Chapter Text
“Remind me why I invited you again?” Eugene groaned as Cassandra forcefully dragged him away from the window of a mirror shop.
“You didn’t.”
“Then why—”
“I’m the one going into town to get Rapunzel these damn paints and you insisted you had to come, otherwise I’ll pick out the wrong blue , as though there are right and wrong blues!”
“Of course there are right and wrong blues! Just as there are right and wrong people.”
The citizens of Corona were all too familiar with the bickering of the princess’ lady-in-waiting and partner. It wasn’t a mystery why it happened. Cassandra was a proud woman and daughter to the captain. Eugene Fitzherbert was just as proud—if not more so—and an ex-thief. Their arguments were inevitable.
The mystery wasn’t why they fought; it was why the two were so often found together, even without the princess there to play peacemaker.
Some said Cassandra was ordered by her father to keep an eye on Fitzherbert. Others claimed Eugene was gathering information about the Captain’s daughter, ready to betray Corona. But those who knew them understood: despite the bickering, the shouting, and the occasional rough shove, they cared about each other.
They gave out genuine advice when the times got tough; they followed each other into battle; they sought out one another when Rapunzel got into trouble. Though it was no mystery why Cassandra and Eugene clashed; it was a mystery how they ended up friends despite it all.
“You are absolutely unbearable and if not for the fact you’re paying, I’d have sent you back to the palace while I—” Eugene was cut off mid-sentence by Cassandra’s body slamming into him.
Eugene felt a sudden pain in his shoulder as he hit the cobblestone ground hard, people coming to a sudden halt around him. He could feel Cassandra’s weight on him and he hissed, throwing her off.
“You didn’t need to—!” Eugene was cut off this time by his own shock.
Cassandra lay on the ground, clutching her stomach as crimson blood seeped through her clothes and pooled on the floor. An arrow protruded from her abdomen, silencing her attempts to speak. Her face was growing pale at an alarming rate.
Most people in Eugene’s situation would scream or call for help.
Not Eugene.
Eugene had been a thief before he’d been the princess’ partner. He’d seen friends and co-workers get stabbed or shot on the job before, and when you’re wanted dead, calling for help wasn’t an option. So Eugene’s instinct wasn’t to call for help, it was to drop his blue vest and rip it. He wasn’t gentle but quick and firm, wrapping it around the arrow and pressing down hard.
Cassandra groaned out in pain.
The crowd was aware of what had happened. Screams filled the air. Eugene made sure to lean over Cassandra, his body shielding her in case whoever had shot the arrow tried again. A man tried to reach for the arrow in Cassandra’s stomach, his intention to help.
“Don’t you dare,” Eugene hissed. “She’ll bleed out.” Eugene didn’t mean to sound so blunt or so angry, but he had more important stuff to worry about. He continued to apply pressure. Cassandra was struggling to breathe. Eugene saw her hand trembling as it moved to the cloth. She was trying to help, but had no strength to apply pressure herself.
“I’ve got you, Cass,” Eugene murmured, increasing the pressure. Her movements, though feeble, were a good sign. He could feel the blood slowing. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he added more pressure, knowing that while it was necessary, it was also painful.
Cassandra didn’t complain, her eyes were on Eugene, sparkling with tears of pain, yet for some reason Eugene could tell she trusted him. Eugene hoped to not disappoint.
Soon, guards and physicians were on the scene. Though there wasn’t much they could do. The first step was stopping the bleeding, which Eugene was well in the process of doing.
There were more cloths brought in and more pressure applied.
Using some shears, they were able to cut the arrow shorter without pulling it out.
At some point, Cassandra had lost consciousness. Nobody knew exactly when. One moment, she was staring at those working to save her, and the next, her eyes were closed, her body limp.
Eugene couldn’t help but feel his heart race as he was instructed by the physician to release the pressure. The blood had stopped. It should be safe, yet Eugene worried it wouldn’t be.
It was.
The pressure was removed.
Cassandra’s limp form moved onto a stretcher to be transported to the palace.
And just like that, Eugene was left kneeling in the street, drenched in blood.
If there was a right and wrong red, this one was definitely the wrong red.