Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The sky is a beautiful mixture of orange, pink and blue hues. Normally she’d spend an evening like this with her lover in her arms while they enjoy some snacks before being forced out of their buble to join her parents for dinner. Her parents however were the reason she was out here alone, more specifically her father. She sits by her window sill alone as she stares out the window. Pascal sits in front of her and chirps at her in sympathy.

He’s been trying to cheer her up but nothing works. Only one thing would cheer her up and that’s Cassandra but that’s the one thing she can’t have. And even if she could she doubts Cassandra wants to see her.

Her mind starts to wander back to happier times, times where things were simpler. She thinks back to how it all started and wonders if she’d do it all over again.

X

After 18 years she was finally outside for the first time. She wasn’t ready to give it up and when Eugene brought her home and reunited her with her parents she didn’t think she would have to.

All the while her father showed her around the palace she yearned to go outside again, barely paying attention, if any, to what her father was explaining to her. She daydreamed about taking one of the horses in the stables and riding it around the kingdom.

She had tried bringing the issue up with her father but he had taken it and twisted into a father approved plan. She would be escorted by a battalion of guards at all times while outside, if that was to walk around the town surrounding the palace or going out riding didn’t matter. Galloping through the forest was out of the question only being allowed to trot through the forest surrounded by guards with no ways to escape.

She may have escaped her tower but she left that one behind for another. One that was bigger and gave her more freedom but one that was still highly restrictive, keeping her from the outside world for her safety.

The location of her room had always felt very tonedeaf, another tower. She again had tried bringing it up with her father telling him how it feels like another tower but he is quick to dismiss her saying it was completely different because they love her and they’re doing it to protect her and she tried to argue with him, saying that Gothel always said that too but that just made him angry so she learned to drop the issue. She quickly learns that in his mind he is right and there’s nothing she can do or say to change it so she’s left to live with the decisions he’s made for her.

It doesn’t take her long to figure out just what kind of people her parents are. Her mother loves her and is willing to listen and is just overall very great and understanding. She gives her space and allows her to come to her.

Her father is the opposite. As a king he has to be determined in his decision making and he isn’t used to someone disagreeing with him on the decisions he makes. He’s not used to making compromises. And as a king those are good qualities but as a father it leaves a lot to be desired. He’s incredibly stubborn and a terrible listener and while she tries to find the language to get him to listen it never works.

It, in a way, reminds her of Eugene. He’s a fantastic boyfriend who’s always very attentive but he too can be a bad listener whenever she expresses her needs. Nothing demonstrated this better than when Eugene proposed to her tonight. S

he’s expressed to him multiple times that she wants freedom, not only to explore the world but also to live her life the way she wants to. For the first time in 18 years she’s free from her tower the last thing she wants is to get married and be tied down again. While she does love him and she’s sure that one day they’ll get married, the thought of getting engaged and marrying him anytime soon felt too suffocating.

She was able to get away with not giving an answer, and effectively denying the proposal, because she was returned home just a few months ago. People will say that she denied the proposal because she was overwhelmed and still getting used to palace life. Which was all true but that was a superficial explanation but no one was able to look deeper, not even Eugene.

And so she finds herself sitting by her window watching the night’s sky as the stars make their nightly journey across the sky. Her window overlooks the bay and the way the moonlight is reflected on the shiny surface of the water is beautiful. But what enchants her the most is the dark forest on the other side of the bay. Only a single bridge lays between her and the freedom and sanctuary the forest provides. The longer she stares out of the window in her tower the more the hunger for the outside world grows.

After 18 years of it she’s had enough of waiting and she’s done with people holding her back because they love her. So she gets up and opens her wardrobe to take out her sneakiest outfit and puts on some dark fitted pants, puffy around her thighs but slim around her calves, perfect for riding and a dark fitted blouse. She plans on taking one of the horses and riding it through the forest. Just how she was going to do this she doesn’t know. But she doesn’t plan on staying away for more than the night, she’s not running away, not tonight at least.

She leaves Pascal asleep in his cot behind and quietly opens her door and takes a peek before deeming it safe to walk out. If she still had her long hair she would simply use that to lower herself down from the tower but that is out of the question since Eugene had cut it. She’s not upset he had cut it, she loves him and it had freed her from Gothel but she just wishes it could’ve been her choice. Nothing in her life had ever been her decision. That changes today.

She makes it to the stairs and walks down a few floors before she runs into someone. Or more like someone runs into her.

She has to cross a hallway to another set of stairs to get further down when she gets shoved into the wall of the stairway. A hand covers her mouth before she can scream, another arm pins her to the wall. She wants to make a sound to yell for help but is shushed by a dark, bushy haired girl with dark green mysterious eyes.

The girl leans in closer and puts her head near the crook of her neck so the blend into the darkness. She breathes in the girl’s hair and notices how nice she smells. She remains quiet as a set of guards marches by them. They remain hidden in the shadows provided by the stairs. The hand on her mouth is retracted and she lets out a breath.

“What the here are you doing out here?” The girl angrily whispers.

“I’m sneaking out.” She whispers before trying to walk down the stairs but before she can she’s shoved back into the wall, the other girl’s forearm against her throat. No one had ever dared treat the princes like this. The girl treated her like she would any other hooded figure sneaking around the castle at night.

“Stop.” The girl almost yells at her. The girl takes a deep breath before talking to her again. “You can’t just go outside.”

“I know that’s why I’m sneaking out.” She explains and tries to remove the arm against her throat pinning her to the wall. “Now if you’d please let me leave.”

“No way I’m taking you back to your room.” The girl says as she grabs her by her upper arm and tries to pull her along.

“No I’m not going back I’m done waiting for permission, for something I’m never gonna get.” She says as she yanks herself free. “I’m done with people holding me back because they ‘love’ me. I’m going to live my dream not wait for someone to give it to me.”

The girl looked down at her from the top of the stairs for a moment. She now gets a good look at the other girl. She wore a light blue dress with some gold highlights but the headboard she knew there was to match was missing. The dress was tight around her arms so she could see the girl was more of a warrior than a simple servant girl. The dress however was different to other dresses the other servants wore, which were simple beige dresses. The dress is similar to her mother’s lady in waiting, she wonders why. She recognizes the girl from the day her father had introduced her to all the servants, she had been the only one who dared look her in the eyes as they walked by. The girl sighs again and pinches the bridge of her nose. “You’re not going to stop are you?”

“Nope.”

The girl sighed again before moving past her, taking her hand and moving down the stairs. “Alright I’m going with you.”

“What?” She asks as she looks down at the girl who holds her hand.

“I know I can’t stop you from doing what you want. So the best I can do is make sure you’re safe while you do. If the king ever found out I let you go out alone I’d be sent to a convent.” The girl says with a chuckle.

“What’s your name?” She asks looking the other girl in the eyes.

“Cassandra.” Cassandra says.

“Well Cassandra I’m Rapunzel and thank you for listening.” She says squeezing her hand.

For the first time in her life she’s met someone who was actually willing to listen to her. Eugene comes close but even he is often unable to fully listen to her, not due to his unwillingness but more inability. He is always there for her and she often goes to visit him after dinner to talk but he just lacks the ability to relate to her and respond in the way she needs him to. Whenever she brings up her problems with her father he tries to downplay his actions and tries to justify them. She needs him to empathize, not offer a solution. She loves him and loves his effort but it’s not what she needs, but telling him that would hurt him and she doesn’t want to hurt him. He doesn’t purposefully say things to make her upset, he loves her after all, but for better or for worse he just can’t relate since he was an orphan. And conversations with him often make her feel worse, like she’s the one who’s wrong and has to compromise. But the compromises are always unfairly skewered in the other persons favor, they never have to give up as much as she does.

Cassandra leads her down the stairs before diverting from her planned path and taking her into a different direction. “Wait where are you taking me?”

“I’m taking you through the servants' passages. They’re not watched by the guards and less busy. Also we can’t go out looking like this.” Cassandra says leading down narrow passages she never knew were there. She wonders if her father knows about them. She assumes that he’s aware of their existence but he doesn’t know nor care exactly where they are or where they lead. He doesn’t seem to care much about his servants, another thing they had conflicting ideas about.

Cassandra opens a wooden door and enters the room, she pulls her inside and swiftly closes the door. Cassandra lets go of her hand and she wanders around the room. An armoire in the corner draws her attention and she walks over to it. She opens it and finds herself face to face with an array of weapons, something she didn’t expect to find. She expected to find various clothing items, killer looks not killer weapons.

“You like what you see?” Cassandra says with a proud smirk as she walks towards her. “Here let me.”

Cassandra walks over to the armoire sohe takes a step back to allow her better access and Cassandra bends down to pick up some cloaks from the bottom. As she does she gets a front row seat to an incredible view. Cassandra catches her starting and she tries to play it off by quickly looking away. Thankfully Cassandra doesn’t bring it up but she knows her cheeks and ears are red.

Cassandra hands her the cloak and she holds it out in front of her to look at. “Put it on.” She does as she’s told and puts on the cloak. She pulls up the hood and feels cool and turns to look at Cassandra and show her how cool she looks but when she does she’s met with Cassandra’s bare back. She swallows heavily and her eyes scan the pale skin. She spots several scars, some looking angry and red while others have faded to white. When she notices Cassandra has spotted her staring she turns around again and tries to hide her embarrassment in her hood.

“It’s safe to look.” Cassandra says and she turns around to see her dressed in something decidedly more comfortable. She wears a maroon undershirt with a baggy brown overshirt, a belt with a knife and a small pouch, a pair of patched together leggings and some kickass boots. If she wore shoes she would absolutely steal those.

She watches as Cassandra walks over to the armoire and puts a knife into her boot, puts a quiver and bow over her shoulder as well as a sword and puts a rope on her belt. Over all this she puts her own cloak. “Are you ready?” Cassandra says with an extended hand and a small hesitant smile on her face.

Her eyes travel from the hand held out for her up her strong arm and eventually land on dark green eyes. “Ready.” She says as she takes her hand and she is led outside once again.

Cassandra sometimes switches the hand holding her for mobility reasons but she never lets it go. And it doesn’t feel suffocating. Cassandra is actively risking retribution by helping her just because... That was it, just because, she hadn’t even asked her to do this for her.

Yet here they are weaving through more hallways usually hidden from sight of members of the royal family. Cassandra had said she was doing it because if the king found out she’d let her go alone and something happened, she’d be sent to a convent. But she has a feeling there’s more to it than that. She wasn’t exactly sure what a convent was but the way Cassandra mentioned it made her believe it was really bad. She wonders if maybe Cassandra is doing this because she is enjoying this as much as she is. She knew Cassandra just as easily could have let her go alone, no one would ever know they talked, she would’ve gotten away with it.

Cassandra let go of her hand for the first time to push a box to the side and pull a curtain away to reveal a passage to hidden tunnels. They did not look like the other servant’s passages, it must be something else. She ducked her head and entered the tunnels which were lit by a lantern Cassandra picked up by the arch. Cassandra pulled the box back in front of the hole covering the entrance. Cassandra led the way with the lantern held extended in her hand. She took Cassandra’s empty hand in her own holding it with both hands as they walked.

Before too long she sees the first glimpse of the outside and she runs ahead to the grate to look at the sky. She takes a deep breath of the cool fresh night air when Cassandra catches up with her. Cassandra puts the lantern away and holds the grate open for her as she crawls out of the hole. Now in the open air she takes a moment to acclimate before Cassandra takes her hand and leads her to the bay.

“Aren’t we going to cross the bridge?” She asks as they sneakily cross the main road to the other side and continue their journey away from the bridge.

“It’s too exposed, the guards would spot us a mile away. No, we’re going a different route.” Cassandra explains as they turn the corner and arrive at a pier and sees a rowboat bobbing in the water.

“Do you do this often?” She asks as Cassandra lets go of her hand to prep the boat.

“What? Help a princess sneak out of her prison? Oh yeah, being a servant is only my day job.” The response makes her smile and when Cassandra is done prepping the boat she once again extends her hand to help her into the boat. She looks around to see if she can find the oars so she can help row them across the bay but finds none.

“Don’t worry we don’t need oars, that’s why I brought the rope.” Cassandra says as she stands up again and attaches the rope to an arrow. She pulls the bow from over her shoulder to shoot the rope to the other side. The arrow lodges itself into the ground and Cassandra pulls the bow over her shoulder again before pulling on the rope, slowly inching closer to her freedom.

When they reach the other side Cassandra gets out of the boat first and secures the boat before she helps her out of the boat. They leave the boat so they can use it to get back later tonight. Cassandra takes the rope and pulls it around her shoulder and leaves her cloak behind.

Her feet now planted firmly on earthy soil confirmed to her she was now finally free. This feeling was short lived however. Cassandra pulls her into a bush as a patrol of guards on horses ride by them.

“I want to go beyond the wall.” She says not taking her eyes off the guards. When she turns to look at Cassandra she sees her nodding and takes her hand again.

Cassandra takes her to a guard outpost not far from away. They borrow two horses and ride to the wall. They walk through a part of the forest too thick to ride through and come across a wolf which she pets with a big smile on her face. She turns to face Cassandra who was holding her sword in her hands raised above her head to strike if the wolf turned hostile. She shows Cassandra how not everything that seems scary and hostile is, sometimes if you give a little love that what once was scary becomes kind. Kind of like Cassandra herself, she seems all tough and serious but by just being kind to her Cassandra is kind in return.

For the first time she gallops and she bursts out laughing when she does. This feeling was amazing, she doesn’t know how she’ll ever go back to palace life after this. But that is something she’ll have to deal with later.

Cassandra guides her over to a bush before parting it and revealing a pond swamped with fireflies who brilliantly lightened up the area. The yellowish green glow from the fireflies cascades beautifully on Cassandra’s face who seems content with watching her explore the world around them. She must’ve seen a sight like this millions of times before. What she didn’t know at the time was that Cassandra had never seen a sight like her before.

She follows the fireflies to an open field where Cassandra guided her horse towards her so they could gallop the rest of the way to the wall. She spends the entire ride giggling like she was a young girl. Cassandra rides ahead of her but she looks back at her with a small smile when she sees her so happy.

When they reach the wall Cassandra shows her how to climb up the wall using the rope. When she’s near the top Cassandra extends her hand to help her over the edge. Once she’s standing there and feels the wind blowing in her hair she finally feels free. She knows that her father has no power over her here. There’s nothing he can do to her here.

“So where to now?” Cassandra asks as she stands next to her.

“Anywhere will do.” She says looking out over the untouched wilderness below them. Somewhere in the distance a few candles still burn brightly but most people are asleep by now.

“Alright then. Next stop anywhere.” Cassandra says as she holds out her hand and helps her over the edge and down the wall.

Cassandra lands on the ground next to her and she takes her hand when she does. They aimlessly walk through the forest. Walking farther away from the wall until it becomes so small it’s the size of a pin, something so small it should no longer bother her. But no matter how hard she tries it keeps pricking her constantly reminding her it was there. The funny thing is it bothers her more now than before. She hates how even here, miles away, her father still had this power over her. She is barely able to enjoy being out here before guilt creeps back in. She hates that he’s making her feel this way because she knows she’s not doing anything wrong.

“Care to talk about what’s on your mind?” Cassandra says startling her. “You don’t have to, you just seem… troubled.” Cassandra ads after she remains quiet.

“That’s because I am.” She says. “Troubled.”

“Is it your father?” Cassandra says stepping over a fallen tree.

“How do you know?” She asks as Cassandra helps her step over the tree.

“Palace gossip.” Cassandra says. “And I also happen to know a thing or two about father daughter relationships.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. They tend to be overprotective especially if you have a traumatic past. They’ll hold you back for your own safety. While you’re left waiting until they’re ready to trust you, to let you go.” Cassandra says.

“Your father too?”

“Yes he’s the captain of the guards so he knows about safety, and he’ll do anything to keep me off the guard and keep me safe.”

“You want to be a guard?”

“More than anything.”

“So it’s kind of your dream?” She says trying to hide a grin.

“No, I don’t do dreams. It’s something I learned from my dad.” Cassandra says.

“Why shouldn’t you have dreams?” She asks.

“He taught me to live in the here and now not in fantasies of grandeur. He taught me to earn my keep and be useful to someone. Be whoever someone needed me to be to get by.” Cassandra explains.

She stops in her tracks and Cassandra’s hand slips from her grasp.

“What?” Cassandra says turning around.

“Cassandra.” She starts. “You are more than what you can offer other people. You are more than a servant, more than someone who lives to serve others.” She says taking a step closer.

“That is easy for you to say, you’re the princess. Your livelihood doesn’t depend on being useful to someone. In order to survive I have to.” Cassandra says as she takes a step back.

She takes a step forward hoping to close the distance between them. “Well for me you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not.” She says and when Cassandra doesn’t step back, she takes another step closer.

“The same goes for you.” Cassandra says and they start walking again. “I think it’s wrong for your dad to trap you in that tower. I’ve seen you walk around town looking miserable as the guards escort you.”

“Thank you for saying that. Sometimes it feels like there’s something wrong with me for not appreciating all that I have. Like you said I have a lot of luxuries. I will never have to worry about providing for myself. I will never know what it’s like to want for anything. I have a roof over my head, loving parents, a kind and understanding boyfriend. Yet I still long for more. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I can’t appreciate all that and be content.” As she talks they slow down until they’re standing opposite one another, their hands still connecting them in the middle.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you.” Cassandra says shaking her head. “You have needs too and right now they’re just not being met. It seems to me that you’ve also been pretending to be someone you’re not. You’ve also molded yourself to fit into whatever people expect you to be. An obedient daughter, a satisfied girlfriend. You should get to do things just for you, and no one else.”

“You’re right.” She says straightening her back. A confidence flooded her as she let the words sink in. “I want you to take me to where they found the sundrop flower.”

“Okay.” Cassandra says and they start walking again. “Why do you want to go there?”

“I want to see the place where everything began. If it wasn’t for the flower my mom would be dead, I might be dead, but I also wouldn't have been kidnapped and trapped in a tower for 18 years.” She explains.

“That makes sense.” Cassandra says. “Can’t the freeloader help you with this?”

“You mean Eugene?” She says with a giggle at the nickname. “He tries to help in his own way. But he just doesn’t understand, I mean he loves palace life, that has always been his goal. He’s content with living the rest of his life the way it is now, he can’t relate. Which is not his fault but…” She doesn’t know how to finish that sentence.

“But?” Cassandra says encouraging her to finish it.

“But it still hurts. It hurts that I can’t talk to him about these kinds of things. Besides I doubt he knows where to find the site where they found the flower. And my dad is not an option.”

“Let me guess you asked your dad but he refused to talk about it?”

“Bingo. Why are dad’s like that?” She jokes and they both laugh. She’s caught glances of Cassanda around the castle a million times but never once had she seen her smile or heard her laugh. Ever since she saw her smile for the first time tonight she’s been hoping to come up with a joke to cause her to laugh. She didn’t expect for this to be the joke to do it but she wasn’t complaining. This sound was like music to her ears. “How do you know where they found the flower?”

“This is gonna sound weird maybe but I used to think that if I were the one who found you I would be offered a spot on the guard so I spent a good chunk of my teenage years looking for you. Obviously I failed but I did learn a lot about the flower including its location.”

“Well lucky me.” She says with a smile and silence falls over them like a warm blanket as they walk the rest of the way. She imagines what it would’ve been like if Cassandra had been the one who had found her, would anything be different? Or would that not matter, her father would still suffocate her with his overprotectiveness, but then she would have always had Cassandra to talk to. Anyways it doesn’t matter, she has her now.

An hour in total passes as they talk and walk further south.

“We’re here.” Cassandra says as they stop by the edge of a cliff overlooking rough waters.

“What? I don’t see it.” She says after looking around.

“That’s because it’s down there.” Cassandra says as she points to a narrow path snaking down the side of the cliff. “It’s dark and wet so it might not be the best idea to go down there. But if you want to go down there we can.”

“Lead the way.” She says and Cassandra holds her hand as she walks ahead of her scouting a safe path.

The water crashes against the cliff showering them with tiny drops of water that fall around them like confetti. Cassandra stands back as she lets her walk closer to the plaque memorializing the site where the miracle flower was found. The sight entrances her and invites her to step closer. Jet black pointy rocks surrounded the pedestal. She bends down to get a closer look. Their surface is shiny and reflected like a mirror. In them she sees Cassandra standing behind her.

“They’re brilliant aren’t they?” Cassandra says and she turns her head to look at her.

“What are they?” She asks standing up straight again.

“I don’t know.” Cassandra says as she walks up to her. “The strangest thing about them is you can’t break them. Here stand back.” Cassandra says waving her hand to tell her to stand behind her. Cassandra takes out her sword and strikes the rocks, flexing her muscles as she does. The sword shatters into a million tiny pieces on impact. “Nothing can cut them. I’ve come here a few times with all the weapons I have, but they all break like the sword.”

“Why?” She says stepping back towards Cassandra. She stands behind her and rests her hand on her shoulder and the other holds onto her hand.

“I don’t know.” Cassandra says turning her head. Their noses are now mere inches apart, hot breath blows against her lips and she feels an incredible pull to close the distance. Her eyes flicker between Cassandra’s dark green eyes and her lips before finally taking the plunge and kissing her. They melt into the kiss as their lips pull and push like the ocean waves below them. She closes her eyes and feels Cassandra turn around to allow her better access to kiss. Cassandra puts her hands on her cheeks as she puts her arms around Cassandra’s waist, pulling her closer.

But then as sudden as it started so suddenly it ends. Cassandra pushes her away by putting her hands on her shoulders. “We can’t.” Cassandra says. But as she pushes her back her fingers brush against one of the rocks and unbeknownst to them it faintly starts to glow.

“I’m sorry I don’t know what I was thinking.” She says apologizing.

“It’s fine really. Don’t worry about it.” Cassandra says. “We should probably head back to make sure we’re back before anyone notices you’re gone.”

“You’re right.” She says and they start walking back up the path to the top of the cliff. Cassandra once again walks ahead of her but when she turns around to help her with the final few steps Cassandra gasps and her eyes widen.

“What? Do I have something on my face?”

“No but there’s something in your hair.” Cassandra says as she takes a strand of her hair and holds it in front of her eyes so she can see. Instead of her usual brown hair she’s met with her old golden blond hair.

More of her brown hair turns blond as they freak out over what to do. They eventually decide to go back to the palace and figure out a way to deal with it there. The awkwardness from the kiss is overshadowed by the problem they are facing now. Yet she can’t stop thinking about it.

Eventually her father finds out, after all you can’t hide 70 feet of magical hair for long. She tells him she went out alone and he appoints Cassandra to be her lady in waiting. He knows she’s a skilled warrior and hopes she’ll keep her safe and inside. But little does he know it won’t be long before they sneak out again.

“I’m sorry I kissed you, if I hadn’t all this wouldn’t have happened.” She says at their first princess lady in waiting meeting. “Maybe your dad would’ve allowed you to try out for the guard.”

“Don’t kid yourself my dad would rather have your lousy boyfriend on the guard than let me try out.” Cassandra said. She knew she should defend her boyfriend and say he isn’t a lousy boyfriend but somehow that felt disingenuous. “Besides it’s not the first time someone kissed me to make themselves feel better.”

She wonders how many times that has happened. “It’s not?”

“No. You don’t know how many women there are with less than satisfying boyfriends or fiances, sooner or later they all come to me.” Cassandra says. “They just never stay.” Cassandra whispers fiddling with her hands.

She feels bad for Cassandra, she wants to tell her she’s different but she knows she can’t be. She has a boyfriend and she has to stay loyal to him, she has to make sure that what happened that night won’t happen again. Push whatever she was feeling for the other woman down and ignore it for the good of her people.

“I want to say I’m different, that I’ll stay but my duty compels me not to. I’m sorry.”

“I know.” Cassandra says in a way that she’s already accepted this truth that she’s still struggling with. How can Cassandra seem so at peace with this? Didn’t she feel the same connection? Didn’t she feel the same energy when they kissed? It was a feeling akin to being outside for the first time, touching the grass for the first time. A little scary but mostly exciting, like her entire body was on fire. It was a high she’s been chasing since and found again when she kissed Cassandra.

They discuss the schedule for tomorrow and Cassandra leaves for the night, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

The hair problem is solved but she can’t resolve the problem of Cassandra. Why is it that she can’t stop thinking about her, about their kiss. She has Eugene, a wonderful man who loves her unconditionally. How can she do this to him? Doesn’t she love him? She knows she should and somewhere she knows she does. She starts to wonder if the love she feels is maybe a different kind of love.

But as time goes on she finds herself wanting to spend more time with Cassandra. The awkwardness from the kiss fades as they spend more time together solving the mystery of the lost lagoon. And in the beautiful light of the lagoon she can’t help herself but kiss Cassandra again who this time doesn’t push her away.

“What are we doing?” Cassandra says, after they’ve been making out for a while, with a beaming smile.

“Does it matter? Let’s just enjoy this for now.” She says as she forces Cassandra on her back. Planning on going further than just making out.

“We should stop.” Cassandra says in between kisses.

“I know. But we can always stop later. All I wanna do now is kiss you.” This becomes their mantra for the following weeks: They can always stop. Except they never do. Neither of them wants to and neither of them has the strength to.

Every other night she puts on her cloak, hood over her head keeping her eyes down, to meet up with Cassandra in the lagoon. They work on solving the mystery but also to spend time together, which is why they aren’t in a hurry to solve the mystery.

Eventually, after solving the mystery, they are forced to find a different place to have their ‘adventures’, somewhere in the castle.

She slowly opens the door of Cassandra’s room and looks around to see if anyone is around. When she sees no one there she looks back to Cassandra lying naked in her bed. She looks at her with seductive eyes and uses her index finger to invite her back to bed.

“You know I’d love to but I can’t. I have dinner planned with Eugene.” She says.

Cassandra gets up from the bed and sways her hips as she walks closer. She closes the door by shoving her against it and kissing her roughly. “A kiss for the road?” Cassandra says when she’s done and walks back to pick up her clothes scattered all around the room.

She shakes her head with a smile before peeking out the door making sure it’s safe so no one sees her leave. It wouldn’t be unusual for the princess to visit her lady in waiting but if it became a regular thing people could get suspicious, especially if she was terrible at staying quiet when they were busy.

She constantly looked around, scanning her surroundings, making sure no one looked at her differently when she bumped into Eugene.

“Hey blondie, there you are.” Eugene says holding her by the shoulders. “I was looking for you.”

“What? Why?” She says looking around nervously, afraid to meet his gaze.

“For dinner. Remember?” He says.

“Yes, of course. Give me five minutes while I get ready okay?” She says and gives him a peck on the cheek before almost running off.

“Wait, are you okay? Your face is all red, your hair is a bit messy and you seem out of breath. Is everything alright?” Eugene asks with a look of genuine concern.

“Yes I was just out for a run. You know, gotta stay fit and… healthy!” She says before running off so Eugene can’t interrogate her further.

“I’d love to come with you next time.” Eugene says during dinner.

“I’d love that too but I really like that this is something I can do alone. My dad has finally started to let me walk the palace grounds on my own and I like getting to do things separate from you.” She explained but it made Eugene’s face fall. She immediately regretted what she said and scrambled to correct it. “But it’d still love it if you wanted to join me.” Eugene’s face lit up again and it made her feel a little better. She hated lying but this way he remains happy. She’ll just have to come up with a different excuse to spend time with Cassandra.

They could still go to the lost lagoon to spend time together if it isn’t for her father keeping her busy. He’s gone into full teacher mode to teach her all about running a kingdom. He worries about the 18 years she’s behind in all the royal etiquette and laws of the kingdom. So they shifted to meeting in unoccupied rooms and broom closets.

What had once started in beautiful lagoons ends with meetings in broom closets and stinky stables.

X

She grunts as she pils more hay on her pitchfork and dumps it in a wheelbarrow. She is mucking out stalls and is tasked with making them look new, cleaning all the horse shirt off the floorboards.

She wheeles the wheelbarrow out of the stalls and gets a wooden bucket, fills it with water and adds some soap before getting on her knees in the stall. She rolls up her sleeves and plunges the brush in the water before scrubbing the floor.

Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead as she scrubs the floor. She wipes them away when one rolls down the side of her cheek. Her brows are constantly furrowed as she meticulously scrubs the floor in concentration. But also in anger as unwanted flashes of the past force themselves into her mind.

“Cassandra?” She had gotten quite adept at keeping unwanted thoughts out but when she hears that voice and looks into those bright green eyes she loses all the will to fight them.

She is being filed into a row in the throne room alongside the other handmaidens. Nigel is fussing and running around in front of them as he tugs on their dresses and uniforms making sure not a single thing was out of place. Everything had to be perfect for the precious lost princess. The thought made her gag and roll her eyes. All this commotion over nothing.

She was happy the princess had been found and happy for her that she was reunited with her parents but all this commotion was distracting them from doing their jobs. All of them would have to stay late and work harder to make sure all their tasks for the day were done. The guards were distracted by the princess and didn’t focus on protecting Corona. If an enemy were to attack right now they’d be screwed.

Did this girl not know about the threat she formed against Corona? Or did she simply not care? Either way it didn’t matter the outcome was the same.

One of the guards by the door sends a signal to Nigel and he rushes over to the door. “Remember, head down and don’t make eye contact, they are your superiors.”

She rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh before doing as she’s told when Faith nudges her with her arm.

She folds her hands in front of her and lowers her head in a respectable courtesy. She closes her eyes and hears the great doors open and hears the king’s deep voice talking to the princess.

One by one they make their way down the line of servants as Nigel introduces them to the princess, the king not knowing their names. When her name is called out she takes her dress and bows, she opens her eyes and as she straightens her back looks the princess in the eyes hoping to catch a glimpse of what this princess is all about.

She assumes she’ll see that same indifferent look the king had when looking at servants. But more often than not the king would not even look servants in the eyes as he spoke to them but he always had that infuriating indifferent look on his face that made her want to punch him.

She never did, that would surely kill any chance she has of ever joining the guard. But in her mind she did. But what she finds instead are bright green eyes looking at her, actually looking at her and seeing her. She finds kind compassionate eyes looking at her and it makes her blush, feeling a hint of shame for assuming the princess was like her father without knowing her, for jumping to conclusions.

In those eyes she can feel her future reflected back at her. This one glance makes her feel something other than displeasure. She is always driven by her displeasure, the things she wants and fights for are things she wants to change about her life. She’s unsatisfied about her current job so she fights for a spot on the guard, partially because that will make her happy but also so she won’t be unhappy. She sees the chance of the future she wants becoming reality, she sees hope. It startles her how much one glance is able to awaken in her.

She knows if the king catches her she’ll be punished but she knows the king never pays any attention to his servants so why should he now, besides they’ve already moved onto the girl next to her. She links her hands in front of her again and lowers her head.

Nigel saw, of course he saw. He tells her to stay behind after sending the other servants away and scolds her. He punishes her by assigning her to do all the tasks she hates to do, mainly she will be in charge of sewing and hemming the dress the princess will wear to her coronation in a few months to make it up to the princess for disrespecting her. He tells her she got off lucky since the king didn’t notice but he tells her if it happens again he will tell the king and let him decide a punishment to fit her crime.

When he dismisses her she hastily walks to her room huffing and puffing all the way there. When she reaches her room she slams the door closed and tears the headboard from her head and throws it across the room.

She knows what she did wasn’t correct, but it wasn’t wrong. It was unusual; yes but not wrong yet he treated her like it was, like she had commited treason.

She doesn’t get much time to cool down before her father bursts through the door to give her another scolding.

“Cassandra Nigel told me what happened today.” He says crossing his arms in front of him.

Her heart is still pounding in her chest so she bites her tongue, not trusting herself to speak. Surely she would say something she would soon regret. Speaking out against her father always went like that, in the heat of the moment she would say a lot of things that her father would later use against her so she had learned not to say anything at all.

“I’m very disappointed in you.” He says as he links his hands behind his back. “I told you on the winter solstice that I would consider it if you could try out for the guard, and I have. I recognize that you think you are ready and I acknowledge the progress you’ve made. But after today I am certain in my decision.” He says.

“My answer is no.” She wants to argue, to kick and scream but the look on his face tells her all she needs to know. His mind is set, there is no arguing, there is no way she can convince him to change his mind. She’s going to kill Nigel.

“Don’t blame Nigel.” He says. It must show on her face what she was thinking, she was never great at concealing her anger. All other emotions were easy, she could shove them down no problem. But her anger burned bright like a lighttower on a cliff on a foggy night, there was no hiding it, no way she could mask it. Her anger would always come peeking out through the cracks.

“Nigel only did what I asked him to do. And it’s not just this incident alone. “ He says and holds out his hand to count her past mistakes.

“You often speak without being spoken to. Your work is crude and unrefined. And these are just the things Nigel told me about.” He says as he places his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s time to give up on this dream of being on the guard and focus on your work here.” He says and pulls her into a hug.

“It’s clear to me that this hobby has become a distraction from doing your work properly and I’m sorry for encouraging you.” He says brushing her unruly curls with his hands.

“I should have ended this delusion much earlier. I take responsibility for that. All I’m asking you is to do the same.” He says pulling out of the hug again.

“Accept that your place is here as a handmaiden, and that the reason for that is your own brash actions. Take responsibility for that and accept the outcome. I know you want to fight me on this, I can see it in your eyes, but you are 22 and it is time to start settling down. Leave the teenage years of experimentation and recklessness behind you and begin building a life, and maybe start a family of your own. I don’t want you to be alone when I die.”

He wraps her into another tight hug. She hesitantly places her hands on his back knowing that’s what he expects her to do, if she doesn’t he’ll just get mad again.

“You are my daughter and I love you.” He says kissing the top of her head. “I only want what’s best for you.” He says as he pulls out of the hug and holds his hands on her shoulders. “Do you understand?”

She gives a small nod.

“Good. I’m happy we were able to come to an understanding.” He says and she wants to scoff. ‘They’ didn’t come to an understanding he did while she’s left to live with the decisions he’s made for her.

With an “I love you.” he walks out the door and she’s left alone with a storm of emotions raging inside her.

She wants to scream, to kick something, punch something. Take all her weapons and throw them at something but she doesn't. She feels oddly calm. No not calm, numb, she feels numb.

The numbness remains. It’s the only thing she feels for days as she keeps her head down and does what she’s told. Days pass in a haze and she feels like she’s detached from her body forced to watch her live the life everyone wants for her but her. She feels like she’s floating in empty space with no one to hear her scream into the void. Her tears float away until she has no more tears to cry and is left alone. The only thing to keep her company were those bright green eyes that had landed her here. She feels like she should hate those eyes and the person they belong to, but that spark of hope it had lit inside her was still burning even though she knows that future that she saw can never be, not anymore. So she forces herself to loathe the person they belong to.

Until, one night, she is walking upstairs towards the room containing the big poofy coronation dress. She couldn’t sleep so she decided to continue working like she had for the past few weeks. She is walking up one of the servant stairways when she spots a figure dart across the floor towards one of the normal staircases. Initially she wants to investigate but she pushes the thought to the back of her head and continues up the stairs. But the thought keeps tugging at her until she decides to investigate.

If it is an intruder the guards surely would’ve caught the assailant by now but still she feels the urge to see for herself.

She easily spots the figure again and her heartbeat picks up. Adrenaline courses through her body as she follows the intruder and traps them in the stairway and shoves them into the wall. She’s met with those eyes that have haunted her since she first saw them and would continue to haunt her for evermore.

That night had further nurtured the spark those eyes had lit inside her into a small flame. The energy from the princess was contagious. It jumpstarted her battery and that numb feeling abated and was gradually replaced with an excitement for something new.

For Love? No absolutely not. One it is the princess, someone who she not long ago loathed. And two she has a boyfriend. A boyfriend who the princess complained about a lot that first night but still a boyfriend. She isn’t someone who goes around seducing women to leave their boyfriends. At least she didn’t think so, it was just something that happened sometimes.

Women are comfortable around herand in the beginning they never say they have a boyfriend. Some even declare their love for her but when it comes down to it, when she tells them it’s either her or him they always choose him. No one ever chooses her. She thinks she has finally learned from all that but then the princess walks into her life and she falls for her like she did all those before her.

Except the princess is not like those before her at all. She listens to her too. With all the others it’s always been one sided but not with the princess. She tries keeping her distance from the princess, make it less appealing but she often finds herself staring at the princess as she walks by in the castle halls. And more often than not the princess gazes back.

After that she finds herself volunteering in the kitchen so she can serve Rapunzel’s dinner and steal glances from across the room. She’s careful when she does, she doesn’t want another scolding from her father but the smile that appears on Rapunzel’s face soon after she does it makes it worth the risk.

When she’s assigned to be her lady in waiting and they go searching for the lost lagoon together, one thing leads to another and they once again find themselves kissing. This time she can’t find the strength to push her away. The first time she did it had been a mistake, it resulted in a problem, this time it feels like a mistake not to but she doesn’t care. Kissing Rapunzel is a mistake worth making.

This is on her mind as she scrubs the stable floors. She tries to scrub away all traces of shit like she tries to scrub away the love she has for Rapunzel. But like the shit in the floorboards it has seeped deep into her, crawled into empty spaces where they’ve cemented themselves and she can never get it out. Her love for Rapunzel will never die but with every scrub it dies a little more. She scrubs and scrubs until she has blisters on her hands and scrubs a million little times more.

“You’re late.” Her father says as she walks through the door after her latest meeting with Rapunzel.

“Yes, Rapunzel needed some help with the preparations for the visit of the king of Pitsford.” She rushes to explain.

“Good girl.” He says and wraps her in a hug. “I’m glad you’ve finally found your place.”

“I still intend to prove you wrong for denying me to try out for the guard but you were right about my work, I was careless.” She says pulling out of the hug. She knows now what she needs to say to show her dedication to the guard while still keeping her dad happy.

She knows that somewhere her father would love it if she were to one day take over the mantle of captain of the guard but he worries too much about her to trust her to be able to handle it. And maybe somewhere he was right when he said she can rush into things and let her emotions control her. But she’s learned now how to not only keep them under control but also use them to her advantage.

“Good to hear you can see things from my perspective too.” He says as he gives her a pat on the back. “Is that the princesses’ perfume that I smell?”

“What do you mean?” She asks sitting down at the dinner table.

“I can smell the princesses’ perfume on you.” He says sitting down at the head of the table.

“She’s a very physical person, she likes to hug.” She explains as she takes a bite.

“Very well that is true. Just remember she’s the princess not your friend. If it makes it easier just think of her as your boss but also remember that the king is the one you ultimately work for.”

“Yes dad I will.” She says and they keep eating.

X

“Cass what’s this?” She asks as Cassandra reveals a small bottle she had hidden in her hands.

“It’s perfume.”

“Thank you Cass, that’s so sweet.”

“Well it’s because my dad could smell you on me. So I had to think of something so he won’t suspect us.”

“Oh. That’s smart. This way I won’t leave a trace on you.” She says in agreement.

She knows the perfume is a good idea but she kind of likes the idea of people being able to tell Cassandra is hers. But they aren’t a normal couple, they aren’t even a couple. But still it almost felt like being erased from Cassandra’s life, like she doesn’t even exist as Rapunzel, just as some random person on Cassandra’s collar.

“You know it wouldn’t be an issue if we could go public.” She says with a small voice.

“I know.” Cassandra says taking her hands. “I want that too but if we did your father would most certainly send me to a convent for corrupting his precious daughter.”

“But you didn’t and I can explain-” She starts.

“When has he ever listened to you? He'll just say that I confused and manipulated you. Everyone will see it that way.”

“Not Eugene, we can tell him.” She says.

“If you think we can then I trust you. But only if you’re absolutely sure. I don’t want him getting upset and running to the king. We have to be smart about this.”

“You’re right but if we tell him that’s one less person we have to pretend around.” She says bringing their hands to her chest.

“That is a pretty exciting thought.” Cassandra says pulling her closer. Cassandra wraps her arms around her waist while her hands rest on Cassandra’s chest between them.

“I know right.” She says with a big smile on her face. “Imagine not having to sneak around. He could even cover for us, like Pascal.” She says as Cassandra brushes a stray hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear.

“Do you think he’d be that cool with it?” Cassandra says using her hand to cup her face and stroking her cheek with her thumb.

“Honestly I’m not sure, but best case scenario thinking got us this far.” She says as she rubs her face into Cassandra’s palm as she closes her eyes.

The truth is that she isn’t sure how Eugene would take it. She hoped he would be upset but understanding. Understand what though. Understand that she loves them both? Upset that she loves Cassandra more or that she doesn’t love him at all? She knows she loves him but with Cassandra it’s different. It’s a different kind of love.

And it’s that love that has kept her from telling anyone. The love to keep Cassandra here with her and not in a convent. The love she has for Eugene keeps her from telling him because while she fears to think about it she knows a worst case scenario is more likely or at least one where she hurts him more than she intends to.

She knows he loves her in the way she loves Cassandra and if Cassandra told her she was in love with someone else she’d be crushed. She knows how she’d react but she also knows Eugene is a very different person. She’d be upset but understanding which she hopes Eugene will be but realistically he would be upset, crushed and angry. He is a proud man and if he learned someone had ‘stolen his girl’ then he’d be angry about that. And she feared he would, in his anger, his hurt, want to take revenge by telling her father.

“You know that I love you right?” She says as Cassandra holds her in her arms.

“I do.” Cassandra says and slightly pulls back to look her in the eyes. “And I love you.” Cassandra says with the most sincere look in her eyes.

Hearing her say it always brought a smile to her face, it still does. The first time Cassandra said it was an incredible moment in their relationship, especially because she said it first. And all throughout their relationship she had been the one who had always made the first move but this time it had been Cassandra who put her heart on the line.

That’s when their relationship went from casually sleeping together to an actual intimate romantic relationship. It became something deeper. They were no longer just two people who enjoyed the other’s company. They were together now, together one.

After Cassandra said it for the first time she made her say it every moment they were together. Every time she said it made her feel incredible though not as incredible the first time she heard it and over time, the longer this went on, the more worry seeped into her mind.

She loves that they are together as a couple but she wishes she could say these things in public. But Cassandra is right her father would send Cassandra to a convent while he locks her away in her tower.

Over time she grew more fearful to the point where nothing Cassandra says or does makes her feel any better. Even the ‘I love you’ had slowly lost its power. She worries they are just one mistake away from losing it all. And realistically they are.

And that’s the problem with this illicit affair. It had all started so beautifully. That first night, that they often look back on as their first date, had been incredible. It had grown so naturally over time. They both put in effort to continue this. Risking retribution for looking at each other while others were around or sneaking away from their duties to meet up. Over the course of their relationship she had told so many lies it was hard to keep track of.

She often sits on her bed with her journal to write it down so it makes sense. So she can’t screw up with another lie.

But no lie was as great as the one she told today.

It’s the one year anniversary since Eugene brought her home so her parents organized a great feast in her and Eugene’s honor. The latter earns an eye roll from Cassandra and an exasperated sigh.

The day was filled with various activities to celebrate. Cassandra accompanied her as her lady in waiting but she spent most of the activities with Eugene by her side. She doesn’t mind it though. He is a good friend of hers and she will always be grateful for bringing her home.

Luckily before the feast she had some time alone with Cassandra to ‘get ready’ for the banquet. But they used that time just cuddling. Also getting ready but mostly that.

They walk down to the throne room together where Cassandra leaves her to go in alone while she joins the other servants to serve dinner.

After dinner is served and all the guests have eaten dinner Cassandra and the other servants come out to serve desserts. But after they did they stayed behind which is unusual. Cassandra stands to her right behind Eugene’s chair as he gets up.

“I want to thank you all for joining us tonight as we celebrate not only the return of everyone's favorite princess but also the birthday of the most wonderful, kind and loyal person I know. Ever since I met her she has been my best friend. She encourages and supports me unconditionally. She showed me what it meant to be selfless and to put others first. She showed me love. And in turn I showed her the world.” Eugene says looking at all their guests.

He wasn’t entirely wrong when saying he showed her the world because partially he did. But Cassandra showed her more in that one night and their many nights in the lost lagoon than Eugene ever had thought of showing her.

“Rapunzel.” Eugene starts turning towards her. “You are my best friend and I love you more than anything in this world. And I want to spend the rest of my life by your side. And I think you want that too. So why not make it official?” He says and gets down on one knee. “Rapunzel will you marry me?” He finally says.

The shock must show on her face as almost immediately Eugene starts talking again. “I know it may come as a surprise but I love you and I want the whole world to know.”

Her eyes flit back and forth between Eugene’s and Cassandras, who for her convenience stands behind Eugene. Cassandra has her hands folded in front of her as her head hands low. She hopes Cassandra will look at her but her eyes are trained on the ground.

She looks towards her father who gives her a stern look. She knows it’s his way of being supportive and encouraging. She knows her father may have planted the seed of marriage in Eugene’s head. He’s brought it up before during dinner. He often asks about their relationship and if they’ve talked about getting married. She never quite knows what to tell him. Most of the time she just tells him that they haven’t yet discussed it.

When Eugene first brought her home her father had been unsure of how to treat Eugene. He had stolen the crown jewels and countless other things, he was a renowned thief. But also the one who had returned his daughter to him so naturally her father had conflicting feelings. But after Eugene proved himself trustworthy and she told him she loved him he grew very fond of Eugene and developed a bit of a father son relationship. Something she was happy Eugene could have, since he had never had that.

She looks back at Cassandra who risked looking at her and their eyes meet, only for a moment. But that one moment tells her all she needs to. They’ve grown so close she can immediately read all that Cassandra is thinking and feeling. Right now they’re telling her not to do it, to not say yes, begging her with fear in her eyes. And she wants to listen but she also knows there is only one option here.

“Yes.” She says quietly before Eugene presses their lips together. Eugene envelopes her in a tight hug when they break apart.

“I love you.” Eugene breathes into her hair as he buries his face in the crook of her neck. A space most often enjoyed by Cassandra.

“I love you too.” She says her gaze lingering on Cassandra who has returned to looking towards the ground. “Eugene.”

The room erupts in melodious applause as a ringing can be heard in her ears and a numbness befals her.

That night she writes in her journal. ‘Another lie.’

X

“Cass baby.” Rapunzel says as she walks closer to her.

“Don’t call me ‘Cass’. Don’t call me ‘baby.’” She snaps as she continues scrubbing the floor. She briefly glances over to where Rapunzel is standing and sees her flinching at her words. Rapunzel stops in her tracks, looking small. “What do you want? Come to look at the mess you’ve made?”

“What do you mean? No, you have to understand there was nothing I could do.”

Nigel had pulled her out of bed late that night and was pulling her along by her arm. She soon recognizes where they’re headed; the throne room.

Nigel opened the door and pulled her inside before closing it again. He let go of her arm when they reached the foot of the steps by the throne. The king standing at the top with Rapunzel next to him. She wanted to look at her to see what was going on but she knew it was too risky, there were too many eyes on her. So she keeps her head down and avoids eye contact.

“It was recently brought to my attention that you were the one to take my daughter beyond the Corona walls that night many months ago. Is that correct.” The king says with a demanding voice.

And it’s this voice that lets her know there is no denying it. It will only upset the king if she tries to deny it so she gives him a nod.

“You were the one who manipulated my daughter into disobeying her father and betray my trust.” The king starts. He then leans closer to whisper in her ear. “I’ve also been made aware of you seducing my daughter into betraying her soon to be husband and cheating on him.” He says and her heart sinks down to her stomach.

How could he possibly know? Did Rapunzel tell Eugene and did he tell the king? That’s the most likely story but she just doesn’t know. It is this moment when no one is looking that she dares glance over at Rapunzel.

She looks so small. Her hands are folded in front of her with her head down. She notices her eyes are red and her cheeks are puffy. She’s been crying. Their gazes briefly meet before Rapunzel looks away again and she can see her eyes tear up as she tries to prevent them from spilling.

“You’ve corrupted my daughter and seduced her into committing heinous atrocities and for this you will be severely punished.” The king whispers into her ear before returning to stand upright at the top of the steps.

“You are to report to the stables tomorrow where you will work until the end of the day when you will join a caravan to the Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption convent by the northern border. Here you will live out the rest of your days in service of the sisters.” He says.

“Cassandra as someone who watched you grow from the young girl you were, when the captain so generously took you in, into the young woman who stands before me, I am very disappointed in you. I had high hopes for you, hopes that one day you might join our exquisite royal guard. But I’m sure my disappointment doesn’t come close to the one your father must feel. You are a disgrace and hereby dismissed. I don’t want to see you again.”

All color seems to seep away as he talks until all she’s left with is a dull beige sight before her. It might be because it’s dark and all the colors around her are beige but it was more than that. The colors were less vibrant than before. Returned back to the way they looked before Rapunzel showed her lively colors of the lost lagoon.

Nigel then takes her by the arm again and escorts her back to her room.

She wants to cry when Nigel leaves her. She wants to kick and scream. And she realizes she doesn’t want to scream at the king. She wants to scream at Rapunzel. How did this happen? She knows she didn’t tell anyone and she’s sure everything they did was safe. She knew it could not have been her fault. She doesn’t want to play the blame game but right now it’s the only thing stopping her from crying.

And she doesn’t want to cry. Crying gets you nowhere. Anger is something she could work with. Anger is a result of displeasure and it’s a driving force behind her actions. That is until Rapunzel entered her life and that anger was replaced by love. There were still things to be displeased about but her time with Rapunzel often made up for it.

Now that wave of anger washed over her and covered her like a blanket. The love she has for Rapunzel turned sour.

She knew what she signed up for and she knew what would happen if it ever came out, she just never expected it to go down like this. She expected Rapunzel to stand by her side, to at least try and defend her. Instead she was made to look like a fool. That all along Rapunzel had never loved her, that she was just a toy. Something to enjoy but once things became too real she could just throw them away and pretend it never happened.

It was written all over her face when she looked at her that night. She thought she knew Rapunzel's mind like her own, it showed on her face. It’s how they communicated in crowded rooms. Rapunzel had taught her how to but tonight she didn’t see any of that. That secret language they had made together washed away with Rapunzel’s tears like it never even existed.

The next morning her father doesn’t even look at her as she walks past him on her way to the stables.

“There was nothing you could do?” She says in disbelief with a scoff.

“Cass-” Rapunzel starts.

“Don’t call me Cass.” She snaps. “How about you standing by my side? Instead you let me stand there alone while he berated me. You made me look like a fool.” She says as she feels tears pricking in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Rapunzel says and for once she doesn’t try to come up with an excuse. Rapunzel must know there is no way to make this right.

“I can handle him calling me all that. But you not sticking up for me, that is something I can’t take.” She says as she struggles to hold back her tears. “I thought we were together, a team.”

“We were.”

“Great way of showing it last night.” She scoffs. “And I get you speaking out wouldn’t have changed my punishment, in the grand scheme of things it would’ve meant nothing. But to me? It would’ve meant everything.”

“I was afraid I would make things worse for you if I tried to speak up. But I see now I was wrong and I’m sorry for that.” Rapunzel says and she feels a little better knowing she understands how she hurt her.

“How did he even find out?” She asks as she pinches the bridge of her nose and discreetly wipes away the tears.

“He read my journal.” Rapunzel says in defeat.

She’s compelled to scream at Rapunzel. Scream at her for being so stupid and naïve to write about them in her journal as if he wouldn’t eventually read it. But she also knows it wouldn’t change a thing.

She sighs as she hears her name called from outside and looks past Rapunzel to see a caravan filled with supplies for the northern convent. Rapunzel turns around to look at the caravan before turning back to her.

She walks past Rapunzel who grabs her hand with both hands and stops her in her tracks.

“Would you do it again?” Rapunzel asks slowly looking up to meet her gaze. “Knowing the outcome, would you do it again?”

“For you? A million times.” She says gently squeezing Rapunzel's hands with her own before taking her bag by the doors and walking out to join the caravan.

She doesn’t dare look back as they leave the castle and the setting sun behind them.