Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Enemy of the Stars (A Stars Above Sequel) ❯ Chapter 19: The Difference Between Hope and Reality ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

It had been five days since Rapunzel was dragged away from her dying lover. Or at least, she assumed it had been. Rapunzel had been dragged to Azriel’s ‘base’, blindfolded, and was immediately thrown into a cell.  The dark, cold dungeon that she was kept in made it hard to tell how long it had truly been. Despite her situation, Rapunzel refused to give up. Cassandra was alive, she just knew it. Cass promised her that she would always make it back to her no matter what happened and she believed her. She trusted her.

 

She knew that Cassandra would come to rescue her; if she wasn’t already on her way. So the only thing that Rapunzel could do was keep fighting and stay alive until she got there. While she was being dragged here, she purposefully dropped her wedding ring and small pieces of paper from her notebook, hopefully giving Cass some kind of direction as to where she was because Rapunzel herself honestly had no idea where the hell she had been dragged too.

 

 When Azriel arrived with Rapunzel at his base, she was offered ‘another option’ other than being killed immediately. But the other ‘option’ wasn’t any better than dying. Apparently, those women that Rapunzel and Cassandra fought, or the women that she fought, worked for him. The queen just so happened to be alive and the only one to survive. Go figure.

 

The option they offered her was to use her for sex. Gross, wasn’t it? She refused, of course, and told Azriel that she would rather die. Azriel seemed like he was going to flip his lid over that statement but the ‘queen’ suddenly stopped him, saying to give her a couple of days, and that she’ll come around eventually with some 'pushing'. They gave her no food or water and kept her in a cold, dark cell that made her feel like she was going crazy. Apparently, they didn’t know her very well. She refused to give up, she refused to give in. Besides, she had starved herself for like two months straight so the lack of food didn't bother her all that much. It did make her weaker though. 

 

She didn’t know why all of a sudden Azriel changed his plan; considering he has been so set on killing her this last year; to the point where he's followed them halfway across the world. But now he was keeping her alive by recommendation from the queen. Azriel listened to the queen, no matter what she said, despite having endless power and being a literal demon. Even he seemed to be scared of her. Rapunzel guessed that they were either in a relationship or the queen had much more power than either of them knew.

 

Rapunzel’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door to the basement open and then slam. She watched as the female villain of her thoughts slowly descended towards her, her hands behind her back. “Not so tough now, are you, princess?” The queen asked with a calm demeanor. Although she didn’t know how to control her new ‘powers’, Azriel blocked them anyway, with some kind of wristband that was wrapped tightly around her wrist. She tried to get it off but in doing so, it ended up causing some kind of magic and burnt her wrist. More than once. Each time that she tried to get it off, it burnt her little by little. She eventually gave up after a while, when her wrist was red and blistering. It was nowhere as bad as Cassandra’s though, it was mostly just red and irritated. But a burn is a burn and although it was a minor one, it still hurt like hell. How the hell does Cassandra put up with this every day? And her injury was so much worse.

 

Rapunzel only narrowed her eyes and didn’t respond. It had been like this the last couple of days. The queen would come down at least once a day and see if she ‘changed her mind’. Rapunzel never responded, she never talked back. She merely kept quiet. The queen must’ve got tired of the same response though because she did something she had never done before; She opened her cell and walked in. Rapunzel backed up slowly, looking past her to try and see if there was an opportunity to escape.

 

“Don’t even try it,” The queen spat, her voice dripping with poison. “You’ll never get past our security. And even if you did, the doors can only be opened by Azi or me.” 

 

“Azi? Nicknames… So they are in a relationship,” Rapunzel thought to herself, taking note of that. 

 

Rapunzel still didn’t respond though. She looked past the queen again and decided that anywhere was better than here. Just as Cassandra taught her, she was able to get around the queen, and she started booking it. But suddenly, she was grabbed by the back of her shirt and yanked backward. The queen pulled her back hard, throwing her into one of the walls. Rapunzel groaned as her body hit the wall and she fell to her hands and knees, her ears ringing.

 

“I warned you not to try it,” The queen growled. “But you’re stuck here.” She then smirked. “And this time, you have no one coming for you.”

 

Rapunzel snapped her head up, her eyes angry and dangerous. “You’re wrong,” Rapunzel hissed. “Cassandra is alive and she’s coming for me!”

 

“Oh, look at that, you can talk.” Rapunzel narrowed her eyes and the queen narrowed her eyes in return. “Keep living in that delusion,” She continued, before saying; “Your lover is dead.” She smirked. “I made sure of it.”

 

Rapunzel stilled, her eyes wide. So Cass really is- No. Rapunzel's eyes returned to a determined, stubborn state again. Cassandra was alive. This woman was just trying to get into her head and cause her to spiral. She wouldn’t let that happen, not this time. She trusted her wife and Rapunzel knew that she wouldn’t have promised her if she didn’t think that she would  be able to keep it; all expectations be damned. As least, not this time. Cassandra learned from the last time something like this happened, or at least she hoped she did, and if she promised her that she would return to her no matter what, then she believed her. Rapunzel got to her feet, her eyes angry and determined. 

 

“Cassandra is alive.” She repeated with confidence, keeping her eyes narrowed. 

 

The queen made a humming sound before she was slammed into the hard wall, her arm placed over her throat. 

 

"There is a difference between 'hope' and 'reality', princess." The queen spat, narrowing her eyes dangerously, and unlike before, where Rapunzel became scared out of her mind, Rapunzel wasn’t scared. Not one bit. She narrowed her eyes back in challenge. The queen pressed her arm more firmly against her neck. “Wake up and accept your reality, princess,” She continued but Rapunzel remained stubborn and didn’t respond. “Your ‘hope’ is quite annoying. Just give up; you’re done, you lost, accept it."

 

Rapunzel scoffed. “I don’t care,” She spat back, her teeth stained with blood. “I will never give up. I know Cassandra is still out there and I know that she’s alive. And until I see her again, I will keep fighting and I’ll never stop trying to get away from you. I refuse to give in to your demands.” A memory from back in the tower entered her mind... She remembered saying the same thing to Gothel. She meant it then and she most certainly meant it now.

 

The queen’s dark expression suddenly turned into the evilest grin. The queen pinned her arms above her head, making Rapunzel struggle, before she leaned forward and whispered into her ear: “I think you should be worried more about yourself, princess. Even if your lover is alive,” The queen ran her tongue around her ear, making Rapunzel almost throw up from disgust.

 

 “She’ll never get to you in time.” 

 

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Cassandra awoke with a sudden start, breathing heavily. A shot of pain suddenly shot through her abdomen and she put her hands over it, groaning in pain. “You’re awake!” She suddenly heard and she was expecting to see Rapunzel in the doorway but what stood before her was Rena, the town's sweet nurse that has been helping them with their injuries ever since they had first arrived.

 

“What… happened?” Cassandra asked slowly, her head pounding and her midsection shooting a blinding pain throughout her body.

 

Rena frowned and walked towards her. “We heard screaming and went to investigate. You were laying in the canyon, barely alive. If we found you any second later, you would have died.”

 

Cassandra was about to respond when everything came back to her. The canyon… the fighting… the knife being shoved into her gut… Azriel... Rapunzel. Cassandra’s eyes widened in alarm at this realization as she shot up again, causing more pain to follow, but she didn’t care. “Where’s Rapunzel?” She asked quickly, hoping, just hoping that they were able to save her too.

 

But unfortunately, Rena gave her a saddened expression. “She wasn’t with you,” She said softly, knowing that this news was probably heart-wrenching. Afterall, they all had lost someone to Azriel’s wrath. Cassandra’s eyes widened in alarm as she stared directly in front of her, seemingly lost in a horrified gaze. She then snapped her terrified eyes back up to Rena’s. “How long has it been since-”

 

But Rena was prepared for the question. “5 days,” She whispered, pain and guilt in her voice. The town knew Azriel well and if he wanted the princess dead then…. It was already too late. 

 

Casasndra’s eyes just seemed to…. dissociate for a second as the warrior stared directly in front of her again, her eyes full of terror and fear. Then she snapped her head back up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed, already starting to get up. “I need to find her,” She said quickly.

 

But Rena merely pressed a hand to her chest and due to Cassandra being so weak, she was easily pushed back down. “You’re in no shape to travel, warrior.” She hoped that phrasing it that way would get her to see that it was futile. 

 

But of course, she didn't. “I don’t care-!”

 

“And if Azriel really wanted to kill her, then she’s…” She trailed off, hoping Cassandra got the idea. 

 

Cassandra snapped her eyes to Rena’s; anger very much present. “It is not too late,” She said through clenched teeth before starting to get up again. “She’s alive, I just know it and I’m going to save her.” Cassandra grabbed her sword which was beside the bed and she used it as a cane to keep herself upright. Damn, her abandon and head really hurt; almost more than her hand and arm. Or at least, the combination of her pounding head and the hole in her gut made it so much worse. She started making her way to the door nonetheless.

 

“And do what??” Rena suddenly asked, rushing in front of her to stop her. "Fight Azriel?”

 

“Yes-”

 

Rena closed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, like that worked real well for you last time, right?” Cassandra narrowed her eyes, making Rena sigh. “Even if she is alive, you’d be no use to her anyway. And what about your daughter? If you go and you die, cause you most likely will, she will be an orphan. Do you want that?”

 

“Of course not but-”

 

“Then you can’t go. Nova already lost one parent, she doesn’t need to lose both.”

 

“Rapunzel’s not dead!” Cassandra shouted, her voice slightly breaking. Rena’s eyes softened to their own accord. “She’s not dead until It’s proven to me that she is. As long as there’s a chance that she’s alive, I’m not gonna jump to any conclusions.” 

 

“Azriel-”

 

“I know,” Cassandra responded through clenched teeth. “But Rapunzel is a lot stronger than she looks and she’s really smart and has good tactics. I know because I'm the one who taught her. She can hold her own until I get there.” She tried to walk forward but Rena blocked her path again. 

 

“If she’s alive, she thinks that you’re dead, Cassandra. Do you 

really think that she’s gonna keep fighting with that in mind?”

 

Cassandra only gave her a determined, harsh look. “Raps knows that I’m alive,” Cassandra responded confidently. “And I know that she’s alive. Trust me when I say, we’ve dealt with a lot worse, and have survived a lot worse. This isn't the first time that this has happened.”

 

Rena slowly shook her head as she whispered: “Azriel is nothing like you’ve ever faced before. He’s been holding back. He’s so much stronger than you think…” Rena sighed. “Look, this town was built because of Azriel. Azriel only ever goes after women so this place is a sanctuary where women come to escape him. We’ve all had loved ones that Azriel has brutally slaughtered. And he doesn’t play around. Once he has a target and has them pinned, it’s over, right then and there.”

 

Cassandra merely narrowed her eyes. “If that’s true, if Azriel kills his victims on the spot, then why did he take her instead of just killing her, leaving her to die next to me, huh? He had every opportunity to attack her but he didn’t. Which means that he needs her for something.” She hissed. Her expression suddenly turned to a calmer, more solemn state, her expression serious. “Rapunzel has never given up on me. Even when all hope was lost, she still kept fighting until the very end. She kept going, she kept going for me.” The warrior said, placing her hand over her heart. “And so many other people. Raps has never given up on anyone, even when everyone else told her it was no use and to stop.” Cassandra squeezed her hand into a fist. “And I’m gonna do the same. I’m not giving up on her, not until I see her dead before my eyes. Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Casandra said bitterly, pushing past Rena again.

 

“What if you do end up finding her dead?” Rena asked. Cassandra stopped. “Then what?”

 

The warrior turned her head slightly towards her but she didn’t turn around to look at her. “....If that’s what happens…" She started slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then please, please, take care of Nova for me.” Rena's eyes widened slightly in alarm at that statement. Before Cassandra left, she said one more: “This isn’t how her story ends. This isn't how our story ends. We’ve fought way too hard to let this be the end.” With that, she left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. 

 

Once Cassandra was outside the door, her serious demeanor broke. The warrior looked at her wedding ring and pressed a kiss to it. “Just hang on a bit longer Raps, I’m coming for you.”

 

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Rapunzel was thrown into the wall for what felt like the 100th time. She groaned as she slid down the wall, blood running down her head. The queen’s evil eyes stared into her soul. “Give up yet?” She asked as she watched the princess struggle to get up. 

 

“Never," Rapunzel said through clenched teeth, the same response she had been giving her no matter what the queen did to her. She panted as she used the wall to help her stand. Blood ran down from her head and a couple of other places Rapunzel couldn't quite pinpoint. Honestly, she didn't know right from left at the moment but she did see it staining the floor beneath them. 

 

"Stubborn and tough little thing, isn't she?" The queen thought before she narrowed her eyes. “My patience is running thin, princess.” 

 

Rapunzel scoffed. “My patience already ran thin a long time ago.” That earned her a slap across the face. She landed on the floor roughly as she placed a hand over her stinging cheek, weakly glaring up at the woman. The queen narrowed her eyes again and merely picked her up by the front of her shirt and got awfully close to her face. Too close, for her liking. Only one person could get that close to her face… Well two, if you counted Nova. 

 

“You think you’re tough?” The queen asked, looking her up and down. “You think you're special?" The queen quite literally tossed the princess back into her cell. 

 

Rapunzel landed on the floor with a pained yelp. The queen gave her a cold stare. “You’re nothing.” She spat before promptly making her exit. Rapunzel jumped when the door slammed shut. 

 

The princess slowly backed up until her back hit the wall, wincing with every move. Rapunzel reached into her pocket and pulled out an old photo. It was dated back to before all of this happened when she was still back in Corona. It was before all the emotional turmoil that started to attack her soul. She stared at the picture, which contained her wrapping her arms around Cassandra’s shoulders from behind, both women wearing soft smiles, Pascal holding the camera, smiling wide in the picture. Eugene and Lance were in it too. Tears landed on the photo as she traced the picture of Cassandra with her thumb. 

 

“Oh, Cass…” Rapunzel choked, sniffling. “...Where are you?” Rapunzel asked before she pressed the picture to her heart. She ended up hugging her knees close to her body before hiding her still bleeding head in them. Then she started to sob. 

 

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Cassandra rode Fidella like her life depended on it. Or rather, like Rapunzel’s life depended on it. Which it did. Pascal was with her as well, having not been with the princess when she was taken. She had searched the area, high and low, she searched everywhere, she had already gone miles away from the point that she last remembered when the princess was being dragged away, but to no prevail. She let out a yell of frustration, tightly grasping at Fidella’s mane. Tears filled her eyes but she shook her head to get rid of them. No, she wouldn’t cry. If she cried… then that meant she was giving up and she was not giving up. Not even close. Not until she saw Rapunzel dead before her eyes.

 

Suddenly she saw something gleaming in the sun; she squinted her eyes to try and see what it was before they widened and she brought Fidella to a quick stop. Cassandra slowly got off the horse before she started to make her way to the shiny object, wincing with every movement. She bent down and just as she thought, it was Rapunzel’s wedding ring. The warrior tightly squeezed the object in her hand and held it to her heart, still biting back tears. 

 

Pascal, who was on her shoulder, let out a worried squeak. “Don’t worry buddy,” Cassandra said, rubbing his head. “We’ll find her.” She said but her voice didn’t sound so confident. Pascal then looked up and started squeaking like crazy, pointing at something.

 

"What is it, bud?" Cassandra asked before she followed his gaze. There lay a trail of paper, from Rapunzel's notebook no doubt. Cassandra slowly stood up and couldn’t help but smile. “Good job bud, great eye." She said, rubbing under his chin. "She left us a trail,” Cassandra said, with newfound confidence in her voice. “That’s my girl.” The warrior whispered to herself pridefully. 

 

Cassandra lent her hand out to Pascal and he immediately climbed into her hand. Cassandra placed the chameleon onto her shoulder before climbing back onto Fidella. Just as she was about to pull herself up, a shooting pain shot through her abdomen and she pulled back with a hiss. Pasca, Fidella, and even Owl gave her concerned nudges. 

 

She gave them a reassuring smile, one eye closed from the pain. "I'm fine guys," She responded, her face pain-filled before finally pulling herself up onto Fidella. "Let's go get our princess." She said confidently before giving a "yah!" and off they went. 

 

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Rapunzel didn't know how long it had been since the queen left her there. 5 minutes? 10? An hour? All she knew was that it had been a long time. Or it felt like it had been a long time. The wound to her head was starting to make her dizzy and weak so she shook her head to try and stay conscious. No. She couldn't be weak now of all times. She wouldn't let this minor wound consume her. If she passed out, it was over. She needed to stay awake.

 

It was then that she heard the door open again. Rapunzel tensed but who came into view wasn't Azriel or the queen. It was one of their guards, dressed in all black, just like the rest of them. Rapunzel guessed they were female considering everyone who worked here was female other than Azriel. But she wasn't gonna make any assumptions. Their body type made it seem like they could be male or female. The guard of her thoughts suddenly opened the door to her cell. "Let's go," They said harshly, their voice equally high as it was low. Again, it made it hard to guess their gender.

 

Rapunzel slowly stood up and hesitated, wincing in the process. Damn, the queen really did a number on her. "Go where exactly?" 

 

The guard didn't respond but merely shoved the handle of the sword they were carrying into Rapunzel's stomach. Rapunzel immediately fell to the floor with a yelp of pain and a inhale of breath, gripping her stomach tightly. The guard didn't let her stay there, they hauled her up roughly by her arm. They then pointed the sword at Rapunzel's chest. "Try anything and I'll kill you." They narrowed their eyes. “Now, move.”

 

Rapunzel glared at them but she otherwise did what they said. She needed to stay alive and she couldn’t do that if she tested the patience of everyone who worked for Azriel and the queen, no matter how much she wanted too. The princess was led through a series of halls; the repetitive, recurring rooms made Rapunzel feel dizzy and lost. Every room looked the same, with the same door, the same walls. If Rapunzel was being honest, this was a really good tactic to keep prisoners from escaping.

 

She made sure to study the area as best as she could though, just like Cassandra had taught her. It wasn't long before she was suddenly pushed into a generally large room. Azriel and the queen sat on their thrones, both staring down at her with intensity, their eyes quite literally glowing with evil intent and satisfaction. She couldn't help but gulp and cower ever so slightly. They were highly intimidating and she was weaponless. 

 

"Well, well, well," Azriel started, slowly standing up. "You know, you and your guard dog have given me some serious problems." Rapunzel didn't respond but she narrowed her eyes. "Originally, I was just gonna kill you." He said absentmindedly before turning to Rapunzel with a smirk. "Just like I killed your lover."

 

Rapunzel didn't even let the statement bother her. He was just trying to get under her skin so that he could get his shadows to possess her again. She stayed silent. Azriel's smirk fell upon realizing that his jab didn't work. "But my love here," He said, referring to the buff warrior who was staring at Rapunzel with the most venomous intensity she had ever seen before. "Decided you need an even worse punishment." 

 

Despite her instincts telling her to shut up and that she probably didn't want to know, Rapunzel still couldn't help but be curious. "..

..What type of 'punishment?'" Usually, that word would get her excited, as horrible as that sounded. But she knew that this type of 'punishment' was nothing compared to the ones Cassandra gave her. This punishment was bad and will most likely lead to her demise, or worse, a life full of misery and slavery. 

 

Ariel's face slowly morphed into an evil grimace. Rapunzel shivered in disgust at his black teeth. "The life of a sex slave, of course!" He said a little too ‘enthusiastically’. Rapunzel tensed. Ah, so she was right. A life full of misery and slavery indeed. "We have a buyer for you set up already. He paid a hefty fine for you." Azriel said, holding up a decent-sized bag of coins that he had on his person. Then he looked towards one of his guards and nodded. Rapunzel didn't know what that meant but she didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, from behind, a rope gag was shoved over her mouth and ropes were tightly wrapped around her. 

 

Rapunzel struggled as the guard dragged her somewhere. But no matter what she did; whether it be kicking, punching, screaming… they had a never-ending grip that didn’t even loosen in the slightest. They were so strong. Azriel smirked. "You're gonna wait here until he arrives," Azriel said before nodding to his guard again. 

 

Rapunzel was dragged away before being thrown into another dirty cell; this time bounded. Then they left. Rapunzel let out a small whimper as she tried to get free. She was about to give up when she realized that the door was still open; although barely. It must not have latched when they left. 

Rapunzel realized that she couldn’t wait for Cassandra to save her anymore, she was gonna need to save herself. Or at least, get to a safer place so that she wasn’t at risk of getting dragged somewhere else; away from Azriel's base. If she did, Cassandra would never be able to find her. Well, knowing Cassandra, she'd figure it out eventually because when it came to her, nothing was gonna stop Cassandra from finding her but it would already be too late by then.

 

Rapunzel didn’t how long it would be before ‘he’ arrived so there was no time to waste. The princess used the wall to get to her feet. She tried to pull her hands out of the rope bindings but realized that it was too tight. Then she remembered something that Eugene had taught her. 

 

Rapunzel rubbed the rope against the wall as hard as she could. She could feel the rope starting to cut and before she knew it, she was free. “I can’t believe that worked,” She said in awe before quickly unbounding her legs. She rubbed her sore wrists before getting back onto her feet. “I need to remember to thank Eugene the next time I see him.” Rapunzel paused before deadpanning. “Great, now I’m talking to myself.” She exhaled before starting to make her way towards the door. She winced, her midsection and the rest of her body bruised and hurting like hell. Rapunzel got to the door and slowly opened it, peeking out to make sure that there were no guards.

 

For some reason, there wasn’t any. There was no one. The halls were empty. That confused Rapunzel considering guards had been constantly watching her since she got there. She guessed that this could be a trap, actually, it most likely was, but she was willing to take that risk; anything was better than staying here and waiting for her demise. Rapunzel took a deep breath before her eyes grew determined. “Okay, let’s do this.” She said to herself, trying to remain confident and determined, but there was still doubt in her voice. With that, she exited the room as quickly as she could.

 

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Cassandra had followed the trail of paper for god knows how long. How far was this place? And how did Rapunzel have so much damn paper on her? Finally though, after what seemed like a lifetime of searching, the trail stopped. Cassandra stopped with it, still on Fidella, before looking up and seeing… was that a... prison? She studied the place and realized that it was indeed a prison; one that kept, or used to keep, the most dangerous criminals. It was clearly abandoned now, either that, or Azriel claimed the place as his own and killed the people who used to stay there; or maybe even recruited them. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a prison for females. She had to hand it to him, what a super-villainous place to pick as a base. “I think we just found our princess,” Cassandra mumbled. The place even gave her the creeps. She hoped that Rapunzel was okay, the poor girl must be so scared. 

 

Cassandra then chuckled to herself. Rapunzel? Scared? Yeah, that didn't describe the princess, she was the bravest person Cassandra had ever met. She probably was giving Azriel and his followers a run for their money.

 

She slowly got off of Fidella, being extra careful of her wounds. She needed to stay in the best shape that she could. So until she rescued the princess, she was gonna take it easy, so that she was in good enough shape to fight if it came down to it… which it most likely would. Fidella tried to follow her but Cassandra stopped her. “Sorry girl, you’re going to need to stay here.” She said, gently petting the horse’s face. Fidella gave her a neigh of frustration. “I know, I know. But being stealthy with a horse isn’t gonna work.” She smiled as she nuzzled her. “We’re gonna need you though, so wait for my signal.” The horse nodded. 

 

With that, Cassandra gave her one last smile before she continued walking toward the prison; which was still a small distance away. The warrior walked for a bit until she was almost directly in front of the place; but still a distance away so she wouldn’t be spotted. Cassandra took a good look at the place. Far away, it was already creepy enough. But up close… it was by far the creepiest place Cassandra had ever been to… so much so, she couldn’t stop an involuntary shiver from spreading throughout her body. Pascal let out a squeak of fear and placed his tiny claws over his eyes before hiding in her hair. 

 

“It’s alright Pascal,” Cassandra said softly, not taking her eyes off the prison. “Hopefully, this won’t take long.” Cassandra couldn’t help the way her heart squeezed in fear. Not fear of the prison, fear of what she might find once she entered it. What if - No. The warrior shook her head to get rid of those types of thoughts. Rapunzel was fine. Her wife may not be the strongest when it came to combat but she was smart. She did leave her wedding ring and a trail leading right to her.

 

Cassandra noticed guards, big buff guards, standing watch by the entrance. The warrior hid behind a boulder to avoid being spotted. “Well, we can’t just walk through the front door,” Cassandra mumbled. Honestly, why did she think that she could just waltz right in there, grab Rapunzel, and leave? She mentally cursed herself for not having a plan. All she cared about in the moment was finding the princess but now that she actually found her… she realized she had no idea what to do. Damn her impulsive, fight now, think later over-protective thinking. 

 

Pascal then tugged on her hair and pointed at something. Cassandra followed his gaze and nearing the side of the prison, there was what seemed to be a hole, a small one, leading somewhere. She guessed it led to the sewers. “That’s right.” Cassandra thought to herself. Any big building; whether it be a castle or a prison, always had an underground sewer system that led to the inside that ran all throughout the place. How could she have forgotten that? 

 

“Good job bud,” Casandra whispered before she started to make her way towards it. It was quite easy to pass the guards, a little too easy…. But she didn’t focus on that as she jumped down into the sewer. 

 

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Rapunzel had probably been all around... wherever she was. Or at least, that’s what she thought before she landed herself back in front of the same door that she started at for the 5th time. Rapunzel had been practically running, or speed walking, the whole time so she placed her hands on her knees and wheezed, trying to catch her breath. Her head had stopped bleeding for the most part but it still hurt like hell; dried blood ran down her face and even down her neck. Rapunzel knew that it was still bleeding cause she could still feel the wetness behind her head. But it wasn’t continuously bleeding anymore so that was something. But what did scare her was the fact that her insides hurt like hell and it was getting increasingly harder to breathe as each moment ticked by. The more she moved, the harder it became to breathe. 

 

 “Dammit,” She mumbled. “It’s like the rooms are repeating.” She needed to try a different approach. Something suddenly came to mind. Every building had an underground sewer, right? Or at least, that’s what Cassandra had told her. Rapunzel just needed to find it. The princess searched around, looking for anything that appeared out of the ordinary until she saw something on the ground that seemed to pop out. It was painted so it could barely be seen but Rapunzel knew what it was; she could see the outline of it. She tried to lift the seal but she couldn’t get her fingers underneath it. By doing so, it caused a shooting pain to spread throughout her body. She placed her arms around her stomach with his a hiss.

 

She let out a frustrated spray of curse words under her breath before she saw a crowbar, ironically sitting not too far away. Again, this all seemed a bit… fishy. But she could care less at the moment. She grabbed the crowbar and was able to get it under the seal. She pushed down on it and the seal immediately lifted. Again, a shooting pain shot through her but she ignored it this time. “Yes!” She whispered loudly to herself. She was about to just leave the crowbar there but then she realized that she didn’t have a weapon so she decided to keep it with her. Why would she leave it there anyway? That would be stupid. With that, she jumped down into the hole and replaced the seal to not raise any suspicion. The sewer was dark, cold, and smelly, but Rapunzel didn’t care as she pushed on. Now to find a way out of here… 

 

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Cassandra had been running around the sewer, trying to find a way inside the prison but it was no use. It was like the walls were repeating, that or the similar colored walls were turning her around; further getting her lost. “Ugh, this is useless!” She yelled in frustration after 35 minutes of endless searching. Cassandra slid down one of the walls and hugged her knees close to her body. “Why am I even trying? Rena was right, there’s no way that…” She swallowed, shaking her head, unable to say it. “...I’m so sorry, Raps,” The warrior said to herself, tears finally coming to her eyes. But this time, she didn't push them away and let them fall. “...I let you down.” She buried her face into her knees. 

 

She heard Pascal squeal and felt him shaking her arm to try and get her to get back up. “There’s no point, Pascal,” The warrior responded solemnly, her voice pained, almost numb. “She’s gone.” Something must’ve changed in Pascal cause suddenly, Cassandra heard an anger-filled squeak and before she knew it, she had two tiny claws gripping her cheeks. Pascal narrowed his eyes and squeaked angrily and somehow, Cassandra knew what he was saying. “Of course, I’m giving up,” She said through clenched teeth. “There’s no point to keep fighting. Maybe we would’ve had a chance if we got here sooner but Azriel wanted Rapunzel dead. He wouldn’t have hesitated to…. get it done as quickly as possible… He spent almost a year chasing us!” 

 

Pascal rolled his tiny eyes and let go of her face. He then disappeared into her pocket before reappearing with Rapunzel’s ring. Pascal opened Cassnadra’s clenched hand and put the ring in it before gently closing her hand around it. He then pushed the hand over her heart. Pascal gave her a saddened squeak and looked at her expectantly. Cassandra slowly opened her hand to look at the ring. Her eyes went from sorrow-filled to determined again real quick. “You’re right pal,” She responded, slowly starting to get up. “We can’t give up on her. Not yet.” It was then the warrior suddenly heard the clacking of feet on the ground. Shit, they found her. 

 

Cassandra unleashed her sword and slowly crept toward the corner. She jumped out, sword in hand, but what she saw stopped her in her tracks. 

 

------------------------------------------------

 

The princess had been running for what felt like ages and she still wasn’t any closer to finding a way out. Lack of food and water, plus her injuries, caused her to stumble ever so slightly. She had to stop to take a couple of deep breaths before she was off again. She probably had run for another ten minutes before she heard… something. Curiosity got the best of her and she followed the sound. She came to a corner, it was just around it… She just knew it, she could feel it… 

 

But then someone jumped out at her; only 35 feet away. Rapunzel stopped, her eyes wide. 

 

-------------------------------------------------------

 

Neither could believe what they were seeing. So much so, they just stared at each other for a couple seconds, blinking in mind-blowing awe and surprise before one of them finally jumped into action; that one being Rapunzel of course. “Cassandra!” The princess cried and ran towards her and at that second, the warrior rushed forward too, dropping her sword in the process, until finally, finally, they were back in each other’s arms. Rapunzel jumped into the warrior's arms and Cassandra spun her despite her abdomen disagreeing with the action. She didn't care - Rapunzel was finally back in her arms and she was alive.

 

“You’re alive!” Both cried at the same time when they made contact with each other. They hugged tightly for a second before they pulled away to look at each other in the eye. They both started asking each other probably a thousand questions at the same time before hugging again, their questions going unanswered, tears clearly in both of her eyes. But neither let them fall.

 

“I can’t believe that you’re alive!” Rapunzel cried as she hugged Cassandra tightly for the third time. 

 

“You neither!” Cassandra said with a wide smile as she drug her hand into Rapunzel’s messy hair. It was then that a small squeak could be heard and Rapunzel pulled back with a smile.

 

“Pascal!” She yelled, taking the chameleon gently in her hands. The little chameleon squeaked a bunch, seemingly just as happy as the couple and he nuzzled her cheek with his head. Rapunzel giggled. “I missed you too buddy!” 

 

Rapunzel placed the chameleon onto her shoulder where he belonged as he nuzzled himself into her hair. Cassandra couldn’t help herself and ended up pulling her into another tight, almost bone-crushing, hug; her eyes squeezed shut. Rapunzel returned the tight hug, her eyes also squeezed tightly shut. Cassandra pulled back and smiled at her, her hands on her shoulders. But that smile fell and she placed a hand on her cheek, rubbing lovingly, due to her entire face pretty much covered in dried blood. She didn’t notice it when she first saw the princess, she was just too happy at that moment to notice her condition. Nor did she notice Rapunzel’s change in weight again, and her torn clothes, her bruised body…

 

“Oh, what did that bastard do to you?” Cassandra asked, her voice full of concern as she rubbed her cheek lovingly with her thumb. The princess leaned into her touch; the touch that some part of her thought that she would never get to feel again.

 

But then she shot back. “Me?! He stabbed you in the gut! How are you even alive, let alone standing?!” Her voice wasn’t full of anger but rather happy amusement, tease, and concern.

 

Cassandra smiled and nuzzled her nose with her own. “I told you that nothing could ever keep me away from you. Not even death itself.” 

 

Rapunzel smiled and pressed her forehead against Cassandra’s. “Idiot,” Rapunzel said softly but it held no bite. But then she pulled back, her eyes shifting into one of pain. “I told you not to fight him!” She responded, her voice desperate. “But did you listen? Noooo, of course not, why would you?” That last sentence was said bitterly. Cassandra couldn’t blame her.

 

Cassandra merely smiled at her and pulled her forward to press a soft, lasting kiss to her forehead. “I know,” She responded softly. “I got ahead of myself.” 

 

“No kidding,” Rapunzel said with a roll of her eyes. “Like this hasn’t happened before. Multiple times before.” Instead of continuing with the bitter attitude because she was just happy that she was alive, Rapunzel asked: “Haven’t you learned by now not to jump head first into dangerous situations?” She teased; using the same question that Cassandra had asked her probably a hundred times over the years.

 

“Look who’s talking,” Cassandra teased. But then she pulled back. “Hold on - how are you alive??” 

 

Rapunzel gave her an absent-minded smile. “Oh, you know, the usual,” She joked, responding casually like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Oh! Remember that overly large woman, the queen, from the people who kidnapped Nova?”

 

“...Yeah?” Cassandra responded hesitantly. 

 

“Well, it turns out that she’s alive! And dating Azriel,”

 

“Wait, hold on, she’s dating Azriel? So he does have a heart.” Cassandra joked. 

 

“Pfft, I’m pretty sure they both share one heart, and it’s a small one.” Cassandra couldn’t help but laugh at her joke which caused a grin to form on Rapunzel's face. “Anywaaaay, the lady convinced Azriel not to kill me and to instead give me an ‘even worst punishment’.” She said with air quotes. “They ‘offered’ to sell me into sex slavery; like it was an even better fate than death.” She continued. “And when I refused, they put me in a cell without food or water for a couple of days ... or however long it’s been. Then after that, the queen tried to ‘reason’ with me by basically beating the crap outta me. Then, I was dragged to Azriel and the queen and they told me that they already ‘sold’ me and that I was gonna wait there until he ‘picked me up’. They tied me up and put me in a cell but left the door slightly open, strangely enough, so I took the opportunity to escape." She tapped her chin and gave Cassandra a smile. "Did I cover everything?" 

 

Cassandra's eyes were wide. "I don't know, did you??" She asked, afraid of the answer. 

 

Rapunzel went into thought before saying, again with a casual demeanor, "Oh! I forgot to mention that the queen tried to rape me.” Rapunzel waved at her nonchalantly. The warrior blinked once, twice…. Cassandra couldn’t believe how calm her voice sounded, like this was completely normal. Well, to be fair, in their case, it kinda was. But that was…  a lot. 

 

“Why are you so calm about this??” The warrior asked, her voice slightly fearful and high due to everything that she was just told. God, the pain this poor girl must have went through within the last couple of days… She really couldn't catch a break. “You’re acting like what happened is the most normal thing in the world and not very, very serious and highly concerning!" 

 

Rapunzel merely gave her a lopsided, slightly sorrowful smile. “This is 'normal' for me. For us,” She responded. “This wouldn’t be the first time I was almost sold into slavery. Or almost raped…. Or raped in general.” Wow, when Rapunzel said it out loud, it did sound pretty bad and seriously messed up. If only the author didn't love to put them through torment for views and to fill the empty void in her heart because she's single and this is the best she has for right now. Oh and also for the everlasting gae. 

 

But Cassandra’s attention wasn’t on her; her eyes were fearful and worried as she stated in a daze directly in front of them. Rapunzel knew exactly where her thoughts were going. “Hey, Cass,” The princess said softly, grasping her cheeks with her hands. Her fearful eyes snapped back to hers. “Nothing happened,” Rapunzel said softly, knowing that that’s where most of where Cassndra’s fears lay. “She left before she could do anything and I escaped before anything could happen after that.” The response seemed to calm Cassandra ever so slightly but she could tell that she was still highly on edge. Rapunzel could see the build of anger starting to burn behind her eyes. 

 

But then her eyes went to one of guilt. “God, Rapunzel, I-” 

 

But Rapunzel cut her off, already knowing what she was gonna say, as she raised her hand to stop her. “Don’t." 

 

“But-”

 

“No Cass, there’s no way that you could’ve gotten here sooner. You were barely alive the last time that I saw you. I told you, I don't need you to be my protector, I can hold my own pretty well.” She smiled and placed her hand on her cheek. “The important thing is: You’re here - you’re okay - I’m okay - and we’re together again.” Her smile fell as she looked downward. “They told me that you were dead,” She said softly before looking back up to remeet eyes. “But I didn’t believe them, I couldn’t believe them. I knew that you were alive. I don’t know how but I could just feel it.”

 

Cassandra gave her a sad smile as she kissed her forehead. “Yeah, me too,” She said softly.

 

“But there were still doubts… I trusted that you wouldn’t lie to me, that if you didn’t think that you could keep a promise, you wouldn’t make it. But… you were barely alive when I was dragged away from you… For a moment, I really thought…” Her voice became more desperate by the minute.

 

Cassandra hooked her finger under her chin and slowly raised her head. Then she did what she’s been dying to do ever since they got separated: she kissed her. Rapunzel was taken off guard at first but her eyes slowly drifted shut before she returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck. Cassandra eventually pulled back but not away, their lips barely an inch away, as they panted softly. “Me too,” Cassandra said. “For a moment, I almost gave up.” Then she smiled and rubbed under Pascal’s chin, who was still placed upon Rapunzel’s shoulder. “But Pascal reminded me what I was fighting for. Who I was fighting for.” The chameleon squeaked, leaning into Cassandra’s hand. 

 

“Sounds about right,” Rapunzel giggled, nuzzling the little chameleon. Pascal rubbed against her face. “Now, let’s get out of here, shall we?” Rapunzel asked with a smile, lending her hand to the warrior. Cassandra smiled and immediately took it, softly squeezing it.

 

“Let’s,” She responded before she realized something. “But how? This place feels like it’s repeating.” 

 

“Yeah, it’s not much better up there either. But I marked the walls with scratches from this crowbar,” Rapunzel said, signaling to the crowbar that was placed upon her back like a sword. “It leads to the opening that brought me down here. I guess we can go back up and figure a way out from there." 

 

Cassandra gave her a teasing smile. “Look at you, thinking of everything.” She said, looking the princess up and down. “And dropping your ring so that it reflects off the sun for me to find? And the trail of papers? Genius.” She gave her a prideful smile, tilting her head slightly. “Gotta say Raps, I’m impressed.”

 

Rapunzel giggled. “I told you that I could hold my own,” She responded. “But I was seriously hoping you would find them so that I wouldn’t have to escape this place alone. That is, if you were alive…” She trailed off, looking down again. Cassandra was about to respond but Rapunzel shot her head back up and smiled at her with one of her true smiles. “Besides, I learned from the best.” 

 

Cassandra gave her a teasing snort. “I’m surprised you were actually listening,” She responded. “I taught you that like the first couple of months that you were in Corona. And you were very much distracted like you always would be back then.” She paused. “Although, much hasn’t changed…” She thought to herself, trying to hold back a snicker.

 

“I listened more than you think, Cass,” The princess responded with a smile. “I remember everything that you have taught me throughout the years. Whether it be recent or back when we first started to become friends, I didn’t miss a single lesson. Even if it seemed like I wasn't paying attention. You’re the reason why I was able to even be a good princess. I always applied your ‘lessons’ to everything I did.” 

 

Cassandra smiled and nuzzled her, making her laugh. “Well, glad you were paying attention.”

 

Rapunzel giggled. “You did say that those lessons could end up saving my life one day.”

 

“You really were listening,” She teased. 

 

Rapunzel merely smiled. “Of course I was. Everything that you said was important to me.”

 

Cassandra raised her eyebrow and gave her another teasing smile. “‘Said’? 'Was'?” She asked. “So the stuff I say to you now isn't important?”

 

Rapunzel gently shoved her with a huff, causing Cassandra to laugh. “You know what I mean,” She responded. But if she was being honest, she couldn’t be happier to hear Cassandra’s teasing again. She missed it. A lot. "I missed you,” Rapunzel said suddenly, pressing her forehead against Cassandra’s.

 

Cassandra smiled and closed her eyes for a second before reopening them. “I missed you too. Now come on, let's get out of here." She shivered before saying, "This place is highly unsettling." Cassandra then grabbed her hand again but when Rapunzel took a step, she nearly fell if not for the warrior quickly catching her. "Woah, Raps, are you okay?" She asked worriedly. 

 

Rapunzel just gave her a pained smile. The adrenaline from before had worn off now that she had finally reunited with Cassandra again. All of her injuries were starting to become very apparent and were finally coming back to bite her in the ass. She didn't know how bad her injuries were, for all she knew, she could have something internally going on. All she knew was that everything hurt more than she could ever possibly imagine. But they didn't have time to focus on that. "I will be once we get out of here," She responded. Cassandra only gave her an unsure, concerned look. Rapunzel sighed. "Really Cass, I'm okay." She paused. "...For the most part. But we can focus on injuries later, right now we need to get out of here. And fast." 

 

Realizing she was right, Cassandra hesitantly nodded but she still kept her arms around Rapunzel. "Can you walk?" 

 

Rapunzel only gave her another smile. "I should be asking you the same thing," She teased. "If you can walk after getting a literal shadow sword shoved into your gut, I'm pretty sure I can manage." 

 

"Yeah, but we don't know the extent of your injuries…" 

 

Rapunzel gave her a serious, almost desperate expression. "I just wanna leave this place," Rapunzel responded, her voice pained, but not because of the physical pain. "Please." 

 

Cassandra stared into her eyes for a second before sighing and nodding. But she still kept her arms around the princess, still seemingly hesitating and didn't move. Rapunzel could hardly blame her, just a second ago they thought that each other was dead. It wasn't surprising that the warrior was more protective than usual. If Rapunzel was being honest, she was too. She had a feeling that they both were going to be for a long time. "Cass, sweetheart," She said softly before grasping her cheeks with both of her hands like before. "I'm okay." 

 

Cassandra seemed to search her eyes before letting out a sigh and finally, reluctantly, let her go. Rapunzel smiled and slipped her hand in between them, giving the warrior a gentle squeeze of comfort. Cassandra gave her a hesitant smile and squeezed back. With that, they followed the trail back to the surface. 

 

------------------------------------

 

The walk back was longer than Rapunzel remembered. Although, she was in a frenzy when she first jumped down here. But finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, they reached their destination. 

 

"I'll go first," Cassandra said and before Rapunzel could argue, because she was going too, the warrior was quicker and had already lifted the seal. She searched the area and thankfully, there was no one around. She climbed up before reaching her hand out to the princess. Rapunzel immediately took it and the warrior pulled her up. 

 

They shared a quick smile before they looked around the area which didn't seem to be much different from the sewers. The only difference was that it was lighter and less… smelly. "Any idea on how to get out of here?" The warrior asked. 

 

Rapunzel slowly shook her head. "I've been down all these halls. Or at least, I think I have. But they just seemed to lead me back to where I started, no matter which way I walked.”

 

"Well, Azriel's power is illusion. He probably placed some kind of spell on the place to keep you from escaping. Have you tried the doors?”

 

Rapunzel shrugged. “Some of them,” She responded. “But they mostly lead to nowhere or other cells. Or they were locked.” 

 

“Well then, we should start there.” Considering it was the only plan they had, Rapunzel nodded.

 

But then Rapunzel suddenly stopped. “Wait a second,” She said, making Cassandra turn around and give her a confused look. But then Rapunzel socked her in the arm hard: a pretty damn good one too.

 

“Ow- Hey!” The warrior pulled back. “What was that for??” The warrior asked, rubbing her sore arm.

 

“For saying ‘what’s the worse that can happen’ than calling me ‘dramatic’,” Rapunzel responded with a glare. “And then dismissing my concerns. And for running head-first into a fight with a demon," She punched her a second time. "And that's for dying."

 

“But I didn’t-”

 

Rapunzel suddenly grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her down to meet her lips, surprising Cassandra and catching her off guard. Before Cass could respond, the princess pulled back, but not completely away as her breath fanned over the warrior's lips. "And that's for coming back to me." She whispered. Cassandra's eyes softened as she nuzzled the princess

 

Rapunzel closed her eyes for a second and smiled before reopening them. "Come on," She said softly, lending her hand out. Cassandra smiled and happily grabbed it. 

 

-------------------------------------

 

Cassandra and Rapunzel probably had opened nearly 100 doors but it got them nowhere. Cassandra eventually groaned out of frustration and slumped against one of the walls when another door ended up being a lost cause. “This is hopeless,” Cassandra mumbled. “We’re never gonna get out of here.”

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes at her usual pessimistic attitude. “We will eventually,” Rapunzel replied. “The thing that worries me is the fact that we haven’t heard from or seen Azriel or the queen since about two hours ago when they left me in the cell. We’ve also seen no guards. They’re bound to know that I’m gone by now. Plus, my 'buyer', if there ever was one, was supposed to be here 'soon'.” She said with a roll of her eyes and air quotes. 

 

“They are probably waiting for us to fall for whatever trap they have planned for us…" Cass mumbled. But Rapunzel suddenly didn’t seem to be listening. She seemed distracted… She was looking around.. She looked like she was listening for…. something. “Raps?”

 

Rapunzel eventually turned to her after a minute of silence. “Cass, do you hear that?”

 

Cassandra gave her a confused expression. “Hear… what?” Rapunzel didn’t respond as she grabbed Cassandra’s arm and started to drag her in a certain direction. “Raps, what’s going on??” 

 

Rapunzel didn’t respond. Cass stayed silent as she was dragged for a minute or two before suddenly coming to a halt. The warrior was about to ask her again what the hell was going on but only for Rapunzel to spin around on her again. “Do you hear it now?” The princess asked. Cassandra listened for a second before, lone behold, she heard distant yelling from multiple different voices, or so it sounded like. She thought she heard the word ‘help’ but she wasn’t too sure.

 

“Yeah,” Cassandra nodded. But again, the princess wasn’t listening. She was already checking every room as well as looking through some of the small windows placed above the doors. She eventually spotted a door that looked… different from the rest. While all the other doors they had seen in the building were painted a light peachy color, this door was painted red, and it had a bolt lock on it. 

 

“Cass, come take a look at this,” The princess said, signaling her over. 

 

Cassandra immediately followed before seeing what the princess found. “Blood red,” Cassandra deadpanned. “Why does it always have to be blood red?” The warrior mumbled sarcastically. Rapunzel didn’t consider her, or at least she didn't respond, as she stood on her tippy toes to reach the unusually high window. The window was fogged, strange enough, so Rapunzel wiped it with her sleeve before gasping at what she saw. 

 

“What is it?” Cassandra asked, slightly alarmed. She walked over to the princess and peered into the window herself, although she didn’t need to stand on her tippy toes like the princess. Her eyes widened upon seeing what Rapunzel was seeing. “...People.” She responded in almost disbelief. There, on the other side of the window, were various types of women and even children, little girls. Most of them were chained to the walls, others were too weak to even move from the look of it. Some even looked like they were close to death. 

 

But all of them looked like crap; dirt and grime covered their bodies, their clothes were torn.. some of which almost to shreds. They were covered in bruises, scratches and dried blood: it basically covered their entire body and all of their features only consisted of pain, exhaustion, and numbness. They all looked like they had already given up. They all looked like they went through hell. They were all also skin and bones, their ribs very much noticeable; from lack of food and water, Rapunzel guessed. 

 

The place they were kept in wasn’t any better. There were scratches on the walls, and little white tally marks covered almost the entire wall. There were dried splotches of blood all over the place; on the wall, the floor, and somehow even the ceiling. Rapunzel’s heart tightened at seeing the heart wrenching scene. Cassandra wasn’t much different. “This is them,” Cassandra said suddenly, surprising Rapunzel.

 

“Who?” The princess asked. 

 

Cassandra turned towards her. “Before I left, Rena said that the village was built to keep women safe from Azriel. She said that they all lost someone by his hand and said that they were dead. This must be them.” 

 

“So he doesn’t just kill his victims but keeps them jailed in a prison cell?”

 

Cassandra frowned. “I’m pretty sure that's not the only thing Azriel has used them for.” She responded solemnly.

 

Rapunzel bit her inner cheek before responding in a very Rapunzel like way: “Those poor women and children,” She said, her voice low and shaking and full of genuine pain and compassion for these poor people. Her eyes suddenly turned determined. Cassandra hated that look. It meant that she was going to say - “We need to help them.” Cassandra internally groaned. Yep. That sounded about right. 

 

“Raps, we need to get out of here.”

 

Rapunzel gave her a serious, concerned expression. “We can’t just leave them here, Cassandra. That wouldn’t be right. I mean, look at them,” Rapunzel said, signaling to the run-down women and children. “They’re living in misery. If there’s something that we can do to save them, we should take it.” 

 

Cassandra looked through the window once more, her heart tightening at the sight of them again. Those women all had someone who cared for them, those children were missing their mothers... When Rapunzel was taken, it was probably one of the most scariest, stressful moments of her life. Cassandra couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to miss her for years, never knowing if she was truly alive or not; to the point where she just assumed that she was dead.

 

Rapunzel watched her expression change as she stared at the woman and children through the window. It went from stubbornness to sorrow, to hurt, to empathy, then to anger. Rapunzel knew the warrior and despite her wanting to protect Rapunzel and get them out of there, she had a good heart, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to just walk away and leave the poor women and children to live a life full of misery and pain; Until it killed them, no doubt, or until they'd end up killing… themselves. 

 

Her point was proven when Cassandra let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine,” She responded gruffly, making it seem like she was only doing it for Rapunzel, instead of just doing it because she had a soft side; or rather, a soft heart. Typical Cass. “But then we’re getting out of here and never coming back.”

 

“Trust me, I don’t plan to,” The princess responded but she gave the warrior a soft smile in appreciation; who slightly returned it, only for it to change back to stoic; as she went back into her ‘tough’ and 'intimidating' mode. Rapunzel rolled her eyes before she stood on her tippy toes and gently knocked on the window. Most of the women jumped in alarm, others didn't even consider them nor react. No one got up, no one said anything, they all looked too weak to do anything. But one did.

 

“Hello?” They heard from the other side. It was a young voice, sounding like a little girl. The point was proven when a young face appeared in the window. She couldn’t have been any older than 13 or 14. She was in bad shape herself but not like the others. She must've been there a shorter amount of time.

 

Rapunzel gave the little girl a soft, sweet smile. “Hi,” She said softly, using her ‘motherly’ voice.

 

“Are you gonna get us out of here?” The girl quickly asked.

 

“We are,” Rapunzel responded. A small bit of hope appeared in the little girl's nearly dull eyes. “What’s your name?”

 

“I’m Juniper,” She responded. “You?” 

 

“I’m Rapunzel,” She responded then pointed to Cassandra. “And this is my wife, Cassandra.” The warrior gave a brief wave and an awkward smile. She would rather let the princess do the talking; she wasn’t good with people anyway. 

 

“Wait, Princess Rapunzel and Warrior Cassandra from Corona? The star-crossed travelers?” 

 

“Yep, that’s us,” Rapunzel replied, although she had never heard that one before. Guess there are still a lot of 'names' that people have called them that they still don't know about. Juniper turned to her ‘cell-mates’, her smile large.

 

“Guys, it’s princess Rapunzel and  warrior Cassandra! They’re gonna get us out of here!” Some of her cell-mates perked up; probably hearing of their many adventures of saving people, while others barely moved or responded. 

 

“Yes, we’re gonna save you,” Cassandra finally spoke, taking a step forward. Her voice was soft, and less harsh while talking to the kid. Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile at her soft spot for children despite her always saying that she wasn’t good with kids (other than with Nova, of course). “But we need to know how many of you there are in there and who’s too injured to travel and who isn’t.” 

 

Juniper nodded. “There are 25 women and 10 children here. At least 5 women here have serious injuries and are barely hanging on. The rest of us aren’t much better but we can walk.” Juniper responded rather quickly. Poor thing must've been waiting for someone to rescue them for so long… Cassandra nodded. 

 

Then she placed a hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder, signaling her to follow her for a second. “Give us a second, Juniper.” The little girl nodded eagerly. Cassandra led Rapunzel some ways away from the door, turning her back to it so that Juniper couldn’t see or hear what they were gonna talk about. 

 

“What is it, Cass?” Rapunzel asked, confused.

 

Cassandra hesitated. She knew Rapunzel wouldn't agree so she just outright said it. “Raps, we can’t save all of them.”

 

“What? Why not?” The princess asked. Cassandra could hear the rising anger and offense in her voice, just as she expected.

 

“Because you heard her,” She started. “There are some women in there that can’t even walk, let alone travel. They would just slow us down and if we want to escape with our lives….” She trailed off.

 

Instead of arguing, Rapunzel gave her a serious expression. “Cassandra, think about their families,” Rapunzel started, basically reading her mind from her earlier thoughts. “Think about how scared they must be, how broken they must feel, thinking that their loved one has been dead all this time. You know how that feels.” Rapunzel said, using tactics that she knew would get the warrior. Ugh, damn her.

 

“Think about if we never found each other again,” She continued. “And you thought that I was dead for good. If someone came and claimed that they were gonna save me, and everyone else with me, but they left me there because I was too injured to travel... And then you see everyone being reunited with their loved ones while I was nowhere to be found because I was left to die due to me being too injured to escape; according to my ‘rescuers’. You’d be heartbroken, and angry, and I would be too if it was the other way around. We’re their only hope, the only thing that they’re counting on right now, and you want to leave some of them behind? There are enough people in there to help us carry out the ones who are horribly injured.” 

 

Cassandra was about to argue back but Rapunzel's harsh tone and angry eyes suddenly turned to one of softness and understanding. “I know that you’re scared that it could end up costing us our lives,” She said softly. “But if we leave them here, if we abandon them… how are we any better than Gothel? Or Zhan Tiri? Or Azriel? They only ever thought of themselves and didn't, don’t, value the life of anyone,” Cassandra looked away and Rapunzel followed her eye contact. “But that’s not who we are.” The warrior snapped her eyes back up to meet hers. “We do not abandon people in need, especially if they are unable to save themselves. And we do not leave anyone behind, no matter what that circumstance is. Everyone gets out or no one gets out." Her voice was firm but also leveled and soft. 

 

Cassandra held her eye contact for a second or two as Rapunzel’s determined, stubborn, begging eyes stared into her soul. Cassandra eventually sighed and just like that, Rapunzel knew she had her. “If we die, I’m blaming you.” 

 

Rapunzel’s serious, angered expression almost immediately disappeared and she smiled at the warrior. “We’re not gonna die,” She responded. “If you can survive getting stabbed in the gut, and I can survive being thrown into a wall a hundred times, I’m pretty sure we’ll be fine.”

 

“I sure hope that you’re right,” The warrior mumbled.

 

Rapunzel gave her another brilliant smile. “We’ll make it out of here. We always do.” She said confidently. Cassandra only merely nodded and resisted the urge to remind her that they have been having way too many close calls lately. Her expression was hesitant, unsure, and scared. Rapunzel sighed, “Come on,” She said softly and grabbed her hand and started to pull her back to the door. She could still feel the hesitance in Cassandra by the way that she slightly dragged her feet.

 

“Juniper?” Rapunzel asked and the little girl's face immediately appeared.

 

“I’m here,” Juniper responded. 

 

“I need you to do something for me, okay?” Juniper nodded. “I need you to see who’s okay enough to help carry the ones who cannot travel.” Juniper nodded again before she jumped away from the window. She vaguely heard Juniper ask the women a question but the only way that she could hear them was if the women were directly in front of the door like Juniper was a second ago. The sound cut off any farther away due to the density of the door. 

 

Juniper returned to the window after a minute or two. “There’s enough helping hands to get the seriously injured people out of here.” She responded. 

 

“Great!” Rapunzel responded enthusiastically. “Okay, now, I need you to tell me how we are supposed to get you out of there. Do you know where the key is to this lock?” Rapunzel asked, signaling to the chains wrapping around the door. “Or maybe you have a lockpick by any chance?” She asked hopefully, even though she knew that most likely, they didn’t. And how would she even get it anyway? There were no cracks for Juniper to slide it to her.

 

Just as she expected, Juniper slowly shook her head. “We don’t,” She responded. “You wouldn’t be able to pick it anyway. It’s made with ‘shadow magic’.”

 

“Of course it is,” Cassandra mumbled sarcastically. The warrior walked forward. “Let me guess, the only key that will work for this… Azriel has?” Juniper nodded. 

 

“Well, then that’s where we’re going.” The princess declared suddenly. 

 

“What?” Cassandra snapped her head towards Rapunzel, asking in near disbelief. What the hell was she thinking? Rapunzel ignored her. 

 

“Do you know where we can find him? These halls are confusing.”

 

Juniper nodded again. “If you keep going forward, you’ll see a black door. It’s hard to miss because it’s hidden but it’s the only way out of these illusionary halls. They've traveled me between the two areas loads of times.” 

 

Rapunzel nodded. “Alright,” She responded. Cassandra gave her a slight glare with narrowed eyes when Rapunzel briefly met her eye contact. Rapunzel quickly looked away. How dare she ignore her and make a big decision like this before consulting her.

 

“We’ll save you,” Rapunzel quickly said. But then she turned her head towards Cassandra, meeting her eyes again. She narrowed her eyes. “I promise.” She added in challenge, knowing that now, there was nothing that Cassandra could say or do to change this around. 

 

Cass nearly scoffed at the audacity but merely just glared at her, her eyes narrowing even more. Rapunzel held her eye contact in challenge, her eyes also narrowed, before she finally broke it when the look Cass was giving her became too much. Whatever, she'd deal with the consequences later. If there was a later, that is…  

 

“Really?” Juniper asked, her little voice hope-filled. Rapunzel saw some hope, the only other emotion she had seen other than sadness, numbness, and misery return to the eyes and faces of Juniper and some of the other women behind her. 

 

Rapunzel held Cassandra’s eye contact again. “Yes,” She responded, narrowing her eyes back at the warrior. “We will.” 

 

Rapunzel finally looked away after they basically had a battle in their minds so that she could look back at Juniper, who was wearing the biggest grin she had ever seen. “We’re gonna get out of here!” She shouted happily. Whether she was talking to herself or the others, Rapunzel didn’t know. 

 

Rapunzel smiled and continued to avoid the warrior's eyes which she knew were still focused on her. The princess was about to turn to leave; knowing that Cassandra was gonna follow nonetheless. She then turned to Juniper and fixed her with one final smile. “We’ll be back, I promise.” Juniper merely nodded eagerly and off Rapunzel went. Cassandra watched her for a second before jogging to catch up to her. She then stopped directly in front of her, forcing the princess to halt. 

 

“What the hell, Rapunzel?” Cassandra asked, her teeth clenched. “Saving them is one thing,” She started. “But going towards Azriel? We should be running in the opposite direction! How could you promise them something like that??” 

 

Rapunzel merely glared at her. “Because I knew that you wouldn’t be able to stop me as long as I promised,” She responded, proving Casasndra’s earlier point. The warrior’s eyes only narrowed.

 

“You can’t just make big decisions like that before talking to me!”

 

Rapunzel looked her up and down before raising an eyebrow, her eyes slightly narrowed and bitter-filled. “Why?” She asked, her voice sarcastic and harsh. “Before we arrived in that village, all you did was make big decisions without talking to me. Whether I was in a bad place or not, you still made all the decisions on your own even if it had something to do with me. Like with Carina. I never wanted her around but you insisted and when I tried to voice my opinion, you yelled at me and shut me down." 

 

"This is different, Rapunzel," Cassandra said seriously, using her full name for a second time. "We are literally heading towards the danger. How does that sound smart to you??" 

 

"I never said that it was a smart decision," The princess responded through clenched teeth. "But it's the only decision that can be made so that we can save all of those people.”

 

"That's the thing," Cassandra responded harshly. "Why is it our job to put our lives at risk to help save random people who we’ve never even met before?"

 

"Because we're the only ones who can," The princess said, her voice on edge. "And the only ones who are willing too." 

 

"You mean you're the only one who's willing too?" Cassandra responded bitterly, maybe a little too harsh. 

 

Rapunzel merely rolled her eyes and started to walk away. "Follow me, don't follow me. I'm going to save those people whether you're coming or not." 

 

But again, the warrior ran to stop in front of her. "You need to stop trying to be a hero all the time! You promised me that you wouldn't run toward dange-" 

 

"No, what I promised was that when we were out on the road, I wouldn't run toward danger. But we are not out on the road yet and this is different. I'm not trying to be a hero, I'm just trying to do what's right and get those poor women and children out of here and get them safe and home to their families!" 

 

"That is literally the same thing!"

 

"Ugh, what is your problem?? Why are you so keen on just turning around and running away?? Usually you're all about being the 'hero' and running towards danger to save others. I mean, your title is literally 'warrior' and you worked hard for that title. But right now, you're not being much of one!" She yelled and the princess could tell that that one stung a lot more than Cassandra liked to admit. If the look on her face said anything about it. Rapunzel didn't mean to make it sound that bad so she tried to follow up with: "We've always risked our lives to save others, why is now any different??" 

 

"Because two hours ago, I thought that you were dead!" She yelled back, her voice cracking slightly. "And I'm not gonna risk losing you again! I already lost you to death once, I'm not letting it happen again cause this time, I don't can't bring you back!" 

 

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "You think that I don't know that?" She asked, her voice angry before she continued: "And since you oh so seemingly forgot," The princess started, clenching her teeth. "I thought that you were dead too and the last time that I saw you you were barely hanging on to life so this time, you can't use that excuse!" 

 

"It's not an exc-" 

 

"Yes, it is. You've been using it ever since I actually died! Just like you did a second ago! You're the one who has been chastising me to stop running but yet, you've been doing the same thing!" 

 

"I have no-"

 

"Really?" Rapunzel cut her off. "Okay, Cassandra, let's think back a bit. We left Corona to get away from Azriel, which was your idea and we have traveled halfway across the world to get away from him. When I told you that I wanted to change our path, you snapped at me and insisted that we stayed on the same path. And for what? To only end up at a place where we probably would have to leave again at some point? Ever since we started this whole journey, that's all you've been doing: running. And don't get me wrong, I have too. But now you want to leave these people behind to keep 'us' safe?" She did air quotes at the 'us' part. 

 

"When in reality, you're doing it to keep me safe. That's why we started this journey, that's why you keep pushing us further and further away from home, and that's why you've been so keen on 'avoiding all danger possible'." She used air quotes again. Before Cassandra could respond, which Rapunzel could tell was not gonna be a good response by her angered, offended expression, she continued quickly. She didn't want to fight with the warrior, especially after everything that had happened, but sometimes she could be so damn stubborn and aggravating. "And I get it, I do. But you need to stop trying to control everything - stop trying to control me - because if you don't, tensions will build, and it could end up destroying the relationship we worked so damn hard to build!" 

 

"I'm just trying to pro-"

 

Rapunzel cut her off again. She wouldn’t even let her get a word in because she knew that if she didn’t say all this fast and now, she wouldn’t be able to reach the warrior or say it all. "I have told you time and time again, I don't need you to protect me!" She cut her off again, this time her eyes turned more desperate than angry; her eyes pleading with her to understand that because no matter how many times Rapunzel tried to tell her, she didn't hear her.

 

 “Please, Cass,” The princess continued, her voice softer and more desperate. “I hate being treated like I’m weak, l-like I can’t handle my own and like I need someone to constantly watch over me. I don’t want to be treated like my opinion doesn’t matter, like you’re in charge all the time and whatever I say falls on deaf ears.” She paused. “And you know that. No matter how many times I tell you this, you don’t listen, and we keep repeating the same cycle over and over again. You need to trust in me too and not push me aside, or try to control the outcome, whenever danger finds us or we find it. I want to be your equal, not someone you think you can control whenever you see fit.” She whispered the last part, staring into Casasndra’s eyes, her eyes desperate. She was trying to be firm to show Cassandra that she was serious but her tone was also soft and understanding. “Maybe I needed you to protect me when I was still new to the outside world and maybe even these last couple of months when I was in a really bad place but I don’t now. I’m stronger now, better now, and I can protect you too..” She paused 

one final time before whispering: "You don't need to do everything alone."

 

Cassandra didn’t answer at first but Rapuznel could see the shift in her eyes; even though they remained stoic and nearly unreadable. Rapunzel could always tell, even if it was the slightest bit of change. A minute passed before the warrior let out a sigh. “Fine.” She responded her voice still on edge and pissy. She started to walk past her, towards the direction they were meant to go in. Rapunzel couldn't help but take a sigh of relief “But, again, if we die, it’s on you.” She said maybe a little too harshly.

 

But Rapunzel didn’t care, she was used to Cassandra’s pissy attitude that showed up after one of their conversations like this. Especially when Rapunzel ‘scolded’ her. Although Cassandra’s back was turned, Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile. She went into a slight jog to catch up to her before slipping her hand into the warrior's hand. Rapunzel shot her an appreciative smile. Cassandra rolled her eyes, still clearly aggravated, but Rapunzel saw how her eyes softened ever so slightly and how she gently squeezed her hand back.  

 

---------------------------------------

 

They walked hand-in-hand for a while in silence, because Cass honestly needed to calm down and Rapunzel understood that, before they finally found the door. They stood in front of it for a second and shared a quick, worried glance before letting out an anxious sigh. Cassandra reached her hand out towards the door but Rapunzel stopped her. “Cass, wait,” The princess said, causing Cassandra to turn to her. The warrior wasn’t able to respond as the princess grabbed her shirt and pulled her down to meet her lips. Cassandra, although taken off guard, pressed back eventually, pulling her closer. 

 

Rapunzel then parted after a good 30 seconds, staring deep into her eyes. 

 

“Whatever happens in there,” She said softly. “...I love you.” Cassandra knew what this was. “And just remember that even though I don’t need you to protect me anymore…. It doesn’t mean that I don’t need you.”

 

“There’s no need for goodbyes,” The warrior instead responded softly. “We’re gonna make it out of this alive.” She said determined, her earlier conviction dead. 

 

“But if we don’t...”

 

“We will,” Cassandra responded confidently, unlike her earlier pessimistic attitude. “And when we do, I promise I’ll start including you in everything; decisions and all. And I won't jump ahead with the decision making without talking to you." 

 

Rapunzel gave her a small smile. “Really?” She asked with slight hope in her voice.

 

Cassandra nuzzled her. “Yep,” She responded softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You were right, I don’t need to protect you anymore.” She looked down, slight guilt taking over. “....I became way too over-protective, even after we arrived in the village and you started to get better. The only reason I was protective in the first place was because I was trying to protect you from yourself…. And from Azriel. And that protective energy carried over. But I don’t need to anymore. You’re right, you are stronger now and can hold your own… again.” She looked down again. “I was just so scared of losing you again, I just…” She trailed off, not knowing how to finish that sentence. She still sucked at expressing her emotions. But Rapunzel knew what she was getting at. Cassandra looked back up to meet her eyes. “I never meant to make you feel like your opinion didn’t matter or ‘control’ things to the point where you felt like you weren’t an equal to me.” She gave the princess a guilty, saddened look before saying genuinely: “...I’m sorry.”

 

Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile as she raised her hand and placed it on her cheek. Cassandra instinctively leaned into it. “It’s okay,” The princess said softly.

 

“It’s not-”

 

“It is,” Rapunzel cut her off. “I know that you only did those things because you love me and I know you never meant to make me feel otherwise. And I know that you’re scared that you’re gonna lose me again.” The princess frowned for a second before running her thumb over her cheekbone. “And trust me, I know the feeling.” She responded softly before giving Cassandra another smile. “But you don’t need to worry. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” Again, her smile fell. “If anything, I should be more worried about you. You almost died - for like, what, the 4th time now? And I couldn’t do anything other than watch you slowly slip away…” 

 

Cassandra gave her a reassuring smile and lifted her head back up by hooking her fingers under her chin. “I definitely know that feeling," The warrior said softly and before Rapunzel could comment on it, Cassandra quickly continued talking: "I promised you that I would always come back to you. Not even death itself can stop me from returning to you.” She nuzzled the princess, hopefully, to get a smile out of her. It worked better than she thought, the princess let out a small, weak giggle. 

 

“That promise was the only thing that kept me going.” She responded before fixing Cassandra with a half-glare. “Unlike the last time when I thought you were dead for two weeks." Rapunzel slowly shook her head. "You really need to stop jumping head-first into dangerous situations without a plan and almost end up dying.” She was teasing in the last part. 

 

Cassandra chuckled, resisting the urge to tell her that that's what she's been doing to her since the very beginning. “Why? It’s so much fun to see you crying and pinning over me.” She teased.

 

Rapunzel huffed and gently shoved her, making Cassandra laugh. “That’s not funny.” She responded. “Do you know how much energy it took to even move when I first got here?” 

 

“Hey, I traveled like 30 miles with a chameleon and a horse, with a gaping hole in my gut. And when I finally got here, I nearly gave up and had a mental breakdown.” The warrior answered honestly before adding with a slight grin: “Ask Pascal, he had to squeak me out of it.” From her shoulder, Pascal nodded. “And it was like 5 minutes before we reunited.”

 

“So that’s what you were doing back there.” 

 

“The place was like a maze. I was frustrated, tired, stressed, and fearful of what I’d find when I found you; if I found you. Not to mention the 8-inch knife that went through my stomach was leaving its mark on my thinking skills.” 

 

“How you are alive and walking after that still surprises me.”

 

Cassandra tilted her head, fixing her with a deadpan expression. “Are you really that surprised?”

 

“...No, not really,” Rapunzel admitted honestly. Afterall, this was Cassandra that they were talking about.

 

They were about to continue their teasing when Pascal started squeaking and gently pulled on the princess’s hair. When they both looked at him, he pointed to the door with a huff. “You’re right, Pascal,” Rapunzel responded with a smile. “We should get this done as quickly as we can.” 

 

Cassandra nodded. She grabbed the princess’s hand and took a deep breath. “You ready for this?”

 

“...Not really,” Rapunzel responded. “You?”

 

“Not even close.” Rapunzel let out a shaky exhale as she squeezed Casasndra’s hand gently. Cassandra let out a shaky sigh of her own before she turned the doorknob and the door immediately opened, bringing them to an area surrounded by prison cells. But otherwise, the corridors looked normal and the area seemed less… suffocating than the place that they'd been stuck in.

 

“Let’s do this,” Cassandra said and walked forward with Rapunzel, hand-in-hand. 

 

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Did I reference How to Train Your Dragon? Yes, yes I did. Only true fans will spot it.