There was socializing. Of course there was socializing. If she'd had her way, Cassandra would've just had dinner, chatted quickly with her friends and father and then just... Left. Unfortunately, that was not an option.
Socializing... It unnerved Cass to no extent. Perhaps it would've been easier on her if she'd been born into royalty. Of course, though, that was not the case. She had married into it. And she had to accept the fact that her husband wasn't used to it, either. He was just as clueless as she was.
"Cass!" Rapunzel called, loud and perky, as she ran up to join her friend, "hey! How have you been?"
The princess engulfed Cassandra in a big bear hug, one so tight that Cass could practically hear her bones cracking. She grunted a little, awkwardly patting her friend on the back in hopes of being relinquished.
"Okay, Raps," she managed in a strained voice, "be careful, okay? I don't think that anyone would feel like bringing a rag doll home today."
Rapunzel gave a short, awkward chuckle before letting Cass go. "Sorry..."
But Cassandra's attention had been diverted away from the princess. All the way across the room, Varian was in the middle of what seemed to be an intense game of tag with some of the Saporian children. She smiled to herself as she watched the scene unfold.
"You know, he's gonna make a great dad someday," Rapunzel said, putting a hand on Cass's shoulder, "Varian, I mean."
Cass nodded. "Yeah... Our children will be really lucky to get to call him their father."
Rapunzel gently squeezed Cass's shoulder and said good-bye, heading off to socialize with other people at the party. Varian looked up at Cass just then, scooping one of the little girls up and spinning her around before placing her on his shoulders. Cass waved at him and he grinned, waving back.
Cassandra was content to just stand and watch her husband as he interacted with the Saporian children. Images flashed through her mind, images of a possible future.
She could easily see herself and Varian growing older, raising kids of their very own. Practical miniatures of themselves.
The idea alone sent shivers down her spine.
She crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to observe Varian, continued to watch his interactions with the village children. She was so immersed, in fact, that she hardly noticed it when a young woman- quite possibly younger than Varian, actually- joined her.
"Is one of them yours?"
Cass startled a little, but managed to maintain her cool as she replied, "yeah. You see the tall one with the dark hair and dorky grin?"
The woman chuckled. "Clever. But... He's good with the kids, that's for sure."
Cassandra glanced over at her new companion, studying her wide blue eyes, her kind smile, her short, auburn locks. Other than the fact that one of the little girls Varian was playing with- the girl that was still seated high upon his shoulders- bore a surprisingly strong resemblance to the woman, Cass was unsure of why she looked so familiar.
"Yeah," she agreed, returning her gaze to the activity across the room, "indeed. So, is... Is one of them..."
"Mine?" the woman supplied, giving a slight, knowing smile, "yeah. That one's Bianca."
She was looking at her little look-alike, who was happily perched on Varian's shoulders. He quickly spun around and she squealed with delight, clapping her hands gleefully before laying them to rest in his hair.
"She seems to be pretty fond of... I never caught his name. Or yours, for that matter."
Cass laughed a little, trying not to seem uninterested in what this woman had to say. But, in all reality, Cass wanted nothing more than to just get out. To get away from all of the people.
"That's Varian," she said, pointing to him, "and I'm Cassandra. How about you?"
"Viola," the woman smiled warmly, still focused on the scene before them, "you know, he looks kind of familiar..."
"Well, he is the king of Old Corona," Cass said, an unexpected edge of bitterness creeping into her voice, "that's probably why."
"Well, then, your highness," Viola retorted, unsure of why they were being sassy, but enjoying it nonetheless, "I think you both need to make public appearances a priority, huh?"
"We had a big, public coronation a few years ago."
"And I had a little kid to care for a few years ago."
Before Cass could make another quip- preferably at Viola's expense- Varian was suddenly at their side, Bianca laughing and squealing with joy. He gave Cassandra that goofy grin of his before looking at Viola.
"I'm assuming that little Bumble-Bee here belongs to you?" he asked her.
He suddenly realized how awkward and rude that probably sounded, and he tried to backpedal as best as he could. "I mean... She looks exactly like you, so..."
And you happen to look almost exactly like...
No.
He knew about doppelgangers, people who look like other people. Varian shuddered a little, remembering his most recent encounter with a doppelganger. (Let's just say... It wasn't Cassandra, as he had thought).
"Yeah," Viola said, reaching to take her daughter in her arms, "I'm Viola."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Viola," he replied, wrapping an arm around Cassandra's waist, "I'm Varian. I see you've met Cass."
Cass sighed deeply, trying to send him a message with her eyes. Please, let's just get out of here. I don't want to be around all these people anymore.
But Varian paid her no attention. Instead, he struck up a conversation with Viola, leaving Cass with her thoughts.
Finally, there was a break in the conversation, one which Cass decided she'd exploit.
"Hey, Varian," she murmured softly, "can we... Can we get out of here? Just for awhile? Maybe check on Craig and Jonah or something?"
Varian flashed an apologetic smile in Viola's direction. "Um... Yeah, sure. As you wish, milady."
Without any other hesitation, Cassandra grabbed him by the arm and began to hurry out of the room, Varian in tow.