Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy of the Stars (A Stars Above Sequel) ❯ Chapter 1: The Signs ( Chapter 1 )

“She’s still alive, my lord.”

“What?” A voice sneered, his body draped in black darkness.

“How is that possible? I made sure that-”

Helios and Amaris brought her back.”

The shadow figure snarled. “Of course they did.” He rolled his eyes. “No matter,” He waved his hand. “We’ll just take care of the job...” The shadow figure suddenly smirked, only his white teeth and glowing black and red eyes could be seen in the pitch-black darkness. “...Ourselves.” The figure looked at his servant and nodded toward him. “Get everything ready. We’re leaving tonight.”

The servant bowed. “Yessir.” As the shadow figure nodded and made his leave, the servant couldn’t help but let out a twisted grin. “This is going to be fun.”

Rapunzel walked the familiar castle hallway in a slight daze. She didn’t get much sleep last night. Actually, she hadn’t gotten barely any sleep in the last two weeks. She kept having these constant, horrible nightmares that shook her to the point where she couldn’t even sleep anymore. And what does Rapunzel do when she can’t sleep? Work herself to death trying to keep her mind off it. Princess duties, helping the townspeople were all that she did nowadays. Anything to keep her awake.

She’s spent the last couple of nights, the last couple of days, working non-stop. It didn’t help that there have been so many different princess duties ever since Cass defeated Zhan Tiri. For instance - before, Corona would only get maybe 3 meetings from other countries every 2 months. Now - there were 20 meetings a day. And unfortunately for her, she tasked herself to take care of them all. As well as prepare festivals, uphold all the promises she made around town, and go to every royal meeting. 

She tasked herself to solve every problem that came about. She felt like she had to. She was Princess Rapunzel, solving problems was her thing. That’s who she is; at least that was who she was in everyone else’s eyes. But what happens when she runs out of problems to solve? She couldn’t even fathom it. It was duty - her destiny. Fortunately for her, Cassandra didn’t pry when she said she didn’t want to talk about whatever was keeping her awake and going. But she knew that her wife was starting to get seriously worried. Quite honestly, so was she. But she also couldn’t find it in her to care.

“Rapunzel!” The shout of her name knocked her out of her stupor and she realized that Cassandra was next to her. By the strict look on her face, she could tell that she was in trouble. When did she even get there?

“Oh, hey Cass.”

Cassandra crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you ‘hey Cass’ me. Did you stay up all night again?” Cassandra had told her on more than one occasion to stop working and take a damn break but she always ignored it and brushed it off. Cassandra had no idea what was bothering her lover because she refused to talk about it and her lack of sleep seriously started to worry her. Cassandra also noticed that she wasn’t eating like she was supposed to either. Lately, all she’s done was work and work and work and work. She barely had any energy anymore, she had grown thinner and she was always in a daze. A daze so deep that she had nearly gotten herself killed because she wasn’t paying attention. The poor girl was running on adrenaline at this point. 

Cassandra also noticed her behavioral changes as well. She had become somber, less positive, and less energized. Which were all serious red flags. All these signs that she noticed led to scarily different problems that Rapunzel probably didn’t even realize herself. Depression being Cass’s number one theory. Cass hoped to god that what was going on with her wasn’t that. Depression was one of the worst feelings she herself had ever experienced and she didn’t want that for her. But if it was that - why? Why now? What was in that stubborn head of hers? Cass wished that she knew. She refused to talk to her. But the reason Cass didn’t press was that... she didn’t think Rapunzel even knew what was going on with her so talking about it wouldn’t do any good.

The last couple of days, unknowing to Rapunzel, Cassandra had been watching her like a hawk. Then again, she could be wrong and overreacting. But as much as she would love to think otherwise, she knew that something was wrong. She could just feel it in her heart. And usually, when it comes to Rapunzel, it was never wrong. Rapunzel also tended to shut herself down as soon as she starts dealing with heavy emotions. Not just towards everyone around her but towards herself too. Ever since she’s known her, if something was wrong, she would force herself to believe that she was fine, and eventually, she’d start to believe it herself. She knew... she knew what that was like and she also knew that eventually, everything would resurface and come out in the worst way possible. And that’s what scared her most of all.

“Uhh... no?” Rapunzel smiled shyly as she mentally smacked herself at how unconvincing that sounded.

Cassandra uncrossed her arms and sighed. “Rapunzel, you can’t keep living off of coffee and adrenaline. You need to rest.”

“There’s still work to be done, Cass.” Rapunzel rubbed at her temples and she gave her wife an exhausted look. She knew she was only worried about her and Rapunzel loved her dearly for checking in on her but it was starting to get annoying. For the last two weeks, she had been ‘reprimanded’ nearly every point of the day and it was starting to get on her nerves. No matter how many times she told Cass that she was fine, Cassandra didn’t believe her and continued to be the over-worried, over-protective person that she was. Cassandra of course helped when she could but she couldn’t be with her all the time. For the time being, Cassandra was given an opportunity to train the newbies for the guard. And she was good at it. No - she was the best at it. Ever since she accepted the job, the guard had been stronger than ever.

Nova, the little troublemaker, was an exact mix of both her parents. She was a little warrior, which made her stand out from the other kids her age. She was unusually smart for a girl of her age and she often got into trouble. She stood out from the crowd, that was for sure. Much like Cassandra. But she also had Rapunzel’s heart. She had often taken home injured animals and nursed them back to health. She loved to help others in need and always brought a smile to people’s faces. Nova, much like Rapunzel, was well-liked in town. Everyone loved and adored her. Cass often took the little girl with her to the training grounds. Sometimes, she ‘trained’ with them. But since she was still so young, it was just minor tasks that made the little one feel strong, welcome and included.

"There's always work to be done," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "That's the same excuse you've been giving me for two weeks."

"It's not an 'excuse', Cass. I need to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Cassandra waved her hand with another roll of her eyes. "But don't you think you should take a 'break'?" Cassandra glared, and put emphasis on the 'break' part.

"No," Rapunzel sneered back. "I've told you a thousand times, I'm fine." She tried to move around her but Cassandra grabbed her arm before she could get too far.

"I don't think you are," She started. "And the quicker you realize that the better off you'll be."

"Ugh," Rapunzel pulled her arm away and glared at her. "This is starting to get annoying. How many times do I have to tell you that there's nothing wrong?"

"How many times are you gonna lie to me?"

"I'm not lying!"

"You're not exactly telling the truth either." When Rapunzel only crossed her arms and looked away, Cassandra sighed and moved forward so that she could grab the princess's hand and get as close as she could. Rapunzel seemed still pissed and tried to pull away before Cass only tightened her grip and pulled her into her body, their faces so close they could feel each other's breaths. Rapunzel still tried to lean back but with the grip her lover had on her, she didn't get very far.

"Look," Cassandra started in a whisper, her voice much calmer and softer than before. "You don't want to tell me what's going on, that's fine. But don't expect me to believe that there isn't anything going on because I know there is. And don't tell me not to worry either because I already am worried." Rapunzel looked away from her eye contact. Cassandra moved her head to try and meet her eye contact. "You're gonna end up working yourself to death and you're already seriously harming your health. You're exhausted and barely conscious at this point. I mean, I literally called your name 6 times before you even realized I was there. You need to rest before your stubbornness causes dire consequences." When Rapunzel still didn't respond, Cassandra used the last thing she could. She raised her hand and placed it on her cheek so that Rapunzel would meet her eyes. She let out a soft, worried smile and rubbed her thumb across her cheek. "Nova and I kinda need you around, you know." She hated to emotionally manipulate her lover but it was the last option she had.

Rapunzel was silent for a second. That threw Cassandra off, that always worked... Then Rapunzel responded with the last thing she thought she would: "...Do you though?"

Cassandra immediately pulled back, she was not expecting that. Did she really think...? "What?" She responded in surprise but before she could follow up, she heard someone shout her name in urgency.

"Cass, Rapunzel!" Rapunzel, who wanted to drop this conversation as quickly as possible and wished she never said that due to the look on Cass's face, quickly pulled away and turned towards the voice.

"Lance, what is it?"

"There's-" Lance stopped and looked between them. Cassandra looked shocked and Rapunzel looked tired and uncomfortable. "Am I... interrupting something?"

"No." Rapunzel responded.

"Yes," Cass responded in unison. The shock left Cassandra's face as she eyed Rapunzel. The princess glared at her.

"No, you're not." She sneered, glaring at Cassandra before looking back at Lance. "What's going on?"

Lance blinked a couple of times, his mind going blank for a second. "What?" The princess gave him a deadpan look. "Oh right!" He exclaimed. "We're under attack!"

"What??" Both Rapunzel and Cassandra said in unison.

"By who?" Rapunzel asked, taking a step towards him.

"We don't know! They came out of nowhere! Eugene and the guard are already out there but we need all the help we can get!"

Cassandra was about to say something else but Rapunzel cut her off in a panicked voice. "Wait, where's Nova?" The question got Cassandra's attention and her heart started to race when Lance only gave them a confused expression.

"I thought she was with you?" Lance asked hesitantly.

Cassandra and Rapunzel shared a quick, panicked look before Cassandra snapped her head back towards the taller man. Lance shivered at the glare he was given. "You mean to tell me... our daughter is out there god knows where while we're being attacked?!"

"It all happened so fast! One second she was right next to me then all of a sudden there was screaming, shouting, running... and I looked down and she was gone!"

"And you didn't think to go after her?! Lance, we trusted you!" Rapunzel seethed.

Lance looked down ashamedly. "I tried to go after her, I swear! I couldn't find her anywhere so I thought she ran to you guys!"

"Ugh, we don't have time for this!" Cassandra glared. "We need to find her immediately before she gets hurt! Let's go!" Lance nodded, unable to speak anymore out of his own guilt and slight fear from the two women that probably wanted to kill him right now.

They started to move and Rapunzel tried to follow but Cassandra placed an arm in front of her. "No, you are staying here."

"What?!" Rapunzel glared at her. "No way!"

"Yes way," Cassandra said through clenched teeth. "You can barely walk five feet without stumbling and I can't protect both you and Nova at the same time."

Rapunzel crossed her arms and huffed. "I can take care of myself, you know. I've been training with a sword, remember?"

"Doesn't matter," Cassandra responded. "Whether you disagree or not, you're not on full alert and you’re exhausted."

"You seriously can't expect me to stay here while Nova is out there alone and lost!"

"I can and I will."

"Cassandra!" Rapunzel seethed.

"You. Are. Staying. Here." Cassandra clenched her fists.

"The hell I am!" Rapunzel growled.

"Uh, girls-" Lance tried to interrupt but he immediately got put in his place as both women turned to him and shouted 'shut it!' at the same time before turning back towards one another and continued to argue. Lance shrunk back and backed up slightly. A pissed-off Cassandra with an equally pissed-off, sleep-deprived Rapunzel was terrifying as it was and it was best to stay out of their way and let them do their thing.

"I am going whether you like it or not!" Rapunzel resorted and tried to move past the warrior but only for her arm to be grabbed. Roughly but not rough enough to leave any marks.

"You're gonna end up getting yourself killed or someone else!"

"Ugh, let go of me, Cassandra!" She tried to pull away but Cass's grip was strong.

"What the hell has gotten into you?! I don't know what's going on with you but putting yourself in unnecessary danger is out of the question!"

“You’re not the boss of me!”

Cassandra growled. “I’m not trying to be the boss of you, I’m trying to keep you safe!”

“I don’t need protection, I can take care of myself!”

“Yeah because you’ve been showing that real well lately.” Cassandra muttered sarcastically. 

“...Let me go Cassandra! We’re wasting time!”

As a panicked last resort, Cassandra shouted: "...You promised!" Rapunzel stopped at that and she became silent. "Remember? Two years after the last time you put yourself in unnecessary danger and quite literally got yourself killed, you promised you wouldn't do it again!" Cassandra lowered her voice at the next part. "I am not about to lose you again." Rapunzel stayed silent, Cass still lightly gripped her arm. "...Please, Raps."

Rapunzel finally turned towards her wife and gave a half-attempted glare. "This is our daughter we're talking about Cass," Rapunzel replied. "And I'm not gonna sit here while she's out there alone and in possible danger."

"Whatever happened to never breaking a promise?" Cass muttered.

"Do not use that against me," Rapunzel seethed and narrowed her eyes. "You know this is different."

"What I know is that you're taking a risk that you don't need to take."

"If Nova is out there, I do."

“Or you can trust me to protect her.” 

“I am not staying here while you and everyone else fight.”

As both women glared at each other and the situation started to rise, Lance started to slowly back away, his hands up in defense. "You know, uh, I'll meet you out there..." With that, he quickly made his exit but it was as if they didn't even hear him. Which they probably didn't.

"Seriously - what the hell has gotten into you?" Although her eyes were angry, her voice was calm and soft and her eyes held immense worry. "You're not sleeping, not eating, you're taking stupid risks again, you've been having these weird mood swings and you refuse to tell me anything."

Rapunzel wrapped her arms around herself instinctively, something she always did when she was emotionally disturbed. "I don't have to tell you everything."

"When it comes to your well-being, yeah, you do."

Rapunzel narrowed her eyes. "Do not tell me what I can and cannot do."

"You know that's not what I meant. " Rapunzel looked away and Cassandra tried to follow her eye contact. "We're supposed to be in this together, remember?" She started. "We said vows."

Rapunzel snapped her head back towards Cassandra and glared. "You're one to talk. I literally have to corner you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one acting completely out of character."

"I keep telling you," Rapunzel tightly clenched her fists. "I'm fine." She said through clenched teeth.

"Bullshit," Cassandra responded. "Maybe you think you are but you're most certainly not fine. Did you forget who you were talking to? Who are you trying to convince? Me? Or yourself?"

"We don't have time for this!" Rapunzel shouted, quickly moving off the topic. "We gotta go find Nova!" She began to turn around, not caring whether Cassandra followed or not.

"When are you going to stop being a coward and running away from your own problems?!"

Rapunzel stopped once more and spun back around. "Excuse me??"

"You fix everyone else's 'problems' to run from your own! Ever since I've known you, when it came to your own problems, you always pushed them away and acted like they weren't there! And you need to stop! It isn't healthy!"

"Stop telling me what I 'need' to do!"

"If you continue, it's all going to blow over and you're gonna end up doing something you'll regret! I did the same thing and I ended up turning into someone I thought I wasn't even capable of turning into! Internal pain, especially hidden, changes you and I don't want to see you end up making the same mistake I did!" 

"I'm not like you!" The room grew silent as Cassandra pulled back in surprise. Despite the evident hurt written all over her face, Rapunzel continued as she wrapped her arms around herself again. "I can handle myself." Rapunzel whispered, her voice shaking w​​ith barely contained rage and something else Cassandra couldn’t quite decipher. She glared at her one last time before turning around and making her exit, leaving Cassandra stunned and hurt. 

Pascal, who climbed up Cassandra's pant leg a couple of minutes ago when things started to grow serious, gave her a worried squeak. "She's never..." Cassandra swallowed. That one phrase got to her more than she liked to admit. Holding back slight tears, she looked back at the small lizard.

 "...There's something seriously, seriously wrong…" 

Woooh that was angsty. I'm sorry for starting off this story so depressing but it will get better eventually, I promise! There will be some good ol' Cassunzel within the next couple of chapters. I feel like this was the best way to start off this story because it shows that this sequel is more focused on Rapunzel. The first one was mostly based on Cassandra and her journey to self-discovery while this one is gonna be more focused on Rapunzel's story and her journey to self-discovery (as it says in the description). Like the other story, there will be depressing parts, uppy parts, sex scenes, angst, a lot of gay and so much more. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! 

As a warning: There will be talks of wanting to die and suicidal afflictions. There will be self-harm and other serious symptoms of depression. If that triggers you, please don’t read. I will put a warning before every chapter if it contains such topics. If you are going through something of that extreme that you think the world is better off without you, please ask for help. I’ve been through it myself and I know how painful, infuriating, exhausting and harmful it is. If you need someone to talk to, DM me or call the suicide prevention hotline: 1 (800) 273-8255. You matter and are worth it.