Romance Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Cassunzel Short Stories ❯ There is No Us ( Chapter 5 )

Rapunzel stormed out of the castle, her fists clenched at her side. Eugene followed close behind and behind him, Lance and Cassandra followed.

“Rapunzel!” Eugene yelled. Rapunzel stopped abruptly. She slowly turned around to face her so-called fiancé, the anger present on her face. “What in the world has gotten into you lately??”

Rapunzel snapped her head up. “What’s gotten into me?” Rapunzel answered, her voice filled with rage. “What has gotten into YOU?!”

“Ugh, ever since you got it in your head that exploring the outside world is your ‘destiny’, you’ve been so insufferable!”

“I’ve been insufferable?” Rapunzel laughed bitterly. “Oh, that’s rich. Says the one who manipulated me by guilt tripping me to stay in Corona!” Rapunzel yelled back. Cassandra and Lance watched closely, concern in their eyes.

“I only did so because you were so set on leaving that you didn’t think of the consequences! You NEVER do!” Eugene yelled back.

“What do you want from me??”

“To admit that you are running!” That stopped everyone in their tracks. Even Rapunzel. “You are running because you’re scared and don’t want to take responsibility for YOUR kingdom!”

“....I’m running?” Rapunzel repeated, her voice low. She then snapped her head up with a glare, absolute rage masked her eyes and face. It made everyone stop in their tracks. They had NEVER seen a look like that in Rapunzel before. But Eugene stood his ground and glared back. “I’m running?” Rapunzel repeated a second time.

“Do I owe you now?” Rapunzel asked. “Do I get to show how worthy I am of your sacrifices now?” Her voice was bitter and cold. “Everything I do is for you! I have been forced to live in this cage,” Rapunzel gestured to the castle. One day, ONE day, I want to feel like I'm not breathing for you!"

Rapunzel suddenly wrapped her arms around herself. “You stand there,” Rapunzel started, her breathing labored and her voice cracking as she tried to hold back tears. “...and you think about what I’ve been doing and about everything I have ever told you..” Rapunzel took a shaky breath. “...And you tell me who wouldn’t run!”

“You wanna know who wouldn’t run?” Eugene started. “Someone capable of being in a relationship. Someone capable of being alone.”

“If you were someone capable of being alone, someone capable of not SUFFOCATING me...”

“....I wasn’t suffocating you, I was trying to show you-”

“...You were trying to save me!”

“I was trying to save US!”

“There is no us!” Rapunzel shouted. Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at her in surprise. Cass and Lance’s eyes were impossibly wide. “There is no this!” Rapunzel’s voice started to break as tears rolled down her face. “...There is not that!” Rapunzel looked Eugene straight in the eye. “There is no future!” A sob escaped Rapunzel’s mouth. She took of her ring and threw it at Eugene who stumbled to catch it. “..Not anymore.” Another sob escaped her mouth.

Before Rapunzel could utter another word, Eugene struck her across the face; fist closed. In a blind fit of rage, he clutched his dagger and if Rapunzel hadn’t moved out of the way, she would’ve been run through. But it didn’t completely miss her, it grazed a pretty nasty gash on her upper arm. It all happened so fast but both Cassandra and Lance sprung into action. Cassandra punched Eugene, hard, as he landed on the ground.

“What the hell is your problem?!” Cassandra screamed. Eugene looked up at Cassandra and upon realizing what he just did, he quickly stood up and tried to push past Cassandra, making his way to the brunette who’s hand was on the side of her face that was punched and her hair covering her eyes. Cold blood ran down her arm, dripping to the floor.

“Rapunzel? I-” Eugene tried to say but Cassandra shoved him back and took out her dagger.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” She yelled at the frightened-looking Eugene. Whether he was scared of Cassandra or the realization of what he just did, it was unknown. “You know, hitting a woman, much less a royal, gets you life in a confined prison. But I think you deserve way more than that.” Cassandra’s voice was low and murderous as she made her way towards him, dagger in hand. Eugene only stood there, staring in horror at the princess.

“Cass..” Cassandra heard behind her; her voice sounded so weak, so broken.. It broke Cassandra’s heart. A rage like never before filled Cassandra, not even when she had the moonstone, as she advanced towards Eugene. “Cass, please..” She heard again. She side eyed the princess and although most of her face was covered by her hair, she could see one eye. That one eye begged Cassandra to stop; that she just wanted to leave. Cassandra’s eyes softened but as she turned back to Eugene, she glared.

Cassandra then looked up at Lance who shared the same rage she felt. “Tell my father what happened. Tell the king as well. Make sure he gets locked up.” Lance nodded at her then turned his attention to Eugene. Before Cassandra left, she turned back to Eugene and fixed him with a glare that promised death. “Watch your back, Fitzherbert. You got lucky this time.” Whatever happened next was unclear because Cassandra quickly got Rapunzel out of there.

Rapunzel sat on Cassandra’s bed as the older woman sputtered out a bunch of curse words. Rapunzel hadn’t said a word. She had barely looked up. As Cassandra looked for the first aid kit she left in her room, she never stopped angrily mumbling to herself. It was an understatement to say Cassandra was pissed, because she was outraged. How dare he do this to her best friend? Of all the egotistical, bigoted, egocentric, narcissistic, asswholes in the world, he was the worst.

Cassandra, finally having found the first aid kit, turned around to make her way back to the princess. She was stopped in her tracks when she saw her. The princess had not moved since she directed her to her bed, her hair covered her face as blood dripped down from both her arm and nose and she looked so small. So lost. So broken. Once more, it broke Cassandra’s heart to see her best friend like this. She didn’t deserve this.

Cassandra took a deep breath to calm her rage for now. She needed to be there for Rapunzel. She could focus on the hatred towards the man who did this to her later. Cassandra slowly made her way towards the silent princess. Cassandra kneeled down on one knee in front of her. “Here, this should help.” Cassandra said, her voice soft and gentle as she placed an ice pack on the girl's bruised eye. Rapunzel winced and Cassandra thought her heart couldn’t break more than it already had; but it did. And it was only gonna get worse. “Sorry,” She uttered an apology. Rapunzel gave her an appreciative, sorrow filled smile but otherwise stayed silent.

Cassandra got up, having made sure Rapunzel secured the ice pack, and moved to sit on the bed next to her to inspect her arm. The cut was pretty deep and still gushing blood and would likely need some serious stitching but it was better than what the other outcome would have been. Cassandra sighed, knowing that Rapunzel probably wouldn’t want to leave her side, she didn’t WANT her to anyway, and she was in a bad place at the moment so being out in the open surrounded by dozens of people would do more harm than help. So she realized she was gonna have to stitch up Rapunzel herself.

Having been the daughter of the Captain of the Guard, Cassandra was well trained in first-aid. She brought the first aid kit closer to her as she grabbed a cloth from her side table and dipped it in water then as gently as possible, placed it on the girl's wound. Rapunzel winced. Cassandra knew that what she was about to do was gonna hurt like hell, so Cassandra tried to be as gentle as possible so she could take away as much of the pain as she could.

“Cass, you don’t have to-” Rapunzel started but was immediately cut off.

“Shush. If I don’t clean and patch it up, it will get infected and could be fatal.”

“Let it.” She heard the princess say ever so quietly. So quiet, she barely even caught it. Cassandra sighed.

“Raps, you know I can’t do that.”

Rapunzel bit her bottom lip as she tried to hold back tears. Cassandra immediately got to work fixing up her wound. Her first aid kit didn’t have much, but she did have a sedative that would make Rapunzel’s arm numb. It didn’t take away all the pain, but at least it was less severe than it would have been. The two of them sat in silence as Cassandra precisely patched up Rapunzel’s arm. Other than a couple winces here and there, Rapunzel hadn’t moved or said a word.

“Damn,” Cassandra thought. ”How is she so strong?” Cassandra wished she didn’t have to be. Half way done, Rapunzel pulled away.

“Cass, just leave it.”

“Raps,” She tried to reach for the princess who moved out of her grasp. “I’m almost done, just let me-”

“No!” Rapunzel shouted. “It doesn’t matter anymore, just leave it!”

It took everything she had to be patient with Rapunzel and not lose her cool. She knew Rapunzel was in a lot of pain at the moment, both physically and mentally, so she tried to coax the princess and calm her down.

“Rapunzel, I need to-”

“No!”

“Rapunzel!” Cassandra shouted back, frustrated. If the princess moved in a wrong way, the gash would reopen and it would worsen, Cassandra couldn’t have that. Cassandra, once more, tried to reach for the princess, only to be shoved away. Hard. Cassandra fell off the bed, landing on her wrist.

“Just leave me alone!” Rapunzel shouted. Anger flashed in Cassandra’s eyes because she was trying to help her dammit. Her wrist hurt from the sudden rough treatment; she was sure it was sprained. She was about to respond with probably a snarky remark but stopped because the emotionally disturbed princess, upon realizing what she just did, turned to her with a look of horror and fear in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry, I-” She never got to finish the sentence. She collapsed to the floor and started sobbing.

All anger faded from Cassandra’s face as she quickly ran over to her. Kneeling on her knees, she pulled her distraught princess into her arms. “Hey, hey, it’s alright..” Cassandra gently ran one hand through her hair and the other rubbed circles on her back.

“I-It’s not!” The syllables were barely audible as dug her face into Cassandra’s chest. “I-I didn’t m-mean to..” hiccup “...hurt you.”

“I know,” Cassandra responded softly, resting her chin on top of Rapunzel’s head.

“M-Maybe-” hiccup “...If I had just accepted that my place is here, Eugene wouldn’t have resorted to s-such.. drastic measures..”

Cassandra snapped her eyes open as she gently, but roughly, shoved the princess back. Her hands were firmly on Rapunzel’s shoulders and she held her at arm's length. “Rapunzel, look at me.” Cassandra demanded, her tone harsh, but soft. Leaving no room for arguments.

Rapunzel slowly but surely looked up to meet her eyes. Once she got her attention, Cassandra started, her voice serious and anger-filled, but not directed towards the princess. “NONE of this is your fault, okay?” Cassandra started. Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue but Cassandra gave her a look as if to say ‘I’m not done’ and she quickly shut her mouth. “Don’t think for a second that it is. Eugene had no right, NO RIGHT, to strike you and hurt you. Frankly, he had no right to decide where you belonged and what your ‘destiny’ was.” Rapunzel looked away and tried to move away but Cassandra grasped her shoulders tighter and leaned her head down to try and catch Rapunzel’s gaze. “I need you to understand that none of this is your fault. Don’t feel guilty.” Rapunzel gave her a look but before she could say anything, Cassandra held her hand up. “Don’t. I know you. Whenever something bad happens, you ALWAYS blame yourself and start making excuses for why the other person did what they did.”

Rapunzel gave her a conflicted expression. As if reading her mind, which she apparently kept doing, Cassandra stated: “Yes, you did it for me too.” Rapunzel, once more, tried to argue. But Cassandra gave her a slight glare and simply said her name with a warning. “Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel looked away once more. Cassandra didn’t relent nor did she let her go. “I’m not gonna let you go until you PROMISE me you understand that none of this was your fault.”

Rapunzel opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again before saying quietly: “How could I promise you something when I don’t believe it myself?”

Cassandra groaned but this time, Rapunzel interrupted her before she could say anything. “All he wanted was the cozy castle life. And be married. Why couldn’t I just sit there and submit to him like an obedient woman should? I wanted more, when I had it all. He’s right, I don’t think about the consequences of my actions. I never have. I just run head-first into something without thinking about how it affects the people around me. That’s how you got hurt,” Rapunzel gently rubbed Cassandra’s scarred hand. “...And that’s how I almost lost you. I messed up before, big time, and I promised myself I would never make that mistake ever again. I broke my own promise. And ran without thinking. I thought I changed, but really, I didn’t, I’m still the same self-centered person I was before. I’m a terrible person, I always have been. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did and just stayed put.” Rapunzel looked towards the floor, unable to meet Cassandra’s eyes. Cassandra suddenly positioned them so that Rapunzel was leaning against Cassandra’s bed and Cassandra was in front of her. The same positions Cassandra and Rapunzel were in not so long ago: but switched.

“First of all, ‘Rapunzel’ and ‘self-centered’ do NOT go together. Secondly, it’s okay to want more, Raps. And you’re not a terrible person and you HAVE changed. We all have. Yes, you tend to run into dangerous situations without any concern for your safety, but so what? You’re not perfect, you have faults and flaws. I sure do. I still feel jealous sometimes, I still feel resentment and sometimes even anger towards you, towards everyone. But that doesn’t mean I’m a bad person. It’s how I feel. It’s only how I, YOU, deal with it that matters and determines who you are. You had every right to be angry. Eugene tried to trap you and when you told him otherwise, he attacked you. Now, THAT’S a bad person. If he truly loved you as much as he said he did, he wouldn’t have put his needs first and try to make you stay in a place where you weren’t happy. You need to learn to stop putting everyone else’s needs and feelings before your own. Your feelings matter, your opinion matters, and your happiness matters. We can all now see how being here has made you unhappy and Lance and I even tried to talk to Eugene about it, but he didn’t care. He doesn’t deserve you, Rapunzel. Especially after striking you.”

Rapunzel looked up to meet her eyes and Cassandra was taken back by the look of heartbreak in her best friend's eyes as tears threatened to spill over. The once bright light she carried was gone and all that stood there was darkness. An empty void of darkness. “B-But I don’t understand, Cass.. He was never like this before. He even pushed me to follow what I wanted.. What changed? What did I do to make him change into someone I can barely recognize?”

“Nothing. You did nothing.” Cassandra said simply. “People change Raps. And sometimes, they don’t change for the better. It was his decision to act the way he did, it was his decision to selfishly put himself above everyone else, not yours. He dug his own grave and now he has to lay in it. Even if you did do something to make him act out, which you didn’t, it STILL gave him NO right to ever lay a hand on you. Anyone who ever does so, with the intent of hurting you, is not someone worth your while and they don’t truly love you as much as they say. When someone truly loves someone, they put their needs before their own, they would do anything for that person, they protect that person, take care of them, watch over them, listen to what they have to say, they take their pain and they FEEL it, and most importantly, they will SHOW that person that they love them with all their heart and soul and repeat it countlessly. True love is un-maskable. When you have it, you’ll know. And unfortunately.. you had to learn that the hard way.” Cassandra placed a hand on the princess’s cheek as Rapunzel leaned into her touch. “And I wish you hadn’t. God, if I could take all of the pain away, Raps, I would.”

Rapunzel let out a small smile as she leaned into her touch. She suddenly opened her eyes, realizing something. “Maybe. But I also learned what the right way was, everything you just explained, I just didn’t realize it until now.”

Cassandra gave her a confused look. She looked up at Cassandra and gave her a smile, a REAL smile, it was the first time Rapunzel smiled truthfully in a long time. It wasn’t the fake one she had been carrying for so long. It warmed Cassandra’s heart. Rapunzel placed a hand on top of Cassandra’s which still rested against her cheek. “....You’re right, Cass. I don’t need Eugene. Not anymore. He isn’t the same person he used to be. And that hurts but.. I don’t need him.” Rapunzel kissed the palm of Cassandra’s hand. “...All I need is you.”

“Huh?” Cassandra asked in confusion.

“Everything you just explained what true love was.. is everything you’ve been doing for me ever since we met. Hiding in the shadows, as always, always ready to rescue me when I need you... always ready to save me.”

Cassandra blushed. “W-Well yeah. You’re my best friend and I care for you a lot, why wouldn’t I?”

“No, I think it’s more than that.”

“W-What?” Cassandra asked. She couldn’t possibly mean.. no. She couldn’t have figured it out. She didn’t know. There was no way.

Removing the hand from her cheek, Rapunzel gently grasped Cassandra’s scarred hand in her lap while running her thumb over her knuckles. Cassandra’s heart beat faster.

“When we first met, something drew me to you,” Rapunzel started after a while. “I don’t know what, I could never explain it. I just HAD to be friends with you. You were so.. real. So true. You seemed so put-together. I had never felt as happy as I did when our friendship started to take off. As months went by, I drew closer to you. I thought about you a lot and looked forward to seeing you everyday. I called you my best friend but...” Rapunzel looked up to meet her eyes and Cassandra’s breath hitched as her heart beat so loud, she was worried Rapunzel would hear it. “Deep down, I always felt you were more to me than that. When we left the kingdom to follow the rocks, I was so excited. Not just because of the adventure waiting to come, but because I could see you, the REAL you that you always hid behind your lady-in-waiting outfit. But as the journey continued.. I felt.. I was growing distant. WE were growing distant. Something changed and it scared me. All the times you tried to warn me, tried to protect me from danger, tried to save me, you were always the one who got hurt. And.. I blamed you for it.. I was so stubborn that I couldn’t see how wrong I was. After you took the moonstone, it didn’t make sense to me. Deep down, I thought you just wanted it for the power it had.. but I knew that it ran deeper than that. That’s when I finally started to realize how wrong I had been. How I hurt you. Time and time again when you were only trying to keep me safe.”

“Raps-” Cassandra tried to argue.

“Please, let me finish.” Rapunzel gave her a pleading look and Cassandra relented. “Once I realized that, I still couldn’t figure out why.. It hurt so much. You were my best friend, I knew that, but it felt like a part of me went missing. Every day grew more and more gray. I tried to fill the empty spot, I tried to restore the missing piece, but everything I tried just made it worse. As months went by, I became more and more depressed. More and more conflicted. I realized that a life without you in it.. wasn’t a life worth living. You asked me why I never gave up on you. While I gave you the truth, it wasn’t the FULL truth.” Rapunzel looked up. “I can’t live without you, Cassandra. The thought of it hurt more than anything ever will. For a while, I didn’t understand what that meant. You were the only other person I ever built a relationship with besides Eugene. After all, I only knew Eugene for a couple days before I met you. I barely understood love, much less friendship. I never really had a friend before besides Pascal.”

“Raps, I.. I already know all this. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because there’s something you DON’T know,” Rapunzel stated. “Something no one knows. For a while, I didn’t even realize it myself. As much as an open book I am, despite being able to put a name to how other people are feeling, I have never been good about figuring out my own emotions. But now, after all this time, I finally understand. I finally see what has been missing; I finally know the answer I’ve been searching for. Being with Eugene made me blind to a lot of things. And.. I don’t regret the time we had together. But, I realize, it would have never lasted anyway. We want two different things. I want freedom and he wants to be cozy and pampered. But,” Rapunzel gave Cassandra one of the sweetest smiles she had ever seen or received. “....I realize who I was meant to be with in the first place.” Cassandra’s heart sped up even faster as Rapunzel leaned forward and brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. She then cradled the older woman’s cheek, making her blush, but she instantly leaned into her warm touch. She didn’t dare say a word, scared that she would ruin this moment, or wake up and realize it was all a dream.

“...I love you, Cassandra.” Rapunzel finally said, making Cassandra snap open her eyes and looked at her in disbelief that she actually said it. “Not like a sister, not like a friend. Something more. Something.. deep. Something wonderful. I suppose I always had. Ever since we met and I got to know the real you instead of the façade you showed to everyone else. For once in my life, everything finally makes sense. I just didn’t wish it took all of this,” She gestured to her eye and injured arm. “...to realize it.”

Cassandra was rendered speechless as she stared at the princess in disbelief. Was she being serious? Or was she confused? She just went through a lot of trauma with someone she thought she knew, was this a reaction to that pain? That didn’t sound like Rapunzel at all; no matter how hurt she was. Cassandra had been chasing after the girl's heart for so long, wishing for a moment like this, and now that it finally came, she couldn’t say a damn word.

Rapunzel stared deep into her eyes. She was sure Rapunzel could see into her soul at that moment. In a way, she kind of hoped she did. Since she couldn’t move or speak, she hoped her eyes did all the talking. As Rapunzel stared at her, analyzed her, Rapunzel sighed and went to turn away. So her eyes didn’t tell Rapunzel everything she felt. Realizing she had to make a move before it was too late but she also remembered that she was terrible with words. She didn’t know what to do. But as Rapunzel tried to turn away from her, Cassandra realized she had to move fast. It was then that she realized that Cassandra always spoke with her actions. So, she grabbed the younger girl's shoulders, turned her back around, and crushed her into her body, catching her lips in the process.

Rapunzel stiffened at first, surprised and unsure of what was happening. She rebounded quite quickly as she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Cassandra's neck, positioned between her legs, and kissed her back. Cassandra kissed back with fiery passion as she tried to pour all of her feelings into the kiss. She hoped Rapunzel would get the message. As Rapunzel melted into her arms like jelly, she realized she did.

Eventually the need for air became too much to bear and made them pull apart. They both panted softly as they pushed their foreheads together and looked deep into each other’s eyes. As soon as they caught their breath, Rapunzel crashed her lips to Cassandra’s once more. As the passion started to grow and their kisses became desperate, Cassandra pulled the girl into her lap as Rapunzel placed both of her legs on either side of Cassandra. Cassandra placed her hands on her hips to make sure she was steady.

Rapunzel deepened the kiss as they became more passion-filled. Cassandra’s head spun but whether it was from the lack of air or the situation that was descending rapidly, she didn’t know. When one of them pulled away for air, the other would recapture their lips in a matter of seconds. As the passion grew, Cassandra eventually got tired of being on bottom and unable to roam her hands freely, so she picked up Rapunzel easily, making the girl let out a cute surprised squeak, as she basically plopped them both onto her bed; their lips never leaving each other.

Cassandra propped herself above Rapunzel as their kisses became quick, short and passionate. Rapunzel roamed her hands over Cassandra’s body, tracing her biceps and running her hands down her abs. Cassandra shivered, the good kind of shiver, and she could feel Rapunzel’s satisfied smile at having made her squirm. Two can play at that game.

Pressing herself more against Rapunzel without crushing the smaller girl, she kissed her hard and passionately to the point where it stole Rapunzel’s breath away and made her head spin. Cassandra pushed her tongue into Rapunzel’s mouth, making the younger girl moan into her mouth. It set Cassandra’s body on fire and awakened her senses. Rapunzel and Cassandra’s tongues battled for dominance, Cassandra won, then Cassandra parted, gently pulled her head back and attacked her neck; placing open mouth, wet, kisses all the way down.

Rapunzel let out a surprised moan and Cassandra could feel it vibrate throughout her body. She stopped to kiss Rapunzel’s pulse then made her way back up to her lips. She stopped for a second and looked at Rapunzel. The younger girl looked dazed and her eyes were hooded over and filled with passion and desire. Her lips parted slightly, red and thoroughly kissed. She wasn’t even sure Rapunzel could see her right now. Cassandra chuckled and rubbed her nose against hers, knocking Rapunzel out of her dazed passion-filled fantasy.

Cassandra moved off to her to lay beside her and turned on her side to face her. Rapunzel did the same. Merely inches apart, Cassandra reached forward and moved Rapunzel’s brunette hair out of her face before resting it on the bruised and injured side of her face. It had bruised and gotten a lot worse since they first got there and filled one side of her face with black, blue and dark purple.

Cassandra frowned and rubbed her finger against her cheek, making Rapunzel wince slightly. She then looked up and gave Rapunzel an upset, pissed off look. “I’m gonna kill him, you know that right?”

Rapunzel let out a sigh. “He’s not worth it, Cass.”

“Still, he deserves a lot worse than he’s getting.”

“Maybe. But I don’t want you to be stuck in a dungeon for the rest of your life.”

Cassandra scoffed softly. “After hearing what he did, the town and everyone else would see me as a hero.”

Rapunzel gave her a reprimanding look but then her eyes lit up ever so slightly; meaning she suddenly came up with an idea. "I have a better idea.."

"I'm listening."

"Let's leave," Cassandra tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion so Rapunzel continued. "You said you 're only gonna be staying in town for only a couple weeks, maybe a month or two, right?" Cassandra nodded.

"Well, then, let's leave together. We can travel and see the world," Rapunzel smiled. "...Together."

Cassandra's face softened and she smiled sweetly at her apparent new girlfriend. "I, for one, think that's a wonderful idea."

Rapunzel giggled. "Then it's settled. When do you want to leave?"

"Up to you. Although I would love to get out of here sooner rather than later so I don't end up doing something drastic."

Rapunzel laughed, which brought a smile to Cassandra's face. She hadn't heard the sound of her harmony in so long. "Then that settles it. We'll leave first thing tomorrow. What do you say?"

Cassandra pulled Rapunzel into her chest and looked down into her emerald green eyes. "I say let's do it." Rapunzel smiled up at her and cuddled against Cassandra's side as Cassandra wrapped an arm around her.

"I love you." Rapunzel nuzzled her.

"I love you too." Cassandra responded.

Rapunzel let out a content sigh as Cassandra placed a kiss on her forehead. As Rapunzel slowly drifted off to sleep, she smiled at the sleep beauty she could now properly call hers. After years of pain and heartache, she finally got all she's ever wanted. The princess's heart. Cassandra fell asleep with the princess in her arms, smiling, and for once, she was finally, truly, happy.

And it was only gonna get better.

Whew! That was an emotional rollercoaster! I apologize for it being so long. But I hope you enjoy nonetheless and leave me feedback please! ^^. Thanks for reading!