Chapter 1: The Sundrop
Chapter Text
The king and queen of Corona loved their kingdom fiercely, they worked day and night to ensure happiness for all. The only thing they loved more than their kingdom was each other. And when they announced Queen Arianna was pregnant, the entire realm rejoiced.
Bells rang from every village, and the palace gardens overflowed with gifts—hand-sewn booties from seamstresses, carved rattles from the woodworkers, and so many flowers that the halls smelled of spring for weeks. Arianna cherished each offering.
While Frederic paced the library, buried in parenting books, trying to learn everything before the baby arrived (“Should newborns sleep on their backs or on their sides?” he’d demanded of a baffled financial adviser that morning), Arianna wasn’t worried. She believed whatever challenged arose, there was nothing she and Frederic couldn’t figure out together.
So she enjoyed her pregnancy. She sat in the garden with her handmaidens, knitting a baby blanket with uneven but earnest stitches embroidered with tiny suns. She hoped her baby would love her kingdom just as much as she did.
She couldn’t wait to meet her child.
Then the pain began.
At first, it was just fatigue: expected, manageable. Then came the stabbing breaths, her limbs began to weight more and more. Her skin burnt. By the seventh month, she could no longer stand unaided. The physicians dismissed it as normal, but Arianna knew . Her mother had spoken of pregnancy like a storm, fierce, yes, but manageable. This was not manageable. This pain went deep, and it was telling her: something was wrong .
Frederic didn’t leave her side, he watched helplessly as she grew weaker, her skin became ashen, she stopped smiling, the light drained from her eyes and was replaced with something worse than fear—resignation.
She knew pregnancies could go wrong, but she’d never thought it’d happen to her. She’d so easily envisioned herself a mother, she’d so clearly envisioned her family. But now she was in so much pain she couldn’t even imagine herself capable of standing up from this bed ever again.
The physicians warned Frederic in private of the possibility that neither his wife nor his baby would make it.
But Frederic refused to accept that.
So with the doctors saying there was nothing they could do, he turned to magic.
Magic was a common thing in his world, once upon a time it had been a common part of day-to-day life in Corona. Not anymore. Since the vanquishing of the warlock Zhan Tiri, magic had become something more of an oddity. But texts still existed depicting the old world.
It was in one such ancient text, buried deep in the royal archives, he found his answer: The Sundrop .
He made it the kingdom’s greatest priority to find that flower, bring it to the queen, there were rewards for information. A life of luxury promised to anyone who could help save the queen.
Unbeknownst to Frederic, there was one woman amongst his people who knew exactly where the flower was located and how to use it. While at first she had no intention of sharing, she watched as Corona’s guards combed the forests, inching closer to the Sundrop’s location with every passing day. She’d spent lifetimes keeping the flower safe—letting brambles grow thick around it, diverting travellers with whispered rumours of curses, and every so often pushing one to their doom for good measure. But a king’s desperation was harder to thwart.
She knew if they found it, they’d not know how to use it: they’d destroy it in their desperation. She couldn’t let that happen, so after much deliberation she went to the palace, demanding to speak to the king alone, explaining that she had information on the Sundrop.
In the throne room, with the curtains pulled, Gothel stood before a king with hollow-eyes from sleepless nights and she spoke.
“I am the Guardian of the Sundrop,” she said. “And I alone can save your queen.” Her lips curled. “But magic demands a price.”
Frederic didn’t flinch at the word ‘price’. What was gold, what was power, what was anything compared to Arianna’s life? For the first time in months, there was hope—bright and reckless—and he clung to it without hesitation. Let the cost be kingdoms, let it be his crown, let it be his own breath. Nothing mattered but her.
Gothel spoke of her conditions for hours, but in summary, this is what she said: To reveal the power of the Sundrop was to invite chaos. Hunters, thieves, and fools would rip it from the earth. So to reveal its location and use its power, she and the Sundrop would require sanctuary: the might of the crown shielding them both.
Frederic agreed before she’d finished speaking.
By dusk, Gothel led the guards up a narrow mountain path where the wind howled like a warning. The trail ended at a sheer drop.
The guards staggered back from the precipice, but Gothel stepped forward without hesitation. She knew every crevice of this stone; her hands had traced this path a thousand times. She knelt, and peeled back the living canopy of vines and leafs she’d woven centuries ago to hide the Sundrop from prying eyes.
The Sundrop’s light erupted, cloaking her face in gold. From her cloak, Gothel drew a glass dome.
“Steady now,” she murmured—to the flower or herself, even she didn’t know. She twisted her knife through the soil, extracting the flower, roots, and all. The glass closed over it, trapping it inside.
Behind her, a guard reached out to offer her a hand, but his boots skidded and he almost tripped. Gothel whipped around, her glare fierce. “One wrong step,” she said softly, “and Corona loses its miracle.” Their faces paled. None dared reach for it again.
Back at the palace, she dismissed everyone with a flick of her wrist. “Leave us. Me and the Sundrop work alone.” The queen’s chambers were sealed.
Gothel stood over the motionless queen, who at this point in her pregnancy wasn’t aware of anything. Stuck in an unpeaceful slumber from which she would not wake without the help of magic.
No one witnessed what happened next.
But when the doors opened at dawn, Arianna was awake and holding her daughter, who had arrived healthy into the world.
Frederic was overcome with gratitude for Gothel, he bowed to her, and true to his word he granted her a cottage nestled in the palace gardens—guarded by high walls but set apart for privacy. At its heart, beneath a shaft of sunlight, the Sundrop bloomed in its glass case.
A few weeks after Rapunzel was born, Arianna and Frederic walked down to the palace gardens that buzzed with activity as guards carried trunks and furniture towards the cottage nestled near the castle walls.
Gothel had her arms crossed, watching the men with scrutiny, making sure they didn’t damage anything.
“Lady Gothel.” Frederic’s voice drew her attention. He bowed slightly, then gestured to the woman beside him. “I wanted to properly introduce you to my wife, now that she is better.”
Arianna smiled, adjusting the baby in her arms. She still wore loose robes, she appeared tired, but it was no longer from illness, rather the usual sleepless nights of a new parent. Her eyes were bright, as was her smile. “I know my husband has thanked you endlessly, but I owe you more than words can say.”
Gothel waved a hand. “Yes, yes, I accept all the gratitude.” Her tone was dismissive, already bored.
“Have you met young Rapunzel?” Arianna asked, her smile unwavering, wishing to show the baby Gothel had helped save.
“Oh, I’m not one for babies, so needy…” Gothel sighed dramatically. “Isn’t that right, Cassandra?” Her voice held annoyance.
A small face peeked out from the cottage doorway, a girl no older than four, with wide, storm-grey eyes. “Mama?”
Arianna’s smile widened with excitement. “Oh! You have a daughter?”
Gothel hummed, already turning away to supervise the guards.
Arianna knelt, bringing herself to Cassandra’s level. “Well, hello there. What’s your name?”
Cassandra frowned, hadn’t this woman heard her mama say it? “…Cassandra,” she answered, not coming fully out of the cottage.
“What a beautiful name for a beautiful young girl.”
Cassandra blushed, then smiled.
“My name’s Arianna. And it seems we’re neighbours now.”
“Neighbours?”
“That’s right. I live just there.” She nodded toward the palace.
Cassandra looked up at the castle as if seeing it for the first time.
“And this is Rapunzel. She’s a little small now, but I bet you two will be great friends when she’s older.”
Cassandra finally crept forward, exiting the safety of the cottage to get a better look at the bundle in Arianna’s arms. “She’s tiny.”
“She’s brand new, but she’ll grow faster than you think,” Arianna said with a loving smile.
Cassandra slowly moved a hand towards the baby, unsure what for, to poke her, to touch her hair, to touch the blanket?
Before she could decide, tiny fingers wrapped around hers.
Cassandra gasped.
“She likes you,” Arianna said.
Cassandra beamed, turning her head to look for her mama and tell her the good news, but Gothel was gone, inside managing the placement of the furniture.
Arianna noticed the disappointment on the little girl’s face. “Been a busy week, huh?”
Cassandra nodded.
“Well, don’t you worry. It’ll settle down soon… and if ever your mama needs a babysitter, well… you could always come hang out with me and Rapunzel.”
“Really?” Cassandra liked the idea of not being alone in the cottage all day whenever Gothel had to leave to run errands.
“Of course,” Arianna nodded. “After what your mother did for us… you’re practically family. Right, Frederic?”
Frederic smiled and nodded.
Cassandra looked back to Rapunzel who was still gripping her finger. She didn’t know much about babies, but she did know she liked this one.
Chapter 2: One Child, The Greater Good
Chapter Text
Corona had a new healer.
A woman with dark curls and a terrible attitude but undeniable efficiency.
Her miracles, however, came with conditions:
-No conscious patients
-No trivial ailments
-Only those moments from death
The dying entered her cottage on stretchers and emerged whole. But a child with a broken bone? A feverish elder still able to plead? The door stayed shut.
“It grieves me deeply,” Gothel told Frederic during their morning stroll. “Magic demands sacrifices even I cannot name. As guardian, I feel every refusal like a knife. It breaks my heart to send those people away. Alas, there is nothing I can do to save them.”
Frederic clasped her shoulder as though to comfort her. “You’re a marvel.”
“I know,” Gothel sighed.
Meanwhile, Arianna’s gratitude had dissolved weeks ago. First it morphed into discomfort, then suspicion—then she’d come to assume their personalities simply did not mix. Unfortunately, her distaste was quickly proven right.
Arianna knocked on the door to Gothel’s cottage after spotting the woman with her husband in the garden. She assumed Cassandra had been left alone for the morning and thought it’d be nice to invite the girl in for tea.
Cassandra yanked the door open, her face and fingers were covered in soot, her expression taut with panic. “Mama’s not here, she’s with the king, in the garden!” she recited quickly as though she’d memorised what to say, small hands clutching a broom twice her height.
“I know.”
“Then why are you here?” Cassandra’s voice broke as she held back panicked tears.
“I wanted to invite you to tea.”
“No time! No time!” The broom handle knocked against the door frame as Cassandra gestured wildly. “The hearth’s not swept, the laundry’s not folded, and yesterday’s bread went mouldy because I forgot—” A hiccuping sob cut her off as she slammed the door in Arianna’s face.
Arianna reached out as though to open the door, but she could hear the child rushing around inside. She held back from invading the girl’s space, it wouldn’t make things better. Her fingernails however, bit crescents into her palms as she thought of the type of mother who made their child do all the work and worried what must have happened in the past to make the child so afraid of failure.
Arianna was tempted to simply wield her royal power, summon the guards to carry Cassandra away from the cottage and into the palace, but Arianna knew that would be letting her emotions rule rather than herself. For all she knew, Cassandra’s panic came not from Gothel but from a father figure left in the past.
No, she had to speak to the healer first, and then she could act.
With her best political smile, she found her husband and the healer in the garden. “Three lives saved this week!” Frederic was praising. “You are a gift to the kingdom.”
“I know,” Gothel smile.
“Why, with all that healing work, you must be exhausted!” Arianna inserted herself into the conversation, her tone as sweet as honey. “You must allow me to send in a servant or two to your home to help clean and cook. It is the least we can do,” Arianna said.
Frederic nodded.
“A lovely offer, but…” Gothel’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “What if they disturbed the flower?”
“I assure you, nothing like that will happen. In Corona, we protect our treasures. We have some of the best, most professional and dependable employees in the kingdom. Why, if you’re so concerned, I can send my very own lady-in-waiting. She can definitely spare some time for a member as important as you to our kingdom.”
“Oh, I’m sure she could. But no. It’s best I handle my home myself.”
“You?” Arianna held back a few choice words about who was actually handling the home. “And what about your daughter? Isn’t she a bit young to be alone with your… flower, with fire and knives and—” Arianna’s breath hitched—too far—she quickly smoothed her tone. “A servant could—”
“Cassandra knows to keep her distance from the Sundrop,” Gothel said. “I can see you are still very emotional from your pregnancy, Your Majesty.”
Arianna held back a glare.
“You should go rest.”
Over the course of an entire year, Arianna desperately tried to get the healer to accept the helps of the palace servants, but the woman was insistent on doing it ‘herself’. Eventually, Arianna accepted she couldn’t save Cassandra from the household burden, but she could offer Cassandra a safe space outside the cottage and she’d make sure the child was fed, cared for, and loved.
The summer sun dappled the garden as Arianna set up a picnic spread far too lavish for one woman and a wobbling toddler. Strawberries glistened beside freshly baked honey cakes, their scent wafting toward the healer’s cottage like a summons.
Just as she hoped, the curtains twitched, a pale face peered out.
“Cassandra!” Arianna called with a wide smile. “Come join us!”
Rapunzel’s head snapped up at the name, and as the cottage door opened, she immediately began to re-direct her awkward little steps towards Cassandra, making little babbling noises that occasionally resembled words but in this instance were just excited noise.
Cassandra smiled and held out her arms, which Rapunzel flopped into, almost knocking the five-year-old over.
Cassandra laughed, heaving Rapunzel into a lopsided carry and awkwardly walking the rest of the way to the picnic blanket where she propped the toddler down.
Arianna’s smile faltered when she noticed finger-shaped bruising along Cassandra’s jawline, almost hidden by her hair.
Cassandra sat down, quickly filling her mouth with almonds. The girl was always hungry and it broke Arianna’s heart.
Arianna leaned forward, gently moving some hair from Cassandra’s face to better see the bruising. “Did you fall, darling?”
Cassandra pulled back, her hair falling back over the most predominant bruises. She shook her head.
“What happened?” Arianna asked gently.
Cassandra chewed and swallowed. “It was my fault…” she muttered. “I didn’t get the laundry done on time, and I didn’t clean very well and then I burnt dinner so… It was my fault.”
Arianna’s eyes narrowed. “Your mother did this to you?”
Cassandra shook her head. “It was my fault.”
“Did she hit you?” Arianna checked.
Cassandra hesitated before shrugging. “I guess, but it was my fault.”
Arianna took a deep breath, trying to keep her hands from trembling as she scooped Cassandra up onto her lap. The child gasped, limbs locking in instinctive fear before melting into the hug. Arianna showered her hair with kisses.
Rapunzel immediately stood up and began her long journey towards the hug on the other side of the picnic blanket.
“Listen to me,” Arianna pressed a gentle kiss on Cassandra’s cheek. “No one ever has the right to hurt you. No matter what you do… You shouldn’t be hit for it.”
Cassandra shrugged. Before she could say anything, Rapunzel finalised her journey by face-planting into the embrace, giggling and making Cassandra laugh too.
Arianna smiled softly, adjusting to make room for both girls on her lap. “I’ll see what I can do to fix this, okay, Cassandra?”
Cassandra wriggled free from Arianna with practised ease, nearly knocking Rapunzel over in the process just for the toddler to leap from her mother’s arms right onto Cassandra anyway.
Cassandra laughed. “Rapunzel! You’re everywhere now!”
Rapunzel laughed louder.
“I know, you love walking cause you get to be everywhere and cause all the trouble!”
Rapunzel waved her arms around excitedly and made more babbling sounds.
“She’s going to be a chatterbox, Your Majesty, I can tell.”
Arianna laughed. “I think you’re right, Cassandra.”
Cassandra grabbed Rapunzel’s hands before they could hit anything, swaying them back and forth to the toddler’s delight. “I can’t wait to hear everything you’ve got to say.” Cassandra hugged the toddler close.
Arianna was overjoyed to have been right about Cassandra’s and Rapunzel’s future friendship. But she also felt a deep pain in being right about not liking Gothel. She’d of much preferred the girls hated each other but Gothel to be a perfectly loving mother.
But she’d fix this.
She had to.
“What do you mean to ignore it?” Arianna demanded as she pursued her husband down the corridor.
Frederic didn’t slow his pace. “I’ll speak with her about the matter. But honestly, it’s none of our business—“
“None of our business?” Arianna caught his arm, forcing him to face her. “There is a child on palace grounds being abused , how is that none of our business?”
“How a parent chooses to discipline their child is up to them.”
“To a degree, but hitting a child is not within the confines of our laws. I should know. I remember drafting those laws. You signed them last winter. Remember? Remember the incident that lead us to draft those laws? That baker’s child?”
“The laws are new. People need time to adapt.”
“That’s not how laws work. Or do our laws not apply past Lady Gothel’s doorstep?”
“Listen, my love, while I hate the idea of a child hurting as much as you do—”
“Clearly you don’t.”
“You know what she’s done for us. For Rapunzel.”
“And that grants her immunity?” Arianna stepped closer.
“No, of course not. But you must understand that our healer offers an irreplaceable service. We can’t put one child above the needs of our kingdom.”
“So she’s allowed to break the law?”
“Understand, her job must be stressful and children can be frustrating.”
“Your Majesty, as king, I suspect your job is pretty stressful, but if you were to ever lay a hand on our daughter—”
Frederic recoiled. “I would never .”
“Exactly. Neither would I, and neither should anybody else.”
For a long moment, only their breathing filled the hall. Then Frederic exhaled, his shoulders slumping. “The kingdom needs her healing. One child's bruises can't outweigh—”
“One child?” Arianna’s laugh held no humour. “One little girl who thinks she deserves the blows. Who is living within the confines of the palace walls. What does it say of our kingdoms and our morals if we fail to protect her?”
“I’ll... speak with Gothel.” His hand found hers. “Discreetly.”
But the king never did.
Not that week, nor the next. Every time Arianna pressed, his eyes would drift.
Meanwhile, with each passing day, Cassandra learned to hide her bruises better.
Arianna continued to grant her shelter. But the fact she couldn’t save the child fully broke her heart and made her feel like a failure to her kingdom.
Chapter 3: The Princess and The Healer's Daughter
Chapter Text
At two years old, Rapunzel was learning to act from her mother.
“Okay, ready, my little actress?” Arianna whispered, adjusting the squirming toddler in her arms.
“Yup-yup!” Rapunzel chirped, bouncing with excitement. She didn’t really understand the game’s purpose, but they played it almost every day and it was her favourite because it ended with Cassie’s arms around her.
Arianna nodded and continued their approach towards the cottage. Three paces from the door, she squeezed her daughter’s side—their secret signal.
Rapunzel’s face crumpled, her wails pierced the afternoon calm. Tears that could’ve won awards at any theatre streamed down her cheeks and she pounded tiny fists—with no true strength—against her mother’s shoulders. “CASSIE! I WANT CASSIE NOW!”
Arianna gave her a proud squeeze as she took the final steps to the cottage and knocked.
Gothel swung open the front door, her lips pursed. “Must you bring that noise to my doorstep?”
“My deepest apologies, Lady Gothel,” Arianna said, bouncing the shrieking bundle in her arms. “She's been like this for hours . You know how children fixate—”
“CASSIE CASSIE CASSIE!” Rapunzel punctuated each scream with a dramatic full-body flail that nearly sent her tumbling from Arianna’s grip. Her performance became more lively each day.
“They’ve really formed a bond… I know it’s a lot to ask, but could I borrow Cassandra for the night?”
Gothel rolled her eyes, turning towards Cassandra who stood at attention like a soldier. “Chores?”
“Floors swept and mopped,” Cassandra recited, fingers twisting in her apron. “Dinner’s simmering, bookshelves dusted, plants watered, fireplace clean, laundry folded and—”
“Yes, yes.” Gothel waved a dismissive hand before turning to Arianna. “You may keep her.”
Cassandra rushed outside at that, arms already outstretched for Rapunzel whose wails came to a sudden halt. “Cassie!” Rapunzel was able to escape her mother’s grip, falling with shocking accuracy right into Cassandra’s arms and quickly covering her cheek with kisses. “I missed you! I haven’t seen you for seven long years!”
“Wow,” Cassandra said with a smile. “That’s even longer than yesterday.”
“Thank you,” Arianna nodded to Gothel. “You’re too kind. I’ll return her—”
“Take your time.” The door was already closing.
As they retreated down the garden path, Cassandra set Rapunzel down, their joined hands swinging between them. The princess immediately began hopping along the cobblestones, her earlier distress forgotten.
“You know…” Cassandra bit her lip, looking up at Arianna. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to come find me every time she cries… you’re basically rewarding her tantrums.”
Arianna smoothed a curl from Cassandra’s forehead. “What Rapunzel feels for you isn’t a mere tantrum, darling. It’s love.” She paused, meeting Cassandra’s uncertain gaze. “And if I’m being honest... she’s not the only one who misses you between visits.”
Cassandra’s cheeks pinked as Rapunzel chose that moment to wrap herself around the older girl’s legs. “Love you!”
Cassandra giggled. “I love you too.”
Arianna smiled. While she couldn’t save Cassandra from all of the abuse Gothel threw her way, she could certainly show the child love. And Rapunzel was a great little helper with that task.
By Rapunzel’s fourth spring—the same age Cassandra had been when she first arrived at the palace—the princess tower boasted two beds, two sets of clothes, and two toothbrushes side by side. Sleepovers had become so frequent that the staff no longer batted an eye at finding the girls tangled together at dawn.
The people of Corona adored the sight of their princess and the healer’s daughter racing through the streets, hands clasped tight. Shopkeepers slipped Cassandra extra pastries when Gothel wasn’t looking. Guards ‘accidentally’ dropped practice swords in the nearby garden so the girls could play-along. The kingdom had already begun weaving stories about their future—a kind, bright queen and powerful healer by her side.
Arianna had long since stopped pretending she wasn’t raising both children. She tracked Cassandra’s lessons with the same care as Rapunzel’s, measuring both girls’ growth against the palace doorframe each solstice. When Cassandra outgrew her dresses, new ones appeared in the wardrobe by morning. When she mastered a new skill, the queen’s praise rang louder than any tutor’s.
Returning Cassandra to that cottage, to her ‘real’ mother, felt like handing a bird back to a cage.
Arianna knew for a fact Gothel didn’t much love Cassandra, the woman just needed the house cleaning. And Arianna knew, unfortunately, that if Cassandra under-performed, she’d come back with puffy eyes or fading bruises, she’d wave it off, but it broke Arianna’s heart.
As a mother, Arianna wanted to keep Cassandra. And she often begged Frederic to do something so she could. But Frederic refused. Said Cassandra already had a mother.
Arianna was alone in protecting this young girl.
“Your stitches are improving,” Arianna murmured one evening as she inspected the neat row of x’s on Cassandra’s embroidery loop. The girl had been practising daily—not for praise, but because Gothel demanded perfection.
Cassandra didn’t look up. “Mother says my satin stitch still wobbles.”
Before Arianna could respond, a gasp came from the floor where Rapunzel had been drawing.
“Oh no!” Rapunzel scrambled to her feet, her little face scrunched in concern. “Your knee is really bad today.”
Arianna’s breath caught as she got a glimpse of Cassandra’s knee before the girl tried to pull down her dress further. The bruise was unmistakably boot-shaped.
“It’s nothing,” Cassandra murmured.
But Rapunzel was already marching toward the washroom, her determined footsteps echoing her mother’s cadence exactly. She returned with an armful of bandages and plasters—each decorated with suns and flowers in wobbly crayon that apparently made them more effective.
“Don't worry, Cassie.” She pressed one of her favourite plasters over the bruise. “I fixed it!”
Cassandra smiled. She wiped her eyes as she responded, "Thanks, Raps."
Arianna watched them and felt something unknot in her chest.
Frederic might never intervene. The law might never recognise what her heart already knew.
But as Rapunzel kissed the plaster ‘to make it extra better’, Arianna knew she wasn’t alone in her mission. Both she and Rapunzel were going to protect Cassandra from everything.
As Cassandra grew, cleaning the cottage was less and less of a daunting task, especially with Gothel spending so much time out on the world. Every morning Cassandra got up at the crack of dawn and by noon she’d have the floor gleaming, a pot of stew simmering and her mother’s notes left in perfect order. Then she’d race to the palace where her real life began.
Lessons with Rapunzel in sunlit classrooms.
Riding lessons with Maximus and Fidella through the gardens and on very special occasions into the forest with the queen where their laughter would scare away the birds from the trees.
Swordplay lessons alongside the guards for which Cassandra had received much praise from the Captain of the Guard himself.
Though these lessons were more than just an itinerary to Cassandra: they were a path. Each skill lead her one step closer to being worthy of her mother’s legacy.
The Guardian of the Sundrop.
Corona’s Healer.
Because while Arianna’s hands had bandaged her scraped knees and tucked her in at night, it was Gothel’s shadow that loomed over her.
The Healer’s Daughter is how the people of Corona saw her. The Future Healer was their expectations.
It was difficult for Cassandra to imagine she’d ever live up to her mother’s greatness. The kingdom sang ballads of the Lady who saved their queen and princess. Servants whispered of her brilliance. Frederic toasted her service at every feast and festival.
And yeah, the Great Guardian of the Sundrop wasn’t the best at remembering birthdays, or giving hugs. But that’s because she had greater concerns. And it wasn’t like she hadn’t given Cassandra everything by giving her a home at the palace. And Cassandra would prove she understood this, by needing nothing and becoming everything.
“You should’ve seen Mother yesterday,” Cassandra told Arianna as her legs swung back and forth and she polished her boots. “A Lord of… of… of another kingdom!” She’d already forgotten that detail. “Came, he was coughing blood and begging, everybody thought he was going to die!” Cassandra looked at Arianna’s stitching and the queen hummed to assure the nearly-teenager she was listening. “But then he lost consciousness. Gothel, had him brought inside and boom! When he came out, he was all healed.”
Arianna tried to keep the tenseness out her shoulders but failed, her finger slipping and drawing blood from her thumb. She quickly hid the wince and her finger.
Before Cassandra could continue singing her mother’s praise, something she’d been doing a lot recently, Rapunzel burst into the room, her dress covered in mud. “Cassie! The fireflies are out!” She grabbed Cassandra’s hand, causing the unfinished boot to tumble to the floor. “Last one to the garden’s a rotten apple!”
Arianna watched them go, their laughter echoing through the hallway, then let out a sigh. Pressing her bleeding thumb to her lips. She couldn’t deny it upset her, the way Cassandra put Gothel on a pedestal. But she knew better than to interfere.
What mattered was the girls got their joy.
(But oh, how her soul ached for the day Cassandra would see the woman behind the legend.)
Chapter 4: A Trip To Ingvarr (1/2)
Chapter Text
“Mother, finally!” Cassandra smiled as Gothel walked through the door.
“Oh, you missed me. How sweet.”
“Um, yeah. Sure?” Cassandra held out a fluttering piece of paper. “But more importantly, I need you to sign this!”
Gothel plucked the paper from her fingers without breaking stride. Cassandra’s smile faltered as Gothel’s eyes skimmed the document.
“It’s permission to go on an educational trip beyond Corona. It’ll be with princess Rapunzel, so there will be guards. All safe—”
“A week?” Gothel’s laugh was sharp. “Absolutely not.”
“But mother—”
“Who will take care of the house during that week?”
“I’ve already arranged everything: the palace kitchen will prepare meals, I’ll leave the house spotless and do a deep clean as soon as I return.”
“The daughter of Corona’s greatest healer makes for a tempting hostage.”
“I’d be with Rapunzel the entire time and you know how protective the guards are of her.”
“Of her . Not of you.” Gothel plucked a book from the shelf. “Foolish, as you are far more valuable.”
Cassandra blushed. “I am?”
“Of course. You’re my daughter.” Gothel settled into an armchair, the permission slip crumpling in her grasp. “Wealth and power can be obtained in many ways but there are certain health issues that are beyond the reach of any human. Any human except myself.” She opened up her book. “Of course, if some fool demanded my services in exchange for your pretty neck?” She turned a page. “Well, the needs of the many…”
“You’d… sacrifice me?”
The firelight caught the Sundrop’s glass case as well as casting jagged shadows across Gothel’s face. “Darling,” Gothel didn’t look up from her book. “I have a duty. Either way, that’s not something you need to concern yourself with because you aren’t going. You’ll stay here with me.”
Cassandra sighed. “Well… at least with the princess away and classes on pause for the week, we could spend some extra time together? As mother and daughter?” she asked hopefully, sitting on the floor in front of the fire, eyes peering up at Gothel from under her book.
Gothel paused, smoothing the ruined permission slip against her knee. “Where exactly is this trip?”
“I’m so excited for this trip!” Cassandra’s travel bag lay half-packed on the bed, already overflowing with practical woollens and leather gloves. She tossed another tunic inside, then paused to examine a pair of riding boots.
Rapunzel swung her legs over the bed as Cassandra rummaged through the princess tower’s wardrobe— her wardrobe. The cottage hadn’t held clothes that fit her friend in years; Cassandra had tried to pack there, but it was impossible.
“I’ve always wanted to see Ingvarr! Their entire military command is female—can you imagine?”
“I know. Because their ancestors believed men’s souls were too delicate for warfare, right?”
“Exactly!” Cassandra twirled with a smile. “It proves all our systems are just… made up. Changeable.” Corona’s military was entirely made up of men. There was no rule against woman joining, but it was yet to happen. Cassandra found that very irritating.
“Exactly!” Rapunzel jabbed the air with a charcoal stick. “You don’t have to tell me twice, I’m all for change! That’s why I’m trying to convince dad that royal portraits should be self-portraits! Show the ruler’s soul, not just their physical appearance.”
Cassandra turned, one eyebrow arched. “You’re comparing military customs to... art assignments?”
“Well, they’re both about—”
“Never mind.” Cassandra resumed packing.
A comfortable silence fell—the kind only possible between people who’d shared a nursery. Then Rapunzel’s toes nudged Cassandra’s hip. “So... your mother’s really okay with this? Seven whole days without her personal maid? Can she take care of herself?”
“I’m sorry. Is the literal princess who has servants serving her breakfast in bed every other day criticising my mother for needing help around the house?” Cassandra didn’t stop her packing or even look at Rapunzel.
“I’m just saying,” Rapunzel leaned back. “She could at least say thank you every once in a while.”
The cloak hit the bag with unnecessary force. “She called me valuable this morning.”
“Valuable like a good servant or valuable like a daughter?”
“What is it with you and disliking my mother? She’s the reason you’re alive, you know? The reason you have a mother.”
Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “I’m grateful for that. But that doesn’t mean I have to like her.”
“But you should respect her.” Cassandra shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m engaging in this argument again. You wouldn’t understand. She has responsibilities. The Sundrop is a big deal.”
“Then she should be more grateful to you for helping out. I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say anything nice to you.”
“She’s just a private person. Like me.”
Rapunzel shook her head. “I’ve never liked her.”
“Well, you have beef with Uncle Monty so you don’t really get an opinion on people.”
“Excuse me, but he started it!”
Cassandra smiled at her best friend.
“I just wish you’d stand up for yourself again her. You do with everybody else.”
Cassandra pulled the drawstrings of her bag closed. “Okay, enough talk about parents, what are you looking forward to on this trip? The weapons? Learning about history? Seeing a proper fortified castle?”
“How about the art? Ingvarr is home to some of the oldest cave paintings—”
“Boring. Try again.”
Rapunzel huffed. “The historical tapestries!”
“You can do better than that.”
“Fine…” Rapunzel snickered. “The wild horses?”
“Now that’s a good response!”
Rapunzel rolled her eyes. “You know, you could drop some of the attitude? You realise I’m the future ruler of this kingdom, right?”
“I do. And when mum decides to finally teach me to use the Sundrop, I’m going to be it’s future healer, so you better be nice to me.”
“Must I bow down to you and give you my ever-constant gratitude like my father does to your mother?”
“I wouldn’t complain.”
“In your dreams.”
“Maybe I could be a healer in Ingvarr instead,” Cassandra teased.
“Be my guest. You’d be back here in a week. You’d miss me too much.”
“No way.”
The morning sun enveloped the palace gates as the travelling party made final revisions. Frederic clasped his wife’s hands, his thumb brushing over her wedding band. “Stay safe,” he murmured, before levelling a look at the girls. “That includes you two.”
Rapunzel rocked on her toes. “When have I ever—” She caught her father’s raised eyebrow and backtracked. “Don’t answer that.”
Cassandra muffled a laugh behind her glove.
Arianna squeezed Frederic’s fingers. “Don’t worry. They’ll be guarded better than the royal treasury in one of our safest allied kingdoms.”
Frederic nodded. “And Lady Cassandra, your mother truly approved this?”
Cassandra produced the permission slip for the fifth time. “Ingvarr is known for their strict systems and she says I could learn something from them.”
“Good, good.”
“Besides, we learn best together!” Rapunzel said with a mischievous grin, linking her arm through Cassandra’s.
“I’ll see you in a week.” Arianna said as she adjusted Rapunzel’s cloak clasp. “Make sure Lady Gothel continues to heal—”
“I will.”
“You always say that, but constantly allow her to abandon her duties…”
“Magic is a complicated—”
“Excuse, yes, I’m familiar.” Arianna sighed. But before the argument that was destined to repeat itself on loop as it had been for years now—
“Come on, mum!” Rapunzel tugged her mum towards the waiting carriage. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave, and that would practically be a diplomatic incident! National embarrassment! Eternal—”
“Alright!” Arianna laughed, surrendering to the pull. She cast one last glance not at her husband or her home but at the cottage where Gothel’s curtains remained drawn. She hoped her people would continue to be well-taken care of in her absence. But she owed it to her girls to give them this adventure. “Let’s go.”
Cassandra hung halfway out the carriage window, her hair whipping in the wind as Corona’s golden fields passed them by. Four hoofbeats thundered against the road—two seasoned veterans and two new recruits.
“That’s Fidella keeping pace with her father,” Cassandra reported, squinting at the mare. “See how she mirrors his gait? They’ve been training together since—”
The carriage hit a rock, nearly sending Cassandra tumbling out the window. The queen caught her with one hand while keeping her place in her book with the other.
“—since last spring,” Cassandra finished, righting herself without missing a beat. “I’m so excited I could—”
“—burst? We know,” Rapunzel teased, poking Cassandra’s shoulder. “You’ve only said it nine times since breakfast.”
“Did you know, Your Majesty, that Ingvarr invented over forty per-cent of weapons currently used in the Seven Kingdoms?”
“I know they imported and named them.”
Arianna marked her page with a ribbon. Sensing a lesson, Cassandra snapped to attention while Rapunzel leaned forward.
“They didn’t invent them all—many they standardised and renamed after conquest. Shall we discuss how history gets... reshaped by those who record it?”
The girls exchanged glances—Rapunzel’s fingers already twitching toward her sketchbook, ready to take notes, Cassandra’s boot tapping with pent-up energy. Arianna began weaving tales of biased chronicles and buried truths.
Questions came rapid-fire:
“But how do we know what’s true?” (Rapunzel, brows furrowed in concern)
“Why don’t more people question it?” (Cassandra, who naturally questioned everything anyway)
“What if the losers wrote their own—” (Both, colliding mid-thought)
Arianna answered each question between the carriage’s sway, watching with quiet pride as they built upon each other’s thoughts.
These were the moments in which Arianna knew Cassandra was not destined for healing. She wasn’t sure where the girl would go, but her mind would be wasted on a job able to be carried out by the likes of Gothel.
Ingvarr’s castle rose before them like a mountain carved into by warriors—precise, unadorned, and utterly impregnable. Cassandra pressed against the carriage window, taking in the details: the mathematical precision of the patrols that had perfect formation and made no small talk, the way sunlight glinted off razor-sharp halberds, the complete absence of decorative flourishes on the uniforms. This was a kingdom that valued function over form.
Rapunzel sketched Cassandra in her journal, wanting to capture her best friend’s excitement about this kingdom.
The carriage came to a halt in a courtyard that smelled of steel and stone. Before the guard could fully open the door, Cassandra was already halfway out, her boots clicking against the cobblestone. Rapunzel followed in a swirl of skirts, while Arianna descended with the measured grace of a queen used to foreign soil.
Before them stood Ingvarr’s ruling women—the queen and her daughters. Cassandra’s bow was so deep her hair brushed the ground.
Rapunzel curtseyed, and Arianna nodded to the fellow queen.
“Your Majesty. Your Highness. Lady Cassandra.” Her eyes lingered on Cassandra a bit longer. “You are the healer’s daughter?”
Cassandra nodded, confirming her identity. “It is an honour to be here.”
“The honour is ours. I’ve heard much about the legendary work of your mother and the gift she gave Corona.”
Cassandra nodded. “I hope to one day inherit at least some of her powers.”
“Although…” Arianna stepped forward. “Cassandra does have many skills… if she doesn’t turn out to be a healer, I assure you she will still make a name for herself. For example, she’s the finest young blade in Corona. Perhaps one day, in all seven kingdoms.”
This got the queen’s attention, she took in Cassandra’s smaller frame. “What sort of weapons do you use?”
“Any weapon that wins a fight, Your Majesty.” Cassandra’s voice got quicker as she spoke of what she knew. “A crossbow’s no use if you’re out of arrows. A dagger won’t save you at twenty paces. I train with everything—even rocks and sticks. I believe there isn’t a weapon in the world not worth the time to master. You never know what’ll be at your disposal the day you need it.”
A bark of laughter escaped the queen. “I like you. You must cross steel with my daughters before your visit ends.”
“I would love that, I mean, I’d be honoured, it’d be a huge honour!”
“I look forward to it.”
Cassandra beamed and Arianna gently squeezed her shoulder approvingly.
“Come. I’ll show you to your rooms. I haven’t got much planned for today, you must be tired from the journey. But tomorrow I have some tours planned to historical sights.”
“You always manage to spoil me when I come visit.”
Ingvarr’s queen grinned. “You always get your old spears out for me when I visit. I’m only trying to return the favour.”
Chapter 5: A Trip To Ingvarr (2/2)
Chapter Text
The week-long trip was a joy.
Rapunzel usually hated any of her princess duties, but Ingvarr was a lot less formal than other kingdoms, and their culture had a lot for her to love. They had art, but it was different to most kingdoms who prided themselves in famous artists and hyper-realistic paintings. Instead, the paintings in Ingvarr were simple brushstrokes depicting scenes and battles in ways that were easy to comprehend. The princess traced a finger over one such painting, marvelling at how three brushstrokes could convey an entire cavalry charge.
Meanwhile, the training yards rang with the music of clashing steel. Cassandra moved among Ingvarr’s royal women like she belonged, her footwork earning approving nods from the queen herself.
“You fight like one born to it,” the queen remarked, catching Cassandra’s practice sword against her own. “If healing doesn’t claim you, my gates stand open.”
The offer was sweet and tempting to Cassandra. She tucked it away like a hidden dagger, precious but never meant to be used. Some paths were chosen before birth.
Arianna watched from shaded trees, her journal open in her lap. The girls’ laughter carried farther than they ever could in Corona. Cassandra’s smile was unguarded in a way usually reserved only for the privacy of the princess tower.
This, she decided, would only be the first of many excursions. Let her husband grumble about security. Let Gothel sneer. The world had too much to offer for the girls to be trapped within the palace walls their entire lives.
Ingvarr’s sunset painted their quarters gold as the girls sprawled across the bed, dreading tomorrow’s return.
“I don’t want to go to class on Monday…” Rapunzel complained from the bed. “We have geography and I am so tired of being told maps are these ‘cartographic marvels’ like they’re magical artefacts and not just ink on paper!”
“Aren’t you an artist? I’d think you of all people would appreciate the artistry behind maps…” Cassandra sharpened her dagger with methodical strokes. “At least you’re not scrubbing soot from cottage rafters before classes.”
“Just order the maids—”
“Mother would skin me alive.”
“Good.” Rapunzel grinned. “Then I could have her arrested.”
Cassandra glared.
“Do it when she’s not there, that’s most of the time anyway.”
“She’d disown me.”
“Even better.”
“Raps.”
“Cass,” Rapunzel imitated Cassandra’s exasperated tone.
“Mother has valid concerns about the Sundrop’s safety.”
“Yes, yes, and my dad has valid concerns about mine.”
“You are a princess.”
“And your are a laaaady .”
“Adding length to my title doesn’t make having it any less of an honour.”
“I wish I had no title. Titles are just fancy chains. If I weren’t princess, I’d wander every market and tavern without guards huffing about ‘protocol’.”
“Is that so?” Cassandra’s boots hit the floorboards with deliberate quiet. “Funny. I don’t see any chains on you now.”
Rapunzel’s gasp was pure theatrical delight. “Lady Cassandra! Are you suggesting we—”
“—explore Ingvarr’s famous night market?” Cassandra tossed a bundled cloak at Rapunzel’s face. “Before the candy stalls close? Obviously.”
In one fluid motion, Rapunzel was at her side, fingers already working the window latch. “This,” she whispered, “is why you’re my favourite person.”
Cassandra smirked, securing her hood. “Tell me that after we outrun the guards.”
Ingvarr’s market thrummed with a different rhythm than Corona’s—less music, more metal. The air hung heavy with forge smoke and incense, punctuated by the relentless percussion of hammers: blacksmiths shaping blades, armourers riveting leather, merchants demonstrating sledgehammers against stone blocks. Beneath it all ran the constant crackling of flames, whether to help shape materials or sizzle food, it was everywhere.
“Look at that,” Rapunzel pointed towards a sweet shop ran by a young woman. “Sweets sold by not-a-grumpy-old-man? Corona could learn a thing.”
“Monty is charming.” Cassandra shoved Rapunzel.
“I’m buying out the store.” Rapunzel dragged them toward the display, where unfamiliar candies glittered. Cassandra selected a few exotic varieties, including, to Rapunzel’s distaste, a bag of spiced caramels for Monty.
“He always brings me exotic sweets from his travels. It’s only fair I do the same.”
“You’re boring and lame.”
“You’re just a grumpy new teenager.”
“And you’re a grumpy old teenager.” Rapunzel twirled. “This place needs music.”
“Not every kingdom has the time to waste on random dancing.”
“Do you want to grab some food?”
“Good idea.”
They approached a food stand selling pastries that filled the air with the smell of meat and vegetables. Rapunzel looked at the menu while Cassandra glanced at what the baker—a mountain of a man with forearms the size of Cassandra’s head—was sliding into his brick oven.
“That looks good.”
“Spinach and chicken,” the man answered the unasked question.
“Perfect, one of those please, and Rapunzel?”
“Cheese and chicken for me.”
The man nodded, placing the two pastries onto a tray before placing them into the oven, he turned to ask the girls for coins only for a flicker of recognition to come alive in his eyes as they landed on Rapunzel. She wasn’t too famous in Ingvarr, at thirteen years of age her only act of relevancy was nearly killing her mother during pregnancy, but the chestnut hair and green eyes alongside her rounded features were unlike those of Ingvarr and it was known the princess was on a visit to the city.
His gaze shifted to Cassandra. “You’re Lady Cassandra. The Healer’s Daughter.” It wasn’t a question.
Cassandra’s eyes darted up nervously, considering lying, she pulled her hood further up before she gave the barest nod.
The baker breathed, flour dusted hands clenching. “Is it true you are to be the future healer of Corona?”
“I might.” The words came out too fast. Cassandra stepped back, her shoulder bumping Rapunzel behind her. “If I manifest the gift. Which I haven’t.”
The man closed the distance between them in three strides. “My wife’s wasting away while your mother turns outsiders away!” His whisper carried the edge of a blade. “Five months we’ve been on the waiting list—”
“Corona’s citizens take priority,” Cassandra parroted Gothel’s standard line, her palm slick against the dagger hidden in her cloak.
“Please help her.”
Cassandra’s grip loosened at the plea. “I… I can ask the queen to—”
“No, no, there’s no time.” He seized her wrist. “ You have to help us.”
“I can’t. I-I’m not—”
“You’re the daughter of the greatest healer to ever live—”
“I’m seventeen.”
“You must be powerful.”
“Probably not…”
“You must be able to do something!”
“Please let go of me!” Cassandra pleaded.
When the man pulled Cassandra closer, Rapunzel gasped, trying to decide if to tackle the man or run for help.
Steel cut through air with a hiss.
“Release. Her.” A cloaked figure ordered.
The man, caught off guard, remained still for a second before processing the sharp blade pointed at his throat and releasing Cassandra who scrabbled away so quick Rapunzel had to catch her in her own arms.
Arianna pulled down the hood of her cloak. The man stumbled back. “Your Grace, I only—”
“I already heard. But you laid hands on my ward.” The queen’s spear didn’t waver as she assessed the girls with a glance. “That earns you two choices: walk away now, or explain yourself to Ingvarr’s justice.”
The man stepped back, nodding, a look of shame on his face. Moonlight caught the tear tracks cutting through the flour on his face as he returned to the oven, throwing away a tray full of burnt pastries.
Cassandra found her voice first. “Your Maj—”
“Not here.” Arianna’s grip on their wrists was tight. She pulled their hoods up and marched them past gawking merchants. “We’re going back to the castle.”
Once they were further from the bustling market and the castle gates loomed ahead, Cassandra spoke up once more. “I’m really sorry, Your Majesty… we didn’t… we didn’t think there was any danger in just a quick, unsupervised walk.”
“There shouldn’t have been,” Arianna said with a sigh, letting go of their wrists. “But still, you two hold titles of significance, you should have fetched a guard.”
Rapunzel dragged her feet. “But that’s not the same. When guards are around people stiffen up, like… like…”
“—like they’re facing an inspection?” Arianna finished. “I know. I live that same life. That’s why I followed rather than stopped you.”
Rapunzel looked surprised, although it was pretty obvious.
Arianna’s thumb grazed the faint red mark where the baker had gripped Cassandra’s wrist. “This isn’t a reprimand. Just a reminder that titles make you targets as much as they make you privileged.” She caught Rapunzel’s pout. “Even for those of us who wish we had no title.”
Cassandra nodded. “I’m really sorry.”
Arianna’s hand gently touched Cassandra’s cheek. “It’s fine darling. You handled that situation well, all considered.”
“Will we be telling dad?”
“Stars, no. And your mother certainly doesn’t need to know,” Arianna pointed at Cassandra.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good.” Arianna smiled, drawing her girls into a swift embrace, her cloak muffling their giggles. “As far as I’m concerned, tonight never happened, we all retired early after a dull evening of embroidery.” She straightened, ushering them through the gates. “Although before we completely forget, do convince me this reckless adventure was worth the grey hairs I must expect.”
The girls’ overlapping accounts—Cassandra’s animated recounting of a blacksmith’s technique, Rapunzel’s gasp over some revolutionary loom—carried them safely into the lamplit halls. Arianna matched their smiles even as her fingers strayed to the spear hidden beneath her cloak. While this encounter would haunt Arianna, it would soon be forgotten by the girls and that was for the best.
Let them remember only the sweetness of stolen freedom. She would bear the weight of fear. That was her duty as a mother after all.
Chapter 6: A warmth in your veins, A whisper in your bones
Chapter Text
Cassandra straightened her shoulders the moment Gothel walked into the cottage, quickly starting to talk before her mother could brush her off. “I am going to be eighteen in a week, Mother.”
“Which is far too old for birthday parties,” Gothel answered, not looking up from her book, “and yet that queen insists on throwing a surprise one for you anyway,” Gothel muttered with an eye roll. “Though I suppose queens will insist on their pageantry.”
The ruined surprise lodged in Cassandra’s throat. She swallowed it down. Nothing she could do about that now. “I will be an adult.”
“Yes, which means you should be more responsible and due-diligent.”
“I agree.”
“Your point, dear?” Gothel finally looked up from the book, eyeing down her daughter with exasperation.
“I want to learn to heal.”
Gothel frowned. “To heal?”
“Yes! I should be trained to be Corona’s next healer—”
“ Next healer?” Gothel scoffed. “Darling. After decades steeped in the Sundrop’s power? I’ll outlive the castle stones.”
Cassandra’s fingers curled into her palms. “What if you’re injured? Unconscious? Someone should be able to—”
“Can you even channel magic?” Gothel’s gaze swept over her.
“Um…” Cassandra looked at her hands. “How would I know?”
Gothel sighed in exasperation. “Have I taught you nothing?”
“Um… well… no.”
“Have you ever felt it? A warmth in your veins? A whisper in your bones?”
“I… I’m not sure.”
“Clearly.” Gothel plucked a tome from the shelf, its leather binding crackling with age. Dust spread as it hit the table.
Cassandra looked at the title. “What language is this?”
“Saporian. The language of proper spellcraft. There should be a dictionary or two in the library. You should read that, from start to finish.”
“Okay. I can do that. Then what?”
“Then you learn a spell.”
“Which spell?”
“Any spell. Try for something simple. Maybe some light. If you can do that, congratulations, you have magic. If you can’t? Well, that’s a pity, but not too surprising.”
“Could you show me a spell, Mother?”
Gothel laughed before realising her daughter wasn’t joking. “Magic isn’t a circus trick, Cassandra.”
“But I’ve never even seen you—”
The candles flared suddenly—not with the Sundrop’s golden radiance, but ordinary firelight. It caught the edges of Gothel’s smile. “Satisfied?”
Cassandra gasped, leaning over to inspect the newly formed flames. “Wow… that’s amazing Mother!”
Gothel shook her head. “It’s fine. Now, true power requires focus you clearly lack. You want to do this?” she gestured to the candles. “Then go. Some of us have actual work to do.”
Cassandra pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek, the book clutched to her chest like a sacred text. “I’ll make you proud.”
The door clicked shut. Gothel exhaled and the candle flames died.
The royal library’s westward windows painted Cassandra’s notes in amber as she wrestled with the ancient text. Ink stained her fingertips. The dictionary was large, but its knowledge was limited. Not every word had a direct translation and not every jumble of words made sense at first.
But after an entire afternoon, she finally had a dedication!
Dedicated to my three loyal disciples without whom this book would not have made it out in my lifetime.
Cassandra leaned back, rolling the stiffness from her shoulders, realising this project would likely take her months, if not years.
A lady of Corona had time for such study. A healer’s daughter owed this diligence to her kingdom. But the thought of months bent over crumbling texts, of years squinting at words that might never make sense...
The book snapped shut with a puff of ancient dust. Cassandra gathered her parchment and the dictionary she expected to eventually touch every page of.
At this time, Rapunzel would likely be in the kitchen having coffee with her mother, and Cassandra could use the company.
The kitchen’s warmth enveloped Cassandra the moment she pushed through the door—the rich aroma of coffee mingling with the faint scent of almonds from Rapunzel’s latest baking experiment. Two familiar faces turned toward her, their smiles as welcoming as the steaming mug already waiting at her usual spot.
“There’s my favourite scholar,” Arianna greeted with a smile.
Cassandra eyed the third mug. “Am I interrupting?”
“No. That one’s yours,” Rapunzel informed as Arianna pushed a plate of almond biscuits within reach.
“How—?”
“I saw you in the library on my way here,” Rapunzel sat back. “You had that look of frustration you used to get during sewing class, that one that tells everybody you won’t last much longer, so I assumed you’d be joining us.”
Cassandra smiled, taking her mug. “Good observation skills.”
Rapunzel grinned and sipped her own drink.
Arianna’s gaze dropped to the Saporian text now peeking from Cassandra’s bag. “New studies?”
“Mother finally agreed to teach me magic.” Cassandra traced the worn leather binding. “Well... in a manner of speaking.”
Arianna’s brows rose. “Oh, and is that what you want?”
“Everybody expects me to become a healer like my mother.”
“Not everybody,” Arianna said. “I want you to do whatever brings you joy in life. Whatever fulfils you.”
Across the table, Rapunzel kicked her feet onto an empty chair. “Meanwhile, I’m stuck being princess.”
Arianna rolled her eyes at her teenager’s frustration.
“I want this,” Cassandra said. “My mother gives people the chance to live better and longer lives. She gives families more time together. I want to do that too. After everything Corona’s given me... I want to return the favour.”
Arianna hummed. It was clear she had more thoughts, but she chose to keep them to herself this time.
“I’m not sure if I’ll have inherited my mother’s magic or not… but she gave me this. I’ve been translating it… it’ll take some time… but hopefully I can learn from it.”
Arianna nodded. “I’m sure you’ll be a splendid healer, darling.”
“I hope so,” Cassandra hugged the book close.
“And hey, if the healing thing flops, you can help me terrorise the council. I’ll need someone who actually reads the trade reports,” Rapunzel grinned.
“I’m sure I’ll be helping you out regardless,” Cassandra teased. “I mean, if you have to make a decision about whom to assign captain of the guard, we’re doomed!”
“I’d choose Pete, he’s nice and remembers my birthday.”
“Nice and able to organise countless troops to best defend the kingdom and palace are two different things.”
“They don’t have to be.”
“Besides, your birthday is practically a national holiday—!”
Arianna laughed. “Do not worry about Rapunzel, dear, she’ll have plenty of advisers by her side when she’s of ruling age. You amongst them, I’m certain.”
Cassandra smiled.
“So, what have you translated so far?”
Cassandra frowned and handed over the piece of paper with its single sentence.
Arianna read it over and laughed. “Oh, dear.”
“It’s going to take a while.”
“Well, there’s no rush,” the queen responded softly, handing the parchment back with care.
Cassandra smiled as she put the paper back into the book. “I’ll get there. I promise.”
“We believe in you, Sweetie.”
“We believe in you but, like, if you wanna just help me with ruling, that’s fine too,” Rapunzel reminded. “Not like I want to handle the kingdom alone…”
Chapter 7: Magic Birthright
Chapter Text
The cottage door creaked open well past midnight, revealing Cassandra curled on the sofa surrounded by glimmering candles. Wax was pooling dangerously close to the upholstery—a fact that made Gothel’s eye twitch. As she kicked the door shut with her heel, Cassandra jolted upright. “Mother!”
Gothel sighed. “Isn’t it past your bedtime?”
“I wanted to show you something.”
“It can wait until tomorrow—”
“Please! It’ll be quick!” Cassandra leaped to her feet, almost knocking some of the candles over but managing not to.
Gothel rolled her eyes. “Get it over with, then.”
Cassandra’s hands moved in a sharp arc. Every candle snuffed out at once, plunging them into darkness save for the Sundrop’s golden glow.
Then— whoosh —flames erupted from Cassandra’s fingertips. She struggled to keep it in check, forcing it away from the curtains (not before they could get a little singed) and towards the candles, it lit… a few of them.
“I was trying for light, like you suggested,” she admitted, cradling the fire like a newborn bird. “But this spell just spoke to me, I’ve been practising ever since I translated the pyrokinesis chapter a few weeks ago and I’m gaining control! See?” She lit another candle. “I have magic, Mother.”
Gothel stared at the flame cradled in her daughter’s hands, flickering and dancing but never quite touching her flesh, then to the lightly smouldered curtains. “You burned my draped.”
“I’ll replace them!” Cassandra finally extinguished the flame.
Gothel’s fingers twitched. Fire . Of course, her reckless child had skipped straight to the most volatile element.
Cassandra sat on the floor, slowly she relit the candles one by one—each wick catching with a tiny pop of sparks. “I have magic,” she repeated, eyes looking up at her mother with hope of approval.
Gothel nodded. “Very good.”
“This means I can one day strive to be a healer like you, right?”
She forced a laugh. “A promising start, though healing requires rather more finesse than... arson.”
“But… there’s hope, right?”
“Yes, yes.” Gothel caught Cassandra’s chin, lifting her eyes to meet hers, thumb brushing against her cheek. “I’m proud of you.”
Cassandra beamed. “Really?”
“Of course,” Gothel smiled, letting go of her daughter’s face. “I only have one daughter, so it’s of utmost importance you amount to something .”
“Of course Mother. I’ve been translating your book every day for the past six months and I won’t stop until it’s done. Until I know it from front to back and can perform every spell in it!”
Gothel laughed. “That may take you a lifetime or two, but I look forward to seeing it.”
Cassandra smiled, nodding as her mother left for her room.
Cassandra continued to light and unlight candles for a bit longer before falling asleep on the sofa, covered in both the Sundrop’s glow and the light flickering of her candles.
She’d chosen to show her first spell to her mother first of all. But tomorrow she’d show Rapunzel and Arianna, who would be ever so proud and impressed.
King Frederic would be impressed too. He would fund Cassandra’s studies into magic, more so than he already was in hopes of ensuring a future healer and mage for the kingdom.
It had been many centuries since Corona had a warlock of its own, Cassandra was determined not to disappoint.
Three years after Gothel had given Cassandra the tome to study, Gothel was painfully aware of her daughter’s limitations—or lack their off.
The tome lay sprawled across the table, beside it were notes so meticulous they were perfectly prepared to be transcribed and archived. Every spell, every incantation catalogued. Gothel’s fingers itched to burn it.
She wasn’t supposed to be this good.
Cassandra swept into the room, absentmindedly waving her fingers. The hearth roared to life. The curtains drew themselves. A forgotten teacup levitated to the washbasin. All without breaking stride as she muttered the words of a shape-shifting spell she was struggling with—advanced magic, the kind Gothel had needed centuries to reach, but her daughter was halfway to mastering.
“Your broom is moving in circles again,” Gothel remarked, glaring at the levitating broom that was just moving a small pile of dust back and forth without actually cleaning.
Cassandra blinked, as if startled from a trance. The wooden broom immediately stilled. “Sorry, Mother. Old habit.”
“Mm.” Gothel plucked an apple from the bowl, watching her daughter’s magic dance around the cottage—restless and bright. Cloths moving across the bookshelves’ tomes, a spoon stirring the soup, even the fire beneath the pot burned without kindling. “One might think you’re showing off.”
“Never.” Cassandra’s cheeks pinked. “It’s just... efficient . Like you taught me.”
There it was: Like you taught me.
Cassandra believed her own words, of course. Believed her mother could do all of this and more.
Gothel took a slow bite of her fruit. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her daughter’s talent. A skill at which she was undeniably more talented than her? Treachery. Yet useful.
When Gothel didn’t say anything more, Cassandra’s eyes returned to her tome, her brows furrowed as she bent over her notes. Despite her years of study at this point, no healing magic had presented itself to her.
She’d spent countless hours sat staring at the Sundrop, trying to decipher its secrets. But nothing. When she’d tried using magic too close to it, the flower had made its disdain clear. The flaring golden light had been so bright it had left Cassandra withering in pain as her eyes burnt.
Good , Gothel thought. Let it reject her .
Cassandra didn’t know how her mother got the Sundrop to heal. But she assumed the Sundrop’s distaste for magic was why her mother rarely used spells of her own.
Some days Gothel worried Cassandra would prove more useful to Corona than she was. But the tome kept her daughter busy. And the magic may come in use some day.
Besides—Gothel watched as the magically controlled cloths moved to the high up banisters, spilling dust all over Cassandra who’s whole body was suddenly racked with a fierce cough—her daughter wasn’t smart enough to cause her any trouble.
“Careful darling,” Gothel’s hand came to rest on Cassandra’s back. “You must not leave magic unattended.”
Cassandra smiled up at her. “Thank you Mother. You always have the best advice.”
Gothel smiled back, forced and sharp.
She’d created this—a daughter who worshipped her and wielded magic like a birthright, who still hadn’t realised she’d soon surpass her teacher.
Gothel was living in a wooden cottage alongside a lit match and one of these days if she wasn’t careful, her match may slip from her fingers.
Her grip on Cassandra’s back tightened. “Of course my darling.”
Chapter 8: Playing With Fire
Chapter Text
After years of practice, magic flowed through Cassandra like a second heartbeat—effortless, alive. Despite her true teachers being little more than a book and a dictionary, she’d bow each evening to Gothel and thank her for this gift, and each evening, her mother would nod and say: “Work harder.”
So she did.
She read, she studied, she practised.
She studied every spell over and over again.
Levitation and light came as easy as breathing, she didn’t even have to think about it. They were an extension to her body, sometimes she’d lift using her hands, other times magic. She didn’t even know why she chose one over the other some days.
But there were other spells that weren’t as useful on a day-to-day basis, which meant Cassandra had to be more purposeful about practice, but she intended to master them just the same.
Today she practised in the garden, behind the castle where the guards often trained, an area where the grass was beaten down by the horses and the guards’ boots.
Cassandra spun flames between her fingers.
She’d been inspired by some fire-eaters she’d seen performing in Corona’s night market. Except Cassandra’s flames didn’t exist for anybody’s entertainment, they were dangerous, a weapon nobody could disarm her of.
She tried to guide the flames the same way she did her light.
She spun around, pulling it along. She threw it forward, careful not to throw it too far.
The guards murmured about the young mage, worried she’d replace them.
A stupid fear, really.
She was just one person and clearly her role within the palace was greater than that of a simple guard.
(Though in her heart, she traced their drills with hungry eyes. How glorious it would be to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, steel in hand—)
It was this thought, dreams of being a warrior, that had her forget for just an instant too long that what she was wielding was fire, dangerous and hot, unlike the light she usually played with.
She brought it towards herself too fast, allowing it to phase over her arm and hand before going the other way.
The second after this mistake was silent and calm. Cassandra didn’t realise what she’d done until the pain hit—
Her screams tore through the afternoon air.
The flames faded as she hit the ground. Agony tore through her. The world narrowed to white-hot pain.
Somewhere beyond the pain, boots pounded against earth.
Cassandra gasped for air, her hand held to her chest as tears streamed down her face.
Time stopped having meaning, she screamed but couldn’t hear herself over the pain, her eyes closed tightly.
There were hands—too many hands—reaching for her, trying to help. She writhed away until one touch cut through the chaos: cool fingers cradling her face. A touch she knew better than her own heartbeat. Had someone fetched the queen or had she heard her screams all the way from the palace?
How embarrassing.
“Look at me, darling.”
Cassandra pried her eyes open to Arianna’s face, pale. She was wearing her crown, which meant she’d interrupted something. The queen’s skirts pooled in the dirt as she gathered Cassandra close.
“Summon the healer,” Arianna ordered. “And summon some physicians too… and bring damp cloths. Now.”
Cassandra buried her face in the queen’s skirt, her whole arm pulsing with each heartbeat. Arianna’s perfume—lavender and… something sweet—became a lifeline as she tried to ignore the scent of burned flesh that rose between them.
“Breathe,” Arianna whispered against her hair. “Just breathe through it, my brave girl.”
Cassandra tried. But it was hard. It was hard to breathe through the pain, through her own desperate sobs. But she tried, for the queen, she tried.
Gothel arrived on the scene. Her shadow fell across Cassandra’s trembling form. She crossed her arms. She didn’t kneel. Didn’t reach out. Just stood and stared with the detached interest of a scholar.
“A burn?” Her nose wrinkled at the charred scent hanging thick in the air. “This is what happens when we’re not careful.”
Arianna’s grip tightened around Cassandra’s shoulders. “Heal her.”
“Don’t be dramatic.” Gothel flicked her wrist in dismissal. “The Sundrop isn’t some bandage for every scraped knee.” Her gaze slid to Cassandra’s tear-streaked face. “Consider this a lesson in the dangers of magic.”
“That wasn’t a request,” Arianna’s jaw clenched. “Heal her!”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?!”
“The sundrop cures miracles … it’s just a burn, she’ll survive.”
“She’s your daughter, and she is suffering.”
“A lesson well learned.”
Years of arguments rose bitterly on the queen’s tongue—and died there, they’d never gotten her anywhere before. Instead, she turned to the physicians with a single sharp nod.
They descended without hesitation, gloved hands gentle as they assessed the damage. One pressed a cool cloth to Cassandra’s forehead while the other murmured, “Second degree, possibly third near the wrist. We’ll need—”
Arianna phased them out, instead concentrating on keeping Cassandra’s attention. She kept one hand cradling Cassandra’s cheek, thumb brushing away tears. “You’re in the best hands now, darling.”
The lead physician was barking orders for salves and herbs, then her voice became gentle for Cassandra: “This will hurt,” she warned as they lifted the stretcher, “but it’ll only be an instant and you’re tough. We’re going to ease the pain real soon, okay?”
Cassandra’s whimper cut short when Arianna caught her uninjured hand, pressing it to her own heart. “Count my breaths,” the queen instructed. “In... and out. Just like that.”
Behind them, Gothel watched the procession with arched brows. As the doctors carried her daughter away, she called after them: “Do try not to coddle her, Your Majesty. Pain is an excellent teacher.”
Arianna didn’t turn. Didn’t release Cassandra’s hand. Just walked on, standing almost as a barrier between the girl and the woman who called herself a mother.
The smell of the infirmary had always made Arianna feel slightly nauseous, today it clung to the back of her throat as she stuck by Cassandra’s side. Cassandra’s fingers twitched in her grasp, the girl’s pupils dilated from the medicine though her breaths still came too fast.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” Arianna turned Cassandra’s face away from the physicians’ work, where salve-smeared bandages were wrapping the angry red flesh. “Rapunzel’s going to tell us about her astronomy lesson, aren’t you, darling?”
Rapunzel perched on the edge of the cot, she’d just arrived having left mid-lesson after hearing of Cassandra’s injury, her hands were clenched in her lap to keep from trembling. She fixed her gaze on Cassandra’s forehead—anywhere but the ruin of her best friend’s arm—and launched into a dramatic retelling of the day’s botched star chart. Her voice only wavered twice.
The doctors were hard at work, with their main priority being avoiding an infection.
Once Cassandra’s arm was clean and covered, the head physician offered the sleeping draught, Arianna immediately gave an enthusiastic “Yes.” Cassandra had suffered enough for one day. She deserved the rest.
“This requires guardian consent,” the physician said gently, offering the parchment. “She’s too deep into the painkillers to consent herself.”
Arianna’s lips thinned. Of course, and Gothel was nowhere to be seen.
“Stay with her,” she ordered Rapunzel as she snatched the parchment and strode out of the infirmary.
Cassandra’s whimper came too late for Arianna to hear, the way her eyes followed the queen out before latching onto Rapunzel was a difficult sight for the princess to bare.
Rapunzel carefully took Cassandra’s uninjured hand.
“She’ll be back soon,” she promised, smoothing sweat-damp hair from Cassandra’s brow. Of course, this was a promise that depended on Gothel being where she was supposed to be. It was entirely possible Arianna would be out all night searching for the woman! It wouldn’t be a first.
These moments were why Rapunzel never did like Cassandra’s mother. Despite the stories of how the healer saved the queen and princess, Rapunzel saw up close how Gothel failed to be there for Cassandra and couldn’t help but resent her for that.
Cassandra deserved better.
Rapunzel knew her own mother tried to be that better… but sometimes there were limits to what she could do, even as queen.
Arianna’s fist struck the cottage door with enough force to rattle the Sundrop’s glass casing inside. The door flew open before the echo faded.
“Sign this.” Arianna thrust the parchment forward.
“What is it?”
“So your daughter can rest.”
“What side-affects—?”
“It’s safe. The physicians have vetted it. It’s safe and it’ll let her rest. If you want more details, please, go to the infirmary where your daughter is and have the doctors tell you, but if not, sign it. Because she’s scared, she’s suffering, and she needs the rest.”
Gothel plucked the document with two fingers, her nose wrinkling as she retreated to her writing desk. The quill scratched across parchment—too slow—before she extended it back without rising from her chair.
Arianna snatched it back, the paper tearing slightly at the edges.
“Must you act like a toddler throwing a tantrum?”
Arianna glared. “Why are you here? Your child is in the infirmary! Seriously injured.”
“Oh, it’s just a burn! I see far worse every single day. And besides, she’s not a child anymore! Why she’s not even a teena—”
The cottage door slammed before Gothel finished speaking. Arianna strode back to the castle, the signed paper clutched tightly in her hands. She didn’t have time to waste arguing right now.
Moonlight pooled on the infirmary sheets as Arianna kept vigil, her chair pulled so close to Cassandra’s bed that their shadows merged. The physicians had long since retreated—assuring her the girl would sleep soundly until dawn—but the queen remained, one hand resting lightly on Cassandra’s uninjured wrist, counting each steady pulse.
From this angle, Cassandra looked peaceful. No trace of the afternoon’s agony remained in her slack features. Only the bulky dressing peeking above the blankets betrayed the truth—that this sleep was medicinal, that recovery would be measured in weeks of bandage changes and sleepless nights.
Arianna’s thumb traced absent circles on Cassandra’s palm. Seventeen years of this. Seventeen years of being the one who stayed—through fevers and scraped knees, through nightmares and growing pains. Seventeen years of watching Gothel turn away each time her daughter needed her.
Gothel always let Cassandra fix her problems herself. No matter how big, no matter how small.
It maddened Arianna that Corona’s healer seemed so incapable of caring for the pain of even those closest to her. What sort of cosmic joke had placed the gift of healing in hands so cold?
Arianna knew so many people who would trade everything for the power to heal, to help others, to stop the pain of those they cared for… yet that power belonged to Gothel.
A woman incapable of caring for even her own daughter.
Arianna wished Corona could have another healer. There really weren’t many people who could be a worse fit for the job.
She knew she should be thankful Corona had a healer at all. But she couldn’t help but be mad.
She adjusted Cassandra’s pillow with practised hands, her anger settling. She’d never stop being angry for Cassandra. But it had no place in this infirmary. Cassandra didn’t need the queen to be angry for her. She needed a mother and as long as Arianna drew breath, she would not allow the young woman to be without.
Morning light painted stripes across the infirmary sheets as Cassandra flexed her fingers. The movement sent dull throbs up her arm—a persistent echo of yesterday’s searing agony. She traced the bandage’s edge, already imagining the twisted skin beneath. A permanent reminder of her carelessness. She knew the only reason she wasn’t in complete agony even now was because of the horrid tasting herbal concoctions the doctors had forced her to swallow for breakfast.
“It’ll be okay Dear.” Arianna’s hand covered hers, gently pulling it away. “It’ll hurt for a bit, but it’ll heal. You just need time and rest.”
“It was such a stupid mistake on my part…” she sighed. “I’m so sorry for creating such a fuss.”
Arianna shook her head. “You’re training for something very big. You wield a lot of power. Mistakes will happen and I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.”
Cassandra’s gaze drifted to the door. “When did mother leave?” She couldn’t remember much of yesterday, mostly just pain.
“She never came.”
Rapunzel shifted uncomfortably at Arianna’s bluntness.
“Oh.” Cassandra sighed. “She must be angry at me for such a mistake. Letting fire kiss my skin like some novice?”
“Or maybe,” Rapunzel leaned forward. “Your mother just doesn’t like infirmary’s? I mean, she is a healer after all. Doesn’t need them. Lots of people are squeamish in medical environments.”
Cassandra hummed.
Arianna stood abruptly. “What would ease you, dear? Books? Sweets? A proper pillow?”
Cassandra almost refused—then caught sight of the queen’s shadowed eyes. “A pillow would be… nice.”
“I’ll be right back, my dear. Rapunzel, you stay with her.”
“Of course.”
The moment the door shut, Cassandra sank deeper into the thin mattress.
“You really scared mum back there.”
“Sorry…”
“She didn’t sleep last night,” Rapunzel said. “Sat right there all night holding your hand.”
Cassandra turned to look at Rapunzel.
“She’s furious at Gothel,” Rapunzel added, plucking at the blanket’s loose thread.
“She always is.” Cassandra sighed. “They’ll fight again.”
“Only because she loves you so much and wants better treatment for you.” Rapunzel smiled. “Also, mum’s going to be all over you for a while yet.”
Cassandra smiled. “She always is.”
“More than normal.”
“I messed up so badly.”
Rapunzel leaned over. “You think it’ll scar?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Maybe it’ll look really cool, like an awesome bad-ass battle scar.”
“It’ll look like a burn scar.”
“You could say you were in a fight with a dragon!”
Cassandra chuckled, but it quickly dissolved into a wince as she jostled her arm. The pain flared bright and clear. When she next opened her eyes, she was face to face with the worried love of Arianna who’d returned with arms full of pillows. She was infinitely gentle as she got Cassandra into a better position before going to fetch a physician.
“All over you,” Rapunzel repeated with a smirk.
It took some time, but eventually, Cassandra was well enough to leave the infirmary. And one of the first places she chose to go was home. Not because she intended to stay at the cottage. Arianna was insistent she stay in the castle while recovering so the servants could tend to her needs.
Cassandra, unfortunately, had to agree, as every slight movement still brought her pain and her right arm was pretty much useless.
But she had to see her mother.
The first thing she noticed upon entering was that the cottage was dusty, the sunlight highlighted the specks that floated through the air. Weeks worth probably.
Gothel was dusting the Sundrop’s case. She turned at the sound of footsteps, though. “Oh, finally.”
Cassandra frowned.
Gothel took in the injured arm, considering if Cassandra was well enough to do her chores or not.
Cassandra flexed her good hand. Brooms leapt to attention, cloths wrung themselves out, and the cottage began cleaning itself. “We need to talk, Mother.”
“Now?”
Cassandra nodded.
Gothel sighed, sitting on the sofa. “Before you start, I can’t heal your arm. I know the rules seem unfair, I agree, but I didn’t write them and—”
“I don’t care about that.” Cassandra’s voice cracked. She sank onto the cushion, careful not to jostle her injury. “Why didn’t you come? Not once? To visit me? To see if I was okay?”
Gothel frowned. “In the infirmary? Why I knew you were safe in there. Queen fawning over you like a hen with one chick, doctors, servants… what would I have done there? Other than get in the way?”
“Comfort. Concern. Anything to show you—” Cassandra’s throat closed around the words.
“Comfort?” Gothel’s eyebrow arched. “Should I have brought sweets and bedtime stories? You’re not a child.”
“But the queen—”
“The queen has nothing better to do.”
“You not being there… it felt like… like you didn’t care.”
Gothel took a deep breath, seeing where Cassandra was coming from. “Well, that’s ridiculous… of course I care!”
“Then why didn’t you come!?”
Gothel let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Because… because I felt like a failure.”
Cassandra’s eyes widened, taken aback by that.
“My own daughter was hurt, she needed me… and as a healer I was useless . There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t make the pain go away. I couldn’t heal what was broken. Nothing . I’ve grown to accept the Sundrop’s rules. Learnt to live with them. It no longer pains me to send away those who can’t be healed. It’s just part of the job… but you … I wanted the rules to be flexible for the person who matters the most to me. After all I’ve sacrificed for that flower, I deserve that. But no. The rules are inflexible. I felt like a failure unable to heal you.” A tear traced Gothel’s cheekbone. Perfect, practised. But Cassandra didn’t realise that.“I failed you.” Gothel turned her face away with practised grace. “As a healer. As your mother.”
“No! Mother, I just needed you there—”
“And I needed to fix you!” Gothel’s hands framed Cassandra’s face, so fast the movement rustled her arm and brought pain. “Don’t you see? Watching you suffer when I hold life itself in my hands—” She broke off with a shudder.
Cassandra hugged her mother with one arm. “You being there would’ve been enough. I don’t need you to fix me. I just need to know you love me and if you’d been there, I’d of known.”
Gothel hummed, her own arms wrapping around the young woman. “I’ll be there next time.”
Cassandra melted into the embrace. “Thank you, mum.”
“You’re welcome, my dear.”
Chapter 9: The Light Show
Chapter Text
Rapunzel would be eighteen soon. Which meant she had a coronation to look forward to, or in her words: dread .
“It’ll be an honour for you to accept your title and more duties,” Cassandra argued.
“I’ve had this title since I was born and more duties is a good thing?” Rapunzel stared in disbelief. “Some days I don’t know why we’re friends.”
“I think it’s mostly a friendship born from convenience and habit at this point.”
“If we met today… I bet I’d hate you.”
“Nah. You’d love me. I’d hate you though,” Cassandra shrugged. “Barefoot, carefree princess drawing on everything? Pft. Hard pass.”
“And why exactly would I love you? You’re boring!”
“Raps,” Cassandra raised a brow, waving her gloved right hand through the air with a flourish. Golden sparks erupted into the air, twisting into intricate constellations that pulsed in time with her laughter. “Let’s not pretend you wouldn’t lose your royal composure entirely if you saw this for the first time tomorrow.” She pirouetted, trailing ribbons of violet that faded with a bow. “Face it—you’d be desperate to get to know the ‘wizard-woman’.”
Rapunzel’s lips twitched despite herself, her eyes betraying awe for one unguarded moment before she schooled her features into disapproval. “That’s not—”
“—true?” Cassandra leaned in. “Liar.”
“Fine! Maybe you’re right… maybe I would want to be your friend. But you’re wrong about it being for the magic!”
“Oh?”
“I’d want to be your friend because, unlike ninety per-cent of this castle, you’re honest, you’re straightforward and real. I need some of that in my life.”
Cassandra smiled. “Well… I’d definitely hate you at first. But I suppose after a week or two your… better features may start to show and I’d give you a chance. Or you’d wear me down. Probably the latter.”
Rapunzel shoved her best friend with a laugh. “So, how’s the magic coming along?”
Cassandra sighed. “Same old, same old… I’m glad to have a place as the royal mage, but… I don’t know if I’ll ever be a healer like my mother. I’ve been stuck on that same shape-shifting spell for years now and I’m not getting any closer. Damn it, pascal is a better shapeshifter than me!”
Pascal let out a little squeak as he changed colours.
“Show off.”
Rapunzel smiled. “Didn’t your mother say it could take a lifetime? You’ve almost made it through the book in a matter of four years. You’re already highly ahead of schedule, so who cares if it takes some time? You were able to switch hair colours the other day, right? I think you’re going to get there when the time is right.”
Cassandra smiled. “I hope you’re right Rapunzel.”
The kingdom was busy preparing for the coronation. Shops stocked up for the influx of visitors, people decorated the streets. The king and queen were barely around, too busy with meetings. Rapunzel had a lot to learn and all new clothes to be tailored.
Cassandra also had appointments pending with the tailor, but more importantly, she had a performance to prepare.
While Gothel’s magic demanded solitude (or so she claimed), Cassandra’s had never shied away from an audience. So, she’d be representing Corona’s healer by putting on a light show and retelling the story of how Rapunzel was born.
Manipulating light was one of the first spells Cassandra learnt, but a performance? The idea of many royal gazes—judging, comparing, measuring her against her mother’s legacy—turned familiar magic into something terrifying.
Especially because the king himself had asked it of her and he never asked anything of her!
Arianna told her to not worry too much, but Cassandra was, in fact, very worried.
“This is the story of Rapunzel, and it starts with the sun,” Cassandra spread her arms wide to show Corona’s symbol of the sun spinning slowly. “Now once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens.” From the sun symbol, a drop fell and the sun symbol lifted and faded away. “And from this drop of sun grew a magic, golden flower.” She knelt down to form an exact replica of the sundrop, years of sharing a home with it made capturing every glimmering detail an easy task for the young mage. “It had the ability to heal the sick and injured, but only under the guidance of a powerful mage…”
“Centuries passed and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved king and queen.” She didn’t create any light replicas of the king and queen, she’d gesture and bow to them at the coronation. “And the queen was blessed with a baby. But she got sick…” Cassandra’s voice hitched, she hadn’t witnessed Arianna’s suffering, but the stories alone made her throat tighten. That fragile thread of fate where Gothel’s intervention meant everything. Without her mother, neither Arianna nor Rapunzel would be alive today.
“Really sick,” she forced herself to continue. “She was running out of time… And that’s when people start to look for a miracle. Or in this case: a magic golden flower.” She smiled down as her replica glowed brighter.
“Here steps forward Corona’s healer,” Cassandra announced, her voice swelling as golden light coalesced into Gothel’s elegant silhouette. The magical replica paused dramatically before the glowing Sundrop. “When others would have hoarded such power—” The image of Gothel clutched the flower greedily—Cassandra’s hands swept outward, reforming the figure with arms outstretched in offering. “—she chose to share its gift.”
“The Sundrop’s magic, channelled by my mother’s skill, worked its miracle.” Cassandra’s voice swelled as golden petals shimmered and folded inward, the flower’s light pulsing like a heartbeat. “From death’s shadow came new life—a healthy princess, born with a laugh that could charm the stars and a smile brighter than Corona’s sun!”
The flower bloomed anew, its centre now cradling a luminous infant Rapunzel. The magical babe reached tiny hands toward the none-existent-audience. “Her laughter might have single-handedly brought joy back to the kingdom that day.” Cassandra smiled.
“To celebrate her birth and every birthday to come, the king and queen released a lantern into the sky.” Cassandra made a lantern of light, knowing that during this performance a thousand more would be visible through the windows behind her.
“In that moment… everything was perfect. And that perfect moment has been going strong for eighteen years! For eighteen years, Rapunzel has grown smarter, stronger. Eighteen years of Rapunzel blossoming into the radiant leader you see before you today. ”
“For eighteen years, Corona has learnt to embrace magic with its own healer and now its own mage.” With a sweeping gesture, the magic transformed—showing villagers entering Gothel’s cottage hunched with pain and emerging whole; luminous spells dancing through palace corridors; the people: happy.
As the golden lantern dissolved into the air, Cassandra pressed a gloved hand to her chest. A beat of silence passed before she spoke, her voice thick with emotion:
“Corona opened its gates and offered a home to a healer and her daughter. For every lesson in these halls, every kindness in these streets—” Her fingers brushed the Corona insignia on her sleeve. “—I will spend a lifetime repaying that debt.”
The Sundrop’s glow reflected in her glassy eyes as she turned toward Gothel’s silhouette. “And to my mother, who brought light when darkness fell... who gave this kingdom its future not once, but every day since...” A single tear traced the curve of her smile. “No spell could ever capture that gift.”
And the remaining of her spell faded. “As for Corona’s tomorrow? It shines brighter than even the Sundrop could because it’ll be in the best hands possible. It is an honour to have been a part of this journey.”
Her head bowed, gloved hand still pressed to her heart.
This is where one would except an applause.
But not during a recital.
Which is why Cassandra almost fell when she heard one, anyway.
“That was incredible!” Rapunzel bounded forward.
“It truly was,” Arianna added.
Cassandra blushed. “When did you—?” She laughed as Rapunzel engulfed her in a hug.
“Okay, now I have something to look forward to at the Coronation! When did you get so good at those light shows?”
“Like, two years ago?”
“Why isn’t Cassandra doing these types of performances for every holiday Corona has? Picture this: Goodwill Festival, now with light show! Birthday? Now with light show! Harvest festival? Now with light show! National Pascal Appreciation Day—”
“Not a real holiday.”
“Not yet, but wait until I’m queen!”
Cassandra snickered. “I can’t waste all my time on silly little light shows, Rapunzel. That’d leave me with no time for improving the important magic.”
Rapunzel glared. “That is the most important magic I’ve ever seen you perform!”
Cassandra shook her head. “One day, I’ll master the healing that kept you alive. Priorities, Raps.”
Rapunzel sighed. “Fine. But I’m going to want a light-show at least this good at my wedding!”
“Maybe find a partner first.”
“Maybe we worry about coronations before weddings,” Arianna added. “Anyway, Rapunzel is correct, that performance was incredible, Cassandra.” Her thumb brushed Cassandra’s cheek, wiping away the unnoticed tear track. “You’re going to blow away your audience.”
“Thank you... but every spell I cast is possible because of your generosity.” Cassandra’s gloved hand gestured to the palace. “The libraries, the tutors, the hours you’ve let me steal from royal duties—” Her voice caught as she thought about how even now, Arianna was making time for her. “You gave me wings… Your Majesty.”
Arianna didn’t miss the pause before her title, the silence where a different word belonged. “You’re a part of my family.”
“Except without the royal duties you can never escape from!”
“Rapunzel,” Arianna scolded.
“It’s true!”
Cassandra smiled. “I still need to practice.”
“We’ll leave you to it then, but rest assured, it’s already beyond perfect, my darling.”
Cassandra bowed to the queen as Arianna dragged Rapunzel off to her next appointment.
“Maybe I should try to learn magic? As a hobby, you know?” Rapunzel spoke to Arianna as they made their way to yet another tailor’s appointment.
“You could try.”
“I’d love to compete with Gothel for the title of healer.”
Arianna frowned. “I’d love that too. But I reckon Cassandra’s more likely to accomplish that…” Arianna smiled. “If that path opens up and Cassandra chooses it, I look forward to her taking her mother’s place. I think it’ll be the first step in a brighter future for this kingdom… perhaps one with fewer conditions on who is worthy of healing…”
Rapunzel’s fingers tightened as a memory surfaced—the Ingvarrian merchant’s knees hitting cobblestone, his wife’s laboured breaths echoing in the square. She’d been fourteen when she witnessed her first refusal up close, though the palace walls had long whispered of them.
It wasn’t just the tragedy that took place mere hours later.
It was the coldness with which Gothel turned her back.
Cassandra always cited the Sundrop’s ‘conditions’ with solemn certainty, repeating her mother’s teachings like scripture. Yet Rapunzel and Arianna exchanged glances whenever she did.
Even if every limit and condition Gothel had recited turned out to be true, they knew that if Cassandra’s hands, still bearing the scars of her own magical missteps, were one day able to hold that power, they’d do so differently. She would push against those limits. She would kneel when others begged.
Gothel had never truly done anything that’d prove she was lying, but…
“Your Majesty! Your Highness!” a guard rushed over, looking panicked.
“Whatever is the matter?” Arianna frowned with concern.
“Something went wrong.”
“What?”
“The princess’ crown… it… it…”
“Come on,” Arianna urged.
“It was stolen.”
Arianna’s frown deepened, the timing was terrible. “By whom?”
“Flynn Rider.”
Arianna pinched the edge of her nose. This particular thief had been giving Corona problems for years now. “Send whatever guards are free to try to track him down, but… I’ll start figuring out a replacement, just in case.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Rapunzel blinked. “Hey, maybe we could just—”
“We aren’t re-scheduling over a crown…” Arianna said with a sigh. “This is a minor setback. Nothing you need to worry about, my dear.”
“Fine. But if you change your mind…”
Chapter 10: The Thief
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Spread out!” The guards’ shouts sent birds scattering as Flynn Rider ducked behind an oak, his chest heaving. The Stabbingtons’ capture had gone smoothly—too smoothly—leaving all of Corona’s forces free to hunt him now.
A calculated risk. Triple the payday, triple the chase. His ex-fiancée’s father had taught him that one.
Branches snapped in the distance. Flynn wiped sweat from his brow, scanning the forest for any good hiding spots.
Then he spot a cottage, half swallowed by ivy, clearly abandoned. Perfect.
He rushed over the rotting bridge, cutting the ropes with a slash of his dagger, smiling at the satisfying splash the planks made. That’d buy him a little more time. He entered the cottage, closing the door. None of the guards had seen him enter. Of course, a cottage on the path would be worthy of investigating. He didn’t have long.
He looked around.
“Damn.” The empty interior mocked him—no furniture to hide in, no cellars, just dust and old rotted wood. He ran towards the back, planning to climb out a window, but paused. He jumped.
The sound was hollow, there had to be a basement… that could work.
He couldn’t see any obvious entrance, though.
He found a back room that was just as empty as the rest of the house, there were some light-fittings on the wall, the only thing left behind by whoever the prior owners were. He reached for one to use as a lantern when it clicked into place. A door began to open.
He grinned. Perfect.
Flynn Rider’s amazing luck struck again and a new adventure also opened up!
He entered into the secret hall, watching as the door closed behind him. He leaned over, whistling at the deep spiral staircase downwards. “Well, this just got interesting.”
“Raps, I just heard…” Cassandra’s boots scuffed the marble as she slid onto the bench beside Rapunzel. “I’m so sorry.”
Rapunzel sighed. “I know.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Cassandra placed a hand on Rapunzel’s knee.
“No, Cass… I’m pretty sure my parents have made up their mind about not re-scheduling my coronation.”
Cassandra blinked. “I meant about your crown being stolen.”
“Oh. Why? That’s just some gems and metal?”
Cassandra tilted her head before sighing. “Well, nice talking to you, I’m going to keep practising.”
“As am I… walking with heels is a nightmare!”
“Wouldn’t know, haven’t tried.”
“What? Lucky! But what about formal events?”
“I just told the king I needed my soles closer to the floor to reach the magic, exception can always be made for the royal mage, don’t you know?.”
Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “Wow. That’s like, treason, right? Lying to a king?”
“How do you know it’s not true?”
Rapunzel smiled. “Your secrets safe with me.”
The tunnels stretched before Flynn, far grander than any basement had a right to be. His torchlight flickered across smooth stone walls—someone had invested serious coin in this hidden labyrinth. But for what?
No treasure hoards. No armouries. Not even the usual rogue’s gallery of stolen art. Just endless passageways for his footsteps to echo off of.
Maybe this had been a mine? But who built their home over a mine entrance and why go through the effort of making a secret entrance to it?
He eventually found a door. Inside, mirrors lines a circular chamber and a fireplace lay unlit. He paused to appreciate himself in one of the many mirrors, winking at the stunning specimen who stared back at him.
He pulled the crown out of his satchel to try on. It clearly looked better on him than it would on any princess. Some people were just born to wear gold.
He moved on from the mirrors to stare down at hand-written notes scattered across a large desk. They weren’t a language he knew how to read, but there were plenty of pictures to go along with them.
A monkey.
A hooded man.
The sun.
The moon.
Then he saw a picture of a familiar flower. Flynn carefully smoothed the brittle paper, his thumb hovering the perfectly rendered petals. “The sundrop…” he frowned. He’d heard of the flower. Who hadn’t? It was famous worldwide for what it did for the queen and princess of Corona. Infamous for its waitlist.
Next to the drawing was the first bit of readable text thus far:
“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine…”
A nursery rhyme? A poem?
His eyes moved across the notes.
Or something more?
The cottage door creaked shut behind Cassandra as she kicked off her boots. Rapunzel’s nightly invitation still lingered in her ears, but she’d refused—again. The palace wasn’t her forever home, no matter how many pillows the queen piled on her ‘guest’ bed. She wasn’t a child anymore.
She was trying to spend more time in her own room. One day Rapunzel would marry and Cassandra would be expected to live in the healer’s cottage, after all.
Darkness swallowed the living room. She didn’t bother to light any candles as she trudged towards her room, but then she tripped over a cushion.
She groaned as she hit the floor with a thump then glared at her assailant. With a flick of her wrist, she levitated the cushion back onto the sofa, making sure it was perfectly tilted before standing up and dusting off her dress.
She noticed her door was ajar.
That was unusual.
She tilted her head, trying to figure out what her mother could have possibly wanted from her room.
A floorboard groaned to her left.
She didn’t move, didn’t give any sign she’d heard.
She thought for a second, processing her space—one fluid motion and every candle in the room roared to life.
She heard a groan at the sudden light and before the man could process what had happened five kitchen knifes were pointed at the thief’s throat, suspended by magic.
“Flynn Rider…” Cassandra’s voice was sharp and… amused. “Did you really think you could steal the Sundrop?”
The man blinked up at her, eyes still struggling to adjust to the light. “Ah. You must be Lady Gothel.”
“Her daughter.” The knives inched closer. “Unfortunately for you, far more dangerous. Not bound by healer’s oaths, plus, if you do get stabbed, I can’t do anything to save you,” she shrugged.
“Well, that is unfortunate…” Flynn grinned. “But fortunately for you, if you get stabbed, I can heal you!”
Cassandra frowned, raising her brows. “Excuse me?”
“Freshly minted healer, at your service.” He’d have bowed to add to the dramatics but… still five knifes pointed at him.
Cassandra snickered. “What?”
“I can heal. It’s why I came here. I know I’ve done some… questionable things over the years.” He pulled Rapunzel’s crown out of his satchel when he saw the knifes were slowly inching away as Cassandra approached with a curious look. “But just recently I found out I had the power to heal and, well… it changed me.”
“You stole that this morning,” Cassandra deadpanned.
“Epiphanies strike fast!”
Cassandra lowered the knives. “Show me.”
“Now? Here?”
Cassandra grabbed one of the knives, the other four clattering to the ground.
Flynn swallowed, Cassandra raised it and Flynn closed his eyes tightly only to open them to see Cassandra’s left palm held up and bleeding. “Fix it. Now.”
Flynn’s eyes widened, but he nodded. He pulled out some earmuffs from his satchel.
“What are those?”
“Magic, you can’t be listening to the flower, it fusses, ya know?”
Cassandra didn’t know. She stiffened as the mufflers settled over her ears. She caught only glimpses of Flynn’s moving lips before—
Gold. Liquid sunlight poured from the Sundrop, brighter than she’d ever seen. The wound on her hand knit itself shut as she watched, breathless. After eighteen years, she was finally seeing its magic up close.
“Ta-dah!” Flynn removed the earmuffs, grinning. “So… no hard feelings?”
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed at him. “You still broke into my home.”
“I want to speak to the king and queen, offer my services to this kingdom… with two healers, the kingdom could do way more and I’ve always wanted to live in a castle… but I had to show someone it’s legitimate first. Nobody was going to bring me here to verify otherwise.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“How long is the wait-list for healings?”
Cassandra crossed her arms.
“Come on, as a fellow mage, you must be tired?”
Cassandra hesitated before holding out her hand. “Give me the crown.”
Eugene did.
“You can come with me to speak with the queen, but I won’t make any promises she’ll want to hear you out and if she orders me to end you, I will.”
“Good to know.”
Cassandra knew Arianna wouldn’t do such a thing, but retrieving the crown was already a pretty good accomplishment. Besides… Gothel had never let Cassandra this close to the Sundrop’s magic. If this man was willing to let her see him perform magic, perhaps he was also willing to teach her?
“The name’s Flynn, by the way.”
“I know.”
“I know you do, but it’s this thing people do to get other people’s names.”
She rolled her eyes. “Cassandra.”
He swept into a bow. “A beautiful name for a beautiful Lady.”
“Don’t give me another reason to stab you.”
“Not into men?”
Cassandra didn’t answer.
“It’s the only explanation for you not being into me. But it’s cool. I respect that.”
“Excuse me… that’s none of your business.”
“I’m just saying: it’s okay. I don’t judge.”
“I don’t care what you think! I just met you!”
“But already we are bonded by our shared powers and responsibilities.”
Cassandra was flabbergasted. She almost hoped the queen would have this man arrested, but… another healer would be good.
Notes:
Oh! Oh! Oh!
I made art of Cassandra in this AU... if you want a mini analysis of the design choices (there isn't actually much to it...), that's on Tumblr (basically it's a mix of Gothel's style and the Lady-In-Waiting style from the show with some pearls for Ari thrown in for good measure)
Chapter 11: Does the skill of healing get drawn to those with no morals?
Chapter Text
Arianna cradled Cassandra’s healed hand between both of hers, pressing it over her heart. “Darling,” she murmured, her thumb brushing the unmarked skin she’d closely inspected after hearing the story, “must you test my mortality like this? One of these days, you will give me a heart attack.”
Cassandra’s shrug did nothing to hide her blush.
“What was your thought process in doing that? And your good hand nonetheless…”
“I dunno…”
“What if he hadn’t healed it?”
“Bandage.”
“Bandage? Great.” Arianna took a deep breath, kissing Cassandra’s hand before turning her full regal glare on Flynn. “As for you, while I must thank you for healing her…”
“My absolute pleasure, Your Majesty—”
“—stealing crowns doesn’t typically earn royal audiences.”
“I gave it back!”
“Not really the point.” Arianna frowned, glare softening (but not disappearing) as it moved to Cassandra. “How did you get him in here?”
Cassandra twirled her fingers. A prismatic shimmer enveloped Flynn, and he vanished, until he peaked his head around the side of it. “Light magic. Pascal-inspired.”
“Wow… what a smart use of that ability.”
“Thanks—”
“Don’t use it to bring wanted criminals into the palace again.”
Cassandra ducked her head. “I couldn’t leave him with the Sundrop unsupervised. And... after what he did I didn’t want to hand him over to the guards without your input.”
“Yes, yes… I can see why you did it.”
“While his criminal record is extensive, he definitely deserves to rot in the dungeon… it would seem he can perhaps do more for society up here.”
“Another healer… and a thief, of all people. Does the skill of healing get drawn to those with no morals?”
“Hey,” Flynn looked offended.
Cassandra’s brows furrowed at the queen so openly insulting her mother.
“I’ll discuss options with the king. And Gothel.” Her lips thinned at the thought. “First though… Cassandra, what’s your recommendation?”
Cassandra looked at Flynn. “I think… I think magic is weird and what’s easy for some can be very hard for others… as such, there is many stuff my mother can’t heal but perhaps he can… I think we need to try.”
Arianna nodded. “Then that will be my goal in this discussion.”
“What do I do with him meanwhile, Your Majesty?”
“Place him in a cell.”
“Oh, wait, no—” Flynn tried to argue.
Flynn’s protest died as Cassandra’s gloved hand rose and light twirled around it, forming an illusion of flames. “The easy way or hard way, Mr Rider?”
Eugene held out his wrists while keeping his face as far from the ‘flames’ as possible.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Wait, so while I was sleeping last night you were arresting a thief? And you didn’t think to wake me? Does our friendship mean nothing to you! You know I long for adventure!”
“It wasn’t an adventure,” Cassandra argued as Rapunzel paced around her room in annoyance.
“ Wasn’t an adventure ,” Rapunzel put on a childish, mocking tone.
“It was mostly paperwork and—actually, you know what, you’re right. I’m sorry Raps, next time someone breaks into my home, I’ll send them up here to scare you instead.”
“Good.”
Cassandra huffed. “Anyway, I feel you missed the far more important part where this man can use the Sundrop to heal… Not just that…” Her fingers fiddled restlessly with the edge of her glove. “He healed a cut in my hand, a minor injury, something that would heal on its own and the Sundrop obeyed him? No questions asked? What’s that about?”
Rapunzel sat down next to Cassandra. “Maybe the Sundrop was always willing to heal minor stuff and your mother’s just lazy.”
Cassandra glared. “What a horrible accusation to make Rapunzel. You know my mother suffered greatly when my hand got injured.”
“Not as much as you.” Rapunzel glanced at the hand before lying back. “So… if this guy can heal… does that mean he just be the next healer? You be the mage or whatever you want?”
“Throw away a lifetime of study?” Cassandra’s laugh was hollow. “He’s a criminal, Raps. Who knows how long he’ll be willing to hold that responsibility?”
“But if he stays...” Rapunzel rolled onto her side, propping her head up. “Is this a good or a bad thing?”
“More healers will do good for Corona.”
“Sorry, sorry, my bad… is this good for you ?”
Casandra frowned. “Yes. I want Corona to have more healers and…” Cassandra’s hands rested neatly on her lap. “I want to learn to heal. Mother’s not taught me anything. Maybe this guy will.”
“Even if he’s a good-for-nothing criminal?” Rapunzel leaned forward, raising a brow.
“I don’t know Raps, would I prefer a better teacher? For sure! But so far, no luck. I’ll take what’s given to me and if the universe has decided on this, well… who am I to argue?”
“Your are Lady Cassandra, best friend to the future ruler of Corona, you can argue with the universe! I’ll back you up!”
Cassandra snickered. “You nearly died in the womb. You’re not fit to fight the universe.”
“Ugh, don’t you start. ‘You almost died in the womb’ is such a my dad thing to say. Like, fine, I almost died in the womb once eighteen years ago! I think I’ve plenty proven I know how not to die since!”
“You’ve proven remarkably durable since, yes.”
“Damn right.” Rapunzel sprang up. “So, should we go eavesdrop on my parents to find out what’s going to happen?”
“I can’t eavesdrop on royalty.”
“Shall I go eavesdrop while you stand nearby and I tell you what they say?”
“Yes, please.”
“Sometimes, it’s like you didn’t even grow up in this tower with me.”
“I was raised in a cottage.”
“Bullshit. You were raised in this room alongside me.”
“My mother would not agree.”
“She just wants credit for raising you, but I know for a fact it was a weird night if you weren’t here.”
“Mother was very busy, but I don’t think she should be removed from the picture just because of that.”
“She can be in the picture but in the corner, right at the back, barely visible.”
“Rapunzel.”
“Mum would agree.”
Cassandra shook her head.
“Mum used to say Gothel was borrowing you when you—”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Cause you know we’re right.”
“Rapunzel.”
“You’ve got a shitty mother, but that’s fine. You’ve got me and my mum to fill in the gaps!”
“Rapunzel!”
“Okay, shutting up! But you know it’s true.”
“Lady Gothel doesn’t want him near the Sundrop.”
“Lady Gothel doesn’t want competition for the title of Healer but we owe it to our people to give them the best chance.”
“I don’t know if I trust Cassandra’s perception—”
“Well, I trust Lady Cassandra more than I trust anybody else in this palace. If she says he healed her, he healer her. Would you like to try another test, my love?”
“No. No…” Frederic wasn’t sure about this. “I don’t want a criminal like him in the palace.”
“He’s only ever committed theft… a lot of it, notable theft but… theft none-the-less. I do not believe he is dangerous.”
“What if he steals the Sundrop?”
“Guards on the cottage.”
“Like we had guards on our daughter’s crown?”
“Better guards. More of them. Better systems and protocols.”
“I don’t know…”
“Have Lady Cassandra on duty when he’s inside. She noticed him and detained him by herself. She could assure the Sundrop’s safety.”
“Lady Gothel—”
“Isn’t in charge.” Arianna moved closer. “We are. And we owe it to Corona if this man can heal lesser injuries to give him a shot.”
Frederic frowned.
“Remember how difficult it was for Cassandra to recover from that burn? Imagine that had been Rapunzel. Imagine you refused to hire someone who could have saved her that suffering.”
Frederic didn’t speak at first. “Every door to the cottage gets two guards. Cassandra reviews the rotations.”
“I’ll draft the protocols myself.”
Frederic caught her wrist as she turned. “This changes everything.”
Her smile was all teeth. “Good.”
Chapter 12: The Healing/Magic Scam
Chapter Text
Gothel had a lot to say about the thief.
She begged Frederic to have him arrested and hung, to not let him near the Sundrop, but Arianna was firm and the only person who was more capable of swaying the king than her.
Besides, though many people wanted to deny it, Flynn Rider was good.
Gothel had so many conditions!
But Flynn Rider only had two.
The person he was healing and anybody else in the room had to have ear-muffs on and the windows and doors had to be closed.
He could heal things as unimportant as broken bones and burns.
Cassandra was impressed.
However, when she asked Rider for some tips, the guy just shrugged and said: ‘it came to me in a dream’. Cassandra found that answer as unlikely as it was unhelpful.
It didn’t take long for Arianna to start to adore this thief. He was stuck up, and sure, he’d caused her many headaches over the years. But right now he was going through Corona’s wait-list for healing at a pace Gothel never could. He was proving Gothel wasn’t one-of-a-kind.
Plus, she hoped there being a new healer would take some of the self-assumed pressure off Cassandra’s shoulders. The girl had spent years now training tirelessly to perfect her magic skills and hopefully one day become a fit healer, but the cost of that training hadn’t always come cheap.
Cassandra sat in the room with her arms crossed and the ear-muffs on, she watched Flynn Rider put on his show, she figured the dramatic hand gestures and the pacing weren’t necessary. He usually had his back to her when the flower started to glow. She knew he was talking, but couldn’t make out the words. She wanted to pull off the ear-muffs and listen, but she feared it’d interfere with the healing and couldn’t let the person sitting in the chair receiving treatment pay that price.
Rider always gave Cassandra a smug grin at the end. It was like he knew Cassandra had been training for years and gotten nowhere.
No matter. Cassandra still had her magic and without her, he wasn’t trusted to be anywhere near the Sundrop. She may not be a healer, but she was a necessary component to the healing.
Her eyes remained on the flower.
It had always been her job to care for it. But now, more than ever, it was her job to protect it. She was certain her mother’s fears were correct and this man’s intent was to steal it. While his service was appreciated, Cassandra knew she could not let her guard down, no matter what.
“Okay, bones fixed, blood on the inside where it belongs, anything else I can do for you kiddo?” Flynn asked with a grin as the little boy who’d come in crying after falling from a tree and landing on a rock shook his head, tear still lingered in his eyes but he was smiling. “Great, don’t forget to get a lollipop from my assistant on your way out, little man!”
The boy’s smile widened, running over to Cassandra.
“Still not your assistant,” Cassandra said with a roll of her eyes before handing the boy one of the lollipops from the giant bag Flynn had acquired from Monty’s this morning.
“I’m sorry: from Corona’s Royal Mage,” Eugene bowed to Cassandra dramatically. “Better?”
“Yes,” Cassandra said as she shut the door behind the boy.
“You’re so boring.”
“You’re so annoying.”
“So, what’s next?”
“You’re done for the day.”
“Really?” Rider tilted his head, glancing out the window. “There was a long line on the way in here.”
“Yes, but you’ve been at it for hours.”
“Not that many hours. I can do a few more.”
“But the Sundrop also has its limits…” Cassandra said, moving past Flynn to check on the flower, her movement were gentle, she never quite touched it.
“Did the flower tell you that?”
“No,” Cassandra glared. “My mother did.”
“The same mother who can’t heal broken bones?”
Cassandra stood up straight. “We aren’t risking the Sundrop for the sake of broken bones. The guards made sure those who most needed healing got in first. You’re free to go rest now, thief .”
“I know you mean that as an insult, but you should know I take pride in my career.”
“Out.”
“Okay, okay, chill!” Flynn raised his hands as he moved to the cottage door before pausing. “Can I ask a question?”
“No.”
“I couldn’t help but notice you always wear just one glove… did you lose the other? Are you not payed enough for a new pair?”
Cassandra held her hand to her chest. “That’s none of your business.”
Flynn’s eyes narrowed. “Is it magic related? Is the glove where you store your magic?” he grinned. “I bet you’re a fraud. Not a mage at all.”
“Plenty in this palace have witnessed me using my powers long before the glove, now scram.”
Flynn stepped closer. “I’m going to be honest with you for a moment, my Lady.”
“I expect you to be honest always .”
“I know your mother’s running a scam.”
Cassandra’s eyes narrowed, her face scrunching up slightly. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, obviously I’m not one to judge but, it’s important for me that you know we’re the same and—” He snatched Cassandra’s glove off. “Hah!”
Knifes flew through the air pointing at Eugene.
“Oooh… okay, yeah… I am seeing you do not need the glove for magic,” he held up his hands before noticing Cassandra’s right hand, held to her chest it was black, the skin unsmooth, the glove was just fabric, hiding a bad scar she wished to forget about. “Oh.”
“Fuck you Rider.” The knifes dropped, and she snatched her glove back, she struggled to get it back on, glaring at him the entire time.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”
“Why would you think my magic is in a glove?” she glared.
“I dunno, you just always have it on and… stupid assumption, I see that now… nasty scar. How’d you get it?”
“Still none of your business.”
“Bit much to have been done cooking, I feel like I’d know about a house-fire given you live in the palace...”
“Magic. It was magic. Fire magic. I burnt myself. Okay? Happy now?”
“Oh.”
“Which is why magic deserves every bit of respect I give it. Unlike you, who seems to think it’s a game.”
“Did your mother not have the flower at the time?”
“Yes, she did.”
“And she didn’t… she didn’t heal you?”
“The Sundrop won’t heal stuff that’ll heal themselves… not for my mother, at least.” She turned her back to Eugene, looking at the flower.
“You sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“Did she at least try?”
Cassandra didn’t answer. “Please leave.”
Rider picked up his bag. “Okay… umm… feel free to help yourself to a lollipop, if you want.”
“I don’t.”
“A sweet treat might be good for your bitter personality.”
Cassandra glared.
Flynn just raised his hands in surrender as he smiled and left.
Cassandra covered the sundrop with its glass dome before sinking down onto the sofa, her head falling into her hands as she took a deep anxious breath.
The sundrop glowed gently.
“You don’t get a say in this,” Cassandra snapped at the flower as though they were holding a conversation. Cassandra wanted to cry. “Why am I not good enough for you?” she walked over to the flower. “Why is my mother not good enough for you? What does that thief do that we don’t?”
The flower’s gentle glow offered no answer.
Cassandra felt tears pricking at her eyes. “It’s not fair… I care so much, I would give anything to follow in my mother’s footsteps, to be a great healer, to help my kingdom…” she dropped to her knees, staring up at the flower. “Please tell me what I’m doing wrong.”
The flower didn’t answer.
“Cassandra?”
Cassandra turned to see Rapunzel standing at the door. Cassandra wiped her eyes fast. “Hey Raps…”
“You okay?” Rapunzel slowly moved inside.
“I’m fine.”
“This new healer really isn’t sitting well with you, huh?”
“It’s… fine.”
Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Cassandra.
“Why were you looking for me?”
“Well, mainly as an excuse to get out of that changing room, ugh, have you seen my coronation dress? That’s more ribbon than dress.”
Cassandra snickered.
“Also mother wanted you to come along for a last-minute walk through the grand hall, you can make sure your light-show fits, I can glare at the carpet.”
“The light show… Raps, I can’t do that now.”
“What? That’s going to be the highlight of the day!”
“The new healer, the thief…”
“Guards will be inside the cottage alongside your mother, who doesn’t wish to attend the coronation. Don’t worry.”
“I need to keep an eye on him, Raps.”
Rapunzel crossed her arms, looking at the flower. “Okay.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Yeah. That makes sense. You need to keep an eye on him. That’s fair. I get it.”
“Thanks, Rapunzel.”
Chapter 13: Invitation To A Coronation
Chapter Text
There was the sound of pounding on the door.
“Coming, coming!” Flynn crossed his quarters—luxurious, large, fitting for his status as a second healer— he swung open the door expecting a guard, probably the Captain come to threaten and glare some more, instead he found himself face to face with the kingdom’s princess. “Oh, and what do I owe this pleasure for?” he put on his most flirtatious grin and leaned against the doorframe.
“Ugh. You are disgustingly smug.” Rapunzel crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
Flynn’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me, princess, you friends with that Cassandra chick?”
“Yes.”
“I can tell.” Flynn said. “What do you desire, Your Highness? I can heal any physical ailment and, if you’re willing, the emotional ones too.”
“I bring an invitation to my coronation.”
“Oh, what an honour.”
“Don’t think of it as such,” Rapunzel held the envelope between her fingers. “I’m inviting you because Cassandra wishes to keep an eye on you. This is for her. Not for you.”
“You can just pretend to be polite, you know?”
“I prefer to be honest.”
Eugene took the invitation. “Well, I accept.” He opened it up, glancing at the beautiful paper and his name scribbled on with some clear level of disdain. “Seeing as my presence is a gift to your Lady, I assume I don’t have to bring you a gift?”
“Seeing as it’s not a birthday party for a child, nobody is expected to bring one.”
“But would you like one?”
“Here’s a good gift idea: come, sit where Cassandra can easily see you, and shut up for the duration of the ceremony.”
Flynn laughed. “You know Princess, it’s a pity you’ve already formed an opinion of me, we might be able to get along if you gave me a chance?”
“Not interested.”
“Are all your royals this stuck-up?”
Rapunzel glared. “You’re a thief. You don’t deserve my respect.”
“I’m also a healer.”
“Yes, and I’ve seen firsthand how little healers care for others.”
Eugene’s smug grin stopped reaching his eyes, though the grin remained. “Were you there when your lady-friend got burnt?”
Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that?”
“Listen, Princess… I don’t know what’s up with the other healer, with your royal mage or with you but… had I been healer when that burn happened, I’d of fixed it. On the spot.”
“So you say.”
“You have my word.”
“And what is the word of a thief really worth?”
“A lot, actually. I take, I don’t give. For me to give anything, even my word, is a gift.”
“Well, I don’t accept empty promises as gifts. The day someone I care for gets hurt, you can prove yourself. Until then, I have no reason to assume you’re better than any other healer whose come through here.”
“Well, I wish no harm on anybody you love, but when the time comes I’ll prove myself, then perhaps you’ll regret being so bitter towards me.”
“We’ll see.”
Flynn’s grin dropped as he watched the princess turn and go. He could see the resemblances between her and Cassandra. The way they talked, the way they pretended not to care, even the way they walked was similar. He wondered if that was just a feature of growing up in the palace or the influence they had on each other.
Flynn knew if he had a future in this castle, he needed some royal favour though.
The king granted all his favour to Lady Gothel, too grateful for saving his wife and daughter.
The queen seemed fond of him for now.
But the princess was very much unfond. But if Flynn could change her mind, he’d have a majority of the royal family on his side. Thankfully, Rapunzel’s pre-established opinions seemed to come from a negative experience with this prior healer and a love for her friend. This made Flynn believe perhaps the key to Rapunzel’s fondness might just lie with Cassandra.
“You look stunning,” Arianna said with a smile while the seamstress moved needles around Cassandra’s dress.
Cassandra frowned. “Is this really necessary, Your Majesty?”
“The dress? Well, I suppose you could wear something else, is it not comfortable?”
Cassandra glanced down at the blue shimmering fabric, it wasn’t her style but it wasn’t uncomfortable either, it had been designed with her in mind and designed knowing she’d be doing a performance. “I mean me being at the coronation at all… I just think with this new thief around...”
“Rapunzel solved that problem by inviting him.”
“Truly unbelievable on her part.”
Arianna shook her head. “I think it was smart of her.”
“Who wants a thief at their coronation?”
“It’s not about the thief, she wants you there, more than she dislikes having him there.”
Cassandra glanced at herself in the mirror, the blue shimmering fabric trailed behind her arms, it had long ribbon based sleeves, she had long white gloves that were so thin she could barely feel them yet hid her scars perfectly. “Why?”
“Are you really asking me that?”
Cassandra sighed. “Stupid question. I know.”
“A worrisome one if you ask me,” Arianna gestured for the seamstresses to leave, moving closer. “Rapunzel said you’ve been feeling a bit… self-consciousness since this new healer arrived.”
Cassandra’s hands moved in front of her. She looked down, avoiding eye-contact with the queen. “I don’t think there’s a future where I am Corona’s healer.”
“I know.” Arianna’s hand moved onto Cassandra’s arm. “I’ve known for some time. Seeing how amazing you are with magic and still unable to use that Sundrop…”
“Then why did you let me keep studying?”
“Because you were passionate, talented and have a bright future as Corona’s mage.”
“Corona doesn’t need a mage, it needs a healer. A healer like Rider who can comfort small children with broken bones and not just save the occasional life like my mother.”
“You’re right that Rider will be of great benefit to Corona, but Corona needs many things. It needs guards to protect it. Advisers to keep the economy running. It’s need a kind future ruler like Rapunzel. And a powerful mage who’s kind, intelligent and a capable warrior on top of it all… well, it can only brighten our future.”
“How?”
“Well, first things first, it’s a show of power. Foreign representatives have come from far beyond our land to see the Missing Princess take her crown, they will return home with stories of Corona’s prosperity that’ll help favour our trade later on. One of such stories will be the mage who dazzled the crowd showing power the likes of which most mages in Koto only dream to rival.”
Cassandra hummed.
“When one day my daughter takes the throne, I trust you’ll be at her side to advice her on all things magic, not allowing any con artists to trick her. But also to protect her in a way no mere sword could do. Many kings and queens die at the point of an arrow, but I’ve seen you stop those blades mid-air with a wave of your hand.”
Cassandra grinned. “Yeah.”
“You’ve always had grand expectations for yourself, Cassandra. But there’s no need for you to follow in your mother’s footsteps so closely. You are your own person.”
“The kingdom will be disappointed.”
“As long as Corona has a healer, they won’t care.”
“You see a future for this thief, huh?”
“I’m overjoyed there is someone who can grant you some peace.”
“I still think he might try to steal the flower.”
“Other than him being a thief, has he given any other signs that might be his intention?”
Cassandra frowned, thinking of the mornings’ healings. “No. He heals all who come to him and he seems to enjoy it. He especially treats the kids very well.”
“I’m not fond of the new healer being an ex-thief, but… I remain optimistic. Why does one steal? To have something they cannot. Well, there’s little this kingdom can’t provide when it comes to luxury and lifestyle. And there are few roles more important than that of a healer. I think this exchange will be mutually beneficial.”
“Another kingdom may offer him more to be their healer.”
“Unlikely. To do so, knowing that the theft of the Sundrop is an essential part of that deal, would be a declaration of war against Corona. Few kingdoms would take that risk. Those desperate enough to risk it, don’t have enough to offer Rider.”
Cassandra thought about that. “You’re right.”
“I often am. The curse of a queen and a mother.”
Cassandra smiled. “Thank you. I feel a lot better about myself now.”
“Good. I want you to keep your chin high, Cassandra. You are an amazing woman. A gift upon this kingdom. Just as much, if not more so, than your own mother was.”
“You’ve always said that.”
“And I’ll always mean it.”
Chapter 14: A Short Tragic Backstory and The Dangers of Gossip
Chapter Text
The woman stood up from her chair without pain, a state that was so foreign and new that she couldn’t help but thank Rider repeatedly.
“No problem. Nobody should have to live in pain. Come back as often as you need to! I’m here to ease the suffering of all those who need it.” He grinned as she closed the door before twirling to look at Cassandra, who was trying to write an assignment for her class and ignore the thief/healer. “Soooooo, Lady Cassandra.”
“Go away.”
“Excuse me? You are the one present at my job.”
“Shut up then.”
“I hear you’re only willing to go to the princess’ coronation on the condition I’m present. I didn’t realise you liked me that much or in that way?”
Cassandra’s head rose just the slightest to make sure Rider could see her glare.
“I’m not going to steal the flower, by the way.”
“That’s what someone intending to steal a flower would say.”
“Touché, but I’m serious.”
“You aren’t serious about anything, Mr Rider.”
“Mr Rider,” he sighed and sat down, putting his feet up on another chair.
“Is there nobody waiting to be healed?”
“Been two hours, mandatory break. Did you lose track of time?”
Cassandra blushed and looked away, she had, which was terrible! It was her job to protect the Sundrop and that included making sure it wasn’t overworked.
“Don’t worry. I heard your concerns last time, and I’m taking them seriously.”
“Good.”
“I’m happy Corona has this healing flower. Especially because I’ve seen the people coming in here, it’s not nobility or royalty, it’s everyone, and I’ve seen how the guards choose who comes in first, based on perceived urgency and signs of pain rather than wealth.”
“The queen made the system.”
“Then she is a just queen.”
Cassandra nodded. “She is.”
“Tell me, Cassandra, have you grown up in this palace?”
“I have.”
“So you’ve never seen what life is like in the streets, huh?”
“You about to drop some tragic backstory to prove you can be trusted?”
Eugene’s grin was smug. “Well, not if you’re judging me before I even begin.”
Cassandra leaned back. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“You’re willing to listen to the evil thief Flynn Rider?”
“I’m not saying I’ll care, but I’ll listen.”
“Okay, well, it’s a short and sweet, tragic backstory.”
“I like short.”
“Orphan.”
“Makes sense. Clearly, nobody taught you manners growing up.”
“Ignoring that. Dropped off in a basket on the doorstep of an orphanage… no idea what happened or where I come from.”
“Tragic.”
“Thievery is a common career path for orphans. You’re hungry, steal a bite to eat. You get caught. You get a criminal record and it’s all downhill from there.”
Cassandra’s face did soften slightly at that. “I see.”
“Now, personally, I think I was a pretty good thief.”
“Not something to be proud of.”
“Agree to disagree.” Rider looked at the flower. “But the thing is, growing up on the street you see things, you see people’s suffering up close, you see families broken by illness, you see plenty of orphans who weren’t abandoned, whose parents would be with them if they had the choice.”
Cassandra glanced at the flower.
“I don’t want more orphans in the world, Lady Cassandra.”
“That’s… that’s an honourable goal to have in life. But it’s also a very easy story to make up.”
“True.” Eugene leaned back. “Listen, your magical skills… they’re different from what me and your mother do.”
“I’m aware.” She glanced at her glove, eyes narrowed in irritation.
“I saw you practising that show the other day—”
“How?”
“From my window, don’t worry. I’ve not gotten out into the garden unguarded. Do you know how many bugs there are outside? Why would I even want that—”
Cassandra’s shoulders relaxed.
“My point is, your skills are amazing. You shouldn’t be wasting your life watching me.”
“I have to. The Sundrop is important to this kingdom, and I can’t trust you.”
“Alright, well,” Flynn stood up, the break almost over. “I hope one day you can.”
“I doubt it.”
“If you’d like…” he hesitated, biting his lower lip before shrugging. “Vardaros’ orphanage, ask to see the file of Eugene Fitzherbert.”
“Why?”
“It’ll prove I didn’t just make that story up. At least the base of it.”
Cassandra’s lip twitched. “Eugene Fitzherbert?”
“Not a word.”
“That your name?”
“No.” Eugene laughed. “I was abandoned at an orphanage with a book named Flynnigan Rider. Clearly, my parents named me Flynnigan Rider. Why else would I have it? Some stupid caretaker decided the name Eugene suited me. She’s wrong.”
Cassandra smiled. “Eugene Fitzherbert,” she said slowly.
“I hate you.”
“An honour to meet you, Fitzherbert.”
“I’m going to heal and you better put those ear-muffs back on, got it?”
“Okay… Eugene .”
Between the upcoming Coronation and a new healer, the Kingdom of Corona was all over the inter-kingdom news. It was on noticeboards, in newspapers, and in the mouths of all those wishing to gossip.
The Sundrop wasn’t usually talked about by name. Usually when talking about Corona’s healer, that was precisely what was talked about, the healer, Lady Gothel, and sometimes her daughter Lady Cassandra, Corona’s Royal Mage and the expected future healer.
But with the appearance of a new healer, someone from outside their bloodline, the conversation had switched, now there was a question as to who else could wield the flower .
The Sundrop.
The name of the flower spread through all the kingdoms, far further than the Seven Kingdoms who could access the waiting list, through continents and overseas.
It was dangerous . Gossip always had dangers, but it put a target on the Sundrop. A target for those who were desperate. A target for those convinced they could heal. A target for those who just wanted quick coin.
And a target for someone who had the bestest of intentions but no idea if her theory was correct.
Chapter 15: The Coronation
Chapter Text
“Today my life ends.”
“Your Highness,” Cassandra glared at her best friend, “With all due offence you’re more dramatic than those overwrought romance novels you keep forcing on me for book club.” Cassandra peeked through the door at the crowd beyond. “Nothing’s changing. You’ve been the sole heir since the day you were born. This is just another royal obligation—like the Winter Ball, or that painfully awkward trade summit with Neserdnia.”
“I am currently wearing high heels, Cassandra.” Rapunzel lifted her heavy brocade skirt to reveal the offending footwear—delicate silver slippers with heels so steep they could puncture a man’s ego.
“And?”
“And?” Rapunzel whirled around, nearly losing her balance. She caught herself on Cassandra’s shoulder, making the woman flinch. “That makes this the most serious event I’ve ever attended!”
“You measure the seriousness of an event in shoes?”
“Yes. My father makes me wear flats for state dinners. Boot heels for kingdom-wide ceremonies. But these?” She wobbled dangerously. “These are betrayal in footwear form. These mean no take-backs, no do-overs. These mean—” Her voice cracked. “—I’ll never be just Rapunzel again. After today I will be Crowned Princess, future Queen of Corona, Rapunzel…”
Cassandra’s stern expression softened as she steadied her friend with gloved hands. “Hey. Look at me.” She waited until panicked green eyes met hers. “No shoes or shiny crown changes who you are. You can be both future Queen Rapunzel, and just Rapunzel who I will continue to go to to whine about a minor change to the library’s layout. You might be Crowned Princess to foreign nobility. But to your friends and family, you’ll always be you.”
Rapunzel took a deep breath and nodded. “I… yeah, I guess so. It’s just… high heels Cassandra, they’re just—ugh!”
“A disgrace.” The voice made both women turn. Eugene leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips. “Personally, I’m of the opinion women should be allowed to wear whatever they want.”
“How did you get here?” Rapunzel’s eyes darted past him toward the murmuring crowd beyond. “Why aren’t you at your assigned seat?”
“Oh, I just wanted to personally thank you for the invitation,” Eugene said, stepping forward with exaggerated grace. “And to assure Lady Cassandra—” he gave a mocking half-bow in her direction—“that I am, in fact, present and accounted for, and not currently stealing her precious little flower—or should I call it a family heirloom?”
He reached for Rapunzel’s hand, as if to kiss it, but she recoiled, pulling her hand away, nose wrinkling in disgust. “Ugh. No. Go back to your seat.”
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Great. I’ll cross your name off the list. Now get back to your—” She froze mid-sentence, then narrowed her eyes. “Wait. How did you get past security?”
Eugene grinned. “Side door. Easy.” His gaze flicked between them, lingering on Rapunzel before he caught himself. “You both look stunning, by the way.”
“Eugene,” Cassandra used his real name, causing the man to flinch. “Go. Back. To. Your. Seat. Stop flirting with the princess or I will tell the king.”
“I’m pretty sure the princess is more than capable of rejecting me herself.”
“I already told you to leave,” Rapunzel said flatly.
“See?” Eugene gestured toward her, triumphant. “You really ought to respect your princess, Lady Cassandra. She’s a capable young woman.”
“Do not make me drag you back to your seat by the ear,” Cassandra threatened.
“I brought a gift.”
“I said no gifts,” Rapunzel glared.
“Not for you.” Eugene reached into his pocket and produced a small, elegant pot, offering it to Cassandra. “For you, my lady.”
She took it warily, turning it over in her gloved hands. “What is this?”
“Makeup.”
Her grip tightened. “And what, exactly, are you implying?”
“Given the colour?” He shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. “That you’re very pale. I noticed you struggling with your quill yesterday. I get that you want to hide your scars—but gloves aren’t the only way.”
Cassandra glanced at the pot.
“I’m really good at makeup. Fifteen-step beauty routine. You don’t look this dashing on pure luck—and trust me, nobody has enough luck to survive my criminal record without scars. So yeah. I know what covers them.” He nodded at the pot. “Not for now, obviously. But… try it. Might surprise you.”
“You aren’t going to be able to buy my trust, Fitzherbert.”
“Not trying to.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“If you’re not going to be trusting me, we’re going to be spending an awful lot of time together. So it might be beneficial to not hate each other. So that is an olive branch.”
“I see.” Cassandra handed it over to a guard, not having any pockets in her dress. “Well… thank you… Mr Rider.”
“You can call me Fitzherbert if you want. I hate it. But the way you say it? All stern and disapproving? Kinda gives me nostalgia for this one caretaker I—”
“Lady Cassandra.” A guard stepped forward, voice low. “You’re up.”
She nodded. “Someone accompany this man back to his seat,” Cassandra instructed. Then, locking eyes with Eugene: “If I don’t see you there during my performance, I will abandon this coronation to hunt you down.”
“Understood.” He gave another theatrical bow before waving goodbye to the princess and mage as he made his way back to his seat.
The great doors swung open.
Cassandra entered with a twirl, a dramatic swoop of her hands conjuring winds to lift her already breezy fabric. With a flick of her wrists, she sent ribbons of coloured light spiralling through the hall—a spectacle designed to dazzle foreign ambassadors and etch Corona’s power into their memories.
Before ascending the stage, she dipped into a deep bow—not to the crowd, but to the dais where the king and queen stood. May there be no doubt where her loyalty lay.
Frederic inclined his head. Arianna extended a hand, her smile warm as she invited Cassandra up onto the stage.
“Lady Cassandra,” Frederic’s voice carried across the hall, “Royal Mage of Corona, Daughter of our esteemed royal healer Lady Gothel.” Cassandra knew that having the king rather than an adviser introduce her was a deliberate choice. It sent a message, that Cassandra was no mere servant to the crown, that Corona saw and valued their mage. Frederic’s smile to Cassandra was subtle, but she noticed. “It is an honour to have her illuminate my daughter’s story for those yet unfamiliar.”
Cassandra murmured her thanks and took her place at the stage’s edge. Her gaze swept the crowd—past jewelled nobles, past gawking dignitaries—until it landed on Eugene, who winked and waved at her as though they were friends. She held back from rolling her eyes at the man.
Then—magic.
Light became paint; the air her canvas. Illusions bloomed—Corona’s history unfolding in shimmering vignettes above the gasping crowd. A flicker of movement caught her eye: the door at the end of the passageway stood slightly ajar, Rapunzel’s wide-eyed face peering through to watch.
Good.
Cassandra knew the purpose of this show: impress foreign powers. But in her mind it was mostly for Rapunzel, something to distract and calm the princess before it was her turn to take the stage.
Rapunzel pretended she was exasperated by this whole ordeal, but Cassandra saw the way her fingers twisted in her skirts, the shallow breaths no amount of coaching could steady—Rapunzel was scared. Cassandra hoped this performance would boost her confidence and help her see she was ready.
She was halfway through her performance, her illusions skipping through the crowd when the doors suddenly slammed open, Rapunzel almost fell as Gothel pushed past the princess and into the hall.
“Mother?” Cassandra’s illusions snuffed out like candle flames.
“The sundrop! Someone stole it!” Her wild eyes locked onto Eugene.
“Whoa—what?” He shot to his feet, palms raised. “I’ve been here the whole time!”
Cassandra didn’t wait. She vaulted off the stage, boots hitting marble.
Rapunzel was already moving, skirts hiked in her fists, high heels abandoned at the door, as she sprinted after Cassandra.
This was perfect!
A mystery!
An adventure!
Anything but the coronation—
Eugene ducked under the guards, grinning as he bolted after them. Alibi? Backup? Didn’t matter. That flower was his retirement plan, and whoever took it would learn why Flynn Rider wasn’t a name you crossed lightly.
Chapter 16: The Chase
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Cassandra burst from the palace, her boots collecting mud on their soles as she took in the scene: two unconscious guards sprawled near the cottage, the door hanging open.
She vaulted over the fallen men. For a millisecond as she slammed to a halt inside, she worried her mother would be upset over the mud—not important. Her stomach dropped at the sight.
Chaos.
Her childhood home had been ransacked. Books were scattered across the floor, chairs were knocked over and, most worryingly, the Sundrop’s table was bare.
A dark mark clearly indicating where the Sundrop’s case had sat for almost two decades now, the surrounding wood faded from the sunlight.
Rapunzel, unable to come to a halt as fast as her friend, barreled into Cassandra, sending them both crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs and curses (the none-magical kind).
Then came Eugene —because of course he did— leaping clean over them both. “Ladies, please,” he said, landing in a crouch amid the wreckage. “Careful.”
Cassandra groaned as she stood up. “The Sundrop’s missing.”
Eugene didn’t answer. His eyes flickered across the room, dissecting the disorder. “They went out the window,” he said, pointing to the far wall.
“How—?”
“Pay attention to how the mess is scattered.”
Before he could elaborate, the cottage door flew open. Guards flooded in, weapons drawn. One seized Eugene by the collar.
“Orders to arrest Flynn Rider.”
“He didn’t do it,” Cassandra snapped. “I had eyes on him all night—”
“Order from the Captain and King. If it wasn’t him, then he likely had accomplices do it.”
Eugene scoffed. “Oh, brilliant plan. Trust some random lackey to steal the most valuable object in the kingdom and not double-cross me? What do you take me for—an amateur?”
Cassandra cut in. “Don’t kill him.” She ordered the guards before she shot Eugene a warning glare. “Behave. I’ll handle this.”
“Wait—no—”
But she was already through the window.
She hit the ground running, fingers trailing across the grass, the lawn igniting in her wake, the grass burning away to reveal glowing footprints.
The gardeners would not be happy with her, but it was a small sacrifice for the greater good.
Cassandra whistled.
Hooves pounded the earth as Fidella came charging from the stables, Owl swooping down to land on Cassandra’s shoulder mid-stride. Without breaking momentum, Cassandra vaulted onto Fidella’s back. “Owl, track!” she commanded. The bird gave a determined hoot and shot into the sky like an arrow.
“Cassandra, wait for me!” Rapunzel’s voice came from behind, the princess was running as fast as she could, but Cassandra intended to lose her fast.
“HYAH!” Cassandra urged Fidella forward. The mighty horse gathered herself and—with a boost of Cassandra’s magic— cleared the garden wall in one impossible leap. They disappeared into the forest, branches whipping past Cassandra’s face as they tore through the undergrowth.
Behind them, Rapunzel skidded to a halt just before the wall. “Cassandra!” she screamed out in concern. “Guards, follow her!” she ordered with the in-charge tone of the queen she one day would be. But even as she said it, the guards had to grab horses, circle the palace, locate the tracks…
“And release that thief immediately!”
Eugene looked back at the princess as he was being dragged towards the castle.
“Captain said—”
“As Princess, I order every available guard to pursue the thief and protect Lady Cassandra.” She seized Eugene’s arm with surprising strength. “He comes with me.”
Queen Arianna and Gothel emerged from the palace just as the guards released Eugene.
Rapunzel locked eyes with the former thief. “You’ll help me catch up to her?”
Eugene rolled his shoulders and nodded. “That flower’s kinda my whole career plan, so yeah, I’m all in.”
Cassandra pressed flat against Fidella’s neck, the wind screaming past her ears. Between the trees ahead, flashes of red fabric moved—and there, the telltale golden glow of the Sundrop’s case. Close. So close.
“Halt in the name of Corona!” Her command rang through the forest, sending birds scattering from the canopy.
The thief looked back, a woman with long white hair tied up tight. She took in the sight of Cassandra before she spun and ran faster.
“Follow her.” Cassandra readied her blades and her magic. This woman was fast but not out-run-a-horse fast.
Hooves pounded behind her. She expected guards—until that familiar, annoying voice cut through the night:
“We’re here to save ya Lady-Dragon!”
“Fitzherbert…” Cassandra groaned to only Fidella’s ears.
“Cassandra, please! Wait for reinforcements!” the queen’s voice came from her other side, cracking with fear—not for the flower, but for her.
“Wait for us,” Rapunzel could be heard from the same direction as Eugene.
“Use your magic, you foolish girl!” and there was her mother.
Cassandra’s jaw clenched. She threw her leg over the side, holding onto Fidella’s main, ready to jump at any moment. The gap closed—twenty feet, fifteen, ten—
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled six throwing knives from her pocket and with a flicker of magic they shot toward the thief’s back.
The white-haired woman pivoted impossibly fast. A massive black sword, its surface swallowing the moonlight, flashed up. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! Every knife shattered against the dark blade.
“What?” Cassandra stared in shock.
The thief smirked, then swung at a towering oak. The black blade passed through the trunk like mist. The tree groaned, then crashed down directly in Fidella’s path.
“FIRE, CASSANDRA! NOW!” Gothel’s command rang out.
She flinched. Fire magic had been... difficult since the incident. She’d used sparks to light candles, brief flames to mark trails, but she’d discarded it from her arsenal of weapons.
But the Sundrop...
Cassandra launched herself from Fidella’s back, rolling across the fallen trunk. As she came up running, she stretched out her right hand—and let the fire come. At first slow and small, then bigger, brighter and more dangerous.
Ahead, the thief glanced back and, for the first time, her confidence faltered.
The flames came roaring toward Adira, a blazing torrent too brilliant to see through. In that split second, her battle-honed instincts assessed the threat: siege fire. Some fool had launched a flaming projectile from Corona’s walls, a reckless, desperate move. Her black sword rose in a flawless arc, muscles coiled to cleave the incendiary missile in two before it could find its mark. She’d done this before on other battlefields against other enemies.
The blade fell.
The flames split.
Cassandra hit the ground.
Adira froze, her sword now dripping red.
“CASSANDRA!” Rapunzel’s shriek tore through the night.
Eugene reacted fast. He vaulted from Max’s back, sword flashing not at Adira, but at the rope tethering the Sundrop’s case to her belt. The glass dome shattered against the ground, the flower tumbling free—but his eyes never left Cassandra’s fallen form.
The grass darkened around Cassandra in an expanding circle of crimson. Each breath came as a wet, shuddering gasp. The pain was unthinkable. Like her very soul was being unravelled.
Footsteps pounded near her head. “Mum…?” her voice cracked on a single syllable. Red skirts brushed her fingertips as Gothel swept past without slowing. The last thing Cassandra saw before her eyes fluttered shut was her mother’s back—kneeling not by her daughter, but by the Sundrop’s pristine petals.
Arianna and Rapunzel on the other hand dropped at Cassandra’s side.
“Cass!” Rapunzel’s hands were quick to try to stop the bleeding, but there wasn’t much she could do. “Cass, stay with me, Cass, Cass, look at me!”
Arianna was in tears, her hands were trembling as they wrapped around Cassandra’s hand. “My brave girl,” she choked out, “oh my brave, foolish girl...”
Cassandra’s breath hitched. The pain was fading now, replaced by creeping cold. But she could hear Rapunzel’s screaming, Arianna’s whispers, Eugene’s ragged cursing and her mother—“no damage, thank the gods…”
“Heal her!” Arianna screamed at Gothel, voice raw with both a queen’s command and a mother’s desperation.
Gothel’s eyes flickered to Cassandra’s still form, her fingers tightening around the flower. “I can’t,” she said. “Not here. Not like this.” Her gaze darted between the princess and queen, to the treeline from which guards may appear any moment now—witnesses everywhere.
A shadow moved at the edge of the clearing. Adira was gone.
Eugene didn’t hesitate. He shoved past Gothel—no reverence, no remorse—and snatched the Sundrop from her arms. The woman didn’t fight him. Didn’t protest. Just let her shoulders sag, as he dropped to his knees beside Cassandra.
Rapunzel scrambled aside, hands clapped over her ears. She remembered the stories—the Sundrop heals only when unobserved, but—
Eugene didn’t care about the earmuffs right now.
“Flower, gleam and glow,” he sang, voice rough but sure. The Sundrop pulsed in his hands, golden light spilling over Cassandra’s torn body. “Let your power shine—”
The wound began to knit itself closed.
“Bring back what once was mine—”
Gothel took a single step forward—then stopped. Her jaw clenched.
“Change the fate’s design, heal what has been lost—” Cassandra’s chest rose in a sudden, gasping breath. Colour flooded back into her cheeks.
A tiny exhale escaped Gothel. Almost relief. Almost regret. Then she turned away, smoothing her skirts, composing herself as if nothing had happened.
“Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine…” His voice softened as he finished, as Cassandra’s grey eyes fluttered open, locking onto his.
Before she could say anything, strong arms enveloped her, the desperate clutch of a mother who’d nearly lost her child. Arianna’s tears fell warm against Cassandra’s cheek as the queen cradled her face. “Cassandra.”
“Your Majesty…”
“You’re alive.” The queen’s voice broke. Her arms tightened.
Rapunzel pressed into them both, her own tears mixing with Arianna’s. “Never ever do that again,” she choked out, fingers tangling in Cassandra’s sleeve. Cassandra could see Eugene’s grin over their shoulders.
Cassandra blinked, dazed. “I didn’t mean to scare you…” Cassandra murmured.
“I said to wait… you are never to go against my orders again,” Arianna held the woman she’d been raising since she was four tightly. “Never. I could have lost you.”
“I’m sorry,” Cassandra whispered, leaning into her family. Her eyes rose to meet Eugene’s. “Thank you.”
Eugene smiled, he eyed the flower, his key to a better life that he’d just revealed wasn’t so mysterious. “Anytime, Dragon Lady.”
Notes:
So, fun fact, I did an animatic of this scene AGES AGO (not very good cause animating is HARD).
Here it is :D(that animatic, those 20 seconds of messy sketches that don't quite fit together, took 10 plus hours btw. I say this purely for a point of reference of how much damn time animation takes cause with the fast pace of social media less and less people seem to know XD)
Chapter 17: Sister Vibes
Chapter Text
Arianna’s trembling hands fluttered over Cassandra, her silk gloves ruined with blood that no longer needed staunching. “Oh sweetheart, oh my baby—” The queen’s voice broke as she pulled Cassandra against her chest again, uncaring that the girl’s torn blue dress was staining her own gown crimson. The grass beneath them remained a visceral reminder—a dark red blot where Cassandra had nearly bled out moments before.
In contrast, Gothel had scooped the flower up and was standing a few steps away holding it like it were the only thing that mattered. She glared daggers at Eugene and at Cassandra (as if Cassandra hadn’t put her life on the line to protect the damn flower at her command!)
“I’m fine,” Cassandra murmured into Arianna’s shoulder, though she didn’t resist the suffocating embrace. The queen’s fingers kept fiddling with the fabric, checking Cassandra over as if the Sundrop might have missed something. Fresh tears splashed against Cassandra’s collarbone. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You could have died!” Arianna’s normally melodic voice cracked. She clutched Cassandra’s face, forcing their foreheads together. “Had Rapunzel not thought to bring Rider with her, you would be dead!”
“He’s name is Fitzherbert, actually.”
“Excuse me?” Eugene’s arms flew up. “Oh for—! Is this the thanks I get? I told you that name in confidence!”
“It’s his legal name,” Cassandra explained with a soft laugh. “Eugene Fitzherbert.”
“Next time, I let you die with that info.”
“The caretaker was right. It suits you.”
Eugene huffed, wanting to be angry at her but still oh so relieved she was alive.
Rapunzel rose quietly, knowing Cassandra was trapped in Arianna’s arms for the foreseeable future. “Eugene…”
“Great, now everybody’s using that name.”
She caught Eugene’s hand. “Thank you.”
Eugene pulled his hand away. “Don’t… thank me. I mean, I’m no monster, I wasn’t just going to let an innocent person bleed out and die on the grass. It wasn’t some heroic act or anything. I just did what any decent person would do.”
Rapunzel’s eyes darted past him to where Gothel was already commandeering a guard’s horse, the Sundrop clutched possessively against her chest. When her gaze returned to Eugene, it held a quiet intensity. “Still… I will be forever grateful for this. You didn’t just save ‘someone’, you saved my best friend, who… is kinda like a daughter to my mother,” she gestured.
Eugene smiled. “You two do give off sister vibes.”
A laugh burst from Rapunzel’s lips, perhaps a bit too loud given they were in the aftermath of a near-tragedy, but it carried with it the relief of the outcome. “I keep telling her that! But no, ‘we’re not sisters, Raps, stop being weird—’” Her impression of Cassandra’s tone was startlingly accurate. She stepped closer to Eugene so only he could hear her. “We’re totally sisters.”
The moment broke as the rest of the guards swarmed the clearing. Gothel hadn’t waited—she was already galloping back to the castle, the Sundrop’s golden glow disappearing between the trees.
“Easy now,” Arianna murmured as she helped Cassandra stand. Rapunzel rushed over to help. Eugene shrugged off his jacket without a word, draping it over Cassandra’s shoulders when her ruined dress slipped dangerously.
Rapunzel watched as he carefully avoided looking at the bloodstains.
“Guards,” Arianna spoke, her voice switching from that of a mother to the authority of a queen, “search the perimeter for the thief. Bringing her to justice is a priority. Double the watch on the Sundrop’s cottage. And have the royal physician ready for Lady Cassandra when we—”
“Your Majesty, I’m fine,” Cassandra protested, even as she pulled Eugene’s jacket tighter around herself.
Arianna’s grip on Cassandra’s arm tightened. “Better safe than sorry, my dear.” The queen’s voice was light, but her eyes still held that wild, lingering fear—the kind no magic could erase.
Cassandra recognised the plea beneath the order. “Of course,” she conceded quietly, squeezing Arianna’s hand. The immediate relief on the queen’s face was worth the infirmary visit.
Eugene watched this silent exchange with unexpected tightness in his chest.
Once back at the palace, Arianna ushered Cassandra straight into the infirmary, her hands never leaving the young woman’s shoulders. Rapunzel and Eugene trailed close behind, the former fidgeting with her hands while the latter surveyed the sterile white room with visible discomfort.
“Is she always like this?” Eugene whispered, nodding toward the queen who was now fluffing pillows with unnecessary vigour.
Rapunzel arched an eyebrow. “Oh, no, not usually. Only when she watches one of the girls she raised nearly bleed to death in front of her.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but her fingers trembled against her skirt.
Eugene smirked and held up his hands. “Okay, yeah, fair point, dumb question. I get it.”
Rapunzel smiled. “She’s very protective of Cassandra… always has been.” Then she hesitated before leaning closer. “Between us? I… I think Cassandra’s mother might have done some stuff when she was younger that made my mum this way with her…”
Eugene didn’t look surprised.
“I was really young, so I can’t remember too much, but… there were bruises I wasn’t supposed to see… the way Mum always positions herself between them. Plus, my mum’s really forgiving, but she’s always despised Cassandra’s mother.”
Eugene hummed. “I was disgusted when that woman ran past her daughter to tend to the flower. At first I thought perhaps her instincts were like mine, secure the healing source, but… no… just the flower.”
“Just the flower,” Rapunzel echoed, her eyes darkening. Then, with forced lightness: “So this magic... you just sing and it works? That simple?”
“Simpler than stealing it.” Eugene shrugged. “Hell, even you could do it.”
Rapunzel hummed thoughtfully, watching as the physician began his examination.
“You think they’ll arrest me once they realise they don’t need me?”
“I won’t let them.”
Eugene blinked. “Cool... but my illustrious career as a master healer?”
“Probably over.”
“It was short-lived, but I’d say I contributed to the world in a way.”
Rapunzel smiled and nodded. “I’d agree… we can find you something new to do.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Rapunzel nodded. “You saved my sister-in-all-but-blood. That earns you... something.”
“A princess’s favour?” Eugene whistled. “Now that’s—”
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“I won’t.”
“I say that very seriously, Eugene.”
“We on a first name basis already?”
Rapunzel sighed.
“Rapunzel help me!” Cassandra called. The princess was by her side in an instant, physically inserting herself between Arianna and Cassandra. Allowing the exasperated physician to work.
“Mum, you’re smothering her! You’re getting in the way of her existing! Let the man do his job!”
“Oh, but I’m just—”
“No, enough, let her breathe. Step away.”
Eugene leaned against the wall, smiling at the exchange. He wasn’t sure where he was going next, but for the first time, settling down didn’t seem too bad. Especially if it were around these parts. Something about this little family felt special, and he wanted to be close to witness it.
Maybe Corona had more to offer than golden flowers, after all.
Eugene’s moment of peace shattered when the infirmary door’s crashed against the wall.
“Captain?” Arianna straightened, her regal composure sliding back into place like armour as she stepped away from Cassandra’s bedside.
Captain bowed stiffly. “Apologies for the intrusion, Your Majesty. By order of the king, we’re to detain Mr. Rider.”
Rapunzel moved before the words finished, planting herself between Eugene and the guards. Arianna closed ranks beside her. “On what grounds?” the queen asked.
“Evidence suggests he conspired in the theft.”
Cassandra sat upright. “That’s impossible. He was under watch the entire time: my watch. And he’s the reason the Sundrop was recovered!” Her hand clenched around the edge of Eugene’s borrowed jacket. “What evidence could possibly—”
“Lady Gothel presented proof to His Majesty,” the captain said, avoiding their eyes. “I’m not at liberty to discuss details.”
Arianna’s voice turned glacial. “Stand down, Captain.”
Eugene took a careful step back, hands raised. The guards were watching him, tense.
“I can’t do that, Your Majesty.”
“He didn’t do anything!” Rapunzel shouted, annoyed.
Arianna pressed two fingers to her temple. “I’ll speak with your father. He wasn’t there. He only has Gothel’s version of the events.”
Cassandra swung her legs off the bed. “And I’ll have words with my mother.”
Rapunzel looked between the Captain and Eugene.
The thief offered a crooked smile. “You got someone you need to talk to, Princess? Cause I can wait. I’ll be fine for a bit. Dungeons and I have an understanding.”
“You’re taking him to the main palace cells?” Rapunzel asked sharply.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She grabbed her skirts and stepped forward. “Then I’m coming. Every moment. Every interrogation.” Her glare dared them to refuse. “Try anything unreasonable, and you’ll answer to me.”
To his credit, the captain didn’t flinch. “You have my word—he’ll be treated fairly.” His gaze flicked to Cassandra. “After what he did today... none of my men would stand for less.”
Rapunzel’s shoulders relaxed marginally. She knew this man—knew he’d spent years training Cassandra in swordplay, knew he’d carried her home after her first fall from a horse. His gratitude was real. But still Rapunzel intended to show Eugene how grateful she was by not leaving his side.
Cassandra stepped forward. “We’ll get this sorted before you know it, Raps, Eugene,” she promised. “Justice will prevail.”
Eugene gave a soft, grateful smile as he watched her leave alongside the queen, parting ways beyond the door.
The guards gestured for him to move, leading Eugene away with Rapunzel at his side. This wasn’t where Eugene had planned to spend the night… but at least he had the majority of the royal family on his side, just as he’d intended. Surely with that much support, this could only end well for him?
Chapter 18: A Date
Chapter Text
The palace dungeons smelled of damp stone and old iron. Torches flickered in their sconces, casting jagged shadows across the moss-cracked walls where centuries of prisoners had etched their despair into the bedrock. Rapunzel sat cross-legged on the cold flagstones outside Eugene’s cell, her chin propped up on one hand, the flickering light painting gold streaks across her tired face.
Beyond the rusted bars, Eugene reclined against the cell’s wall, fingers laced behind his head as if he were lounging in a sunlit meadow rather than a cell where water dripped monotonously into some hidden drain. The straw beneath him rustled as he shifted, the sound unnaturally loud in the cavernous silence.
“You know...” Eugene’s voice echoed slightly off the low vaulted ceiling. He gestured at their surroundings with a lazy wave. “This brings back memories.”
Rapunzel’s lips quirked despite herself. “Oh?” She dragged a fingertip through the thin layer of grime on the floor. “Do you make a habit of spending the night in these sorts of establishments?”
“Wasn’t the worst place to spend the night as a teenager roaming the streets. I became quite familiar with the cells in Vardaros. It almost felt like home.”
“Good times?”
Eugene shrugged. “Simpler times, perhaps. Being captured then just meant a night off the street. Less life and death deal.”
“This time isn’t life and death.”
“Yeah, you keep saying that.” Eugene grinned. “So, now we’ve got some time to kill, tell me, Princess… you regret being so bitter to me at the start?”
“You’ve proven you weren’t lying about healing those I loved… but no, I don’t regret treating you with righteous hesitation.”
Eugene snickered. “It makes a lot of sense you and Cassie were raised by the same woman.”
“Oh, call her Cassie to her face, I dare you.”
“She’s cool, the Dragon Lady. She’s bitter and whatnot, but I guess who wouldn’t be with a mother like that?”
Rapunzel raised her eyes.
“Plus, I won’t lie, I find her whole magic thing kinda impressive like… I’ve read about mages, I’ve even seen a few from afar in Koto and whatnot, I travel a lot… but seeing how effortlessly she moves stuff around? It’s cool.”
“Yeah, agreed.”
“Tell me more about yourself Princess, all I know about you is your relationship to the mage.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Hobbies?”
“Painting, baking, reading.”
“Age?”
“Eighteen, you could figure that one out yourself, Coronation, remember?”
“Right. Favourite colour?”
“All of them. Rainbows are the best.”
“You into men or you into women like that mage of yours?”
“I didn’t know Cassandra was into women…” she thought about the royal balls and on whom Cassandra’s gaze lingered. “I thought she wasn’t into anyone.” In retrospect, it was unlikely Cassandra was that invested in dresses.
Eugene looked thoughtful. “That also tracks.”
Rapunzel shook her head. “I don’t know. Men probably? Never dated. I’ve dabbled in romance novels, but honestly, most nobles and princes I’ve met are just soooo…”
“Stuck up?”
“They really remind me of you, actually.”
Eugene laughed. “I walked right into that one.”
“Okay, my turn, hard-hitting question, dreams?”
“Wealth, of course.”
“Wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“If your dream was wealth, you wouldn’t have given up that song so easily.”
“My dream is wealth. I was an orphan, I grew up with nothing to my name and no clue where my next meal was coming from. Not having to worry about that stuff? That’s the dream. That isn’t to say I will pursue my dreams at the cost of another’s life.”
Rapunzel took that in. “Okay. Fair enough. Boring dream but valid.”
“And you?”
Rapunzel looked thoughtful. “It might change, but… I want to see the world.”
“Mind yourself an adventurer, huh?”
“I’d love that… my aunt is an adventurer. But it doesn’t have to be adventures, I just want to go places without guards trailing behind me, without people throwing down a red carpet. I wanna see places for what they are.”
“I’ve done a lot of that.”
“You going to tell me it’s not all that?”
“No. It is. I’m glad I got to travel. Wouldn’t change it for much in this world.”
Rapunzel smiled.
“Hey… once this whole flower thing is cleared up, maybe I could take you some places?”
Rapunzel’s smile widened. “I’d like that.”
“Just the two of us?”
“No way. Cass would have to come. She’s protective like that.”
“Damn. Fine. I accept your conditions for a date.”
“I never said it was a date.”
“But you never said it wasn’t.”
“I’ve just met you.”
“Okay, we’ll circle back round to this then.”
“How old are you?”
“Difficult question.”
“Is it?”
“Orphan, remember?”
“Ah. Fine. Valid.”
“Somewhere in my early twenties. I don’t like to think about it.”
“That’s sad.”
“Not as sad as never having left the kingdom you were born in.”
“I-I’ve left! Barely—but… fine.”
“Frederic.”
The king turned to see his wife entering the throne room, the guards leaving at her command.
“We must talk.”
“Yes. I’ve told our guests the coronation will be re-scheduled. Though we should already have a punishment thought out for Rapunzel for leaving the way she did.”
“No. No. Not that.” Arianna stepped inside. “What evidence was there for Rider’s arrest?”
“No need for evidence, we said he was allowed access to the flower as long as nothing happened. Something happened. He’s done.”
“I think it was implied that something was meant to be something to do with him. He had nothing to do with this. He’s part of the reason the flower was returned.”
“A trick to gain favour, I’m sure.”
“No.” Arianna shook her head. “I know how that flower works, and it’s nothing the likes of you or I could not do.”
Frederic frowned.
“Cassandra was seriously injured, as I’m sure you’ve heard, Mr Rider healed her in front of us all, revealing the truth: the secret to the Sundrop is a simple song. He put the life of an innocent person before the riches he could gain as a healer. He should not be punished for that.”
“Lady Gothel said—”
“Lady Gothel doesn’t want to lose her job. But Mr Rider has proven she’s been putting her job and her needs before the needs of our kingdom for years now, and she does not deserve her title.”
“She saved yours and Rapunzel’s lives.”
“If I had the power to heal my people, I would not need gratitude to do so.” Arianna glanced out the window towards the cottage. “Allow me to prove to you that she is not a necessary part of the equation.”
Frederic frowned.
“I was almost forced to hold Cassandra in my arms while she died. It was the magic of the Sundrop that saved her. A magic that’s been in this kingdom for years and deserves to be at the disposal of our people. Please, Frederic.”
Frederic nodded. “Of course. Show me. If what you say is true, then… things must change.”
Cassandra’s boots crunched on shattered glass as she stepped into the wreckage of her childhood home. Moonlight streamed through the still-swinging window where the thief had escaped, painting silver streaks across messy floors. Torn pages from ancient magical texts fluttered in the night breeze.
At the centre of the chaos, Gothel stood hunched over the Sundrop’s pedestal, her long fingers hovering protectively around the Sundrop’s glass dome. The flower’s golden glow threw eerie shadows across her sharp features.
She whirled at the sound of Cassandra’s entrance, shoulders relaxing when she recognised her daughter. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here.” She took a deep breath before she gestured to the destruction around them. “How could you leave the Sundrop unattended? And for what?” A broken chair skidded across the floor as she kicked it aside. “Some lousy coronation...”
“Can we talk, Mother?”
“I don’t know. Can you talk? I’m sure at your age you’ve figured it out.”
“Without condescension. Please.”
Gothel didn’t answer.
“I know you lied to the king to get Eugene arrested.”
“Eugene?”
“Flynn Rider.”
“Oh, the thief! Yes. He’s out of our way now.”
“You lied.”
“I didn’t lie, I just told him to get rid of him, something he should have done long ago.”
“I don’t agree.”
“Well, that’s why you’re just a magical student and not the royal healer.”
“Mother… why didn’t you ever heal me growing up?”
“You were never hurt or sick enough.”
“Why didn’t you take away the pain when I was sick? Why didn’t you stop the blood when I fell? How could you let me go through months of physical therapy when I nearly burnt my hand off?!”
“I couldn’t heal any of that stuff.”
“I know you’re lying.”
“I’m not—”
“Flower gleam and glow—”
Gothel’s hand smacked Cassandra’s face, stopping the song and making Cassandra flinch, her hand touching her cheek as she saw the Sundrop’s glow fade.
“I know that you’ve kept the power of the Sundrop from those who need it all this time. Including me. Why?”
Gothel looked at her hand as though it had acted of its own tuition, then she reached forward, slowly, softly she touched Cassandra’s cheek. “Oh, sweetheart…” Tears slipped from Cassandra’s eyes, over Gothel’s hand. “I really did fail you as a mother, didn’t I?”
“Why?”
Gothel’s hand stiffened, and suddenly Cassandra’s head was smashed into the wall, she fell to the ground, black dots filling her vision.
“I never taught you to stay out of the way.”
Another flash of pain filled Cassandra as she was struck again and her vision and senses faded.
Chapter 19: Consequences
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
A damp, gritty smell filled Cassandra’s nose.
She coughed, the motion sending a jolt of pain through her ribs. Dirt crunched between her teeth, and she tried to roll onto her back, away from the floor. The movement only brought further pain as her weight landed on her wrists, bound tightly behind her back. In fact, the more of her consciousness she retrieved, the more aware she was of the throbbing pain radiating from too many locations to efficiently name.
Footsteps echoed from somewhere above.
She forced her eyes open, but there was barely any light and her head was still spinning. She could make out a long staircase and a single shadowy figure coming down them.
“Mother?”
“Yes, who else would it be?” Gothel’s reply was laced with a familiar, exasperated sigh, like she were trying to teach Cassandra something she wasn’t grasping rather than her daughter regaining consciousness after being knocked out and thrown down mystery stairs.
“Where are we?”
“Beneath the cottage. It took me years to connect these old tunnels to the cellar…” A lantern flared to life, its sudden glow making Cassandra wince. “Not that you can appreciate such work.”
“What are you talking about?” Cassandra struggled to push herself up into a sitting position, the world swimming slightly.
“No point in me explaining myself now, is there?”
“You knocked me out…”
“You remember.”
Cassandra finally managed to focus on her mother’s face, her eyes narrowing. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I can’t have you running off and revealing everything you know, now can I?”
“They’re going to find out…”
“I know. Which is precisely why I can’t stay here anymore.” Gothel adjusted her grip on the lantern, her expression one of mild annoyance. Cassandra noticed as well as the lantern, Gothel also had the Sundrop attached to her belt just as the thief had done earlier. “It was fine while it lasted. Eighteen years isn’t a bad run.”
“I don’t understand.”
Gothel didn’t answer. Instead, she placed two fingers in her mouth and let out a sharp, piercing whistle that had Cassandra hunching in on herself, eyes closing tightly.
The sound was answered by a deep, rumbling shuffle from the darkness of the tunnel behind her. The ground seemed to vibrate. Cassandra opened her eyes to see a massive shape emerge from the gloom—a creature of the earth with powerful muscle, claws designed for digging and a broad, hairless snout. A mole, but grown to monstrous proportions.
“Cassandra, meet Ferdinand.”
“He’s huge…”
“I’m aware. Ferdinad, this is my daughter, Cassandra.”
The giant mole shuffled forward and nudged Cassandra’s side with its wet nose, sniffing intently. It let out a low, chuffing sound that seemed almost friendly.
“I need you to take her deep into the tunnels and keep her there for a few days.”
Ferdinand turned his head towards Gothel.
“I have places to be, and she is unfortunately in my way.” Gothel gave the mole an affectionate pat before kneeling, bringing her face level with Cassandra’s. Her expression was not unkind, which did nothing to help Cassandra process this entire situation. “You’ll be in good hands, darling.”
“I think my ribs are broken.”
“Pity. Probably happened when you fell down the stairs. Well, don’t worry. The palace physicians know you. They’ll take excellent care of you once you get back. At which point, I’ll, of course, be far, far away.”
“If I don’t get arrested for being the daughter of the woman who stole the Sundrop.”
“You aren’t going to earn my pity with that.” Gothel stood, brushing dirt from her skirts and adjusting the Sundrop’s new glass case. “That queen will keep you safe. She values you a great deal.”
“More than you.”
Gothel’s gaze darted back to Cassandra. “You should be glad I didn’t just slit your throat after how you talked to me up there.”
“So very maternal of you. You’re a lousy mother.”
“Goodbye to you too, Cassandra.” She gave a curt nod to the mole. “Ferdinand.”
The creature leaned down and, with a surprising gentleness, closed its mouth around the fabric of Cassandra’s tunic. It lifted her effortlessly. A strangled groan was torn from Cassandra’s lips as the movement sent white-hot pain through her side. The mole gave no reaction, already turning to carry its living cargo deep into the waiting darkness, leaving Gothel and the single point of lantern light behind.
Arianna lead Frederic into the cottage, she pushed open the cottage door without knocking (she expected to find Gothel and Cassandra in the midst of a heated argument and had no intent of giving Gothel the chance to compose herself in front of the king) only to find it empty. No Cassandra. No Gothel. No Sundrop.
“Frederic…” Her voice was a tight whisper. “She’s gone.”
The king stepped in behind her, his larger frame filling the doorway. He surveyed the room with a practical, slightly confused frown. “Did… Lady Gothel inform you she was relocating?”
“Of course not,” Arianna said, her gaze darting to every shadowy corner. “She took the Sundrop.”
“After the attempted theft, it’s hardly surprising she’d seek a more secure location,” Frederic reasoned, his tone calm, diplomatic. “I’ll speak to the guards. They will have seen her leave.”
“Cassandra came here. She said she was coming to talk to her mother.” She paused at the open door to Cassandra’s small bedroom. Empty.
Frederic saw the panic sparking in his wife’s eyes as she turned back to him. He moved to take her hands in his. “My love, she is likely assisting her mother with the relocation. I will have the guards find them both immediately. All is well.”
“All is not well!” Arianna jerked her hands away, the gesture uncharacteristically sharp. “I told you. I have always told you we should never have trusted that woman.”
“Arianna, be reasonable. She is the Royal Healer. She has served this kingdom faithfully for—”
“She served herself! She was never a good person, Frederic. She was convenient. And who knows what harm her convenience is causing right now?”
She stepped into the living room once more, eyes sweeping the room again, searching for proof her husband would believe. And then she saw it.
A dark, ugly smear on one of the walls. Blood.
She stepped closer, her feet stopping short of another stain on the floor.
Arianna’s breath hitched. She didn’t know whose it was. She didn’t know the specifics of the struggle. But she knew, with a cold, sickening certainty that settled in her bones, that Gothel was at the centre of it. And that Cassandra had been here.
She rose her hand, measuring the height of the stain. “Cassandra’s height,” she whispered.
When she turned around, her husband looked concerned. Not for her. For the situation at hand. It’s severity finally starting to hit him.
Arianna felt betrayed.
She’d felt betrayed for years now. She’d been begging him for help. But right now this betrayal had consequences.
“She better come home safely,” Arianna whispered, the words a vow, and a threat rolled into one. She didn’t wait for her husband’s reply. She turned and strode from the cottage, no time for fear, instead she had to act. The guards would be mobilised, the Captain found. And the first order of business would be getting that resourceful thief out of his cell. The man was very good at finding stuff after all, and he’d already saved Cassandra once.
Cassandra sat propped against the soft earth wall of a vast, mole-dug cavern. A nest of dried roots and packed dirt cradled her, and a few normal-sized moles scurried around her feet, their sniffing and shuffling the only sounds in the oppressive silence.
She tugged weakly at the ropes binding her wrists behind her back, the coarse fibres offering no give. A frustrated, pained sigh escaped her. “I should be using my magic,” she mumbled to the indifferent animals. “A little focused flame… fwoosh… no more ropes. No problem.”
The giant mole licked her, probably meant to be a soothing gesture, but Cassandra recoiled, wiping her cheek on her shoulder with a grimace.
“But me and fire… we don’t get along. It has a tendency to backfire on me.” She let out a weak, breathy laugh that made her ribs protest. “Hah. Pun. Ow.”
One of the more outgoing smaller moles clambered onto her lap, its tiny claws pricking through her dress. It stared up at her with beady, black eyes that didn’t work very well.
“Hey there,” Cassandra said, her voice softening despite everything. “How old are you? Want to partake in some teen rebellion by chewing through the rope that binds me and going up against your… mother? Father?” She paused to think it over for a second. “Ferdinand is a typically male name, but then again, expecting my mother to know basic information about a pet may be asking too much…”
Her rambling was cut short as Ferdinand shifted, placing her heavy paw on her chest. The pressure was gentle but immovable, pushing her firmly down into a lying position. A sharp, involuntary groan was torn from her lips as the movement sent a fresh wave of agony radiating from her bruised ribs.
“Okay, not fun. This is officially not fun,” she breathed, her attempt at levity crumbling. “Seriously, you can let me go now. Please? I won’t tell… please…”
Her plea faded as Ferdinand merely settled her great head on Cassandra’s stomach with a contented rumble. As the mole’s breathing deepened into sleep, Cassandra stared into the darkness, the full weight of her situation crashing down. Her mother was the villain—always had been. And she had been discarded, the second she rebelled.
She’d dedicated her life to trying to make that woman proud. Wanting to be just like her.
What a waste.
Notes:
For those who read all my fics, yeah, I forgot to update Chance to Raise Them yesterday. Forgot it was an update-day XD
Just got back from a week away. I'd prepped all the updates for the week but trusted myself to remember what needed updating upon return but after a week of just changing the date of drafts and pressing post... I forgot XDAlso, for anyone reading 'The Three Disciples' and maybe wondering where the name Ferdinand appeared first in writing... it was here. Gothel introduced the mole as Ferdinand in this fic and it stuck in my mind.
However, this Ferdinand is a 'she', and that's because I like to think Gothel only really named her first mole, then there was 'Ferdinand Junior' who lost the Junior once their parent passed. And so on and so on for generations. Gender didn't matter. The moles are just Ferdinand and Ferdinand Juniors.
Maybe Cass gets her... uniquely simple naming habits from her mother XDOn a final note, I have a few new one-shots to post! I don't know what day or order they'll go up in but I have:
-The Promise. Three Thieves AU in which Lance accidentally tells Eugene about the medicine he's going to steal before Cass is fully asleep and she makes him promise to give her a chance to recover without it. When Lance does steal the medicine, he gets caught and Captain has to either step in or let an orphan he failed die. (basically angst with a happy ending)
-Lance Says Something and Captain Listens. Three Thieves AU where Lance goes to Captain after the Baron comes to get him pay his debt. (can you tell I was TRYING to write more Three Thieves but clearly just wants to write fluff/angst and such??)
-(TITLE PENDING) Through Storms I Found You... oneshot sequel? Basically Cass trying to help out on the ship but Caine is over-protective and keeps getting in her way leading to an argument and to Cassandra trying to hide a bad cold when she actually does get sick. Just a cute one-shot with some growing-paint for their relationship.I think that's it... oh and I am HALF A CHAPTER away from finish the Andrew Fic.
Also have a few really cool new outlines. Especially a post-canon CassxCaine fic that's really exciting to me. It's basically Cass and Caine secretly dating, trying to use Caine's influence in the criminal world to gain information and access so they can 'earn' their right to be together publicly on the good side (this is a terrible summary on my part but I'm trying not to spoil much). Baron is the big bad of the fic. There's some Eugene and Raps moments towards the start and end. But mainly it's just Caine and Cass being hopelessly devoted to each other and having very similar demons and I cannot wait to get it written!
Chapter 20: Always the Way
Chapter Text
“Cassandra’s been kidnapped?!” Rapunzel held herself tightly as Arianna unlocked the dungeon cell.
“Is it kidnapping if it’s her own mother?” Eugene asked.
“Yes,” Arianna and Rapunzel answered in unison.
“Okay,” Eugene raised his hands. “We sure she was kidnapped and didn’t go with her mother willingly? No offence but I’ve talked to her more than a few times about that woman, and… she’s… she’s like a lamb walking into slaughter.”
Rapunzel was pacing. “Cassandra went to Gothel to confront her, obviously Gothel didn’t like that, and I bet Cassandra’s now dead!”
“Okay, let’s not be melodramatic.” Eugene caught Rapunzel’s hand in his as he exited the cell, giving it a comforting squeeze before turning to the queen. “Permission, Your Majesty, to go to the cottage and search for clues? I’m pretty good at finding stuff.”
Arianna nodded. “Of course.”
“Okay then. Princess, calm down, and I promise you we’ll have your dragon-lady home before you know it.”
“I already know it.”
“Before you can grieve.”
“I’m already grieving!”
Eugene just rolled his eyes as he began to make his way towards the cottage with Rapunzel following close behind.
The cottage was a mess. A lot of things were missing, but a lot more were left behind.
“She didn’t take any of Cassandra’s things,” Rapunzel observed, her voice small in the hollowed-out space. She hovered near Cassandra’s bedroom door, her fingers tracing the frame. “Is that a good sign or a bad one?”
Eugene didn’t answer. His thief’s eyes were cataloguing the scene. He circled the empty pedestal, his gaze catching on the perfect circle of darker wood where the Sundrop had blocked the sun for years. Then his focus shifted. A few feet away, a dark, smear stained the floorboards. Blood. Not yet dry. His eyes darted to the already stressed out princess, and he decided he’d best not mention it. He moved closer to it though, he knelt down, seeing the almost invisible smudges where a still bleeding body had been dragged across the floor. He followed the trail with his eyes to the basement. But when he opened the door, it was just a square metre box with nothing in it.
“I think there’s a hidden exit somewhere.”
“Why would you think that?”
“In this general area,” Eugene replied, ignoring her question.
Rapunzel didn’t question him further. She began running her hands along the wooden beam, then the bookshelf, pulling books out, hoping for a hidden switch.
Eugene moved to grab a candle for better light but notice the wax had dripped predominantly down one side, as if it had been repeatedly tilted. Instead of the candle, he grabbed the holder itself and pulled.
A trapdoor opened up.
“You were right!”
Eugene nodded. “You should get the guards.”
“There’s no time!” Rapunzel insisted, grabbing her skirt and running on ahead. “We’ve got to get to Cassandra before she gets hurt!”
Eugene groaned but followed. As they began to move down stairs he noticed how soft the patter of the princess’ steps were. “Are you not wearing shoes?”
“Oh, don’t you start.”
“Is that something you do often? You know shoes are there to protect your feet, right?”
“And they get in the way of feeling the ground,” she grumbled. “We’re on a rescue mission, Mr. Fitzherbert. Can the shoe interrogation wait?”
“What is it with you girls and having the oddest of habits?”
“It’s not—” Rapunzel’s retort died as they reached the bottom. Her eyes widened, fixed on the ground. “Eugene… is that blood?”
Eugene hummed. “Fresh though, that’s good.”
“How is that good?”
“Means whoever’s blood it was was here not long ago…” he looked at the footprints beside the stain.
“What type of animal is that?”
“Umm… I’ve no idea.”
“Not good with animals?”
“No. I am. That’s what’s concerning… the size would indicate a bear or something bigger, but… the shape doesn’t correlate.”
“We’re following. Right?”
Eugene nodded, drawing his sword. The steel whispered in the quiet tunnel. “You stay behind me. If there’s danger, you run. You don’t look back. You get the guards. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
They moved deeper, the air growing colder. “This is kind of exciting,” Rapunzel whispered after a moment. “Secret underground tunnels…”
“Yeah… they’re useful for sneaking into places but, um… in this case, might be dangerous too.”
“A dangerous adventure! Even better!”
“Princess, can you please revert to the ‘worried about my friend’ emotion? It was far more appropriate.”
“Understood.” She managed to be serious for all of thirty seconds before a tiny, gleeful squeak escaped her. “Adventure.”
“Your friend could be dead,” Eugene stated flatly.
Rapunzel’s face fell. “Aw.”
“Though, probably not,” he relented.
A hopeful smile returned.
“But she’s almost certainly hurt.”
Finally, he found the perfect middle ground between her unbridled optimism and the grim reality of their situation.
Cassandra woke to the sensation of something tugging at her hair. She opened her eyes to find a small mole contentedly chewing on a strand. She groaned, her head throbbed, and there was a sharp, stabbing pain in her ribs. The fact that she’d fallen asleep at all was a testament to how badly she was hurt. She supposed she was lucky her mum chose not to kill her. Pretty low bar, though.
She tried to roll over, and the giant mole, Ferdinand, let out a disgruntled huff at the disturbance.
“You’re my kidnapper; you don’t get to complain ‘bout me disturbing your nap,” she grumbled. “Ferdi-something.”
The mole’s head shot up, its nose twitching as it sniffed the air.
“Is mother coming back?” Cassandra managed to squirm into a sitting position. “You should release me. Can you tell time? If not, it’s already been a few days. Time to release me. Come on, big guy.”
Then she heard them. Two sets of footsteps, echoing down the tunnel. Cassandra doubted her mother had come with company.
Ferdinand leaped from the nest with a startling speed, a deep, guttural growl rumbling in its chest as it positioned itself between Cassandra and the entrance.
“Hey! No! Play nice!” she yelled, straining against her bonds.
“Play nice?” a familiar, annoyingly teasing voice floated into the cavern. “Why, Dragon-Lady, it’s good to hear you—SWEET MOTHER OF—WHAT IS THAT?!”
“That’s awesome!” Rapunzel’s voice echoed.
“Rapunzel?! What are you doing here? Run!” Cassandra fought harder against the ropes, the fibres biting into her wrists.
Eugene shoved Rapunzel behind him, sword held out in a shaking hand. “Hey, hey, hey… are you by chance friendly? Cause if you’re friendly, we’re friendly, we’re just trying to find our friend.”
Ferdinand answered with another earth-shaking growl and a lunge.
“Not friendly, not friendly—” Cassandra could hear the sword clattering against the ground and hurried footsteps as Rapunzel and Eugene tried to get away from the giant mole.
“Dammit,” Cassandra hissed. She looked at the ropes. A quick, controlled flame would do it. But the memory of searing pain—she couldn’t. Not again. “Oh, come on, little guy, do me a solid and release me…”
The little mole on her lap just blinked up at her and curled into a ball.
“Useless,” she sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
The mole’s nose twitched.
Cassandra suddenly realised she didn’t need flames to escape. There were other spells. Some of which she hadn’t yet mastered, but…
She heard Rapunzel’s scream.
No time like the present.
Eugene threw himself over the princess, expecting to feel the mole’s teeth dig into him.
But then there was the sound of something large overhead.
Great. Probably another mole come to feast on him too!
There was a roar.
He looked up and saw… a dragon? Roaring at the mole, the creature had shimmering crimson scales and molten eyes, its wings seeming to fill the entire cave.
The dragon roared again, and Ferdinand, with a terrified squeal, turned and fled into the dark tunnels.
This was it, Eugene had died, and his heaven was apparently an adventure novel? Not bad.
The dragon dissolved into a shower of fading gold sparks. In its place stood Cassandra, trembling violently on her feet, her dress still torn and bloody. She swayed, and Eugene lunged forward, catching her before she hit the ground.
“Cassandra!” Rapunzel rushed to her other side. “What was that? Wait! The shape-shifting spell! You finally did it!”
“Shape-shifting? Woah. Damn. I was joking about you being a dragon-Lady.”
Cassandra offered a weak, pained smile. “Can you keep a secret?”
Rapunzel nodded eagerly.
“I did finally get that spell to work… but I actually just shifted into a mole to escape. The dragon was just one of my signature light shows.” She flicked her wrist to create some pretty shimmering light.
Rapunzel’s smile was brilliant. “Still awesome.”
“Still awesome,” Cassandra agreed, before her expression sobered. “My mother… she has the Sundrop. She was running away.”
“Long gone,” Eugene informed.
“Damn…”
“The guards might find her?”
But Cassandra didn’t look convinced.
“More importantly, we found you,” Eugene said, his tone uncharacteristically gentle. “And you’re…” He looked her over, taking in the pallor of her skin and the way she favoured her side. “…not okay. Are you?”
“I’m fine. Just a headache.”
Eugene raised a sceptical eyebrow.
“Maybe a broken rib or two,” she conceded. “You know, the usual.”
Rapunzel turned to Eugene. “Heal her.”
Eugene’s eyes widened. “I can’t…? I don’t…?” he stammered, then sighed, slinging his satchel around. “The old-fashioned way, then. Something to hold you together until we get you to a real doctor.” He pulled out a roll of bandages.
“So, Raps,” Cassandra asked, her voice tight as Eugene began to carefully wrap her ribs. “Did you break him out of the dungeon, or…?”
“I was let out,” Eugene looked offended. “I am innocent, ya know? For a change.”
“Yeah, but the king…”
“Is finally starting to see reason,” Rapunzel finished, though her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Too little, too late, of course.”
Cassandra winced as the bandage tightened. “That’s always the way, Rapunzel.”
“Yeah…” Rapunzel thought of Cassandra clinging to her relationship to Gothel for years. “Always the way.”
Chapter 21: Loved
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Cassandra lay in the infirmary, her ribs bandaged up, she poked a particularly bad bruise continuously as though to distract from what got her into the infirmary.
The queen’s gentle voice sounded at the door. “There you are.” From anyone else, Cassandra would have met the words with an eye roll—where else would she be? Her ordeal was kingdom-wide news. But this was Arianna, whose tone held too much genuine care for Cassandra to direct any of her simmering frustration toward her.
“Your Majesty…” Cassandra sat up straighter. “Any news?”
“I’m afraid not, my dear.”
Cassandra nodded, looking down at her hands.
Arianna sat beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. I’ve been through worse.”
“I know, but I know how much you hate it in here…” Arianna sighed, looking around. “And I can’t imagine recent developments make it any easier…”
Cassandra hesitated, then smiled. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Arianna turned back. “Oh?”
“I always hated it here. I mean, nobody likes being unwell, but… it was always a reminder of how my mum never could heal me, and she never came…”
Arianna’s frown deepened. Knowing now that all this time, Gothel could have healed Cassandra, made every memory of those infirmary visits into something cruel and unnecessary. Each moment she’d spent clutching Cassandra’s small, feverish hand, each silent prayer she’d whispered over a wound that refused to close... Gothel had let her child suffer for a secret.
“I don’t really care about her anymore. She doesn’t care about me.”
“No. She never has.”
“Now I’m here and I can’t help but think that… I’ve never been here alone.”
Arianna tilted her head.
“Rapunzel and Eugene brought me here. Raps stayed for hours until I sent her away. Now you’re here and… every visit is always the same.”
Arianna gently moved some hair from Cassandra’s face, looking her over carefully.
“I’ve always been loved.”
Arianna paused and smiled. “And you always will be my dear.” She kissed Cassandra on the forehead. “Your mother didn’t deserve such an amazing daughter. You didn’t deserve such a horrid mother.”
“Thank you for being here.” Cassandra gently touched Arianna’s hand.
Arianna smiled. “No need to thank me. Having you in my life has been nothing but a blessing. I’m thankful you’re here every day.”
Cassandra’s smile faded slightly, but she quickly brought it back. “So, what’s being done about Eugene?”
“He seems quite comfortable.”
Cassandra laughed. “Yeah, he would be.”
“According to Rapunzel, he tried to shield her from a giant mole?”
“That is true.”
“Not exaggerated at all?”
“No. Actually.” Cassandra laughed. “Fully accurate.”
“Wow, well, Corona is of course grateful for all he has done. Saving you. Risking his life for our princess. Bringing you back again.”
“So he’s going to get a second chance?”
Arianna hesitated. “Yes,” she finally said slowly.
“A pardon?”
Arianna hummed, though she wasn’t as fast or certain as usual. “You should rest, my darling. The doctors say the pain should fade soon, but your body still took quite a beating. The guards haven’t yet retrieved the Sundrop which means there’s going to be a lot of explaining to do to the kingdom, probably some busy days ahead of us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing is your fault, darling. But as the daughter of the healer, I’m sure you’ll end up part of it whether you deserve to be or not. Which means rest is none-negotiable.”
“I’ll be good.”
“You always are.”
“You flatter more than the ex-thief.”
Arianna snickered. “Part of the job of a queen, I guess.”
“I guess.” Cassandra closed her eyes, falling asleep before Arianna left, to the gentle feel of the queen’s fingers brushing her hair back and forth in an almost fidgety manner.
Arianna forced herself to leave Cassandra’s side after she fell asleep. Having much work to attend to.
A few days later, Cassandra was standing between Rapunzel and Eugene. Breathing was a bit painful, and it showed on her face, but if anybody asked, she denied feeling anything.
Rapunzel hadn’t left her side.
And neither had Eugene.
Despite their previous disagreements, the man had become, through a moment of desperation, a pretty irreplaceable part of their group.
The king had called the kingdom forth to hear the news of what had happened, why the coronation had been cut short and all healing postponed indefinitely. He’d already spoken of how there had been an attempted robbery on the Sundrop, but he hadn’t yet explained where the healer and the Sundrop had gone.
That was Cassandra’s job.
Nobody had asked her to. She’d been the one to make the request. Though Arianna had wanted to protect Cassandra, Frederic had allowed it. Cassandra was well spoken, having studied politics alongside the princess, she’d been there during the events and had already earned plenty of the respect of the kingdom. If anybody deserved to reveal the nature of her mother, it was her, and that was something Arianna couldn’t argue against.
“Our Mage, Lady Cassandra of Corona…”
Well, that was her cue.
Cassandra stepped up to face the people of Corona. Her people. “I’m going to start off with what you’re all wondering… the Sundrop is gone. It was stolen by my mother. For now, Corona does not have a healer.”
The crowd was full of fearful whispers.
“We have learned that my mother’s conditions for healing—that she could only aid those near death or unconscious—were a complete fabrication.” Cassandra’s voice, though steady, carried the weight of betrayal. “ She could have healed all of us, she could have rid this kingdom of pain, but she chose not to.”
She paused, letting the gravity of the lie sink into the hearts of the people before her.
“Discovering this deception was as shocking to me as I know it is to all of you. And, perhaps, infinitely more disappointing.”
With a slow, deliberate motion that drew every eye, she reached for her glove. The soft silk slipped away to reveal what lay beneath: a hand mapped by old, twisting scars, a permanent testament to a past injury every soul in Corona had once whispered about. She held it not as a shameful secret, but as evidence, pressing it gently to her chest as if the old wound ached anew with the confession.
She didn’t need to recount the story; the sight of the scars told it for her. But now, the narrative had been rewritten. It was no longer just a tale of a tragic accident, but one of profound and calculated neglect.
“When Eugene Fitzherbert, previously known as the thief Flynn Rider, discovered the song that activated the flower, he healed all. And when there wasn’t time to hide the song from those around he chose to heal over maintaining his… monopoly on those powers. This caused my mother to flee with the flower… the guards are out searching for her, but in all honesty it’s unlikely they will find her.”
Cassandra stepped closer to the edge, raising her head.
“But I am not a guard. I am a mage. I wield magic, and I swear I will find my mother, and I will bring the Sundrop back home. And if I cannot, then I shall not return, from here on out, it is my life’s mission to make this right.”
The crowd cheered.
Arianna looked horrified. “What?” she whispered, looking up to her husband to confirm that he too was taken aback.
“And I will be going with her!” Rapunzel rushed forward. “I shall not be coronated until the Sundrop is back safe and sound in this kingdom. I believe that is why the Sundrop saved me all those years ago.”
“What?” Cassandra hissed at Rapunzel.
“You think you can get rid of me that easy? Nah. I ain’t being left behind,” she whispered back.
While the crowd cheered and Frederic moved back to the front, Arianna dragged the two girls back inside. “What were you thinking?” she hissed.
“I pretty much said everything I was thinking out there…” Cassandra shrugged. “She was not part of my plan,” Cassandra pointed at Rapunzel with her thumb.
“This is not your responsibility, Cassandra.”
“My mother—”
“Is. Not. Your. Responsibility.”
Cassandra held her head high. “I’ve carried the title of Lady for my entire life. And I’ve carried it with pride. Thinking my mother had given to this kingdom and as such, both she and her legacy deserved it.”
“You deserve your title, but not because you are her legacy, Cassandra.”
“I’ve never done anything to deserve that title.”
“Like every other lord and lady born with it.”
“I want to get the Sundrop back. For this kingdom, but also for me. I want to confront my mother. I want to bring her to justice. I have wanted to heal my entire life, and while now I realise that healing can be done by many, I still want Corona to have a healer.”
Arianna looked upset.
“And I want adventure before my coronation, Mum,” Rapunzel stepped forward. “You got to have it.”
“The world beyond here isn’t always safe…”
“We know. We’ve experienced it,” Cassandra said. “But I’m not that same easily shaken teenager who needed you to save me from a stranger in Ingvarr… I know how to defend myself with weapons and magic. I have common sense. I can do this.”
Frederic was coming inside now.
Arianna took a deep breath. “I’ll find a vehicle and some guards willing to go with you.”
“Really?”
“Yes… but you get a year.”
“A year?”
“A year. After that, you come home. None of this I will dedicate my life to this cause bullshit.”
Both Rapunzel and Cassandra were taken aback, sharing a glance at hearing the queen swear for the first time in their lives.
Frederic, returning from the crowd, looked at Arianna but realised she’d made up her mind, besides, after the Gothel ordeal, her opinion trumped his. “Go pack.”
The girls rushed off before Arianna could change her mind or Frederic could say anything.
“You’re sure?” Frederic asked.
Arianna nodded. “I don’t know if they’ll succeed, but clearly they need to try.”
“Alright.”
Frederic left, and Eugene, who had been watching from the shadows, stepped forward.
“You.” Arianna’s eyes snapped onto him.
Eugene flinched.
“I’ve been thinking about your crimes, about your place in this kingdom.”
“Oh…” Eugene looked nervous.
“You caused much harm to many people. And you came here carrying lies. But you also risked a lot and did much good recently.”
“Okay…”
“Originally I thought I’d give you a chance to prove yourself, a job in the guard or community service, but… I have something better.”
“I’m listening.”
“Go with my girls. Keep them safe. In a year’s time, if they come home safe and well, you are pardoned, for all your crimes up to this point.”
Eugene nodded. “Deal.” He’d already been intending on offering to go. Those two needed someone with experience in the world to guide them.
“And let me make this very clear, Mr Fitzherbert, your mission isn’t to retrieve the Sundrop, that’s theirs. Yours is to bring them home safely no matter what. Even if that means standing in their way. You prioritise their safety.”
Eugene nodded. “Understood. Your Majesty.”
Arianna nodded before turning away.
Eugene threw his hands into his pockets. This was interesting. He couldn’t have seen this coming a month ago while he was planning to steal the crown, but he kinda liked it.
A week later, the kingdom united to wish goodbye to their princess and mage. In the caravan was Eugene Fitzherbert, ex-thief and currently assigned bodyguard and guide to the two women. As well as the Captain of Corona’s guard, a man Arianna trusted deeply to protect the girls, and Quirin, a farmer of Old Corona who had experience as a knight from another kingdom, his wife had been healed long ago from a fatal illness so he saw this as a chance to repay the kingdom for their kindness.
Besides, he had a feeling he knew who the first Sundrop thief was.
Fidella and Maximus pulled the carriage.
Rapunzel, Cassandra and Owl sat atop. Rapunzel waved, and Cassandra threw a tiny light-show for the children of the kingdom.
“I really hope this goes well,” Cassandra said quiet enough only Rapunzel could hear her.
The princess leaned back, her back pressed against Cassandra’s shoulder. “It will.”
“Ever the optimist.”
“Cassandra, you’re the greatest mage I’ve ever met, and I’ve never seen you once not deliver vengeance on those who wronged you.”
Cassandra laughed.
“We’re gonna retrieve that Sundrop, and you’re going to become Corona’s first official royal mage—”
“I already am.”
“But now you’ll accept that title with pride rather than longing for that of a healer. We’ll have the Sundrop in the cottage and assign Eugene to sing to the kids and sick.”
Cassandra smiled. “That sounds nice.”
“And maybe I’ll finally marry someone and settle down as a princess.”
“Oh, you fancy someone?”
Rapunzel blushed, making extra sure not to glance towards the trapdoor leading into the caravan. “Course not. But we’re about to hit the road! Meet a bunch of people! People who aren’t stuck up nobles or neighbouring royals.”
“I guess.”
“To adventure!”
“To adventure,” Cassandra smiled, glancing towards the world beyond Corona as the gates opened and the rivers and mountains stretched out ahead of them.
Notes:
The end???
Well, until I come out with the sequel!!
I really hope you enjoyed this fic, it's been sitting in my WIP pile for well over a year and it was such a relief to finish it and start publishing!
Originally it did end with Cassandra, Eugene and Rapunzel catching up with Gothel before she could leave but it didn't feel like a good ending.... so Gothel got away. And I think it was the right choice because I wasn't ready to close the door fully on this AU.I actually have 2 sequels planned, making this series a trilogy.
In the next fic you can expect more magic! More Eugene and Cass bickering! More slowly building up New Dream! Maybe another ship? (I'm sure you can guess)! XD
However, I won't start posting until the fic is fully written just like I did with this first one and it's going to be a long fic, soooooo.... expect a long wait.Anyway, huge thanks to everybody who came along for this journey!
I look forward to sharing more fics with you all very soon!Ps: Working title for the sequel is Search For The Sundrop
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Last Edited Sun 08 Jun 2025 04:22PM UTC
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TwoTangledSisters (ILikeCookiesLoads) on Chapter 8 Mon 09 Jun 2025 08:23AM UTC
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Prov (Guest) on Chapter 9 Sun 15 Jun 2025 09:32AM UTC
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TwoTangledSisters (ILikeCookiesLoads) on Chapter 9 Sun 15 Jun 2025 11:42AM UTC
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