Romance Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic ❯ Chapter 23: Too Late ( Chapter 23 )

Cassandra couldn’t believe what she walked into. She looked between Rapunzel and man she was seeminly going to have sex with; her dress falling off her shoulder. The man looked cocky but she didn’t care as she met Rapunzel’s seemingly dazed eyes. Her eyes hardened in anger, and immense hurt, as she began to back up. Her look of complete betrayal and anger seemed to break Rapunzel out of whatever trance she was in.

Rapunzel realized quite quickly where she was, and what she was about to do, as her eyes widened in horror and she reached a hand out towards Cassandra. “C-Cass-” But Cass was already gone. She moved to quickly follow her, her panic rising, but she was stopped.

“Come on baby, forget about her. We’re gonna have our own fun.” His eyes seemed to bore into her soul and she felt herself being pushed into another trance. What was happening? She had no idea how she even got there. She had no clue when this man pushed her against a wall. She didn’t even know who this man was. And she most certainly did not remember being put into the position Cassandra found herself in. She would never betray and cheat on Cassandra. Ever. She didn’t know how she got there or what happened, but she had to convince Cass that what she saw was a mistake, and it wasn’t consensual. At least, not on her end. She quickly shook her head and pushed past the man that was still trying to corner her and followed after her wife.

“C-Cass, wait!” Rapunzel shouted as she struggled to catch up with her fuming lover.

Before she could reach her, Cassandra spun on her, making Rapunzel come to halt to avoid running into her. Cassandra’s eyes were angry and hurt.  Rapunzel could hardly blame her. What Cass saw… looked as if she cheated on her. But that wasn’t the case! She would never do that! Didn’t Cassandra know that? “How could you?”

“C-Cass, it wasn’t what it looked like! You have to believe-!”

“It wasn’t what it looked like?” Cassandra laughed bitterly. “Yeah, alright, sure. It’s pretty hard to misinterpret what I saw. I know damn well what it was. He was all over you! And you… you just stood there as he frantically tried to undress you!”

“I-I know that it looked bad, but I would never-” She had to believe her! Why didn’t she believe her?!

“Shut it!” Cassandra shouted, the moonstone crackling with her anger. Rapunzel flinched and backed up slightly. Cassandra seethed as she held back her untamed anger. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath to avoid attacking her, because that’s not who she was, unlike her, then she reopened them, took off her ring, and threw it at her. “Forget it. We’re done.” Cassandra glared at her then began to turn around and walk away.

Rapunzel stared at the ring that she caught in disbelief before looking back up in fear. “W-What? Cass, no!” She rushed forward and grabbed her arm, tears already filling her eyes. “Please, Cassandra, I would never-”

“Let go.” Cassandra said quietly.

Rapunzel didn’t take the hint. “No, you have to-”

“I said LET GO!” Cassandra barked as she gave Rapunzel a look she had never seen on her before. Or at least, she had never seen it directed towards her. She never heard Cassandra even talk to her like that, not even in her worst moments when she was severely pissed at her. Like back in the moonstone days. It was threatening. Cold. Harsh. And filled with a rage Rapunzel had never heard before. The moonstone cackled as if promising her that if she didn’t let go, Cassandra would do something she was gonna regret. 

Rapunzel quickly let go and pulled back. Cassandra didn’t care about the fear, tears or hurt in her eyes as she glared daggers at her then turned around and stormed off. Rapunzel watched her go with tears streaming down her face as she tightly clutched the ring in her hand. Rapunzel barely felt the hand that landed on her shoulder as she watched her w-... her ex-wife.. fade into the distance.

“Too bad for that. Whatever. You don’t need her, you have me now.” The man from earlier smirked.

Rapunzel pulled away and spun on him. “No! I-I don’t know what you did to me, or who you are, but I would never-”

“I really didn't want to do this. But you left me no choice.” The man's voice dropped as his eyes darkened with something Rapunzel could only describe as sinister. The man then gave her a sickening, repulsive smirk.

“W-What-” She didn’t get to finish the sentence because everything went black.

Cassandra stormed through the town, her fists clenched, as she muttered evil thoughts. The citizens of the town could practically feel her anger as they stayed out of her way. Except one. “Excuse me!” Cass heard a voice call after her but she ignored it. “H-Hey, excuse me!”

Cassandra muttered a spray of curse words as she spun on the offending person and growled, the moonstone cackling. “What the hell do you want?” Her voice was dark, cold and threatening.

The young woman who called after her stopped for a second in fear before she took a shaky breath and stupidly continued forward. The girl had guts. “U-Uhm, I saw what happened, and..”

“So?” Cassandra seethed. “Get lost before you get hurt.” She snarled then began to turn around.

“Wait, just listen to me for a second! Please!” Cassandra growed and turned back around.

“I would make this quick if you knew what was good for you.”

The girl gulped but she continued. “The man that you caught, uhm... did he have jet black hair? And have a dark brown jacket on with a red cross in the middle?”

Cassandra picked through her memories then looked back at the girl with a glare. “Yeah, so?” 

The girl's eyes widened. “Then your lover is in grave danger!”

“I don’t care,” Cassandra stated simply. “And she’s not my lover. Not anymore.”

The younger girl frantically shook her head, panic and fear in her eyes. “It wasn’t her fault! That man is very, very dangerous! He’s a young wizard and has hypnotized many young women in this village and others to do unthinkable things with him! He breaks relationships and puts the woman in an unescapable daze - then after the woman is alone, he takes advantage, then rapes and kills them!”

“And why should I believe you? If what you’re saying is true, why has no one done anything?” Cassandra responded through clenched teeth. Surely, this young woman was just trying to mess with her. 

“W-We’ve tried! He kept using his magic to escape! And as for why you should believe me - because I saw her, before she was led into the building you found them in. He tried to advance on her but she pushed him away - she tried to escape, honestly, she did! H-He had her pinned - she struggled - but the moment he looked into her eyes, she was a goner. Her eyes lost all recognition that she was her own person - she followed him like a brainless robot! I tried to help, but they were gone before I could - t-then I saw you and I followed because.. ugh! I don’t care if you believe me or not, but if you seriously care about that girl, I would! Please! You’re running out of time!” Cassandra stared into the younger girl's eyes to see if she was lying, if there was any deceit, but all she found was fear and panic. Was she telling the truth? Before Cassandra could respond, the girl whispered shakily, tears in her eyes: “He never leaves a job unfinished.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened. If she was telling the truth, that meant.... no. “Where?” She asked quickly. “Where did you see them last?”

“The last place you saw them.. I’m sorry miss, I don’t know anything else. But you gotta find her! It may already be too late..! He’s quick about his actions!”

Cassandra nodded quickly before she got ready to sprint away. She then stopped and fixed the younger girl with an appreciative look. “Thank you. Really. For telling me.”

The younger girl nodded. “I-It.. happened to my little sister. I-I don’t want the same horrible fate for anyone else. Not if I can help it.” Cassandra’s eyes softened and before she left, she gave her an empathetic look then she took off.

It took Cassandra only a matter of minutes to burst down the door of the house she found Rapunzel and that guy in. “Rapunzel! Where are you?! Are you here?!” No response. The place was empty. From the small amount that Cassandra saw, she remembered that there was furniture, pictures and a bunch of other stuff in the home... there was none. It was completely empty as if no one lived there in the first place.

Cassandra started to panic as she desperately looked around for anything to tell her where the man took Rapunzel. “Dammit! I should have trusted her!” Cassandra cursed; panic and fear taking hold of her heart. If Rapunzel was... because she didn’t trust her and jumped to conclusions... Cassandra shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. Rapunzel was fine. She was fine. She. Was. Fine.

Cassandra made her way back outside and that’s when she saw it. Glowing in the sun, she spotted a familiar object. Quickly making her way over to where the object was, she bent down and quickly picked it up. As she held it up to eye view, she had to choke back tears. Her ring. The ring she threw at Rapunzel. The ring that sealed their love. She squeezed it tightly and held it close to her heart as she still tried desperately to hold back tears. She took deep breaths to calm herself. She couldn’t freak out, not right now, she needed to find Rapunzel before it was too late. She’d give her a thousand and one apologies once she found her. She’d do anything to make it up to her, she’d spend the rest of her life making it up to her. She just needed to find her. If she was still alive, that is... Cassandra quickly shook her head. No. She couldn’t think like that. 

“Come on, Raps, where are you..” She muttered as she looked around for anything to help her. That’s when she noticed the faint blood stain on the grass. Although her heart clenched at the sight of it and she desperately hoped it wasn’t Rapunzel’s, Cassandra followed the trail of blood anyway and it led to... the forest. Bingo. Cassandra didn’t waste a single second as she took off. She desperately searched high and low for any sign that led to finding Rapunzel. That’s when she felt it. She felt.. a pull. The moonstone flickered and shined and as she followed that pull, it started glowing brighter and brighter like a tracking device. “Please..” She begged. “Please take me to her...”

All of a sudden, she stopped to a halt, her eyes wide and unfocused. Laying not too far away was a bloodied, bruised, beaten, half-naked, barely conscious Rapunzel. Her clothes were torn and from the looks of it, she was barely breathing. There was blood everywhere. Cassandra desperately hoped it wasn’t all Rapunzel’s. But she knew that was wishful thinking. Cassandra, eyes wide with immense fear, rushed over to her. “Please be alive..” She muttered. “Please be alive..” Sliding on her knees, she picked the princess up into her arms. She let out a sigh of relief upon finding out that she was still very much alive but the fear returned full-on when she saw the blood covering her beautiful face, running down from her head. “R-Raps?” She placed a shaky hand on the side of her face. No response. Cassandra’s gloved hand was immediately covered in blood.

She then heard evil chuckling. Looking up, she saw the man she caught Rapunzel with earlier. Except, he looked different... She knew that man. Snarling, she gave the man a deathly look as she spoke through clenched teeth and held the unresponsive princess closer to her. “Samael.”

The man smirked. “Nice to see you again, Cassandra. Like what I did to your lover over there?”

Cassandra seethed. “You sick, twisted, son of a bitch! I should’ve killed you when I had the chance! You’re gonna pay for this!”

Samael only smirked. “I told you that I was going to get you back, Cassandra. As much as I just love to take full responsibility, I’m afraid that this is your fault.”

“Me?! What the hell-”

“I tried to warn you that your trust-issues were only gonna end up hurting you in the end.” His smirk widened. “Or rather, hurt someone you care about. Though, I would’ve suspected you’d trust someone you agreed to marry. Apparently I was wrong. Lucky for me, I had a..” Samael’s eyes darkened. “...blast with her.”

Cassandra’s eyes darkened, her heart and soul filled with rage, her hair and eyes glowed brightly. The moonstone crackled with energy as she brought herself to her feet, the still unresponsive Rapunzel tucked securely in her arms. “I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You. No one, no one, hurts my Rapunzel.” Her voice was cold and dark unlike never before.

Samael laughed. He actually fucking laughed. It only heightened Cassandra’s rage, if that was even possible. “Do what you want, girl. I enjoyed my time with her. Feisty, my favorite type. A fighter. Although, she eventually gave up once I put her in her place. She screamed your name, did you know that? But I shut her up real quick.”

Cassandra seethed as she held the princess closer to her. Her mind, her body, her soul was filled with a rage she never felt before. Her teal hair glowed and lifted, blowing in imaginary wind, her eyes were glowing and the moonstone was flowing with energy as small rocks started emerging around her. She looked horrifying. She looked like a pissed-off god. A god that promised the most painful death for trifling with them. Samael actually backed up, but he kept his face neutral. “I. Am. Going to. Make. You. Suffer.” Cassandra seethed through clenched teeth as she narrowed her darkening teal eyes in complete anger. Her voice echoed throughout the forest. The forest was eerily silent; as if the forest and mother nature were scared of her and decided to shut the fuck up in fear.

Samael didn’t show his fear. But the look in his eyes betrayed him. “Bring it bitch.” He didn’t even get to move as he was suddenly impaled through the stomach with a rock. The man gurgled and yelped in pain. Cassandra hit him in a spot where it was gonna bring him a very slow, incredibly painful death. With the utmost gentlest, she gently placed the still unconscious Rapunzel against a tree. She then turned and slowly prowled towards the struggling man who was still very much impaled. Cassandra’s aura screamed dangerous. Parlous. Menacing. Vicious. Deathly. Murderous.

Cassandra grasped his face tightly and forced him to look at her. “You are a horrible, sick, twisted person and I hope you burn. I hope the gods give you the utmost painful fate imaginable. I hope you suffer like you made my wife suffer and so many women before that.”

“Say what you want,” Samael smirked, his mouth and teeth stained with blood. “But remember this, this is your fault for not trusting your so-called ‘wife’. I told you your lack of trust in others, even those you care for, was gonna cost you. I would’ve dealt with you myself but... I preferred the route I took. What’s worse than watching the person you claimed you loved more than anyone suffer and not be able to do anything about it? Besides, it was quite fun. You got yourself a catch there. Beautiful body, beautiful looks... Plus all the struggling, it was the best time I’ve ever had. Too bad her beautiful body is ruined and covered in bruises and scratches.” Cassandra saw red. But Samael stupidly continued. “Tick tock, Cassandra, your lover's life is fading the more we sit here. Oh! If she survives - tell her I just loved ma-'' He didn’t get to finish. Cassandra summoned a rock and impaled it through his skull; killing him on impact.

With still rage filled eyes, she did the last thing she expected she would do. She disintegrated the body; leaving nothing in its place. She didn’t focus on how, perhaps it was the Decay Incantation, as she heard quiet groaning behind her. Eyes widening, she turned around and bolted to Rapunzel then slid to her knees in front of her. “Raps?”

It was silent for a second before Rapunzel’s tired, pain-filled, weak voice responded. “C-Cass?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s me, it’s me...” Cassandra noticed Rapunzel’s unfocused eyes trying to focus on her. “C-Can you see me?”

“...Barely..” Rapunzel responded, her voice quiet.

Cassandra swallowed as she reached forward with shaky hands and placed them both on Rapunzel’s cheek as she leaned forward and laid her forehead against Rapunzel’s. “I’m so sorry..” Cassandra muttered out, tears already streaming down her face. “I’m so so sorry..”

Rapunzel gave her a weak smile and with a shaky, bloodied hand placed it on Cassandra’s cheek. “...’s okay..” Rapunzel was able to get out. “...I know how it looked.”

“I should have trusted you.” Cassandra choked back a sob.

“..It’s okay, Cass.. you’ve been hurt and back-stabbed so many times.. I don’t blame you for jumping to conclusions like that.”

“That’s no excuse.” Cassandra responded. “I-It’s you.. I should have..”

“Are we still together?” Rapunzel whispered, cutting her off. The question was filled with so much pain, fear and agony that it made Cassandra’s heart clenched. 

“W-What? Yes, yes, of course we are!” Cassandra desperately gripped her face and placed a loving kiss on her forehead. “I-I didn’t mean that.. I was just..”

“..Scared.” Rapunzel finished for her. Cassandra nodded. Rapunzel gave her a weak smile and raised her hand once more before placing it on Cassandra’s cheek again. “You’re the only one for me, the only one I love. Never doubt that.”

Cassandra placed her hand on top of Rapunzel’s as she leaned into her warmth. “I shouldn’t have.” She whispered. “God, Rapunzel, I just.. this never would have happened if I had just..” Cass shook her head, tears streaming down her face. Rapunzel raised her other hand and gripped both of her cheeks. She pulled her towards her and placed a small kiss on her lips before stroking her cheekbone with her thumb lovingly all the while giving her a loving smile.

“It’s okay love,” Rapunzel whispered. “...It’s okay.”

Cassandra sniffed, her face still merely inches away from Rapunzel’s lips as she shook her head. “It’s not. I-I keep hurting you and you keep forgiving me.. t-this time - I shouldn’t be forgiven, Raps, I shouldn’t.. t-this..”

“Hey, hey, Cass, none of this is your fault.”

“But I should have-”

“You’re not the one who committed.. the acts.”

“I’m supposed to protect you,” Cassandra whispered, her voice filled with pain and sorrow. It broke Rapunzel’s heart. “...and I keep failing to do so over and over again.. because I keep letting my own insecurities get in the way.”

“Cass, we all have weaknesses, insecurities… it’s okay...”

Cassandra pulled back quickly. “But it’s not! Not if it’s risking your life! I keep putting your life in jeopardy! Y-You shouldn’t have left Corona with me! You shouldn’t have agreed to date me! You shouldn’t have married me!” There were tears streaming down her face. “If I keep causing you all this pain, why are you still with me?!”

“Because I love you, Cassandra.” Rapunzel whispered. “And you’re not causing me any pain. You brighten my life, Cass, you make my life worth living. You haven’t caused me any pain..”

“How is this-!” Cassandra was about to signal to the state she was in, but she was cut off.

"This is not your fault. You keep blaming yourself for everything bad that happens to me, even to us, even when it’s not your fault. Don’t deny it - because I do the same thing. You were led to believe I was cheating on you - you were hurt, scared, and you had every right to be. Cause that’s exactly what it looked like. You had no idea who he was, Cass. If the positions were switched... I would have jumped to conclusions too.”

“I should have trusted you.”

“Maybe. But I should’ve done a better job of convincing you, of fighting, but after you said we were done... I just gave up. This is my-”

“No!” Cassandra stopped her. “Don’t do that! Don’t you dare do that! None, none of this is your fault! Do you understand?! None of it is!"

"Neither is it yours." Rapunzel whispered.

Cassandra brought the girl back into arms and held her close to her heart, to her soul. "...But it is, Raps."

Rapunzel gave her a serious expression. "It's not. It's Samael’s. It's Gothel’s. Hell, it's the world's fault. But you? No, none of it is." Rapunzel smiled and cuddled against her. "You saved me. As you always do."

"...I was too late, Raps. I was.. you.." She wasn't able to say it.

Rapunzel gave her a sweet smile. "I-It's okay, I'm okay. I'm-" She didn't get to finish. Her hand dropped and her eyes closed.

"R-Raps?" Cassandra asked, gently shaking the girl. "Rapunzel?!" She started hyperventilating as she tried desperately to wake up her lover. "No! Wake up! Please!" Cassandra quickly got to her feet with Rapunzel in her arms. She was still breathing. Barely, but she was still breathing. Cassandra didn't have much time. She summoned a rock and launched herself into the air with Rapunzel securely in her arms. As she sailed through the air, all she could think about was if Rapunzel died...

Cassandra was gonna die too.