Other Fan Fiction ❯ Confinement of the Stars ❯ Chapter 2: Found ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

It had already been nearly 4 days since she left Corona. As she rode atop of Fidella, she looked at her map. "If I were Rapunzel, where would I be.." Fidella stopped suddenly and Cassandra nearly flew forward. Growling, she placed a hand to steady herself. "What the hell Fidella, why-" Cassandra looked up to see a festival of some sort. No, was it a... concert? "...did you stop?" There were a decent amount of people. Kids, adults, pets, all of it. Cassandra's stomach growled as the smell of fresh popcorn and cotton candy filled her nose. She could hear loud music and the sound of singing coming from the festival. Wait, she knew that voice...

"Fidella," Cassandra said with wide eyes. "I think we just found our princess."

 

 

Cassandra strode through the festival with her hood on. She had to leave Fidella at the stalls so no one would suspect anything. Her occupation wasn't a mystery to the world and knowing Rapunzel, she already knew her status as well. She couldn't risk being seen.

As she neared the lit up stage that had people surrounding it, she could make out the familiar voice more and more. The light blinded her from seeing anything at first but once she got a good look at her long-time, seemingly 'missing', best friend she couldn't help but let out a "Woah." 

Rapunzel wasn't dressed in her usual attire that Cass was used too but instead she was dressed in an off the shoulder dark blue and pink shirt that was tied into a small not at the bottom as well as a set of blue jeans that framed her body type nicely. And where those.... shoes? Tall boots that were nearly up to her knees with a small heel at the bottom to be precise. Cassandra had to admit: she looked drop-dead gorgeous. Not that she didn't before... Cassandra quickly shook her head to clear her mind. She had to stay professional. But one thing was for sure.. If Rapunzel really went through all this trouble to change her appearance, even going so far as wearing shoes, she really did not want to be found. Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder why.

"....Thanks for listening everyone! I don't know when my next show will be, but stay tuned!" She heard the princess say. The crowd roared. Rapunzel gave a smile and a small bow. She looked happy... No, she was glowing. A big smile was plastered on her face and she gave one more small bow before waving goodbye to her crowd of roaring fans. As the princess made her way off the stage, Cassandra saw the opportunity and made her way through the crowd.

As Cassandra neared the back part of the stage, her heart started racing and she went through multiple different emotions. She was nervous, that much was certain. Afterall, she hadn't seen her best friend in years. But she was also really excited, if she was being honest with herself. Even more, she was relieved that Rapunzel was safe. But the emotion that outweighed it all was the guilt that took over her heart. Why did she have to be the one to crush her dreams?

As the people cleared, she was able to freely move through the crowd and to the backstage. Once she realized that the princess wasn't there, she made her way into the forest. Where else could she have gone in only 5 minutes? Afterall, if Rapunzel was on the run, she would want to keep running. Then she saw her in all her glory. She was whispering to what she assumed was Pascal with a happy smile plastered on her face. Cassandra leaned herself against a tree with her arms crossed only a couple feet behind her.

"You know, you're doing a poor job of paying attention to your surroundings."

Rapunzel let out a startled gasp as she spun around, frying pan in hand. It only took her a matter of seconds before she recognized the smirking warrior in front of her. Her face broke out into a huge smile. "Cassandra?!"

Cassandra barely had time to react as the princess pretty much jumped into her arms. Cassandra couldn't help but let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms around Rapunzel's waist to make sure they both didn't go tumbling to the floor. She really did miss her. Rapunzel pulled away from the hug but didn't pull away from Cassandra. While Cassandra kept her hands on Rapunzel's waist, Rapunzel had her arms wrap around Cassandra's neck.

"What are you doing here?!" She asked with a joyous smile. Before Cassandra could respond, suddenly her face dropped as she quickly backed away. "Wait a second... my father didn't hire you, did he?" The look on Cassandra's face said it all. "He did." Rapunzel said in disbelief. A second realization must have struck Rapunzel as she held up her frying pan to the older woman, backing away more. "You're not here to bring me back, are you?"

"Actually-"

"Because I'm not going back!"

"Raps-"

"I-I will fight you, I swear it, I-"

"Rapunzel!" Finally having shut the blabbering, panicked princess up, Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Can I speak now?" She took Rapunzel's silence as a yes. "I was supposed to bring you back-" Rapunzel started to back away more so Cassandra quickly added. "But I'm not going to force you to do anything. Frankly, I only took the job because I needed to make sure you were okay." Rapunzel studied Cassandra to see if there was any deceit in her explanation but she found none. She slowly lowered her frying pan but kept her distance. Cassandra was unsure with herself if she was lying to Rapunzel or not. The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

If Cassandra was being honest, she was a little hurt by Rapunzel's lack of trust in her. But who could honestly blame her? It wouldn’t be the first time Cassandra lied and double-crossed her. "Really Raps, I'm not here to bring you back. But I don't understand - I was told you just disappeared without a trace in the dead of night - that's just so unlike you."

"What?" Rapunzel asked, her eyes wide. "Is that what my father told you?"

Cassandra gave her a confused look. "Yes..?"

"Oh my god," Rapunzel groaned before she started pacing, her hands in her hair. "First, he hires my best friend to come and track me down and drag me back - which is a pretty low move if you ask me - but then he starts spreading lies? I can't believe it! Of all the selfish, inconsiderate, no-good, as-"

"Woah, woah!" Cassandra interjected. "Alright, I need someone to explain to me what the hell happened while I was gone and why I'm now just hearing about it."

Rapunzel stopped and turned to face her. Her expression blank for a second as if she forgot she was there at all. "Uh," Rapunzel rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "I guess you do deserve an explanation."

"You think?" Cassandra responded sarcastically with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed.

"Right. But not here. Come on," Rapunzel smiled and motioned for her to follow.

Cassandra did, but was just as confused as ever. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace a little more private and less out in the open." Cassandra nodded. That checked out.

 

 

Cassandra was led into a secret clearing. It was a beautiful field that was surrounded by grass and flowers as well as a beautiful waterfall that led down to a lake. But instead it wasn't out in the open where prying eyes could see. It was securely hidden. It reminded Cassandra a lot of the Lost Lagoon. Cassandra felt a sudden wave of Deja Vu hit her. It was weird being with Rapunzel again; spending time with her and getting into troublesome sceneries. But it was a good weird. Cassandra felt relaxed and she would be lying if she said she didn't miss the company of another person. Most specifically the company of Rapunzel.

Rapunzel sat under a shady tree and gave Cassandra a sweet smile that nearly stopped her heart. She really missed that smile. Then Rapunzel patted the grassy land next to her. Cassandra's feet seemed to start moving before her before brain caught up as she moved to sit down next to the princess.

"So, what's the deal Raps? Because I'm starting to feel like I was sent on a wild goose chase."

Rapunzel rubbed the back of her neck nervously before turning back to Cassandra with a guilty expression. "You sort of were. I didn't just suddenly disappear. I left perfectly placed notes to my mom, dad and even Eugene explaining why I left and why I had too."

"So he lied to me." Cassandra responded more to herself than to Rapunzel. Her expression grew angry rather quickly. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was being lied to. Especially after the whole Zhan Tiri fiasco.

Rapunzel nodded before looking down. "He did. I'm sorry, Cass."

Cassandra turned her head back towards her and tilted her head to the side. "Why are you sorry? It's not your fault."

Rapunzel sighed before she brought her knees up to her chest and laid her chin on them. "It kind of is. I shouldn't have ran away but... I couldn't take being there anymore."

Cassandra placed a hand on her knee in comfort. "I don't understand Raps, I thought you wanted to be queen?"

"I thought I did. But then after you left, a lot of stuff became more clear to me. With you always there by my side, all the duties and responsibilities seemed less... threatening. It was bearable. But after you left, I started realizing that maybe that there was more out there for me like there was for you. You left to go and find yourself and find a destiny - a calling - and I found myself longing for the same thing."

"Then why didn't you leave earlier?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "I couldn't. I still had responsibilities and I had Eugene. He wanted to stay, I couldn't just leave without him.." Suddenly Rapunzel's face dropped into a pained grimace. "...but.."

Cassandra did not like that look. And she didn’t like the fact that she said ‘had’ even less. "...But?"

Rapunzel took a shaky breath before turning to look at her. "Two years ago, he started... changing."

"Changing how? That's what your father said about you, too."

Rapunzel's face grew angry for a second as she shook her head. "Of course he said that. No, I never changed. He just didn't like the fact that I didn't follow his rules anymore because I didn't agree with them." Cassandra stayed silent. She figured that this was one of those scenarios where she should just let Rapunzel talk. "I tried to leave much, much sooner but... my father had me locked away into my heavily guarded room for nearly two weeks as 'punishment'." Rapunzel used air quotes. 

"Wait," Cassandra stopped her. "He locked you from the world, in your room, after knowing that…?" Cassandra trailed off, knowing Rapunzel got what she was trying to say. Her anger was quickly building. 

Rapunzel nodded. "It was like a prison. I don't know what had gotten into him or why, but suddenly I was one of the most disliked people in the kingdom."

"You? Disliked? How does that work? What was the sudden change?" Rapunzel suddenly grew very quiet as she stared out at the flowing grass, her expression unreadable. After a couple minutes, Cassandra started to grow worried. "....Raps?"

Rapunzel sighed and turned back towards her. "It was Eugene's doing."

"What could he have possibly done to-"

"He started hurting me." Rapunzel said quickly as if she just wanted to get through with the conversation. Which she probably did. She knew she had to tell Cass, it was only fair. Cassandra was her best friend and she deserved to know the truth. Besides, Cassandra was probably one of the only people who still cared about her left on this Earth... Or at least, she hoped.

Cassandra's eyes were wide then they grew dark all of a sudden. "He started... hurting you?" She asked, her voice low and dark. "How?"

"Like I said, he uh.. started to change. He grew distant, short to anger, hurtful and even... violent. I tried to tell my father, I tried to everyone, but no one believed me. He had them all convinced that there was something wrong with me, that I 'wasn't myself'. They all turned on me because he played the 'concerned victim'. He's good at lying and even better at acting because they all believed him. After everything I did to protect them, to save them; after I was forced to fight my best friend just to keep everyone safe... they all turned on me in a blink of an eye, no questions asked." Rapunzel hugged herself tighter and looked away from Cassandra. "For two years, I just submitted and stopped fighting altogether. There was nothing I could do anyway and my room was always guarded so there was no chance of escaping. Most nights he would come in and force me too..." Rapunzel swallowed and held back tears, unable to continue that sentence. "It was worse than it had ever been on the Day of Hearts. If I hadn't finally fought back against him, I think... I think he would have actually killed me. He was so angry. His eyes, his body, and everything else were all consumed with rage and I had no idea why. That night, I saw an opportunity, and I ran. The only thing I was able to grab was Pascal and my bag." Rapunzel said while rubbing Pascal's head lovingly.

Rapunzel, who was seemingly holding back tears, turned back towards Cass and smiled. "I'm glad you're here. Really, I am. You're probably the only person left who has even a slither of care for me in this world."

Cassandra was honestly at a loss of words. Well, that would be an understatement. She wasn't just at a loss for words, she was absolutely outraged because how dare he. How dare he.

While Cassandra was thinking of how many ways she was going to murder him, or how she was going to murder all of Corona, she heard: "Cass, I see that look, don't you dare. It's not worth it."

Cassandra snapped her head up. "What do you mean it's not worth it? I-If.. ugh! He deserves to suffer! They all do!"

Rapunzel shook her head. "It won't make you any better than them."

"I don't care what it makes me, I-"

"Cassandra, please. I don't want you to go to prison!"

"Who says I was gonna get caught?"

"Cass, I'm begging you, don't. I... I need you." Dammit. How could she leave after that? While Cassandra searched for a response, she came to a conclusion that she wasn't going to take Rapunzel back to Corona; Asako be damned. She would deal with him when the time comes. She had a new mission in mind.

"Fine," Cassandra eventually responded and stood up. "I've heard enough. Come on," Rapunzel got to her feet and gave her a confused look.

"Cass, I told you, I'm not-"

"I'm not taking you back to Corona."

"Then where are we going?"

"Ingvarr. You'll be safe there until we can figure out what to do."

She received another confused look. "Ingvarr? But they don't let outsiders in, we'll be attacked the moment we step foot into their territory."

"Well, lucky for you, I'm a citizen there so we'll be fine."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Since when?! Okay, now I need a story!"

Cassandra smiled. "I'll fill you in on the way. Come on," She began to move but when she realized Rapunzel wasn't following her, she turned back around to face her. Rapunzel looked uncertain and hesitant. It hurt more than Cass liked to admit that Rapunzel didn't trust her. But how could she blame her? She was hurt by the one person she thought she could trust more than anyone. And before that, she was backstabbed by the second person she thought she could trust more than anyone. She made her way back towards her. "Raps, I promise, I'm not bringing you back."

Rapunzel looked up to meet her eyes. She quickly realized that Cass took her hesitance the wrong way. No matter how good Cass was good at hiding her feelings, she could always see right through her. "Cass, that's not- of course I trust you!"

Cassandra had to admit, she was relieved. But what else could it be? "Then why..?"

"I don't want to get you involved in any of this. I'm not putting you in harm's way.. again. This isn't your problem, it's mine. You don't need to put everything on hold for me."

"Alright, first of all, I'm not putting anything on hold. It's time I visited Ingvarr anyway. Secondly, I'm not leaving you out here alone. And third, you suck at survival."

"Hey! I've done a pretty good job so far!”

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "Says the one who had her back turned. If I was anyone else, you'd be halfway to Corona by now."

"I've led the greatest of bounty hunters off my trail." Rapunzel huffed and crossed her arms. Cassandra held back a smile. She always looked damn adorable when she was pouting.

"Everyone except me."

"You're different! You actually know me so it wouldn't be easy to lead you off my trail like the other guys."

Cassandra chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"And you're relentless. The others gave up after a couple of weeks." Rapunzel shook her head. "We're getting off track here - seriously, Cass I don't want you getting involved."

"Too late for that. I'm already involved whether you like it or not. I'll carry you to Ingvarr if I have to."

Rapunzel shook her head with a smile. "I forgot how stubborn you were."

"I learned it from you."

"No, I learned it from you."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Cass teased before smiling and tilting her head to the exit that they came through. "Are you coming or not?"

Rapunzel smiled back and with no hesitation this time, she answered.

"Definitely."

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I hope you enjoyed! Also, for everyone who’s wondering, I have no problem with Eugene. I like his character. But this way, there’s more angst and drama and I’m a full Cassunzel shipper so, sorry Eugene, you’re a bad guy now lmao.