Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy of the Stars (A Stars Above Sequel) ❯ Chapter 11: Pain and Regret ( Chapter 11 )

Rapunzel and Cassandra had been stuck in that damn cave for nearly two days. Cassandra found the other end, but just as Carina said, the shadows were still there and surrounded at that. Cassandra was able to find another exit, but it only prolonged their journey, making it even longer than it had to be. It had been four days since then. Cassandra continued moving forward, knowing that the shadow figures were following them, and refused to stop. The times that she did, she stopped in areas hidden from the public. 

After Rapunzel’s breakdown, she barely said a word. She had barely moved. She had barely slept. She had barely eaten despite Cassandra's desperately trying to get her to do so. She had only stayed in their room, lying depressingly on their bed, staring at nothing. Cassandra had to quite literally hide all sharp objects and anything else that she could end up harming herself with. She also had to basically force the princess down to wrap her arms and legs. Both Nova and Cassandra tried anything and everything to cheer her up, but nothing seemed to work. It was as if something in the princess had completely shattered.

So Cass was left with trying to navigate them through unfamiliar areas as well as take care of a two-year-old and keep a constant eye on a mentally ill, suicidal princess. And if she was being honest, she was exhuasted. Both mentally and phsyically. Rapunzel had barely eaten anything in a week, and Cassandra herself had trouble eating as well. She forced herself to do so because she needed to keep her strength up to be able to protect her family, but watching her lover go through what she was going through made it hard. Whoever this person was... wasn’t Rapunzel, and the fact that Cassandra couldn’t do anything to help made things a whole lot worse. She tried everything. She felt so useless.

Rapunzel had snapped at her so many times the last couple of days, and although she knew it wasn’t technically her fault, some of the things that she said kind of hurt. Actually, they hurt a lot. She was just trying to help her dammit. Cassandra sighed with the realization that it was getting dark. The warrior learned rather quickly that the surrounding areas became covered in shadow people at night. She also learned that all caves were basically safety zones. She deterred the caravan until they were in yet another hidden cave. As soon as she did, shadowy figures appeared and began to fly around the area. Cass pushed a boulder in front of the entrance, just for safety measures, and started a fire, all the while spreading torches around the area to light it up. 

Cassandra tiredly rubbed the back of her neck before she heard her trusty pet give her a hoot. She gave him a tired, sorrowful smile and lent out her arm, allowing the bird of prey to land on it. "Hey Owl," She said tiredly, rubbing the bird's underchin. He leaned into it before giving her a small hoot. Her smile faded for a split second. "I’m fine, Owl." He gave her a deadpan look. "Okay, maybe not. But it doesn’t matter how I’m feeling," She mumbled. He tilted his head towards the caravan. Cassandra followed his eyes and sighed. "I’m just really worried." He let out another hoot, and Cassandra shook her head before she started to get up. Owl flew to the top of the caravan. "I’m gonna try again." Owl didn’t comment as he watched his owner enter the caravan.

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Cassandra gently pushed open their bedroom door, and there was the princess, in the same place she had been in the last couple of days: staring blankly up at the ceiling. Cassandra sighed, knowing this conversation was futile, but she had to try. "Raps, you really need to eat something."

"Go away." Rapunzel spoke, her voice numb and almost emotionless. Cassandra inwardly groaned. So she is in that type of mood— great. 

"This is gonna be so fun," Cassandra thought sarcastically. But she wasn’t about to back down. "Rapunzel-" She started, only to get interrupted. Per usual. 

"I’m not hungry."

"You’ve said that for the last couple of days, so I don’t care whether you think you are or not." Cassandra threw an apple at her and narrowed her eyes. "Eat."

Rapunzel merely stared at it with one tired, dull eye while the other was being covered by her hair. It broke Cassandra’s heart. Rapunzel then looked away. "You can’t make me." She spoke quietly. 

"This little-" Cassandra huffed. "I’m not asking."

"I know," Rapunzel responded, her voice full of sarcasm. God, this girl was really testing her nerves. 

Cassandra clenched her teeth. "Rapunzel."

"Your whole ‘tough girl’ attitude isn’t working on me, so don’t even try. The point is, you can’t make me, and that’s that." 

Cassandra had to take a deep breath for that one. "God, you’re so fucking impossible sometimes." 

"Then leave." 

"Why can’t you just shut up and accept my help?"

"Why can’t you just accept that I don’t want your help?"

"It’s not a matter of whether you want it or not anymore. I tried to give you your time to come to me, but what do you do? Try to kill yourself the moment I turn my back. So, now, I’m forcing it."

Rapunzel scoffed. She scoffed. And rolled her eyes. "Wow, this is such a healthy relationship." She responded sarcastically.

"Stop with the sarcasm bullshit; it's seriously starting to piss me off." 

"Yeah, what doesn’t?"

"Oh, you’re one to talk." Cassandra glared. "Lately all you’ve been is moody; it’s starting to be highly aggravating."

Rapunzel only gave her a halfhearted glance. "The door’s right there."

That one made Cassandra groan out loud as she ran her hands frustratedly down her face. "Ugh, why can't you just accept my help?!"

"I told you," Rapunzel said, gritting her teeth. "Because I don’t want it. I can take care of myse-"

"Can you?!" Cassandra interrupted. "Because you’ve been doing a poor fucking job lately! If ‘taking care of yourself’ means ‘taking yourself out’ then you clearly aren’t capable of doing it!"

Rapuznel sat up and glared at her. "Did it occur to you that maybe that’s what I want?"

"Yeah, like your little display the other day didn’t show that," Cassandra responded sarcastically, only heating up the situation even more. "But you don’t know what you-"

"Stop saying that!" Rapunzel stood up quickly, glaring daggers at her. "Everyone keeps saying that! My entire life, I’ve been told that! Everyone keeps telling me how to live my life, and I’m tired of it!"

"Maybe, but you don’t want to live it, Rapunzel! Do you even know what you want?!" Rapunzel hesitated. "As you can see, you don't."

"Exactly!" She responded. "I never have, and I’m starting to think I never will! Every time I think I’m one step closer to the answer, some other damn thing wants to kill me!" She responded, merely out of breath. "So, tell me, Cassandra. If everyone wants me dead, if that's the only thing that's stayed consistent with me and followed me everywhere I've gone... how else am I supposed to interpret that? The universe has made it pretty damn clear what my destiny truly is." 

"God, Rapunzel—the ‘universe’ doesn’t choose your destiny, you do! You can’t let what other people have done to you define you."

"Oh, like you haven’t?"

"We’re not talking about me!" She gritted her teeth. "See, this is your problem. You never listen to me!"

That statement seemed to enrage the princess. "I never listen to you’?" She repeated to herself, her voice bitter. "I never listen to you?? Are you serious?!" She huffed. "All I’ve done out here is listen to you! But have you ever considered anything I have said to you? I doubt it. You’ve been too busy trying to run everything-

"I'm just trying to keep you saf-" Cassandra tried to cut in.

"No, you're trying to keep YOURSELF self!" Rapunzel responded, surprising Cassandra enough to silence her. "Face it, Cassandra. You’re not doing this for me; you’re doing this for yourself. You’re trying to protect yourself. You’re scared. And selfish." 

Rapunzel looked away. It was silent for a couple of seconds. "You’re right," Cassandra responded, making Rapunzel’s head snap back towards her. "I am scared." her eyes grew angry. "But how dare you call me selfish." Cassandra pretty much growled. Rapunzel had never heard her use that tone before, especially towards her. But Rapunzel didn’t back down. "You have a family; you have a daughter. An obligation. Yet all you can think about is killing yourself. That little girl will be destroyed. Do you understand me? Her innoence, stolen, because you were too stubborn to get help!"

Rapunzel scoffed and looked away. "It’s not like I asked for her." The room went deadly silent.

A couple of seconds passed. "...I cannot believe you jus-" But then they heard a little gasp. Both women turned around to find a hurt Nova, her little eyes full of so many tears, they were spilling over. 

Rapunzel realized quite quickly what she had just said. "Nova," she said, reaching out a shaky hand to quickly fix it. But it was already too late. The little girl bowed her head and ran off, crying. "Nova!" They were about to run after her, but then they heard the front door of the caravan shut. Rapunzel’s heart raced. Cassandra, on the other hand, was already out the door.

Rapunzel tried to run after her, but she got seriously dizzy and staggered a bit. She steadied herself and ran outside, only to hear Cassandra yelling and calling her name, searching for her. Cassandra’s blazing eyes turned towards her the second she stepped outside. "This is your fault." She spat, glaring daggers at her.

"C-Cass-"

"Don’t you fucking dare." Cassandra growled. That’s how Rapunzel knew she was truly pissed. "You do not get to play victim now."

"I-I wasn’t-"

"Shut up!" She barked. Rapunzel flinched. "If that little girl dies out there tonight, it’s on you." Cassandra spat venemously as she walked towards the cave's entrance. Rapunzel had never heard such venom in her voice before… and the fact that it was directed at her made Rapunzel want to shiver.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Where the fuck do you think? To find her!"

"I-I’ll come w-"

"No," Cassandra seethed. "You’re staying here." She paused before saying, with the most venemous, bitter voice Rapunzel had ever heard her use, "You've already caused enough damage."

"C-Cass, I-I’m sorry, I.. I never meant to say that..I..-" Something about the guilt-filled, sorrowful tone of her voice made Cassandra stop. But only for a second.

But she didn’t turn around to look at her. "...I love you, Rapunzel," She started. "And... one day I’ll forgive you for this. But right now…" She shook her head. "I can’t even look at you."

Rapunzel’ heart tightened. She tried to reach out. "Cass-" But she was already gone. Rapunzel slowly lowered her hand and looked to the floor. "What have I done?" She whispered.

"Yeah, what have you done?"

Rapunzel’s eyes widened as she jumped. "A-Azriel?" The demon smirked as he jumped down from the caravan to stand in front of her. Rapunzel backed away. "L-Leave me alone!"

"You know I can’t do that," The demon responded with a smirk. "After all, you have a destiny to fulfill." His eyes darkened. "That’s what you want, is it not?" Rapunzel stayed silent. "I can give you what you want." He continued. "But you don’t know what you want, do you?" Rapunzel still didn’t respond. "Well, allow me to help." He smirked and drew his sword, which appeared to be coated in something... black and sticky. Green specks ran throughout the color. Rapunzel merely stared at it, not knowing what to do. Azriel took a step forward towards her. Rapunzel didn’t move, she didn't look up, she didn’t say anything, and she didn’t even try to run. Azirel smirked. Perfect, exactly as he wanted. He raised his sword, but then a scream pierced the air.

Some sort of recognition flickered in Rapunzel’s eyes as she snapped her head back up. "Cass?" She asked to herself as she stared out into the dark unknown. A second scream pierced through the air. "Cassandra!" Rapunzel yelled before snapping her head back towards Azriel, glaring intensely at him. "What the hell are you doing to her?!"

Azriel rolled his eyes as he propped himself on his sword, looking bored. "How am I supposed to know? She’s the idiot that blindly ran out there."

Rapunzel’s eyes filled with fire. Rapunzel grabbed a sword that was hidden somewhere along the caravan and pointed it at Azriel. "Call off your shadows!"

Azriel looked her up and down and gave her an amused smile. "What are you gonna do with that? You don’t even know how to use it." Rapunzel glared and pressed the tip of the sword into his chest. Azirel didn’t even move.

"I don't need lessons to know how to pierce your chest with this," She spat. Azirel looked at the sword, then looked at Rapunzel with bored eyes. Within a second, he knocked the sword out of her hand and pinned her to the caravan. Rapunzel struggled. "Get off me!"...But then another scream could be heard. This time, it wasn’t Cassandra’s. Rapunzel’s breath caught in her throat. 

The demon smirked. "Now look at what you’ve done. Because of you, they’re going to die out there." Rapunzel continued to try and get him off, but her struggling did nothing. She felt too weak. Dammit, she should’ve listened to Cassandra when she was told to eat.

A second later, a fourth blood-curdling scream could be heard. The last scream did something to Rapunzel. She felt something burning in her chest; it was like nothing she’s ever felt before. She felt the burning sensation spread throughout her body. Her eyes grew angry as they glowed bright gold and black. "I said," Rapunzel panted. "Get. OFF!" With that, she blasted Azriel backwards, surprising the demon enough to momentarily stun him. But Rapunzel didn’t wait for him to come to his senses because she was already out of the cave, running blindly in the darkness to where she hoped her family would be.

Rapunzel ran like her life depended on it, which, in reality, it kinda did. Azriel was no doubt after her at this point. But she wasn’t running for herself. She sped up, her legs burning and her tired, starving body disagreeing with every movement she was making. But she kept going. She wasn’t sure what she was gonna do when she got there, but she didn’t care; she’d figure it out. She just needed to make sure they were okay. The burning sensation she felt before never left her body and continued to spread like wildfire.

She ran for what felt like an eternity before coming to a stop, breathing roughly. Her eyes widened. There sat Cassandra on her knees, gripping her side that was coated in blood. In her arms, lay an unconscious Nova. The little girl looked generally okay, there were no open wounds from what Rapunzel could see. But that didn't mean she didn't have eternal bleeding. She still didn't even know what had happened. But she chose to focus on that later. "Cass!" She yelled the warrior's name. Cassandra tore her glaring eyes away from the shadow figure with red eyes only for those glaring eyes to land on her.

But Rapunzel ignored them and was already on her knees, by her side. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you-"

"I know what you told me," Rapunzel responded without looking at her. She inspected the wound cut into Cassandra’s side. It was bleeding a lot, but she knew that she’d be okay. Cass has had worse wounds. "But I got a little visit from our demon friend, so I had no choice but to come out here."

Cassandra scoffed. "I thought you wanted to die?" Rapunzel almost flinched at the bitter tone of her voice. Alright, so she was still mad. Rapunzel could hardly blame her.

But the princess gave her a half-attempted glare. "Are we really going to do this now?"

"I don’t know, you tell me," Cassandra responded sarcastically. "I never listen to you, remember?"

"Look, I’m sorry for what I said, but-"

"‘Sorry’ doesn’t fix it. Not this time."

"What else do you want me to say??"

"I want you to actually mean it."

"I do-"

"No," Cassandra interrupted. "You never do. If you did, you wouldn’t keep making the same mistake over and over again."

"You’re one to talk about making the same mistake over and over again." Rapunzel responded bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Cassandra growled. "You don’t get to-" But she interrupted to slow laughing. Cassandra quickly got to her feet, Nova still in her arms, as she winced in the process. Azriel came into view with a smirk plaguing his lips as he slowly clapped. Cassandra placed herself in front of Rapunzel and held her sword up in defense.

"Well, well, well," The demon chuckled. "Guess the ‘dream couple’ aren’t so perfect after all, hm?" Neither responded. Cassandra merely glared at the demonic creature that was a pain in her ass. It was his fault that any of this was even happening in the first place. Rapunzel felt the shadow with red eyes stare into her soul. She felt the sensation she felt before grow stronger. She shook her head quickly to try and get rid of it. 

"Now is not the day to fuck with me," Cassandra responded, her voice cold, harsh, and threghtening. Her tealish eyes glared into the demon's soul. Rapunzel gulped. This dude had no idea with whom he was messing with right now.

But Azriel merely chuckled softly. He didn’t say a damn thing. Suddenly, his shadowed figures started circling them like before, except this time they enclosed them in a tighter space. Cassandra and Rapunzel, unsure what to do, stood back to back as they tried to think of a plan out of this. But then Rapunzel felt something. Something... familiar. "Watch out!" Rapunzel pulled Cassandra out of the way, and as soon as she did, a dagger coated in that sticky black stuff from before flew through the air, slicing through the spot where Cassandra had been standing just a moment before, before embedding itself in the tree behind them. Another flew towards them, forcing both women to jump out of the way. Cassandra blocked the next one that flew at them with her sword, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.

"I’m sorry, Cass," She heard the princess say over the loud, deafening wind. Cassandra didn’t respond, as both women continued to dodge what they could. "I shouldn’t have said what I said," She continued. "I shouldn’t have said... any of that. I shouldn’t have snapped at you, especially after everything you’ve been doing for me the last couple of months."

Cassandra was silent for a couple of seconds before responding, "You promised me you would come to me if it got as bad as it is now. You gave me your word, and you lied to me. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"....I know," Rapunzel responded, quieter than before.

"Why? Have I not proven to you time and time again that I’m here for you whenever you need me??"

"I-It’s not that-"

Cassandra gave her a half-attempted glare as she stayed focused on making sure they didn’t get impaled. "Then what the hell is it? Because it certainly appears—"

"I don’t know!" Rapunzel shouted, interrupting Cassandra. "I don’t know why I’ve been acting like I have; I don’t know why I feel… why I feel like everything is against me, I don’t know why I didn’t come to you! For once in my life, I don’t have an answer; I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how to fix it!"

"That’s the problem!" Cassandra shouted back. "You’re trying so hard to fix how you’re feeling that you’re not even letting yourself feel it! You don’t need to fix it; you need help, but you’re too damn stubborn to accept it! That’s how you’ve always been! You never accept any help, and you always try to fix everything yourself! You’re trying so hard to try and understand what’s going on with you, and because you can’t figure it out, you’ve given up! You don’t need to know what’s going on; you just need to swallow your damn pride and accept help! What are you so afraid of?!"

"I’m afraid of being weak, okay?!" Rapunzel shouted back. The shadows continued to circle them, but they seemed to get slower and quieter. Cassandra turned her head toward her in surprise. "I-I’m scared that if I do accept help, I’ll just be what Gothel said I was all along! Weak, pathetic, unable to take care of myself... I’m scared that she was right, that I shouldn’t have left the tower, that I wasn’t ready for the real world...! Everyone has always looked to me for answers, I’ve always been the one who fixes everyone else’s problems! Ever since I left the tower, that’s been who I am, that’s who they’ve made me to be. But you’re right, this is something I can’t fix, and I don’t know how to deal with that! I don’t have answers, and that scares me..! There are so many unknown and dangerous possibilities, and i-it's too much! Fixing things is the only thing I have left of who I am - or who I thought I was! I-if I lose that..."She swallowed and shook her head. "...T-Then I’ve truly lost the last thing that made me... who I thought I was, and I’m left trying to grasp onto anything that gives me any sort of answer!"

"But that’s just the thing!" Cassandra responded back, causing Rapunzel to look at her. Her eyes held no anger anymore. Only desperation and frustrations. "‘Fixing problems’ isn’t who you are, Rapunzel! Who you are isn’t just about one thing; only you can decide who you want to be!"

"...But I don’t-"

"And that’s fine! You don’t need to have those answers yet! You don’t need to fix anything, you don’t need to fix yourself, and you don’t need to hide! Not everything has a solution, and that’s fine! "You need to realize that you are no longer alone and that you do not have to go through this alone!" Cassandra turned more toward her. "It’s okay to be weak sometimes, and it’s okay to not know, well, anything! Most people don’t! You. Need. HELP! And that's fine, but you have to swallow your pride and accept it, or your search will go unanswered! Giving up, throwing your life away just because you can’t find answers, is most definitely not the answer you need! You say you’ve been trying - but in reality, you haven’t put in any effort to find answers, to get better—all you’ve been doing is trying so hard to cut me— everyone —out of it and out of your life! I understand; you're afraid that accepting help will mean that everyone who has called you weak and so many other things were right... But they aren't because you're one of the strongest people I know, and it's okay to be weak; it's okay to need help; it's okay to be lost! But for months, you’ve been telling me that you’re trying - but I’ve been the only one putting in the effort! If you truly want answers, then you need to let me in and actually let me help you!" Cassandra continued, and Rapunzel wasn’t even able to get a word in. "Do you have any idea how scared I’ve been? How scared Nova is?" She placed her hands on her chest. "The other day, any second later, and I would’ve lost you again! M-Maybe that’s selfish, but you know what? I don’t care. Let it be selfish. I don’t care how pissed off you get at me, I refuse to let you throw your life away without even letting it reach the climax! I refuse to let you go, no matter what you want, because you're no longer living for yourself; you have a family, a daughter, and you want to throw it all away just because times are tough right now! I know you feel like you’ll feel like this forever, but you won’t. As long as you wake up and let me, or anyone, help you!"

"I…" Rapunzel hesitated. Cassandra fully expected her to argue; she was just waiting for it. Rapunzel always argued. "..I…" Rapunzel’s eyes landed on her still unconionous daughter, and some sort of realization lit up in her eyes. "...You’re right." 

"I-" Cassandra started, getting ready to argue, but then she stopped and looked at her in surprise. "...What?" 

Rapunzel sighed. "You’re right, Cass. I-I do need help… a-and I shouldn’t have…" The reality of what had happened in the previous few days, the reality of what she had almost done— began to sink in. "...I never wanted.." She shook her head slowly, swallowing, trying to hold back tears. "...I never wanted to hurt you. Either of you. I shouldn't have tried to do this on my own, and I shouldn’t have shut you out. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did or try to…" She swallowed before giving Cassandra a guilt-filled, sorrowful expression, her eyes full of tears. "I’m so sorry, Cassandra." Her voice shook.

Cassandra glanced at her, and her eyes softened, but before she could respond, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Without thinking, she shoved the little girl into Rapunzel’s arms and shoved her away. As soon as she did, the warrior was blasted into a tree, and Cass heard a hard crack behind her head. Cassandra desperately hoped it was the bark of the tree and not her skull. But with the way she felt cold wetness start to seep through and how dizzy and weak she suddenly became, she knew she wasn’t so lucky. "Cassandra!" She heard the princess shout. Rapunzel ran over to Cassandra, cradling the toddler tightly against her chest, and slid on her knees. The warrior was barely conscious. "Cass? Cass, hey, stay with me." Rapunzel waved her hand in front of her eyes, but they were unfocused. Blood ran down from Cassandra’s head, nearly covering her entire face.

With shaky hands, she pulled Cass forward a little and tied the ribbon that was around her waist around her head. "R-Raps.." Cassandra mumbled, her eyes barely open. "Y-You need… You and Nova need to get out of here..."

Rapunzel glared at her. "Don’t even try. I am not leaving you here."

"Please." The warrior wheezed.

"Hell no."

"God, you’re so stubborn." She wheezed with annoyance. Rapunzel ignored her, or at least she didn’t respond. The princess cupped the warrior's cheeks and examined her to make sure there were no other injuries that she hadn’t seen before. She was so focused on making sure she was otherwise okay that she didn’t see Azriel sneaking up right behind her. Cassandra, on the other hand, did with her blurred eyes. Cass ignored every muscle in her body telling her to stay down, grabbed her sword, and launched herself infront of Rapunzel. As soon as she did, metal hit metal as Cass blocked the blow meant for Rapunzel with her sword. She tried to continue to hold him off, but a kick to the stomach made her fall back. She briefly heard Rapunzel shout her name, but her ears were ringing and it was muffled.

"Contain the princess." She heard the demon say. With blurred eyes, she watched as the main shadowed figure, the one with red eyes, trap Rapunzel with its long arms. 

"Get off me!" The princess yelled as she held little Nova close to her chest. 

"R-Raps…" Cassandra mumbled, her vision going in and out of focus. But Azriel didn’t go towards Rapunzel like she thought; he walked towards her instead.

Cassandra tried to get up on shaky limbs only for Azriel to punch her across the face, causing her to fall back down. He then gripped her shirt and pulled her eye to eye level; her teeth were blood-stained. "You know, you’ve been a real pain in my ass." Azriel spoke, his voice cold.

"Leave her alone!" Rapunzel yelled. Azriel ignored her. 

Azriel smirked before turning his attention to Rapunzel. "You should’ve listened when you had the chance, princess." He took out his sword, the one covered in sticky black stuff. He pressed it close to the warrior.

"No!" Rapunzel screamed, struggling with all her might. Which wasn’t very much considering her tired, worn-down body. She regretted refusing to eat a second time. "Leave her alone!" Azriel ignored her, smirking madly. "It’s me you want; leave her out of it!" But he didn’t listen.

Azriel chuckled darkly. "You wanna know why I’m so keen on having you dead?" He asked the princess. But then his smirk turned evilistic and dark. "Because you took my lover away." He spat darkly.

Whatever he was going to say, Rapunzel was not expecting that. "W-What? I don’t-"

"Zhan Tiri," The demon spat, making Rapunzel widen her eyes. Cassandra barely heard it. "You took her away from me. So, now, I’m going to finish what she started." He paused, and looked back at the barely conscious Cassandra, and smirked. "But first…" He raised his sword. "I'm going to take your world away from you too."

Rapunzel’s eyes widened, and her eyes filled with tears as the demon brought down the sword. "NO!" She struggled with everything she had but to no prevail, tears streaming down her face. But before the sword reached Cassandra, something knocked it out of Azirel’s hand. Rapunzel watched the sword land in a nearby tree.

"What?!" Azriel growled, looking around for the source. "Who’s out there?!" There was no response. The forest was eerily silent. But then all of a sudden, about five women, dressed in purple and black, surrounded the area. They somehow destroyed the shadows before slowly surrounding the shadow figure that still held Rapunzel and the demon that still held a now unconscious Cassandra.

They walked forward towards him slowly, their faces covered with masks. Azriel glared at them before holding a dagger to Cassandra’s neck. They stopped. "Come closer. I dare you." He narrowed his eyes. One stepped forward.

Rapunzel panicked. "Stop!" She yelled. "Please, he’ll hurt her!" But they didn’t listen. All of a sudden, one launched forward, and before the demon could so much as slice her throat, the dagger was knocked out of his hand, and something was shoved into his chest. The demon dropped Cassandra as he hurtled back, screaming in pain. The shadowed figure dropped Rapunzel, and she fell to her knees, unable to keep herself up anymore. A sudden dizzy spell took over Rapunzel’s senses, and she started to fall forward. All she saw before she passed out was a woman with fiery red hair standing above her.

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Rapunzel looked around; the surrounding area was covered in black. "Hello?" She called out, only to receive no answer. At least not at first.

"Follow the pulse." 

"The pulse?" Rapunzel asked, looking around for the voice. "What pulse?"

"Follow the pulse..." It repeated. Suddenly, a choir of different echoing voices continued to repeat the phrase. It surrounded Rapunzel, and the more panicked she got, the louder it got.

"I don’t know what that means!" She yelled, but the voices kept repeating it. "Tell me what it means!" She received no response; the voices just kept repeating the phrase.

"...The northern star." That was all she heard before she woke with a start.

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Rapunzel shot up, breathing roughly as she placed a hand on her chest. "Woah, woah, hey, breathe. You’re safe." She heard a honey-like voice and a hand press softly down on her chest. Rapunzel’s eyes focused as she looked to her side, and there sat a young woman, probably around her age, with dark, medium-length brown hair, looking at her in worry. She looked around before internally sighing. Of course she was in a hospital. However, this hospital appeared to be... different from the ones she's been at before.But she didn’t have time to focus on it because Nova entered her mind.

"M-My daughter, is she-" 

The young-woman gave her a sweet smile. "Your daughter is fine; she’s being watched by our youth caretaker." Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief but then her anxiety returned full-force. 

"M-My wife, is she-" The woman's smile faltered for a second. 

"She's in even worse shape than you are. Poor girl has been out cold for days, barely hanging on. She’s exhausted and clearly hasn’t eaten anything in days and was severely dehydrated."

"...She is?" Rapuznel asked slowly. How did she not notice Cass skipping sleep and meals? Oh, that’s right... because she was too focused on herself to care.

The young woman nodded. "It’s going to take her a little longer to heal because of that fact. It was obvious that neither of you had eaten or slept in days." The young woman paused. "Tough time out there?"

Rapunzel looked away. "You could say that..." She mumbled before snapping her head back towards the young woman. "I need to see her."

"What? Absolutely not, you’re not even supposed to be up. You need to rest."

"Please." Rapunzel begged. "I just… please." Something about the desperete look in her eyes and in her voice made the young woman slowly nod.

"Fine, but let me help you." Rapunzel was about to refuse, but then she remembered the warrior’s words and slowly nodded. The young woman helped her out of the bed. Rapunzel staggered, but an arm around her waist kept her steady. With that, they slowly walked to a room not far from her own. The young woman slowly opened the door, and Rapunzel’s heart tightened. There lay Cassandra, still unconscious, with her shirt off - replaced with bandages covering her chest all the way to her waist. She also had bandages around her head. Rapunzel didn’t remember it being that bad...

"This is my fault," Rapunzel suddenly spoke before she could stop herself. "...If I hadn’t…" She swallowed. "I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted nothing to do with me after she woke up…"

"I don’t know what happened out there," The young woman spoke, surprising Rapunzel. The young woman turned and smiled at her. "But I know that if it weren’t for you, she most likely wouldn’t be alive."

"What? But I didn’t-" She shook her head. "It was my fault she was out there in the first place. It was my fault that they both were out there..."

The young woman winked. "It’s the small things that count. You distracted Azriel long enough for us to get to you." 

"...You know Azriel?"

The young woman sighed. "Unfortunely, yes. We all do."

"Who’s... we?" 

The young woman hesitated before sighing. "I promise that you’ll get your answers later. For now, just focus on getting better." She checked her watch. "I've got to go for now, but I’m only a couple doors down if you need me." She turned to leave.

"W-Wait," She said, making the young woman stop. "What’s your name?"

The young woman hesitated, like she was trying to figure out whether to tell her or not. She must’ve made up her mind because she gave her a smile. "Rena." 

Rapunzel gave her a half-attempted, tired smile. "I’m Rapunzel." 

Rena smiled. "I know." She responded simply.

Rapunzel paid no attention to it at the moment and merely smiled. "...Thank you. For everything."

Rena nodded slowly. "Yeah… no problem. I’ll see you around, okay? And take it easy!" Rapunzel nodded. With that, Rena turned and left, but before she shut the door, she said, "Oh, and she’s on a bunch of painkillers, so..."

Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile at the irony. "Yeah, it wouldn’t be the first time." Rena gave her a smile and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Rapunzel slowly staggered towards Cassandra’s bed before sitting in the chair next to her bed. Rapunzel frowned as she slowly reached out a traced a new scar that ran across her jaw. Rapunzel looked at her and immediately noticed her change in weight. How come she didn’t notice before? Here she was, calling Cassandra selfish when all she was trying to do was take care of her, even sacrificing her own health in the process. As always. "Oh, Cass…" She sighed, tears welling up in her eyes."I’m so sorry." Rapunzel grasped her hand softly. With shaky hands, she brought her hand up to her mouth and pressed a small kiss to it. She let her lips linger on it as she held it with both hands and pressed it against her face. Seconds later, she felt it twitch slightly, then another couple seconds: it was followed by a groan.

Rapunzel let go of her hand. "Cass?" She asked hesitantly. Rapunzel held her breath as she hoped it wasn’t in her head. But to her relief, the warrior’s eyes slowly fluttered open as she brought her hand up to place it on her head, followed by another groan.

"Ugh, my head…" She muttered. 

Rapuznel couldn’t help but smile with tears of relief in her eyes. "You took quite a blow."

Cassandra’s eyes seemed to be trying to focus on her before they cleared. Cassandra raised her hand slowly, and Rapunzel immediately took it in her hands a second time, bringing it to her lips. "You’re okay…" Cassandra mumbled before looking at her up and down. "You are okay, are you?"

Rapunzel couldn’t help but let out a watery giggle. "I’m fine, Cass." 

"...And Nova?"

Rapunzel nodded. "She’s fine too. Although, I doubt she’d want to see me right now. Rapunzel looked down.

Cassandra’s eyes softened of their own accord. "She’s two Raps; she’ll get over it. She’s probably already forgotten about it."

Rapunzel sighed. "What I said, no matter the age, is something that’s not easily forgotten."

"She’ll forgive you, Raps." 

"I don’t know if I want to be forgiven. It’s not like I deserve it…" Cassandra was about to argue with her, but knowing it was futile, she scooted over instead and patted the spot next to her. Rapunzel hesitated—because she didn’t deserve that either— but the need for love and comfort from her lover was far too strong, and she crawled into the bed next to her. Cassandra gently grasped the princess’s face and pressed her forehead against hers. Rapunzel closed her eyes and leaned into it.

"Don’t be so hard on yourself, Raps," Cassandra started. "We were both pretty tired and moody, and things got heated, then some things were said. It happens. It wouldn't be the first time we got into a fight like that."

"I know... but the things I said this time.. I can't take back."

"Raps-"

"I called you selfish, Cass, when all you’ve been doing is taking care of me. I pretty much told our daughter that I never wanted her. I accused you of only looking out for yourself. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg if you want to account for everything else." 

"But you were right."

Rapunzel gave her a surprised look. "...What?" 

Cassandra sighed and pulled back. "I am scared, Raps," She admitted. "I've been so afraid that I was going to lose you... that I didn’t really even consider anything else. It’s my fault it got this bad. I saw the signs, but I ignored them. I kept ignoring them. I told myself that you were fine and that you were going to be fine, so I didn’t push. I was only looking out for myself to the point where nothing else mattered but... your safety. I didn’t consider anything else or how bad it was getting… I shouldn’t have even let it get that bad... But I ignored it." She looked away. "I’ve been so focused on making sure everything was in place during this journey that I became a one-man team. I treated you like you were a kid that constantly needed to be bossed around and watched over and... that wasn’t fair. I tried to force you to talk to me despite knowing how hard and long it took me to open up to you. And when you tried, I shut you down." She shook her head and met her eye contact, her eyes guilt-filled. "I’m so sorry, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel was honestly taken off guard. When she didn’t respond right away, Cassandra looked downward. Rapunzel eventually got her bearings and slowly hooked her finger under her chin to raise her head. Not knowing what else to do at that moment, Rapunzel leaned forward and caught her lips in a soft kiss. The first kiss they’ve had in nearly two weeks. Cassandra hesitated for a second before her eyes slowly drifted shut and she pressed back. A minute passed before Rapunzel pulled away. "None of this is your fault, Cass," Rapunzel eventually said. "It’s mine." Cass opened her mouth to argue, but Rapunzel held her hand up to say, ‘I’m not done’ and Cass listened and closed it. Rapunzel sighed. "You’re right; I haven’t been trying. I told myself that I was, but... She slowly shook her head. "All you've done in the last few months is look after me, watch out for me... for me and Nova. You had to put up with all the outbursts and the sudden depressive episodes... You had to plan this entire journey on your own, from scratch, because I was too focused on myself. I tried to pretend like everything was fine, and as time went on, I didn’t even realize how bad it was getting. You tried time and time again to get me to talk to you, but I outright refused each time. I ignored the signs, I ignored the warnings, and, hell, I even ignored the people around me who cared about me. If anything, I became a one-man team." She sighed. "I was so convinced that my ‘destiny’ was dying… that I didn’t even realize the relationship I was destroying. I promised you I'd never do anything risky again, and I... broke it. I promised you I would be with you forever, and I almost gave all that away in an instant. You put your health on the line for me, despite knowing it wasn’t really worth it, because I had every intention of… not sticking around. Everything we’ve worked for, everything we’ve been through together... everything we fougt for... it was almost all for nothing because I was too weak to admit that I needed help." She swallowed, and no matter how hard she tried to hold them back, tears fell from her eyes as her voice shook. "It’s my fault that any of this even happened. It’s my fault you and Nova were nearly killed. I almost brought you down with me, and if I did... if you did die because I was too weak to suck up my own pride and admit something was wrong, and I was even weaker to do something about it..." She shook her head and whispered, "I would have never forgiven myself."

Cassandra sighed and reached forward to place a hand on her cheek. She wiped away the tears with her thumbs as Rapunzel leaned into her hand. "Oh, Rapunzel…" She started. In all honesty, she had no words. She didn’t know what to say. So instead, she brought the princess into her arms. Rapunzel hesitated for a second before digging her tear-stained face into the crook of Cassandra's neck. 

"I’m sorry," Rapunzel said, her voice barely audible. "I-I never wanted to hurt you. Either of you. Or put you through what I put you through. I-I don’t know how I could ever think that… me not being around… would fix anything."

"Shh," Cassandra soothed as she ran her hand through her hair. "...It’s okay."

"...I-It’s not, Cass-"

"You’re hurting Raps," She said softly. "...And it’s okay." She repeated. Apparently, that’s all that needed to be said to make the princess breakdown. That’s all that Rapunzel needed because she tightened her hold, dug her face even deeper into her neck, and started to cry. Cassandra held her the entire time and did everything she could to comfort her. Neither how long passed before Rapunzel went silent but Cassandra merely continued to hold her. 

"...Thank you." She heard the princess mumble. Cassandra gave her a confused expression.

"For what?"

Rapunzel pulled back slightly. "...For everything. I-I don’t say it enough. Just.. thank you. For… not giving up on me."

Cassandra smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear. "You never gave up on me." Wanting to cheer her up, Cassandra smirked. "I’m just returning the favor."

Rapunzel couldn’t help but laugh—the first real laugh in months. "Is that the only reason?" 

"Yep," Cassandra smirked and playfully tapped her chin. "I can't think of another reason why." 

"Cass!" She laughed a second time. It made Cassandra grin; it was music to her ears. 

"Alright, alright, maaybee there’s another reason."

Rapunzel raised an amused eyebrow. "Just maybe?" 

"Mhm." 

"Well, maybe, it’s because you love me."

"Hmm... let me think..." Cassandra pretended to think, grinning in the process before shrugging. "I can’t seem to find that in my memories; maybe I have deja vu; I did get blasted into a tree."

"If you had deja vu, you wouldn't remember me." 

"Who says that I do?"

"Cassandra!" Rapunzel laughed, playfully shoving her. Cassandra laughed before giving her a sincere smile.

"I missed you." 

Rapunzel gave her an amused look. "Missed me? I never went anywhere."

"No… I missed you. Like this. Joking around with me, smiling and laughing...

Rapunzel’s smile faltered. "I’m not sure I exactly know who ‘me’ is yet."

"That’s okay," Cassandra smiled. "We’ll figure it out." She raised her pinky. "Together."

Rapunzel looked at it before smiling and hooking her finger, sealing the unspoken deal. "Yeah… together."

"But first things first: You need to start with taking care of your wellbeing better." Cassandra gave her a half-attempted glare.

Rapunzel huffed. "Looks who’s talking. The nice lady that I talked to beforehand said you were severely dehydrated, exhausted, and starving."

Cassandra looked away at being caught. "You idiot," She said, but there was no bite to her tone. "You need to stop putting your own health on the line for me. Do you know how close I was to losing you again?"

"First off, not really; I don’t remember much. Second off, I had to literally kick a door down and pry a dagger from your hand to stop you from taking yourself out. And you call me the idiot.." 

"He held you at knifepoint, Cass."

"You held yourself at knifepoint."

"Can you stop bringing that up? I already said that I shouldn’t have attempted it."

"That doesn’t excuse the fact that it happened. Now that you’re finally starting to realize what an idiot you’ve been, I can finally talk to you about it."

"You didn’t have to say it like that…" 

"...Rapunzel, you scared me half to death. Any later and..." Cassandra swallowed and shook her head. "How could you ever think that resulting to such a thing was the answer?"

Rapunzel had to look away from our pleading, desperate eyes staring into her soul. "I... I don’t know," She admitted, looking downward. "After I heard that there was a high possibility that I would end up hurting you and Nova, I just..." She sighed. "I told myself that to keep you safe, I needed to..." Rapunzel’s voice cracked at the last sentence: "...Take care of the problem."

If Rapunzel was looking, she would’ve saw Cass’s eyes light up in realization, then turn heartbroken for her wife at the realization of what her wife felt like she had to do to keep them safe. "Oh, Raps…" Cassandra mumbled.

Rapunzel started to ramble, seemingly holding back tears. "I-I know it was selfish and a stupid easy fix. I-I just didn’t know what else to do... The thought of ever hurting you, either of you… just shattered what little bit of self-will I had left. But what I didn’t realize was that I was hurting you, a-and… Ugh, it's not the first time I’ve hurt you... ever since I’ve met you, t-that’s all I’ve seemed to do, a-and I-I.." At this point, the poor girl was basically hyperventilating.

"Woah, woah, hey, breathe," Cassandra said worriedly as she gently rubbed the distressed girl's back. Once she calmed down enough, Cassandra spoke: "Raps, how could you ever think that? It’s because of you I am who I am today... I-I don’t want you to ever think that you have to result to something so… drastic… to keep me - us - safe." She reached her hand out and cupped her cheek. Rapunzel leaned into it. "...Losing you was the worst thing I ever had to go through, both physically and mentally. Everything hurt and burned. It felt like I died right alongside you but some hellgod didn’t let me go with you and I had to live… in constant pain." She pressed her head against her forehead and whispered, "...If I hadn’t gotten to you in time and I lost you, I wouldn’t have been able to survive a second time. And I mean… I would have gone out with you. Raps, you’re my whole world, and I’ve told you many times before, so maybe now you’ll listen.. A life without you in it.. Isn’t a life worth living. And no matter what we go through together, that will never change." 

"God," Rapunzel eventually said, her voice cracking. She closed her eyes, her forehead still pressed against Cassandra. Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t help but let out a slight sob. "I’m so sorry, Cass.." 

Cassandra closed her eyes as well. "Shh..." She said softly. "It’s… okay. We’re moving past it. "From here on out, it's all going to be uphill."

Rapunzel couldn’t help but let out a sorrowful smile. "I sure hope so."

Cassandra pulled back, making both women reopen their eyes. Cass gave her a motivated look. "It will," She said, determined. "You’re stronger than you think you are, Raps."

Rapunzel let out a watery smile. "I sure wish I believed in myself as much as you do," 

"You will," Cass confirmed. "With time." But then she gave her a reprimanding glare. "But this time, you have to actually stick around to get there."

Rapunzel gave her a reassuring smile. "I can promise you that I will," She then shrugged with a slightly amused smile. "At least, not by my hand."

"Please, you know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Not again. And especially not now. You think I was overprotective before?" She snorted. "You’re in for one hell of a wake up call."

Rapunzel groaned. "You’re never going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Nope, not even for a second." Rapunzel let out another groan. "Hey, it’s your own fault." She then paused. "You really scared me, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel met her eyes and then sighed. "I know," She responded. "And I guess I deserve that." She then let out a mischievous smile. "...I hope you at least make it…" She ran her hands up from her bandaged stomach to her bandaged chest to her shoulders, making the warrior shiver. "...Fun." 

"Raps, we can’t," Cassandra whispered. 

Rapunzel leaned forward and brushed Cassandra’s lips. "Why not?"

Cassandra gave her a deadpan expression. "Uh, maybe because we both nearly died?" 

"But it’s been so long..." Rapunzel mumbled against her lips, flattening her hands on her shoulders.

"And whose fault is that?"

"Then let me make up for it…"

Cassandra sighed. "Raps, neither of us are in any condition to--"

"Please Cass? We don’t even have to use the thing; I just..." She pressed herself closer to the warrior’s body. "...really need this."

Cassandra made the mistake of meeting her pleading, lust-filled eyes. She couldn’t help but groan, and by then, Rapunzel knew she had her. "Fine," Cassandra muttered. Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile in triumph. "Wipe that smug smile off your face; this isn’t going to be like most times."

Rapunzel couldn’t help but push herself even closer. "I love when you get all dominant on me." She responded, completely ignoring her statement.

Cassandra huffed as she stared at her lips. "I thought you said my tough girl act wasn’t working on you?"

"That was then…" Rapunzel responded, trailing her warm hands up the warrior’s body. Cassandra shivered. "...This is now." Cassandra couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

"If not for the circumstances, you would’ve gotten one hell of a punishment for that one. "And if I were in better shape right now..." Cassandra thrust against her, making the princess moan. "...You would be pleading underneath me."

"Then let’s make it a promise for another time, hm?"

"Oh, trust me, I have every intention too." Rapunzel shivered at the lustful, dark look her wife threw at her. Rapunzel couldn’t help it anymore; she pushed the rest of the way forward and caught Cassandra’s lips in a fiery kiss. Cassandra kissed her back just as feverishly as she placed her hands on Rapunzel’s hips, pulling her into her body. Rapunzel moaned softly into her mouth. It wasn’t long before Cassandra was pulling the princess' shirt over her head and kissing any exposed flesh that she could. Rapunzel groaned, relishing in the feeling that she missed so much.

At some point, Cassandra pulled back and really looked at how small the princess really was in her arms. She lost so much weight... Cassandra couldn’t help but give her small frown as she traced her side with her thumb. "That promise may need to be stretched a bit. You need to put on some weight first, or I'll end up breaking you..."

"...I’m fine, Cass."

"No, you’re not," Cassandra reprimanded. "You’ve always been on the skinny side, but I can practically see your ribs. I wouldn’t want to risk accidentally hurting you… you need to get back to your full healthy potential."

Rapunzel groaned. "Do you know how long that could take?"

"I don’t care," Cass responded with a half-hearted glare. "You’re severely malnourished, Raps, as well as dehydrated and all-in-all exhausted. Your body needs rest and time to recover. You look horrible."

"Wow, thanks…" Rapunzel muttered sarcastically.

"That’s not what I meant," Cassandra rebounded, immediately knowing what she was thinking. "You’re always beautiful to me, but you look like you're on the verge of passing out." Cassandra shook her head and started to pull away. "You know, maybe this should wait too. It isn't such a good idea. It’s too risky and-"

"No!" Rapunzel quickly responded, surprising Cassandra. "...No.." Rapunzel said much quiter after realizing she basically just shouted that. Rapunzel held onto her to make sure she didn’t get far. "...Please.." The way she silently begged her with her eyes, showing her that she really did need this, "...A-After everything that just happened, after all the fighting, I just... I need to feel you... I need you. Please."

Cassandra sighed. There was no way she could say no to her after that. "...Alright, but you gotta promise me that you’ll rest afterwards."

"Only if you do too." 

Cassandra nodded. "Fine. So you promise?"

Rapunzel nodded. "I promise."

Cassandra couldn’t help but smile. "Alright then," She said, leaning forward to catch her lips again. Rapunzel immediately melted into the kiss. The passion started to grow quite fast once more as Cassandra ran her hands up and down Rapunzel’s slim body. Rapunzel groaned at the feeling of her wife’s hand on her as she pressed her body tighter against her. She got as close as she could get, but it still wasn’t enough. She felt like she needed to be even closer. 

Cassandra began to rock into her before kissing her all the way down her neck to her breasts and taking one into her mouth. Rapunzel couldn’t help but throw her head back and moan. The warrior sucked on one while softly kneading the other. Rapunzel eventually brought the warrior back up to meet her lips. She pressed her tongue into Cassandra’s mouth, surprising the warrior but most definitely not displeasing her. Cassandra pushed her own tongue into Rapunzel’s, letting their tongues battle for dominance. Cassandra won, of course. Cass then placed her hands back on on her hips and rocked harder into her, causing Rapunzel to pull back and moan. 

Cassandra slowly snuck her hand down her body into the princess’s really loose pants. She pushed her fingers into her, slightly arching her fingers up. "A-Ah..!" Rapunzel moaned, rocking into her. Cass focused on kissing her neck, her face, her lips, her chest, and anywhere else she could reach while she rocked in and out of her. After not being touched for a while, Rapunzel bit her lip as she could already feel herself close. Cassandra knew this, as she always did, and sped up before adding a thumb to her clit. The princess’s mouth went slack, and her back arched as she had the first release she’s had in nearly a month. As she came down from her high, she vaguely felt Cassandra pull out her fingers and press one last kiss to her lips.

"Alright, now-"

"Wait," Rapunzel said, still slightly out of breath. "What about you?"

"You said that you'd--"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and pushed herself closer once more, her lips brushing Cassandra’s. "I will," She replied. "But I’m gonna take care of you first." Cassandra didn’t get another chance to respond because Rapunzel was already kissing her again. All the reasons why they shouldn’t continue went out the window as the princess started to slowly kiss down her body. Rapunzel kissed every scar, scratch, and bruise she could find. Cassandra watched with half-hooded eyes as her wife descended down her body.

It took Cassandra the entirety of the time to realize where she was headed before it was too late. Cass tried to make one last attempt to make her stop because she was exerting too much energy, dammit. "Raps, you shouldn- Ah!" It was already too late. Rapunzel, expecting what was coming, already had her nose and tongue dug into Cassandra’s womanhood. All remaining thoughts went out the window as her hand immediately dug itself into Rapunzel’s hair. "F-Fuck…" Cassandra muttered as the princess basically ate her out. Cassandra wasn't much of a moaner; she'd never been one; and when it came to making love, she was usually more on the quiet side. But with everything that Rapunzel was doing to her, her moans continued to grow as she tried everything to hold them back and be quieter considering they were in a hospital with people just on the other side of the door. But it was pointless. The louder her moans grew, the closer she got. 

As always, Rapunzel could tell when she was close. She added a finger for some stimulation and sucked on the warrior’s clit. That’s what did it. Cassandra’s mouth went slack, her body tensed, back arched as she had one of the best orgasms in a long time. She vaguely felt the princess move back towards her side and wipe her mouth. It took nearly a minute for Cass to recover. "Wow," She said breathlessly. Rapunzel giggled, the sound harmonic to Cassandra. 

"I told you, it’s been a while."

"You haven’t done that since the first time we had sex together."

Rapunzel shrugged with a smile. "I didn’t know how else to bring you to a release without hurting you."

"Hey, you won’t see me complaining." Rapunzel let out another giggle, making Cassandra smile. Cassandra wrapped her arms around the princess and brought her close to her body. "I love you, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel smiled and snuggled into her. "I love you too, Cassandra." She kissed the tip of her nose before snuggling into her, a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over her. She let out a tired yawn. Cassandra pulled the blanket over the both of them and pressed a soft kiss to Rapunzel’s forehead. 

"Goodnight, Cass," Cassandra had to suppress a chuckle given that it was the middle of the day.

"Goodnight, Raps," She responded, her own wave of exhaustion creeping in. It didn’t take long before both women were out cold, snuggled up in each other’s arms.