Romance Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic ❯ Chapter 14: Empty ( Chapter 14 )

It's been two weeks since Cassandra and Rapunzel got back on the road. As days went by, their relationship only grew stronger. Cassandra had come more out of her shell the past two months than she had in her entire life. Sure, around other people she was still the cold, serious, closed-off woman she perserved herself to be; but when she was alone with Rapunzel, she was goofy, playful, silly, sweet and everything else that Cass was under all that 'tough warrior' act.

In all honesty, Rapunzel couldn't have been happier herself. Ever since she met Cassandra, she always wanted to bring out who she was underneath her closed-off heart. She brought out bits and pieces of her in the time of their friendship, but never like this. It was like seeing Cass, the real Cass, for the very first time all over again. Rapunzel had never seen the warrior happier and Rapunzel's heart swelled in joy of the fact that she was the one to bring her that happiness. Rapunzel shared that happiness.

For the first time in her life, Rapunzel felt like her world was finally whole. As for Cassandra, she finally found a place where she felt like she belonged. They both shared the same feelings. When they were together, they were a force that couldn't be stopped. A force that only got stronger. Their love for each other only heightened as the days went by. It was as if the entire world stopped and all their problems and worries disappeared.

The two of them were currently taking a break in a peaceful, breathtaking, dandelion-filled, open-field. Cassandra, being Cassandra, wanted to take a perimeter check to make sure they were safe and clear. As for Rapunzel, she sat under a nice shady tree doodling in the sketchbook Cass gave her when she first got back. Ah, how the times changed rather quickly. If you told Rapunzel, or Cassandra, that they would leave Corona together to go travel the world as a couple they would both tell you you were crazy.

Rapunzel hummed the melody to the song Cassandra had sung to her two weeks prior. It was such a beautiful song and it became Rapunzel's favorite melody. How Cassandra came up with something so undeniably beautiful right on the spot was beyond Rapunzel. It was so sweet and so full of love that whenever she thought of Cass singing it, tears always filled Rapunzel's eyes.

The person in Rapunzel's thoughts finally plopped down beside her and leaned against the tree Rapunzel was sitting under. Rapunzel tilted her head, her hair falling over her face as she smiled. "All safe Captain Security?"

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny. You should be thanking me. If I don't do those perimeter checks, we'd be head-first deep into a swarm of bandits."

Rapunzel shook her head with a smile before leaning over and placing a small kiss under Cassandra's chin. "Thank you for keeping us safe, your lordship."

"Call me that again and your 'break' isn't going to be much of a break."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and continued doodling in her notebook as Cassandra laid down in the grass and stared up at the sky with her arms behind her head. Rapunzel watched her in the corner of her eye as she let out a small smile and hid her face in her notebook, occasionally looking back at Cassandra.

"Don't you dare draw me in that notebook of yours."

Rapunzel quickly snapped her head up. "How'd you know?"

"Because I know you."

"Aww... come on Cass, please? You look so peaceful and beautiful, how can I not draw you?"

"Flattery is not gonna give you a yes."

Damn. She was caught. "Fine," Rapunzel pouted while shutting the book, muttering a couple non Rapunzel-like words under her breath.

Cassandra looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Rapunzel replied sarcastically. "Your highness."

Cassandra was suddenly in her face, barely inches away. Surprised, Rapunzel blushed and pulled back slightly. "You know you're getting too snarky for your own good."

"Am I, now?" Rapunzel asked with sarcasm.

"Yeah, it's equally hot as it is annoying."

"Now you know how I feel."

"You're supposed to be the sweet and kind good cop, I'm supposed to be the terrifying, threatening bad cop."

"Who says I'm still not the good cop? And I hate to break it to you Cass," Rapunzel giggled as she pressed her finger on the tip of Cass's nose. "But you're not very 'terrifying' or 'threatening' to me."

"Maybe not yet." Cassandra whispered as she started to lean in. Their lips were barely an inch apart when…

"Help!" Both women flew back from each other with a deep blush and looked up to see a man running towards them. Rapunzel quickly got to her feet, dusting off her dress and cleared her throat to calm her pounding heart. Cassandra followed suit, but not as fast as she glared at the man that mistakenly ruined their moment.

"Y-Ye-" Rapunzel cleared her throat again. She could see Cassandra's smirk in the corner of her eye as she elbowed her in the ribs and shot her a glare. Rapunzel looked back at the man with a smile. "How can we help you?"

"M-My wife, we just got married and we were taking a stroll. It was such a beautiful day and we just wanted-"

"Fuck the mushy stuff. Will you just cut to the part where you need help?" Cassandra asked rudely.

"Cass!" Rapunzel reprimanded and glared at her before looking back at the man. Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry. What my friend here was trying to say is that while that is a beautiful story, we need to know what happened so we can help you."

"That's not what I was saying, actually." Cassandra replied while crossing her arms. Rapunzel shot her another death glare.

"R-Right, right! We were about to head home when these... black-shadow things took her!"

"Black shadows? Were they shaped like a person?" Cassandra suddenly asked, stepping forward. Rapunzel shot her a confused look but she kept her eyes trained on the man.

"Yes.." The man said deep in thought. "Yes! I-I believe they were...!"

Rapunzel had her eyes trained on Cassandra. She knew the expression that passed over her face. Whatever this thing this guy was talking about was very much real and very dangerous. Cass knew something she didn’t. "Which way did they take your wife?" Cass asked urgently.

The man turned around and pointed at a ravine. "There. They took her there."

"Right." Cassandra whistled for Fidella and as she mounted her, she looked at Rapunzel with a serious expression. "Get him out of here and meet me at the far end of the forest."

"What? I'm not letting you go alone!" Rapunzel interjected.

"I’ll be fine but I need you to trust me. Please." Rapunzel stared into Cassandra's pleading eyes then sighed.

"Fine. But if you're not back in 20 minutes, I'm coming to get you."

Cassandra smiled. "Deal."

"And you're going to tell me what's going on cause clearly you know something I don't." Rapunzel narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Cassandra looked into her suspicion-filled eyes and nodded. "I will." When Rapunzel gave her another suspicious look, she added: "I promise."

Rapunzel's eyes softened and she sighed. "Just be careful."

"Always am." When Rapunzel still looked uncertain and worried, Cassandra added: "I promise, I'll be fine and back to you in no time. Okay?" Rapunzel slowly nodded. Cassandra smiled and mouthed the words 'I love you' to her and then took off on Fidella.

Rapunzel watched her ride off with worry before looking back at the man and gave him a sweet smile. "Don’t worry my friend is really strong, she’ll get your wife back. Now let’s get you to safety.” She began to move when the man stopped in front of her.

"Actually," The man's voice suddenly became sinister. "I have a better idea."

"Wha-" Rapunzel didn't get to finish the sentence because everything went black.

Rapunzel awoke with a painful ache in her head. Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes and realized she was in shackles. She immediately started to panic as she tried to remember what the hell happened. She remembered a man asking for help, Cass running off to save the man’s wife, then after that everything went black.

Remembering what Cassandra told her about staying calm in a situation like this, she took a deep breath and started to analyze her surroundings and what her odds were. Something else Cass also taught her. Her wrists were tied to some kind of post and her legs were tied together as well. Her head was throbbing and she could feel something wet on her head meaning she was hit in the back of the head and was bleeding. The room she was in was some kind of ripped up dark tent that smelled like liquor and men. And... something else Rapunzel couldn't decipher. Cassandra had no idea where she was and as it may seem, they were tricked. Cass would have realized that by now and be on her way back to save her. Wherever she was.

"Ah, I see you're awake." A deep voice said from the darkness. Rapunzel squinted her eyes as a large-looking man with yellow teeth came into view. The smirk was sadistic, insane and evil.

"W-Who are you? What do you want with me?" Rapunzel tried to sound brave but she couldn't help but stutter. The man was huge. Bigger than Lance and Atilla combined.

"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Samael. Not that it's gonna matter to you very soon. As for what I want with you... well, you'll find out soon enough."

Rapunzel gulped. "I-I'm warning you, let me go. My friend is on her way to save me and she's really strong!" Maybe scaring him would work.

It didn't. The man let out a belly laugh. "Oh, honey, your friend won't be coming." He smirked. "My men took care of her."

Realization dawned in Rapunzel's eyes as tears filled them. "No... No.. No! Yo-You're lying! She could take on your men any day!"

"Really?" The men smirked. "Then mind telling me who this belongs to?" The man suddenly threw a familiar looking sword at her feet.

Rapunzel's eyes widened. There was blood coating the handle of the sword. "No..." Rapunzel choked back on a sob as she frantically shook her head, reminding herself that Cass was okay and this guy was just trying to get into her head.

"Still don't believe me?" The man then threw something else at her feet. Rapunzel's breath caught in her throat. It was the other half of the bracelet they shared. Cassandra kept it so close on her person that.. it would be impossible to get unless.. tears filled Rapunzel's eyes as she stared at it in horror. "Great, now that we're on the same terms. Some men paid a hefty fine for you." The man grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. Rapunzel didn't even fight it as her eyes were fixated on the bloodied bracelet. She didn't fight it when the man dragged her out of the tent, her head pointed towards the floor.

Once outside, Rapunzel could see where she was. She was in a sex slave camp. Rapunzel couldn't find it in her to care as all she could think about was Cassandra. She was in shock, to say the least. Cassandra was gone. Cassandra was gone and she let her go despite her instincts to go with her. She didn't even get to say goodbye. There were so many things she still wanted to tell her, so many things she wanted to do with her. But now she couldn't.

As Rapunzel was being dragged through the camp, she barely even noticed her surroundings. She was filled with a feeling of emptiness like never before. It was as if a piece of her, a big piece of her, was ripped away and all that was left in its place was a cold, empty spot. Her heart felt like it had been broken into a million pieces.

She didn't even realize she was being thrown onto a boat. Nor did she care. As she watched the land get smaller and smaller, all she could think about was how she would never get to spend another night in Cassandra's arms. She would never get to see her beautiful smile or hear her melodical laugh. She would never get to marry her. She would never get to explore the world with her ever again. Her dreams? Crushed. Her life? Shattered. Her heart? Broken. Her everything? No more.

Rapunzel watched as the camp faded into nothing but water. She didn't know what was in store for her, but she didn't care. Her everything was gone and she had never felt more emptier in her entire life.

And the worst part was? She didn't even get to kiss her one last time.