A/N: Not to be an over sensitive little shit, but this chapter is dark, emotional and everything else you can think of.
It was a complete disaster. When Cassandra woke up, once again, she couldn't believe her eyes. And when the maids and servants began to surround her, asking about why she stopped visiting, it became even worse. Everyone in Arendelle seemed to know what's going on, except for her. But that was just one thing.
When she stepped out of her room, a white, snow thingie that somehow is able to walk and talk on his own screamed at her in excitement and ran towards her. "Cassy! You are here! Wait, why are you here? Doesn't matter! Give me a big warm hug!" The thing only came closer, rushing towards the princess's leg, but before he could grab it, Cassandra screamed, and with a swift motion, her feet kicked the snowman's head off. "Oof! I guess you don't want a hug." He lowered his gaze, and Cass almost fainted when his body continued to move in search of his head.
"What the hell are you?!" Asked Cassandra, raising her voice as she poked the snowman's head with a slender finger.
The woman picked Olaf's head up, holding him to meet her gaze. The snowman almost seemed disappointed and sad, but Cass had no idea if he has emotions in general. "You don't know? But Cassy, we're friends!"
"We are?" She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember." She kneeled down and connected the head with the body. "In fact, I don't remember anyone, not even myself." She smiled weakly at the snowman.
"Oh, woah! I don't have a brain, but I think it's weird! You definitely remembered me the last time you were here!" Something told Cassandra that she doesn't have to be afraid of the snowman, he's probably harmless. Such a cute thing couldn't even hurt a fly.
"I've been here?" She asked.
"More than just once! You stayed here like all the time, and we had lots of fun!" Olaf nervously rubbed his hands together. "Sometimes you read me poems and then gave me hugs." He giggled, recalling all the happy memories he had with Cassandra before she disappeared. "But then...you just left and never returned. We all missed you, Cassy."
As she blinked, tears dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. She bit her lip tightly in an attempt to hide any sound that wanted to escape from her mouth. Her lower lip quivering tightly as she tried to say something. "I'm sorry because I left. I-" Before she could speak, Queen Anna showed up at the corner of the hallway, walking closer to them in her travel clothes and with a smile on her face.
"Good morning, guys! Are you ready for a new adventure?" Olaf seemed to be the most enthusiastic about the journey, and he jumped in excitement. About Cassandra...she wasn't so sure.
"Let's go find Samantha!" Olaf yelled while Anna and Cass looked at each other with concern in their eyes. "I still don't know who's Samantha!" The two women just laughed it off.
"Elsa!" The Fifth Spirit turned around to see her younger sister rushing towards her, pulling her into a loving embrace.
"Anna!" She leaned back a little and brushed back a stray lock of hair from Anna's freckled face. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming over."
The redhead seemed to be full of energy and anxiety as she grabbed Elsa by her hand, leading her away from the other members of the Northuldra tribe. "Oh, well, it wasn't planned. But it doesn't matter now! I have a big surprise for you, sis! It's like a reeallly big one!" The redhead giggled nervously.
"Anna..."
"Okay, okay! I won't waste your time, but this is very important!"
"Anna, just say it."
"This is now how it works, Elsie! I mean, this is how it works, but nevermind! So, I think you should take a seat because honestly, almost fainted and I'm sure you will too."
"Anna, I'm perfectly fine where I am."
"Let me finish, okay? You remember Cassandra, right? She was like the love of your life about two years ago." Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it, because Anna gave her no chance to talk. "Of course you do! So, I was doing my daily stuff, and I walked around the village, just buying me some chocolate and other things. Well, it was mostly chocolate. Do you want some?"
"Is that why you came here?" She asked, covering her mouth to hold back a small laugh.
"No, of course not, I just thought I'd ask!" She cleared her throat and fixed her dress, trying to look as royal as possible. "So I was in the chocolate shop, and you won't guess who I saw!"
"Umm, a snowgie?"
"No, it was Cassandra. She's alive, but she lost all of her memories because something bad happened to her. She came to Arendelle because she claims to hear a voice, so you must take her to Ahtohallan to find out who did this to her and help her regain her memories because honestly, she's in terrible shape!"
Elsa sighed and shook her head. Just when she's about to accept her former lover's death, Anna shows up to open the wounds that are still covering her broken heart. "This is a bad joke." But Anna took a deep breath and gestured towards a tree, a person emerging from behind it like a ghost. Elsa's mouth hanged open, blue eyes widening as she recognised Cassandra's grey eyes, black hair and tall, muscular body. Even if she's different now, she still looks like a goddess. But that doesn't mean the sight is not shattering Elsa's heart into million pieces. "This is not a joke." She whispered, her whole body trembling as her emotions are taking control of her. She could the tears forming in her eyes, not dropping but flowing like a river down on her slightly freckled cheeks.
Cassandra walked closer to her with shaking legs and stopped in front of her. She's here, and she's real, with only a few very little difference. Elsa remembered her being taller and her skin brighter. But despite that, she's still Cassandra, the woman she still loves. "Are you Elsa?" The older woman asked, nervously rubbing her neck.
But Elsa still couldn't believe it. She spent years mourning, and now she just shows up out of nowhere, and that's all she says. The Fifth Spirit imagines meeting her again multiple times. But in her imagination, it was never like this. "That's all you can say?" She whispered as more tears came. "After everything we've been through, you can't say anything else?" Cassandra didn't answer, just stared at her with a blank expression. But now Elsa knew: this Cassandra is not the person she fell in love with.
Without saying anything else, Elsa pushed the princess away and ran into the woods. As soon as she reached a certain distance, she allowed herself to cry. But even if the new Cassandra isn't the same person as before, deep inside, there's still some humanity left in her. No one could stop her from following Elsa into the forest. She wasn't violent about it, no. But if she made a mistake and that's the reason she's here, then she's sure as hell to make it right.
She carefully approached the crying blonde, amazed by her beauty. Elsa's sitting an old, dry tree trunk with her head buried in her palms. It broke Cassandra's heart to see someone crying because of her. She slowly sat down next to the younger woman, waiting for her to push the princess was. "I'm sorry." She said softly and swallowed. "I don't know what I did to you, but you probably have a good reason to hate me."
Eyes red from crying, Elsa lifted her gaze, and her orbs met with Cassandra's grey ones. Her chin trembled, searching for "I don't hate you. I-I just...you died!" She claimed, her voice cracking as she spoke. An unknown feeling wanted Cass to wipe away the tears rolling down the Spirit's cheek but found it more respectful to just leave them be.
"I wish I could remember, I really do. Please, forgive me." And without thinking, Elsa collapsed against Cassandra's chest, taking the princess by surprise. Cass stood still for a moment, not knowing why the blonde isn't afraid of her. She sobbed into her chest, hands clutching at her clothes. Cassandra let her cry out her pain and carefully placed a hand on Elsa's back. She held her in silence, rocking slowly as the tears soaked her chest.
A tiny lapse let him pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before he collapsed again, her. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling her back into the outstretched arms of her grief. When she cried, there was a rawness to it like the pain was still an open wound. Maybe because it is. Her whole body shook, breaking down entirely. But as her sobbing calmed down and her breaths became normal again, she slightly pulled away, still holding onto Cassandra.
She swallowed the painful lump in her throat, trying to make eye contact with her former lover. "I'll take you to Ahtohallan. And you'll be the Cassandra I mourned for so long again."
But as Elsa spoke, she didn't notice another person around them. Honeymaren listened to her girlfriend from behind a tree, a tear rolling down her cheek as her girlfriend disappeared with the woman she truly loves.
"I'm not sitting on that thing," Cassandra claimed with a scared expression as the Nokk emerged from the water.
"Yes, you will. That is the only way we can reach Ahtohallan." The Nokk allowed Elsa to sit on it's back, looking as regal as ever. "What are you waiting for?"
"We shouldn't go on the same...uhh...horse?" Cass said, rubbing her arm in confusion.
"Why not?" Gaze moving to the older woman's hand, she noticed a pair of gloves on them. She sighed, almost painfully as she remembered doing the same thing to conceal her powers. "Don't worry about it. Just get up, you'll be perfectly fine." It was surprising, even to herself. Somehow, she found herself putting a distance between herself and Cassandra, but at the same time, she never felt such yearning to be close to her again.
Nodding, Cassandra climbed to the Nokk's back, seated behind the Fifth Spirit herself. Her heat that radiates from her body calmed Elsa's hammering heart as they rode to Ahtohallan. With a slight trembling, Cass sneaked a hand around the blonde's waist, seeking for support. To her surprise, Elsa relaxed against her touch and didn't move until they reached Ahtohallan itself.
"Wow!" Cass looked at the huge frozen river in awe, admiring the enormous ice. "What is this place?" She asked, holding Elsa a bit tighter.
"As I said, this is Ahtohallan, where the Northwind meets the sea. This is where you can learn about your past and the people who are connected to you." She paused for a moment, recalling her sister's earlier rambling. "Anna said you heard a voice calling to you. Is that true?"
"Yeah." Cass rolled her eyes. "And it was very annoying."
The blonde released a small chuckle, but cleared her throat, trying to regain her serious composure. "I know, I heard it too. But it stopped after I came here. It seems like Ahtohallan holds a few answers for you."
"I hope so." The warrior sighed as they reached the glacier. "There are too many things that I need to know."
"Come." Elsa dismounted The Nokk, followed by Cassandra. "So...we're here. Be careful and stay close to me." It almost felt like the first time when Elsa came here. Happy and free. And now, it's Cassandra's turn; she gets to experience the same thing.
AH-AH-AH-AH
Gasping, Cass looked at Elsa with joy shining in her eyes. In the past, the voice troubled her. But now, it's just a good sign, leading her on the right path. "I heard it again! The voice, I mean."
"Then get ready, and don't slip on the ice." The blonde chuckled as she grabbed her former lover by her hand, leading her further inside the glacier.
Cassandra almost fell on the ground at Elsa's fast place, tugging on her hand a bit. "You said no slipping in ice! Then slow down!" But Elsa just gazed at her with laughter in her puppy eyes, going faster than ever as they followed a light, leading them to the place where Elsa discovered her past.
"A snowflake?" The older woman saw a sign on the icy ground and looked at Elsa with concern. The blonde only nodded. "How's that supposed to help me?"
Elsa rolled her eyes and released Cass from her grip. She walked into the middle of the snowflake, and the Princess gasped when it began to shine brighter than before. "Cassandra." She called for her softly. "Step into your power." She gestured towards one side of the snowflake, where laid the symbol of the fire spirit.
With a shaking breath, Cass nodded. The moment she's been waiting for two years has finally come. She set her feet on the symbol, and the brightness that appeared from it made her close her eyes for a moment, blinding her completely. She felt her magic blossoming like a wild fire, flames creating a clothing made of ashes rather than destroying. As the blindness faded, she opened her eyes, rewarded by memories.
I never thought about myself as a good person. But even if I was ashamed to admit it to myself, I knew that I wasn't that bad either. I saw many things — experienced love and destruction. I killed and then saved the lives of the innocent. For each life I took, I paid with my own blood.
My upbringing was tragic, especially after my mother died. After that, my life only became worse. Sometimes I laid awake at night, waiting for my father to come and tell me that everything's going to be alright. I yearned for my father's love for years, and I think a part of me still does. But instead, all I got was pain. I guess he never loved me.
But my uncle was there for me, every time I needed him. He cared about me more than anyone did, and even if he's not that kind of man to express his feelings, he loved me.
I also care about Anna. She's something like a sister to me. Only two years passed since we last saw each other, but she became a fine young woman who takes her duties seriously.
Don't let me forget about Olaf. Yeah, he's weird but full of love.
And then there's Elsa. My precious little Snowflake, who I love more than anything. She thinks I was the one who saved her from death, but that's not true. Without her, I wouldn't be here now. Her love gave me more than enough reason to stay alive and fight. I could've died multiple times, but I guess life's not that easy, you can't just give it all up. And honestly, I don't wish to die anymore.
My name is Cassandra Cordelia Reeve, crown princess of Ovrilon. And I still have a damned war to fight.
Elsa watched as Cassandra took a deep breath, filling her body with the power of life. "Cass?" She took a careful step, gentle fingers brushing against the princess' shoulder.
With a loving smile, the warrior turned around to meet Elsa's gaze, eyes filled with tears of joy. "Yes, Snowflake?" She sobbed as the blonde closed the distance between them, arms wrapping around each other.
"You remember!" Her nails dug into Cassandra's back, a salty tear rolling down from her eyes to her lover's shoulder.
After a moment if holding onto Elsa, Cass pulled back slightly. She looked deeply into the blonde's watery eyes, her hot breath tickling her lips as a shiver ran up and down her spine. "I still love you."
"I love you too." Elsa pulled Cassandra's head down for their most loving kiss, overwhelmed by their emotions and feelings for each other. That one kiss is all they needed, sealing their love that was held back for far too long.
It was Cassandra who pulled away, her gaze still lingering at Elsa's beautiful eyes. But then something else caught her attention, moving figures behind her lover's back. "What's that?"
The blonde turned around, seeing an adult Cassandra made of snow sitting on the floor with a book in her hand. She smiled at the sight and grabbed the real Cass' hand, interlocking their fingers as she did. "Your memories. Come on, let's see them!"
The first thing they saw was Cass holding a surprised Elsa against her body when she attempted to attack Olaf. "Listen my queen; I need you to stay quiet! There's a...well, a thing wandering the halls! I'll get its attention, you sneak out and run for help!"
Elsa began to laugh as Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I was so stupid. The little guy couldn't even hurt a fly."
"I need you to kiss me." Face flushed; they turned their gaze to a snow Elsa as she surged into Cassandra's arms, uniting their lips in their first kiss. They both smiled at this one, giving each other's hand a slight squeeze.
The next figure was a giggling little girl running to her mother's arms. Elsa noticed a slight shake of Cass' hand, but when she saw her face, she was just smiling. "I love you so much, Cassandra! You are making me so proud!"
"You were the cutest kid," Elsa said, and Cassandra chuckled at her.
When the older woman was about to reply happily, a slender figure divided them with force. "I can already feel the power in my hands. Just a little longer and the witch is finally dead!" The tall man looked precisely like Wulfacar almost two decades ago. Exchanging glances, the lovers decided to follow the memory. "Well, well." Wulfacar chuckled.
The other figure was Cassandra's mother, Zara, laying in her bed a little after she gave birth to her son. "Wulfacar...I'm not feeling well." Elsa could hear Cass' loud gulping as her father approached the former Queen of Ovrilon. "I can barely breathe, call the doctors!"
She began to cough, the air struggling to reach her lungs. But Wulfacar only chuckled. Cassandra knew that sound too well. "That's a good sign, Zara. It means my plan is working."
"Your plan? Wulfacar, what are you talking about?"
"You are so naïve, sweetheart, falling right into my trap. Luckily, your daughter has more potential than a monster like you."
"Where's Cassandra?! What have you done to her?!"
"Nothing, yet. I'll give her a chance to become just as great as her father. But you, Zara, you won't live until that day. You only have like...How much? Ah, yes. Fifteen minutes left. It takes a bit long for the poison to kill one, but it's less suspicious than an open wound. Everyone's going to think you died while giving birth, and from there, no one's going to stop me from becoming the King of Ovrilon!"
"You are a monster, Wulfacar!"
"The only monster here is you, my dear. And now, let me take care of your fucking son."
Whole Ahtohallan fell silent as the truth revealed itself. Cassandra's mouth opened slightly, her lips trembling as she now understood everything. Elsa watched a painful tear roll down her lover's cheek before the princess said the life-changing words. "He..." She whimpered. "He killed them! My mother and brother are all dead because of him!"
A/N: Now we finally know the truth, and it only took nineteen chapters and almost two decades. Is it surprising?
But hey, at least Cass is back to kick some ass!