept the dagger was”

“I guess after a while, all of Corona began to feel the absence of our princess. Many people resorted to ways to remember you as you were the symbol of Corona’s sun in our flag…” he paused before he continued

Xavier calmly and gently continued, “...and a lot of other people also missed Eugene, as many believe you two are to be engaged after growing up in the castle for so long. The people practically see him as Corona’s future king…more so now that the news broke out that he is also a long lost prince; a legitimate prince fit to marry a princess”. The princess internally cringed as she understood where the assumption came from. And given what had happened back at the Autumn Ball and her most recent argument with Eugene, surely the people in the castle had already considered it a fact that both of them would soon be married in the near future, and she felt the weight of the expectation fall on her shoulders. 

Yet, Xavier’s tone didn’t seem to imply that this was an assumption he had adopted as many Coronans had, and that brought her soothing comfort. 

“The dagger was my own reminder of Cassandra’s presence. It was I who taught her how to wield swords and properly fight with a dagger. Not knowing if she would return from the trek, it felt as if…” he hesitated to continue “...it similarly when my daughter took off on a journey on her own and never came back” 

Rapunzel’s caring touch was quick to find the bigger man’s forearm, “I didn’t know you had a daughter”. He placed his hand over hers and gently squeezed with a small smile, “Cassandra was a lot like her”

Rapunzel didn’t want to pry, so she remained quiet to hear if Xavier wanted to share anything else, but he remained silent as he stared off into the view the balloon allowed them to see. 

“The dagger came to be a symbol of trust between you and Cassandra since she was a child, it’s dear to you,” she said, and he nodded with a smile. 

Back in the castle walls, Rapunzel encountered disappointment in many ways: months ago, when she categorized Cassandra’s actions as ‘betrayal’, at herself for going along that trail of thought, at Eugene for losing faith in their friend. 

Yet Rapunzel began to feel comfort in this new crack in her circumstances that illuminated hope, hope that soon everything would be fixed now that she understood that her friend was not her enemy. Her optimistic eye saw in Xavier a new dawn that promised that the moonstone ordeal would be resolved. The moonstone would cease to exist, the suffering it brought to the world would finally end, and she would finally get her best friend back.

“Y’know, your hunch was right” she confessed, “I’m pretty sure her dagger melted away when she took the moonstone”. The princess wasn’t sure if that had been the case, but the moonstone’s transformation happened too quickly for anyone to notice any smaller changes to Cassandra and her body other than the all-too-obvious blue hair and rock-hard armor. If her dagger hadn’t melted away, it must have been broken into pieces with the energy burst or launched into the abyss of oblivion of the moonstone chamber. 

Xavier hummed, “I figured it would’ve been lost or damaged during the trip”

A brief silence that led Rapunzel’s brain to recall a collection of Cassandra’s skill with her weapons…until she had a database ready for stories. , “Oh! She did lose her sword once thanks to an egocentric and annoying wannabe magician” 

Xavier smiled back, amused and curious, “Do tell”

And with enough tales and anecdotes and a calm peace of mind, the princess and the blacksmith flew to Vardaros.

~~~ 

During the months she had built a name for herself, Cassandra realized that the trickiest part of completing a contract that involved retrieving either an item or a person was learning to lie low during broad daylight. This is why she had opted for her missions to take place during the night, which is why she assumed that at some point during her career (if that’s even something you could call it) she would be nicknamed after something that went with the whole “night” brand- that paired with the fact that she carried a literal celestial relic named after the moon. Instead, the public decided that her freakish blue hair was much more outstanding. 

This is why when Stalyan declared that their heist would take place during the day, Cassandra wasn’t particularly pleased for more than one reason. 

Learning to work with Stalyan was just as difficult as learning to work together with Eugene, or perhaps even worse. Over the years Cassandra had made a friendship with Eugene that was built on learning to tolerate each other’s bickering. Nevertheless, it was also one that was built on trust and respect. 

Perhaps it was the fact that thieves worked with the adrenaline and the risk of the moment, but the knightess noticed that both Stalyan and Eugene tended to just ‘wing it’ using their wits and their incredible skills and abilities. Cassandra, however, was used to more elaborate plans that involved stealth and discretion, unlike chaos and entropy.

Sure, Stalyan had told Cassandra that she had a plan, and yes- said plan was an organized plan. But it included a chase during broad daylight, right when everyone -including the sheriff- would be out and about the streets of Vardaros. There had been arguing with Stalyan over this, even with ten disguises over her body, Cassandra’s outstanding features could not be hidden- not the armor, not the hair, not her pale skin, not her glowing eyes. 

Cassandra had attempted to dye her hair back to black multiple occasions for the sake of looking somewhat normal to the general public, but no dye would stick to the fibers of her hair, as the dye would only slip and slide down like a pancake being thrown against a wall. Perhaps her hair was not identically magical as Rapunzel’s, but the moonstone had been responsible for changing every cell and fiber in her body. 

These features couldn’t be hidden. 

“This is your heist! Unless you want to be easily caught and spotted before the chase even begins I suggest we take your father’s coin night the day before ” Cassandra had suggested 

“No can do. We need to do it in broad daylight, I need to be seen with the Blue Devil so that the rests of my heists are more effective…since I won’t have you around”

Cassandra shot her an annoyed but confused look “What’s the point of that? You’re a thief, not a hitman for hire”

Stalyan rolled her eyes “So that the bigger gangs that stole my father’s money know that I’m not alone in recovering his wealth. I need to be seen as someone who has plenty of muscle at her disposal”

“The plan is to return the money to families who need it more than I do. Believe me, the money I was able to retrieve on my own was easy, I don’t need you for my heists and robberies. But I need someone of the caliber of the Blue Devil to show that I’m not weak or someone you can steal from. One job with you is more than enough to show I’m resourceful with the partnerships I make”

Cassandra understood that. Stalyan was rebuilding a brand for herself as a thief, she couldn’t make herself out to look like a vulnerable woman who acted on her own, much less when the crime world was mostly male-dominated, Cassandra herself knew what that was like. Yet…there was a factor that intrigued her.

“I don’t get it” Cassandra said, arms crossed over her chest.

Stalyan narrowed her eyes, a small scowl of irritation forming on her face, “What don’t you get?!” she exclaimed with a slam of her hand on the table, “It’s a simple, clear-cut plan! Surely you can’t be this stupid being the Blue Devil and all”

Cassandra didn’t react to her insults, instead just moving her eyes from the map of Vardaros to the thief and simply replying, “You’re a thief” she said simply. 

“And?” Stalyan challenged

“You selfishly steal for yourself or for your father, you don’t have who or what you have to step through to get what you want. You cheat and you lie” As she continued with her speech, Cassandra’s temper began to flare up with the help of her all too familiar disdain for criminals, specifically, thieves. She took her sword and took a few steps forward to the table, dragging its tip through the wooden floor. 

In response Stalyan defensively took her own sword, pointing it to Cassandra in warning. “And you want to recover your father’s wealth to give it back to the poor? I’m not buying it” Cassandra finished. 

Based on Stalyan’s features, Cassandra noticed that the brunette hadn’t counted on her noticing that detail. She noticed the thief bit the inside of her cheek and clenched her jaw as if she were about to make an embarrassing confession. 

Yet Cassandra’s anger diffused when Stalyan laughed as she put her sword away.

“Dad’s broke” she began “Ever since you and Blondie pulled that stunt at my… ceremony… ”, she clearly didn’t want to use the word ‘wedding’ “...Weasel and other smaller gangs decided to deem the Baron ‘weak’. After all, it took a tiny princess to take out a kingpin out of his own turf. The wealth fell into different hands, and yes- I’m recovering it to give it to those in need”

But Cassandra noticed that wasn’t what Stalyan was afraid to reveal, “Why?”

Stalyan bit back an embarrassed but knowing smile. She shrugged, “It’s more rewarding than stealing for yourself,” 

She sighed and chuckled, finally allowing the smile to take place on her face “Blondie has a way of changing people. She really did a number on me”

It was Stalyan’s turn to notice how Cassandra reacted, but Cassandra didn’t give her the satisfaction. Though she felt a bitter in her heart from Rapunzel’s mention, Cassandra simply gave an almost imperceptible nod and tried to guide the conversation in a different direction “I thought you said you can’t change who you are”

“In a sense. I’m still a thief. I think Sunshine is a bit naive to think a person like me would drop my life of crime just like that” Stalyan said nonchalantly. Cassandra briefly recalled the two orphan girls that Rapunzel and Eugene took custody of back in Corona and had encountered during their trip to the Dark Kingdom. Clearly, the two sisters hadn’t decided to drop their lives as thieves just because Rapunzel had smiled at them. 

“But I do have to admit that she did bring a change of… perspective in the way I was going about my life, and hey! Stealing feels better to do now!” Stalyan admitted. 

Now, they stood in front of a shoe store in the corner of a street, brushing down their horses and keeping an eye on a particular residence on the other side. Diagonally on the other corner was another business busy with its customers at this point at noon. Next to it, down its street was a residence that seemed like any other Vardarian house, except according to Stalyan, it wasn’t. 

The house fit perfectly with its surroundings, “Mailman and his henchmen are good at blending in with the crowd, its important we keep an eye out and we don’t miss them when they start moving the coin, but be discreet they’re also on the lookout for anyone that looks suspicious” Stalyan explained. 

“Oh you want to talk about discre- Hold on a minute, ‘Mailman’?” Cassandra questioned

“Yes, Mailman!” Stalyan replied

“Why ‘Mailman’ out of all the names available to him?”

“Did you not listen to what I said? Mailman and his associates specialize in moving and delivering… merchandise during the day to not raise suspicions in towns” She paused ”like…a mailman” Stalyan deadpanned.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and turned back to the residence, but found nothing particularly outstanding, she noticed that some workers were loading up a wagon with crates. Cassandra wanted to assume that the workers belonged to the business next to the house they were watching. She zoned in on them and quickly snapped her eyes away when she thought one of the men had made eye contact with her. 

“Don’t stare” Stalyan warned. 

Cassandra simply sighed and changed the topic, “Remember, I have to avoid the Sheriff and his deputy at all costs, there can’t be room for-”

There was no use for Cassandra to speak up, as Stalyan jumped on her horse’s saddle and cut her off “There’s no time! They already spotted us!”

Stalyan yelled something else that Cassandra turned out as she snapped her eyes toward the residence where the wagon was being loaded. In a short span, the two burly men had hurried up to load up two of the last chests and rode off at high speed. 

Cassandra sneered, knowing that it was her hood and mask that had given them away. As she mounted her horse and followed Stalyan, she made a mental note to yell at her later for how shitty she was at making heists. Cassandra grit her teeth as she tried to suppress the adrenaline high simmering in her body. 

~~~

Rapunzel noticed how the air became dryer the closer they approached Vardaros. The town was now a quarter mile in view and as a result, her excitement congregated in the ball of her feet as she began bouncing up and down her tip-toes. Vadaros seemed much brighter since the last time she had been there and it created a wide smile on her face to think about her reunion with Vex and the Sherrif, after all, if it turned out Cassandra was not in Vardaros, there would be friends to turn to. Perhaps Vex was ready for hugs! 

As the balloon gently glided down to land, Rapunzel watched how the city was now much livelier than the last time they had been there. It made her nostalgic to think that she hadn’t bothered to pass by when they returned to Corona or even throughout the past nine months after their return. Leading a kingdom was a full-time gig that took her undivided attention while grieving her companion. How was she supposed to even have time to think about any other jurisdiction and city outside Corona?

Immediately entering the city, Rapunzel quickly realized that though the businesses were busy and the famously known public entertainment were back on the streets, there was an obvious sense of disturbance in different clusters of the city. As she approached a small crowd, she asked anybody who would reply, “What happened here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” a woman replied, “We thought these dammed rocks were done fuckin’ up our city! These new ones appeared last night. Ya clod!”

The princess shifted her eyesight to fresh new black spikes that stuck out the ground. Some made as minimal of disruption as the breaking of cobblestone pavement or as big as a hole into someone’s residence. Rapunzel could feel a sense of hope stirring in her chest as she knew that the most possible explanation was that Cassandra was here and she had caused the black rocks.

“ She’s here Pascal” Rapunzel whispered to her green friend, “Well obviously the ruin the rocks left behind isn’t a reason to rejoice but that means she’s here!”

“Cassandra?” She recognized Xavier’s voice from behind her, and she turned to give him a nod with a discreet smile. 

“Cass?!” She heard another voice, a voice that sounded a little more mature, yet strikingly familiar. 

“Vex!” Rapunzel recognized the young deputy, and it didn’t take long for the sheriff to make his own appearance. Rapunzel attempted a hug, but Vex reluctantly took a step back and it was enough for Rapunzel to respect that boundary. “Still not into hugs! Got it” the princess winked.

“Sherrif!”

“Princess, it’s an honor to have you here in Vardaros again”

“I’m the one honored. Vardaros has changed so much since we were last here” Rapunzel looked around in awe.

“I will take off to make my deliveries your Highness” Xavier excused himself before lowering his head in acknowledgment to the sheriff and his deputy. 

The sheriff returned the nod and turned his attention back to the princess “What brings you here Rapunzel?” 

Vex spoke up again “Where’s Cass? Or Eugene for that matter?”

Rapunzel bit her lip nervously, “Eugene is fine, he’s in Corona. Cassandra is actually the reason I’m here. I think she might be here , in Vardaros”

The princess turned to look at the spikes once again, “It’s a complicated story, but needless to say it may have something to do with the new rocks”

“Why would she be here? We haven’t seen or heard from her whatsoever. Part of the town remembers who she is from the Goodwill festival, if she’d been here we would’ve already known.” the sheriff replied. 

Rapunzel shook her head and turned to “She’s not here as Cassandra, we think she might be here as…as”

Rapunzel trailed off and furrowed her eyebrows as she felt a pull of her attention towards one of the black rocks, which now glowed a soft blue. She tuned out her surroundings and allowed herself to be attracted to the rock. It’s glow intensified steadily the closer the blonde got to it.

“Cass?” She whispered as she ran the tips of her fingers along the onyx spike, and for a split second she was transported beyond what the heart and the mind could recognize. It was not visual, but rather intuitive.

Her body was overwhelmed as she felt electrified and excited as she felt a rush of adrenaline taking over her. Her feet were burning to sprint faster than Maximus during his races, and soon enough she had the urge to… chase something, run after something. 

“Cass!” 

The princess wasn’t sure what she was following, but she snapped her head in a direction and took off sprinting with a phantom wisp of hope leading the way.