Romance Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic ❯ Chapter 16: Secrets Untold ( Chapter 16 )

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

“You lied to me.”

“What?” Cassandra looked up. It had been a couple hours since Cassandra rescued Rapunzel. Cassandra had brought Rapunzel to a stream and she bandaged up all the wounds she could find.

“You lied to me,” Rapunzel repeated. “You promised me that you were going to be fine.”

Cassandra wrung out the rag she was using to clean Rapunzel’s wounds. “It’s not like I knew that there was going to be an abush.” She responded sarcastically without looking up. Wrong move.

“I thought you died. I begged to come with you and-”

“And what?” Cassandra snapped her head up. “If you went with me, what do you think would’ve happened? We’d both be put in danger nonetheless.”

“But at least we’d be together-”

“Together in a ravine full of nearly 100 men with no way out. How does that sound smart to you?” Cassandra tried to grab Rapunzel’s arm to bandage it but she ripped it away from her grasp.

“It would’ve been better than to think you were dead!”

“Rapunzel-”

“No, no! You do not get to ‘Rapunzel’ me! I was dragged halfway across the world thinking that you were dead and all you can do is give excuses!”

“I’m not giving excuses-”

“You are! And you know what doesn’t add up?” Rapunzel laughed bitterly. “The fact that there’s something you’re keeping from me!”

“I’m not keeping anything from you-”

“Don’t lie to me, Cassandra! I don’t care if you’re trying to protect me or stop me from doing something stupid, but do not lie to me! I’ve been lied to by everyone else in my life, I don’t want to start second-guessing my trust for you either!”

“Look, I know you’re upset but-”

“Upset?” Rapunzel laughed bitterly a second time. “Cassandra, I’m not just upset, I’m furious. You know, I thought that you would know better; know better than not to lie to me, know better than to make promises you couldn’t keep, know better than not to leave me thinking you were dead for two weeks! Two weeks of thinking I lost you, two dreadful weeks of thinking I would never see you again, two weeks of instantaneous suffering! And I’m not talking about everything else that happened! That’s all just a bonus!” Rapunzel seethed.

“I’m sorry, Raps, but-”

“And that’s all you’re gonna say? You’re sorry? Are you serious? You’re keeping something from me, after everything we’ve been through together, and all you can say is sorry? You made me believe that you were dead after you made a promise that you would be fine and all you can say is sorry? You know how much promises mean to me!”

“It’s not like I knew Rapunzel! I wouldn’t have made it if I didn’t think I could’ve kept it! Besides, I didn’t break the promise, because I’m still alive!”

“Ugh! You’re missing the point!”

“I don’t even know why you’re mad at me-”

“You don’t know..” Rapunzel said slowly in disbelief. “Why I’m mad at you? Are you kidding me? Are you really this dense??”

“Excuse me?? You don’t get to-”

“Don’t tell me what I can or cannot do! I have every damn right to be mad at you! God, you can be so infuriating sometimes!” Rapunzel said, running her hands up her face and through her hair.

“Then why do you even put up with me?!”

“Because I love you, you idiot!” The forest got quiet. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around herself, breathing roughly. “I was so scared. So scared that I lost you. E-Everything just went dark and.. I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.. those two weeks? They felt like a lifetime. I didn’t know if you were hurt, if you were dead, if you were dying alone.. all I knew was that I would never see you again. Do... D-Do you even know what that’s like?”

Cassandra looked down then sighed. “I was scared too.” She responded after several minutes. “I barely escaped but... but when I finally realized that I was tricked and realized that you were gone with only blood coating the grass, I just.. I was just as scared as you were. I didn’t know where you were, who took you, if you were alive or how far you were taken.. I had nothing, no clues, as to where you were or how to save you.”

“How did you find me?” Rapunzel whispered.

Cassandra looked back up. “I spotted and followed the guy that asked us for help. Then I... interviewed him.”

“You mean you threatened him until he talked?” Rapunzel gave her a deadpan expression.

Cassandra nodded. “Yeah.”

Rapunzel sighed and hugged herself tighter while looking away, tears filling her eyes. “....I never felt so... empty before. Like a piece of me was ripped away and what was left... was shattered with everything else.” Cassandra moved from her position across from her to kneeling in front of her. She placed her hands on her knees before reaching up and gently wiping Rapunzel’s tears, leaving her hand on her check. Rapunzel leaned into it.

“I’m sorry,” Cassandra responded. “I really, really am.”

Rapunzel opened her eyes and gave her a slightly confused, serious expression. “What’s going on, Cass? I want the truth this time.”

Cassandra sighed and sat next to her. Without looking at her, she started. “Before I returned to Corona I found out.. there was a third stone.”

Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “A third stone?”

“Yeah. It’s called the blackstone. It was created from darkness. While the sunstone resembled light, the moonstone resembled night, the blackstone resembles death.”

“Death?” Rapunzel asked in surprise.

Cassandra nodded. “It’s incredibly dangerous. Whoever is it’s holder can produce souls from dead, evil souls, and turn them into murderous shadow people that are nearly impossible to kill. I’ve seen villages destroyed by these figures, I’ve seen the death and pain it caused. It means it's already in the wrong hands and the person wielding it is ruthless.”

“T-Then what are we waiting here for? We gotta stop them!”

“That’s the problem.” Rapunzel gave her a confused look so Cassandra reiterated: “The blackstone can only be destroyed by the moonstone and sunstone.”

“But they’re not-”

“I know of a way to bring them back.” Rapunzel snapped her head to her, eyes wide. “There’s this place way East. It’s called the Flittering Isles. The place is said to be ancient and magical. It’s where the moonstone and sunstone were produced originally. While not on the island itself, but the magic it held. The journey there is incredibly dangerous and if we can make it there, we can recall the moonstone and sunstone back to Earth.”

“Great! Then we can-”

“It’s not that easy. It takes a great deal of energy and whoever recalls them, there’s a chance that... it will kill them instead.” Cassandra sighed before looking at Rapunzel, eyes wide with worry. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“Why? It’s not-”

“You’re the only one who can recall the sunstone, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel started to catch on as her eyes lit up in realization. “And you’re the only one who can recall the moonstone.” Cassandra nodded. “But if we can actually call them back.. what do we do then?”

“One stone can’t defeat the blackstone on it’s own. The sunstone won’t work for me and the moonstone won’t work for you so the only way to destroy the blackstone is too…”

“To combine our powers.” Rapunzel responded. “But, I don’t get it, that’s not so bad, why do you sound so scared about it?”

“Because there’s a slight chance....” Cassandra clenched her fists tightly. “That I will lose control.”

“What? No, Cass, you-”

“It’s different than before. The sunstone is a part of you and while it’s bathed in light and creation, the moonstone is bathed in darkness and destruction. If I so much as touch it, I could end up losing permanent control. It could end up blinding me and everything, everyone in my path.... I’ll go after them in cold blood.” Cassandra hugged herself tighter. “And if I do lose control and the blackstone is able to find me, it could possess me and then... There's nothing stopping me or the blackstone. The world will be at their mercy.”

“But there’s still a chance that it won’t, right?” Rapunzel asked, that usual hopefulness in her voice.

“Raps-”

“There’s still a chance, Cass. I believe that you can overcome whatever darkness the moonstone fills you with.”

“Rapunzel, I barely could control it when I was actually trying to hurt you. If I’m resisting it, the temptation will only get worse.”

“Then don’t resist it.” Cassandra snapped her eyes at her in confusion. “We both know that the moonstone runs on emotions. The black rocks were anger, the red rocks were fear, there has to be more. Maybe if you don’t resist and instead let it be a part of you, you can learn how to use your other emotions and it will cooperate with you.”

“That thing is evil Raps, I don’t think-”

“No, that’s what everyone made it out to be. It was made under the moonlight and there’s nothing evil about the moon. There are still so many things that you nor I know about the moonstone, or the sunstone, there are things that others haven’t found out about them. All we know is that others tried to use it for evil. The sunstone could be used for evil too. So if we actually try to use it for good and you don’t fight it and instead let it take you over, then maybe... maybe it’s not as evil as we thought.”

“Don’t fight it? Are you crazy? If I give up on-”

“I never told you to give up. I told you to become one with it. Zhan Tiri only showed you two emotions when you had the moonstone: rage and fear. She said it was tied to your emotions right?” Cassandra nodded. “Then who says it can’t be tied to your other emotions?”

“It’s just too risky Rapunzel. If I do what you say and I end up losing control...” Cassandra shook her head. “Who knows what’s gonna happen? Whoever has the blackstone will use it to their advantage. It’s obvious that the both of us are a threat to this person, so they’ll use me to... attack you.”

“Then I’ll find a way to bring you back like I did before.”

“This is different, Rapunzel.”

“How?”

“Because before I still had some control! I was still myself, well... one way or another, and I could’ve stopped whenever I wanted.”

“What other choice do we have?”

“See, this is why I didn’t tell you! I knew you’d want to go through with it, but I want to stay away from it!”

“You just told me we’re the only ones that can-”

“We are, but it’s not our job to risk our lives fighting the forces of evil!”

“If we’re the only ones that can stop this thing, then it is our job! We can’t just let thousands of innocent lives be taken knowing that there’s something we can do!”

“Did you forget the part where there’s a chance we wouldn’t even make it out alive? Or rather, there’s a chance that you won’t make it out alive!”

“How is it any different than before?! This is not the first dangerous, very-low-odds of survival situation we’ve been in Cass!”

“Because I can’t protect you this time!” Cassandra yelled back, her eyes wide with fear. Rapunzel went quiet. “I can’t protect you from the powers of bringing the sunstone back, I can’t protect you from the blackstone and whoever wields it and I most certainly can’t protect you from myself!”

“You won’t need too.” Rapunzel whispered.

“You don’t know that Rapunzel.”

“Neither do you.”

“The odds are not in our favor.”

“Fine, okay, let’s say you do lose control. Then I fight you. I’ve done it before, I can do it again. And I won’t stop until I can figure out how to bring you back.”

Cassandra sighed and shook her head. “That’s the problem. If it takes control of me, Rapunzel, I’m done for. Or at least who I really am is done for. If I lose control, it’s permanent. The only way to stop me would be...” Cassandra trailed off.

Rapunzel’s eyes widened in realization then she hardened them. ”No.”

“Rapunzel-”

“No! I-I’m not gonna...” Rapunzel shook her head. “No.”

“Rapunzel, you don’t get it! It would be the literal end of the world! Eugene, your parents, all our friends and everyone else, you, you’d all be goners!”

“You can’t seriously expect me to-”

“You wouldn’t have a choice. The fate of the world and all of humankind will be-”

“I left Corona to get away from difficult choices where I had to choose between someone I cared about and the fate of the world!”

“You wouldn’t have a choice!”

“Yeah, I get that, but you’re sitting here telling me that either everyone dies or I have to lose you and it’s my decision? And you’re making me choose when you don’t even know if that’s how it’s gonna turn out??”

“I know it’s not fair and it’s a lot to ask, but-”

“Cassandra, ‘not fair’ and ‘a lot to ask’ doesn’t even begin to explain it! You’re asking me to kill not only my best friend but the one person that is literally my world! How long were you going to keep this from me, huh? Until the world was ending? Until it was too late to act? Cass, you know how I am about lying!”

Cassandra groaned and ran a hand down her face. “I know, I know and I’m sorry but-”

Rapunzel shook her head and began to get up. “I can’t believe it. You don’t get it! You of all people should know what it feels like to-” She shook her head again. “Ugh, forget it.” Rapunzel turned away and began to walk away.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“I need to be alone.”

“You can’t just go walking out in an unfamiliar area! Alone no less!”

“Watch me.”

“Rapun-”

Rapunzel spun around on Cassandra and fixed her with the worst glare she had ever seen. It sent shivers down her spine. “Either I go now or I’m going to say something I’m going to regret.” Without another word, she spun around and walked somewhere into the forest; leaving Cassandra stunned into silence.

 

 

Cassandra paced back and forth in frantic worry and anger. Yes, she was pissed. Rapunzel refused to hear her out and she couldn’t see how dangerous this all was. Then she just walked off like it was nothing! What pissed her off the most though was the fact that she was still gone and she left three hours ago! She knew she should’ve followed her.

She spotted the princess walking back towards their camp and if she weren’t pissed, she would’ve sighed in relief. She rushed up to her in anger. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I told you I needed to be alone.” Rapunzel stated simply; her own voice laced with held back anger.

“You were gone for nearly four hours!”

“And?”

"And you didn’t even tell me where-”

“I don’t need to tell you everything, Cassandra.” Rapunzel replied coldly, walking past her. That one stung.

Cassandra grabbed her arm. “You do when I don’t know if you’re saf-”

Rapunzel ripped her arm from out of her grasp and glared at her. “I’m not some weak unwatched child, Cassandra.”

“I never said-”

“Oh, but you did! You always do! You treat me as if I’m some damsel in distress that needs to be rescued all the damn time! Maybe I can’t fight like you, but I can defend myself if I need to!”

“Yeah, because you showed that real well with that guy back there.” Cassandra replied sarcastically.

“I was caught off guard-!”

“And that’s your problem! You’re too trusting!”

“If I remember correctly, you were the one that ran off in the first place!”

“And you turned your back to a guy you didn’t even know! You think that the world is all fun and games and that friendship and love and kindness and whatever else is the answer to everything! The world is dangerous! It’s full of horrible, evil people!”

“I’m not a child Cassandra, I know how dangerous the world is!”

“Do you?? Because all you’ve done out here is get yourself into trouble!”

“Is it so wrong to have a little hope in the world?!”

“There is no hope! Not everything can be fixed with friendship and kindness! The sooner you realize that, the better! All your ‘hope’ just caused us trouble!”

“Yeah, alright, because that ‘hope’ that you say I shouldn’t have is the only reason why you’re not running mad across the lands.”

“And where did that get you, huh? That ‘hope’ you had in me nearly got you killed on more than one occasion!”

“Maybe, but at least I had hope unlike you who lives in quiet solitude because you don’t trust a soul!”

“It beats dying!”

“You don’t even trust the people you say you’re close to! You don’t even trust me!”

“That’s not true-!”

“Really? If you seriously trusted me you would’ve told me sooner! It’s like I tell you one thing and you don’t even hear me! You never listen!”

“Oh, you’re one to talk about not listening! You’re so stuck in your ways that you don’t listen to anyone once your mind is made up! You run head-first into serious situations and don’t even think about the consequences! But yet you come out unscathed and the people around you are the ones who pay for your actions!”

“I cannot believe you just said that-”

“Oh, but am I wrong? After all, that’s how I nearly lost my hand! That’s how an outraged demon was unleashed in the world and nearly destroyed Corona!”

“Are you serious? That was your fault! I tried to tell you but you didn’t listen!”

“Can you blame me? It wouldn’t have been the first lie you told me!”

“Okay, I have never lied to you-”

“That’s a lie right there! You lied to everyone on more than one occasion!”

“I would have never! You know how I am about promis-”

“Yeah, you never break a promise, sure. That’s a lie too!”

“When have I ever-”

“What about that time that you told Eugene I snuck you out after you promised me that you wouldn’t??”

“You should’ve trusted me that I trusted him!”

“That’s not the point! You promised me and you caved because ‘you and Eugene don’t keep secrets from each other’. Yeah, well, that broken promise nearly cost me a lifetime of work!”

“Oh, please, I wouldn’t have let my father send you to a convent.”

“I don’t care about what your father would’ve done, I mean the fact that I spent my whole life training for the guard and because of you, I lost the last chance I had!”

“That wasn’t my fault either! It was your choice, not mi-”

“See, that’s another problem you have! You never own up to your mistakes and you always blame someone else! It’s always somebody else’s fault! Because your ‘perfect little Princess Rapunzel’ and whatever you say goes, right?”

“That’s not even close to the truth!”

“Really? Because all the times I tried to tell you what you were doing was reckless or the time I tried to tell you that Adira was not to be trusted, you literally whipped me into submission and I had to relent because then I would have seemed like the bad guy!”

“I had too because you wouldn’t stop unless I did! Ugh! They were all right! I should’ve given up on you when I had the chance!” As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes widened and she clamped her hand over her mouth. Cassandra went silent and only stared at her. Rapunzel could see the building rage as well as the immense hurt in her eyes. Slowly removing her hand from her mouth, she reached a hand out towards Cassandra. “Cass, I-”

“Save it.” Cassandra replied quickly with a cold, harsh tone.

“I-I didn’t mean it, I-” Rapunzel took a step forward, Cassandra took a step back, the glare never leaving her face.

“I don’t want to hear it.” Cassandra turned around and began to walk away.

“W-Where are you going?”

“Away from you.” It was said with so much venom, it made Rapunzel stay put where she was. Cassandra suddenly stopped and turned back around. “You know Rapunzel, I really thought you were different. But no, you’re just like everyone else. Maybe you’re not Gothel’s biological kid, but you two sure have the same mannerisms.” Rapunzel's eyes widened slightly and filled with hurt but Cassandra only turned around and began to march away, hands tightly into fists. Rapunzel watched her leave; arms tightly wrapped around herself.

“My, my, what do we have here?” Cassandra stopped. Rapunzel’s eyes widened. That voice... It couldn’t be. Rapunzel slowly turned around and couldn’t hold back a gasp.

“G-Gothel?”

Gothel smirked upon seeing the brief fear rush through Rapunzel’s eyes. “Hello dears, miss me?”

“I- H-How are you alive?”

Gothel took a step towards her. “It’s not the first time I’ve escaped death dear.” Gothel reached out to touch her with a smirk. Rapunzel was frozen in fear. But before she could make contact, she was suddenly pushed back.

“Don’t even think about touching her.” Cassandra snarled, her sword held up as she placed herself between Gothel and Rapunzel; their earlier fight forgotten and on hold for the time being. Rapunzel for once stayed behind Cassandra without complaint.

“My, have you grown! The last time I saw you, you were..”

“4, I know. When you abandoned me.” Cassandra’s eyes were narrowed and dangerous.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have been such a brat.”

“Excuse me?!” Cassandra growled, her hands gripped her sword so tight they were turning white.

“D-Don’t listen to her, Cass, she’s just trying to get in your head.” She heard Rapunzel’s small voice from behind her. Cassandra only kept glaring. She was still pissed off greatly at Rapunzel. But even more pissed off at the women in front of her.

“So aggressive,” Gothel responded, wiping the dust off her jacket. “Guess your father didn’t teach you manners, huh?”

“Don’t talk about my father like that! Unlike you, he actually took care of me!” Cassandra yelled, her muscles tightening. Rapunzel knew what Gothel was doing. She was trying to get Cassandra all riled up. She was planning something but what, Rapunzel did not know. She was too much in shock and frozen in fear to warn Cassandra a second time.

“Oh, did he now? Well he did a pretty poor job.”

Cassandra’s grip tightened as her eyes filled up with untamed rage. She was going to launch herself at Gothel at any moment. “You know, even if I had made it to the cabin in time,” Gothel smirked. “....I still would’ve gotten rid of you.” That was it. Cassandra lost control. With a yell, she launched herself forward. Rapunzel could see the smirk fill Gothel’s face. It was then that she noticed an object in Gothel’s right...

Rapunzel gasped. “Cass, no, wait!” But it was already too late. As soon as Cassandra was close enough, Gothel rushed her hand forward and shoved a familiar looking object into Cassandra’s chest. Cass’s eyes widened as she fell to her knees, breathing roughly. The ground shook and blue sparks surrounded Cassandra as her normal raven-colored hair turned teal as well as her hazel eyes. The clothes she was wearing before were replaced with rock armor. Cassandra let out a scream as the familiar, but not missed, power filled her. But this time it was different. She felt a black mist cover her. As she saw the black mist disappear into the moonstone, she felt it bury it’s darkness in her heart. She felt it taking over. Breathing roughly, she was only able to make out one word.

 

“Run.”