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"Goodbye Rapunzel"
that was the last thing she heard from cassandra , before the blue haired girl brought down the mountain rocks on the entrance trapping Rapunzel inside , "NO WAIT-" she banged at the door calling cassandras name holding a drop of hope that she might come back for her but that drop of hope started to evaporate as soon as the poison gas filled the mountain cave
how could she forget about that this wasnt the time , Rapunzel shoved at the rocks but to no avail , nothing was moving these boulders any time soon , she retrieted to throwing herself full weight onto them but the wall cass dropped had many layers to it still she was going to try breaking free till she inevitably suffacated inside the mountain , the last person she ever spoke to being Cassandra
she wouldnt have had it any other way
though she wishes cass's last words to her wouldve been less devastating at the very least the last thing she'd heart was the voice of someone she loved , be it words of misunderstanding but that was Rapunzel for you , dying in a poisonous gas filled mountain all alone and her mind focused on the brighter side
at the rate of exhaustion she reached she was practically throwing herself at the wall using every little ounce of strength she had left , her shoulders were already bruising and every muscle in her body ached worse than the other , twisting in pain *THUD* ringing in her head the agony felt like an alarm going off in her brain
there had to be an easier way , she shoved weakly one last time before stumbling towards a nearby boulder for a break , to think of a way out but time wasnt at her fingertips , she took one last step before falling forwards. the final step drained what little strength she had left her and stomach violently met the boulder with her cheek squished onto it laying on her side
*C-cass..." was the last thing Rapunzel sighed before her eyes fluttered shut for what she thought would be her last time
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"Goodbye Rapunzel"
that was the last thing Cassandra said before dropping a wall of rocks and boulders at the mountains entrance trapping Rapunzel inside , even as regret filled her mind the one thing that kept her on her desicion was the only mirror holding a lovely memory of gothel loving her daughter , being inside Rapunzels bag
"NO WAIT-" Rapunzel knew what she was doing when she stuffed that hand mirror into her satchel "CASSANDRA !" she knew what she was doing when she gaslit cass into thinking gothel never loved any of them "CASS-" and she knew she got herself into this in the first place going in somewhere she didnt belong
yet... the blondes voice screaming and yelling Cassandras name stayed etched into her mind , ringing in her ears , tch ofcourse she pretended not to know how it got into her bag GOD she was so manipulative
manipulative ? well no thats not a word Cass would use to describe Rapunzel with , not that dumb blonde, not that gullible innocent blonde who gave the benefit of the doubt to theives , villains and outcasts- whitch was how she ended up with fuckass fitzherbert in the first place but anywho
not the caring Rapunzel who used the last enchanted egg on bird Cassandra giving her humanity again knowing that meant she'd never be human again but aslong as cass was changed back she didnt care
Not forgiving raps the girl that only ever wanted a chance to become friends again even after everything Cassandra did from taking the moonstone to dissappearing for months to attacking corona for the scroll to... yeh well you get it , so would Rapunzel acctually try to manipulate Cassandra like that for no valid reason ?
would... Rapunzel acctually forgive Cassandra after this too ? Probably. "fuck why do i care so much" and she found herself making her way back to the cave hoping it wasnt too late.
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Cassandra gathered her breath ready to summon her moonrocks to destroy the mountain wall , she wasnt sure why she ran its not like Rapunzel was going anywhere anytime soon , but as she readied her arms she realized she couldnt hear her in there anymore , "maybe she's given up on calling for help... i hope"
Cassandra raised her arms in motion bringing up the moonrocks onto the rockwall , it all went crashing inwards as cass brought up her hand to cover her nose and face she coughed violently batting the dust away from her face , the dust slowly cleared but the air didnt , it was barely clear enough to see the armosphere was filled with... "FUCK- RAPUNZEL !"
Cassandras heart dipped all the way out of her body , she meant to trap Rapunzel not kill her , how would she even find her in here , her heart beat accelerated , hammering in her chest , Cassandra wasnt religous but at that moment she prayed to any god that would listen that Rapunzel would be okay
one hand on her mouth and nose , the other swatting the air infront of her while she searched around the small cave she yelled Rapunzels name and heard no response... just yet "RAPUNZEL !" how long had the gas started to pour in there ? "RAAPSS !" how long did raps hold her breath before she couldnt take it anymore ?"
"RAPUNZE-" cassandra cut herself off at the sight of a small gold light , Rapunzel !
she ran towards the golden locks of hair shining dimly inside the cave and as she got closer she finally saw more than her braid , dropping next to the boulder her breath hitched gripping Rapunzels shoulders to turn her over she was met with an unconscious Rapunzel , Cassandra gently lowered her head close enough pressing her ear to the blondes chest waiting on a heart beat , she held her breath incase she missed anything "come on come on c-" her worries were quickly soothed with the sound of a beat and a warm exhale brushing her cheek
she wasnt going to waste anymore time , Cassandra swiftly slid her arms underneath the younger girl and she carried her out of there with an arm under her knees and an arm under her shoulders and neck where Rapunzels head lolled back in cass's arms , cass threw the middle of rapunzels braid over her face and used the end of the braid to muffle her own mouth and nose shielding them both from the gas
she stumbled out of the cave and took in a deep breath of fresh air , she looked down at Rapunzel the sun lit up her face , god she hoped that hair of hers would come in handy right about now , she set them down by a near by tree leaning on the bark with a hand on her head trying to catch her breath
after she regulated her breath again her attention shifted entirely on waking up Rapunzel , guilt was eating at her heart everytime she looked at Rapunzel knowing the princess was in such a state because of her , she could barely bring herself to look at her at the same time all she wanted to do was look at her incase she missed anything , her hand found Rapunzels shoulder but she hesitated leaving it floating above the other girl and she took it back
"Just wake up" giving in she brushed a strand out of Rapunzels face tucking it behind her ears and her finger dragged from her ear tracing all the way down from her jaw and chin then falling off "come on raps youve survived worse than this" Rapunzel was breathing no doubt but every second she spent unconscious was another agonizing second of silence reminding cassandra that this was all her fault
Cass leaned on the bark behind her and drew a deep sigh , why was she so worried about Rapunzel anyway ? she hated her didnt she , fuck this was complicated she wasnt good at waking unconscious people up or comforting or well anything that required tenderss or patience for that matter and just as she was lost in thought with the sun in her eye she heard a very relieving cough that would solve all her worries for that moment
it was weak barely more than a rasp but Cassandras head snapped up immedialtey at the sign of life "...Rapunzel ?" there was silence before a harsher cough wracked the girls chest , inhaling a shaky breath that was intterupted by another fit , Cassandra leaned by her side "Raps !" deny it all she wanted to but there was no hiding the excitement in her voice and slowly but surely green eyes fluttered open
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Rapunzel closed her eyes shut at the harsh cough that tour through her throat , the bitter taste of the poison gas remained in her mouth and the horrible smell haunted her nose , she couldnt make anything of the blurr above her but she could take a guess "...c-cass ?" her vision finally came through and hope sparked in her heart when she realized the blurr above her was infact cassandra "you came back"
those 3 words twisted cassandras heart more than she wouldve liked to admit , turning her head away from rapunzel to look anywhere else she had no response "y-yeah" Rapunzel couldnt help but smile , she winced prepping herself up on her elbows but it only tore another cough storm out of her chest witch made cassandra whip her head right round , she put her arm behind rapunzels back in an attempt to help and Rapunzel leant on the arm cass gave her with her head leaning on her shoulder , Rapunzel continued coughing only then cassandra had realized the position theyd fallen into and was trying to shift her train of thought anywhere else
as Rapunzels fit finally calmed down she tapped her fingers on her dress as if contemplating a question , finally she gathered up the courage but her voice came out quite raspy "s-so what made you come back ?" oh Rapunzel never lets go of the damn moment , Cass wished the ground would open up and swallow her there wasnt a single emotion she wasnt battling right now and it was not looking good , releif , guilt , anger , shame , confusion it was like the 5 stages of grief except grief was the only emotion missing
She took a deep breath and stood up "Rapunzel j-just find max and go home" Rapunzel looked up at her , big green eyes shining brighter in the sunlight , such a big advantage she had with those and she knew it who could say no to that , "Cass..." she said in a sad tone , she didnt really have anything to say she just didnt want to leave her so soon , she watched Cassandra walk towards the edge
the breeze blew her blue hair getting some in her face , did she even know what she was doing anymore , had she lost the plot , why did she do this why did she save her why did she even listen to zhantiri and go to that damn house why , and hee train of thoughts was cut off with yet again the same question "cass why did u come back ?" rapunzel wasnt looking for a specific awnser to that question but trying to prove a point , "i know somewhere deep deep down ur exhausted , from all of this , you say its what you want and that its your destiny but let me ask you this if it was really in your destiny to get rid of me then why are you so hesitant about it ? why have you come back for me"
"dont make me regret my desicion Rapunzel just drop it"
"do you regret it though Cassandra ?"
Rapunzel was now standing behind cass
"come home with me please , phidella misses you , i. miss you i-"
"Rapunzel stop."
the sound of wind was the only thing filling up the silence left
"even if i came back nothing will be the same anymore , do you really think we'll just be able to forget everything and continue on with our lives as if none of this ever happened ? because i assure you itll be the first thing anyone thinks of at the first sight of me each morning itll b-"
"to me it will ! to me having you back is the only thing on my mind if you were there with me id forget all about it !"
Cassandra chuckled bitterly "yeh you would , but everyone else wouldnt"
tears prickled at the edges of her eyes she hated it so much she hated being emotional Cassandra was never emotional but i guess Rapunzel just had that effect on people "you dont think i miss everything raps ? trust me i do just as much as you do but i can never go back" she shut her eyes close and tears ran down her face silently
after a few seconds she violently rubbed at her face with her arm blinking away the tears and looking up at the sun ready to set , taking in a furious breath "raps you should go ho.s its getting late" she said with a harsh tone, suddenly she felt fingers twisting around her own "can we atleast watch the sunset before you leave , one last time i-if i dont know when ill see you again" cassandra tried hard to turn her head away from those shiny green eyes batting at her with the saddest look , she eventually sighed and a happy giggle was heard from Rapunzel as she sat down on the ledge first looking up at cassandra to sit next to her
Rapunzel leaned her head on Cassandras shoulders , this time she didnt move away , and for a a short millisecond it felt like nothing had changed snd they were back at the castle watching the sunset from Rapunzels balcony , a few days from now theyd fight again the sundrop vs the moonstone but for now they could enjoy the sunset as Rapunzel and Cassandra
soon the sunset ended and the girls sadly parted ways "goodbye Cassandra" , before jumping off the ledge cassandra turned her head half way and said somberly
"Goodbye Rapunzel"