"This is certainly not what I was expecting." Cassandra thought as she sat at a table in the Snuggly Duckling pub.

When she and Eugene had followed Princess Rapunzel to this place, she had assumed it would be an annoyingly bright and cutesy place full of Rapunzel friends, who would be just as energetic and bright as her.

Well, Cass supposed she was partially right.

These thugs, if Cassandra could even still call them that, looked dangerous, and to a degree, they were. But after Rapunzel introduced her and Eugene to them, Cassandra quickly learned that they were not as deadly as she thought.

"They're dreamers!" Rapunzel had enthusiastically said.

And before the Princess of the Dark Kingdom knew it, everyone in the pub decided to play music, sing, and dance, as if celebrating. This wasn't really her thing, so she decided to sit in the corner of the pub and just watch. Fortunately, everyone seemed to get the message that she wanted to be alone, and they allowed that, which Cassandra had to admit was very polite of them.

"Cassandra!" Well, not all of them, but she supposed she could welcome Rapunzel's company. The blonde Princess sat beside her and presented her a cupcake, a cookie, and a glass of milk. "I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you a snack. Attila makes the best pastries! I wasn't sure what you would like, so I got you this. If you don't like it, I can get you-"

"This is good." Cass said and gave a small smile. "Thanks."

Rapunzel smiled and nodded. But then she frowned. "What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"We were actually following you." Cass admitted. She supposed there was no use lying since she and Eugene were pretty much caught.

Rapunzel's eyes grew wide. "Following me? Why?"

The Dark Princess shrugged. "We saw you sneaking out of the castle and we got curious. Especially after what happened earlier today."

"Oh." The blonde Princess said. Then she gave a small chuckle. "I guess that seems a bit suspicious. I mean, how often do you see a prince or princess sneaking around?"

"More than I can count." Cassandra stated. "Eugene does it all the time."

"Wait, really?" Rapunzel asked, her eyes growing wider.

Cassandra's smile grew at the blonde's reaction. "Yep, almost every night, Eugene would drag Lance and Varian out and get them into all kinds of trouble. One time, they took some horses from the stables and when they returned to next morning, they were all covered in mud. Both the horses and the boys."

That got a laugh out of Rapunzel. "Your parents must've been so mad."

"Oh, they were. Especially Dad." Cassandra chuckled as she remembered that day.

Her father was furious that Eugene had not only gotten him and the others dirty, but the prized horses as well. Her mother was too shocked to say anything, it was one of the rare moments where her mother didn't excuse Eugene's behavior. Probably why she remembers that day so well.

"What about you?" Rapunzel asked. "Have any sneaking out adventures of your own?"

Cass shook her head. "No, Eugene did enough sneaking around for the both of us."

"Oh c'mon." The Corona Princess insisted. "Don't tell me you've never thought about it."

Cass was quiet for a moment. "Maybe." She admitted. She supposed there have been moments where she had been tempted to sneak out of the Castle. It wouldn't be hard with her training, and she knew ways around the castle.

Cass shook her head. "But no. I don't think my parents would be able to handle two sneaky kids. Someone had to be the responsible one. Honestly, the only time I would sneak around was to stop Eugene before he left or bring him home before anyone finds out he left."

"Do you ever have to drag him back?" Rapunzel asked, clearly getting interested in what Cass had to say.

"Again, more times than I can count." Cassandra stated. "Even had to duel him a few times just to try and get him to come home."

"No way, you duel?!" The blonde asked. "My father doesn't even want me around a sword, let alone actually hold one."

"Yep." The Dark Princess replied. "As the Princess of the Dark Kingdom, I am trained in all forms of fighting. To be prepared for whatever threat comes to the kingdom."

"Well, I think all that training paid off when the blacks rocks got in the church." Rapunzel replied. "I never got the chance to thank you, by the way. If it hadn't been for you, Eugene and I would've been stuck among those rocks."

Cassandra just shrugged. "I was simply being doing my job." Though she was trying to be humble, she couldn't deny that the Blonde Princess' praise and attention was welcoming. It really did feel nice for someone outside the Dark Kingdom to acknowledge what she was capable of doing.

"And you did it amazingly." Rapunzel smiled. "Your parents must've been so proud of you."

Princess Cassandra frowned a bit. She thought of her parents. Sure, she figured her father was proud of her, he told her that whenever he could, but she couldn't help but doubt that a bit. Not out of insincerity, but because he didn't spend a lot of time with her, so she wasn't too sure what exactly he was proud of her about. And her mother…

"Cassandra?" Rapunzel asked. "Are you okay?"

Cass pulled herself out of her thoughts and nodded and Rapunzel. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about my parents. About how their doing back home." She felt a bit bad for lying, but its not like her family life was really Princess Rapunzel's business. What she didn't know wouldn't affect her at all.

"Oh, I get it." Rapunzel said with a frown. "I'm sorry if I said anything upsetting."

Cass smiled again. "Its alright. I know you meant no harm."

Then the Blonde Princess stood. "I'll leave you alone. Let me now if you need anything, Cassandra."

"Call me Cass." the Dark Princess offered with a smile. Rapunzel smiled back as she left her alone. Cass looked at the snacks Rapunzel brought. She supposed a bite of the cookie wouldn't hurt.

"You're makin' that up!" One of the thugs, Hook Foot, accused Eugene.

"Nope! 100% true story! You can even ask my sister!" Eugene boldly declared.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rapunzel asked. She joined Eugene and Hook Foot at the bar.

"This guy says he knows some kind of teen genius alchemist or something." Hook Foot stated. "But there's no way!"

"I'm not lying!" Eugene stated. "Rapunzel, you met Varian, tell him I'm not making this up!"

Rapunzel couldn't help but chuckle. "Its true. I met him. His name's Varian, and he is an alchemist."

"Ha!" Eugene shouted to Hook Foot. Hook Foot just rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself as he stomped off. "Thank you, Blondie."

Rapunzel giggled. "What were you telling him about Varian?

Eugene smiled at her. "I was telling him that before you and your family came to the Dark Kingdom, Varian used his chemical compound to stop a pair of thugs that were causing trouble."

"He did?" Rapunzel asked. "That's amazing! When did that happened."

Then Eugene became a bit awkward. "The morning of our wedding." his stated quietly.

"The morning of our wedding?" Rapunzel repeated. "Wait, when you did you have the time to go out?"

"Its complicated." Eugene said.

Though Rapunzel figured what the answer was. "You snuck out the night before with Lance and Varian, didn't you?"

Eugene stared at her in shock, the face he made was so funny that she couldn't help but giggle. "Your sister told me you do that a lot."

"Ah. Of course she did." Eugene said quietly. The two sat in silence for a moment.

"So, uh, why'd you sneak out?" Rapunzel asked, awkwardly, trying to break the silence between them. "Get cold feet or something?"

"Yeah. I-I mean, no! What I mean is-" The Dark Prince stuttered. Rapunzel would've laughed if it had been someone else, but seeing the prince rambling like this made her feel bad.

"Listen, forget I asked that." Rapunzel said quickly. "Sorry I asked."

"No, its fine." Prince Eugene insisted. "I wasn't trying to run away from the wedding, if that's what you meant. I just, well, wanted to spend some time with my friends. Before, y'know."

"You wanted one last night of freedom before being forced into the marriage?" Rapunzel assumed. Eugene nodded at her. "I understand that."

"Why?" Eugene asks. "You sneak out for one last night of fun before possibly leaving your home?"

"No, but I wanted to." Rapunzel quietly admitted. "My father had extra guards around the castle so no one get break into the castle that night."

"And so you couldn't get out." Eugene added. Rapunzel nodded at him. "That's rough. To feel like a prisoner in your own home."

"It wasn't like that." The blonde Princess tried to defend. "My father was just trying to make sure I was safe. Royal marriages can attract the wrong kind of attention."

Eugene shrugged. "If you say so." His tone told her that he didn't really believe what she was saying. And honestly, Rapunzel didn't even believe her words. She loved her father and knew that he loved her, but sometimes, his protectiveness could be…overwhelming for her.

"So, why'd you sneak out tonight?" The Dark Prince asked. "Especially after what happened in the Dark Kingdom and the fact that two members of its royal family are here."

Rapunzel wasn't sure how to respond to that. She had come here to see if she could learn anything about the Sundrop flower he had mentioned earlier. But she wasn't really sure if he would actually appreciate her asking other people about it.

"I just wanted to see my friends again." She said. "With everything that's happening, I thought seeing some familiar faces would cheer me up."

"Familiar faces?" Eugene asked. This time, with a sly looking smile. "So that means you've done this before. Gotta say, you do not strike me as the sneak around type."

"I don't know what you're talking about." The blonde replied coyly.

"I can imagine the look on your parents' faces." Eugene chuckled. "Seeing their daughter hanging out with a bunch of scary ruffians." He playfully teased.

"Oh, you're one to talk." Rapunzel said with a grin. "Cass told me that you do a lot of sneaking around back in the Dark Kingdom."

Eugene laughed. "Alright, you got me there. I have built up a bit of a reputation for sneaking around the castle."

Rapunzel laughed too, enjoying the banter. "I can imagine. Must give your parent's heart attacks with all that sneaking around."

Then Eugene stopped laughing. The frown he showed made Rapunzel immediately regret what she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't to be insensitive. You probably don't want to think about them and what might be going on-"

"Its not that, Blondie." Eugene sighed.

Rapunzel didn't want to be nosey, but she was starting to get curious. "Eugene, what's going on with your parents?"

Eugene sighed again. "Let's just say my father and I don't get along as much as you think."

"Oh." Rapunzel said. She wasn't sure what to say about that. "What about your mother? She seemed nice."

"Gothel isn't my mother." Eugene stated quickly, and it might've been her imagination, but Rapunzel could've sworn that there was a hint of disdain in his voice. "She's Cass' mother. And we don't really spend a lot of time together, anyway."

"Really?" When Rapunzel saw her, Gothel seemed to adore Eugene, as if he were her own son. She had even called him her son, not step-son. "How come?"

"It doesn't matter." Eugene stated.

Rapunzel was quiet for a moment. "I know how it feels. To not get along with your dad."

Eugene just looked at her, so Rapunzel explained. "I mentioned that my dad is really overprotective of me. To the point where, yeah, I do sometimes feel like a prisoner in that castle."

"I bet he freaks when you're even two minutes late for a meal." Eugene guessed.

Rapunzel nodded. "You have no idea. And I can't even go outside without three guards 'escorting' me to where I want to go."

"If it were up to my father, I wouldn't even be allowed to leave the castle." Eugene bitterly stated. "I would locked inside all day."

"I think my father wants that too." Rapunzel admitted.

"I think my father would rather have me-" Eugene started.

"Sometimes I just feel so-" Rapunzel started.

"Trapped." The both finished. Rapunzel glance at Eugene, who looked back at her.

"He really understands me." Rapunzel thought. That was honestly rather surprising. Although she didn't know him that well, she couldn't believe that Eugene felt the same way she did. To her, he seemed like the kind of man that would be impossible to trap, the kind of man that would be free, regardless of whoever tried to suppress his spirit.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel comforted that he knew how she felt. Looking into his eyes, those emotional eyes, told her that what he was saying was true. He really did know what it felt to feel trapped, to not be free to make your own decisions, and to want more than be stuck in the life their fathers wanted for them.

She hadn't even noticed that they had gotten closer when she felt their foreheads gently touch. This caused both of them to look away from each other. Rapunzel felt her face burn. What was she doing? What was she about to do? Was he going to do the same?

There was another awkward silence between when Eugene decided to break it. "So, um, why are you barefoot?"

This caused Rapunzel to smile and look back at him. "My aunt Willow does it too. She always told me 'How can you know where you stand in the world if you can't feel the ground beneath your feet?' Since then, I've only really worn shoes at royal events."

"What made you two go barefoot?" Eugene asked.

"Its a long story." Rapunzel warned.

"I think we've got time." Eugene insisted. Then Rapunzel went on to tell him how her aunt Willow inspired her to go barefoot."

(Sorry this isn't much and sorry if this gets off track a bit. I wanted to go for a chapter that shows Eugene, Cassandra, and Rapunzel getting closer. Don't worry, sundrop stuff will be in the next chapter, and I may bring back some character that were introduced earlier.)