Chapter 27
Emotional

"Careful, Varian. Don't want to fall off the side of it."
Cassandra eyed Varian, who was looking off the side of the boat.
"Sorry! I've just never been on a boat before, it's so cool!"
Varian said with a bright voice.

"I do admit though, the vertigo isn't pleasant but I'll deal with it." Varian awkwardly laughed. "You'll get used to it I'm sure." Cassandra sat down cross-legged on the boat.

The two were sailing the sea, heading to the Dark Kingdom, where alchemists were allowed to freely enjoy their alchemy without being considered a nuisance or a witch. "Where are we heading next, Cassie?" Varian looked over to Cassandra with a soft smile on his face.

"Looks like we're heading to a place called Threthorn, according to the map." Cassandra looked at the map briefly, then put it away in her bag. Varian walked over to where Cassandra was and sat down beside her. Ruddiger was hanging out in the small crow's nest with Owl perched on one of the railings, Ruddiger liked the view from here, while Owl would have just seen it like this anyway, because he was a bird, he could fly.

Cassandra looked into the sky, watching seagulls fly over her head. "I wonder how Raps is doing..." She asked herself quietly. Varian and Cassandra stayed quiet for the longest time...

Rapunzel was painting, but not with her cheery disposition; no, she wasn't.

When Eugene walked in, he nearly tripped on a bunch of fabric and wood. "Hey Sunshine, what's up with all this fabric and wood?" He asked, shaking his leg to get a stuck piece of fabric off his boot. "Well, I talked to my dad again about the rules, and he is still postponing it, so I'm going to do something about it." Rapunzel wiped a bit of paint from her cheek and looked at Eugene.

Eugene glanced at the fabric that Rapunzel was painting on and noticed that it was kind of like a 'strike' sign, but referring to changing the rules. "Blondie... Are you really going to do this? This could cause chaos throughout the Kingdom." Eugene frowned.

Rapunzel looked down, frustrated, "I have to, there's no other choice. My dad is getting out of hand, and I'm going to fix this whole problem. I'm going to change the rules, build the rehabilitation center." Rapunzel said seriously. Eugene sighed, "Okay. I can't change your mind, so I won't force you to quit." He started, "But please. Promise me you'll be safe and you can control the people if it becomes chaotic. Alright? I love you, so, so much; Sunshine..." He begged her.

Rapunzel's anger slowly faded into a sad, but caring look; "I promise, and when I promise something, I attend to keep those promises." She said softly. The two wrapped their arms around each other and held each other for a while before Eugene gave her a kiss and left the room...

Varian was happy to have his goggles back, even if they weren't his goggles, if that made sense. About a month and a half ago, Varian had lost his goggles after stealing that sage and he hadn't been able to find them since then. But he had new ones and it made him smile.

Cassandra was watching the sky, sighing occasionally upon thinking about Rapunzel, Eugene, The Royal Guards... Her dad... She was feeling a bit homesick, she supposed.

Varian walked over to Cassandra, "You okay, Cassie? You've been a little... Not you." He asked with a gentle voice. "It's fine, I'm...thinking about Raps and everyone else back home. Maybe I miss them a little bit, but even if I did go back home... I'd be considered a traitor." She frowned.

"Yeah, same here, except instead of a traitor, I'm... uh... a lot of things, mostly a thief though." Varian said awkwardly, he didn't know how to comfort her because he hadn't really had any friends to miss before, except for maybe Angry and Red, slightly.

Cassandra crossed her arms and glared, "I'll get used to it." She wiped the sad look from her face and regained her normal, serious facial expression. Cassandra looked at the map again to make sure she was going the right way, and Varian took a look too...

Varian heard a strange noise so he looked up and he nearly screamed, "C...Cassie? Cassie?!" He shook Cassandra's arm. "What?-" Cassandra looked up and her eyes widened.

It was a whirlpool.

Cassandra quickly ran over to the wheel and grabbed a hold of it, "Hang on, Varian!" She shouted, trying to turn the boat to get away from it before it was too late. Varian panicked and held onto one of the poles on the boat. Ruddiger dived down into the crow's nest for safety and Owl decided to fly to Cassandra and land on her shoulder.

Cassandra used all her strength to try and turn the boat, yet it seemed like the whirlpool was unavoidable just by a little bit. The boat suddenly tugged and made everyone slide across the deck slightly. "Cassie! We're stuck!" Varian screamed. Cassandra flinched, but she ran over to where her bag was, grabbed the sword in the sheath beside it and then pulled it out.

Cassandra put the sword into the water and tried to calm the whirlpool down, it hurt, but she was going to try... "Arrghhhh-" Cassandra growled loudly. Suddenly, the sword slipped out of the water when the boat moved and Cassandra fell into the water.

Varian's eyes went extremely big, "CASSIE!" He let go of the pole and ran to the corner that Cassandra was at. Cassandra managed to get to the air, but she was having a hard time staying afloat, "Va...Varian!" She gasped for air; she hated this, she was showing a weakness.

She was supposed to be strong, constantly...
Cassandra didn't like this at all.

Tears rolled quickly down Varian's eyes and his heart raced, his hands began to shake; he didn't know what to do for her... Varian looked around, grabbed a rope and tried to hand it to her, but the rope got sucked into the whirlpool before she could grab it.

He wasn't going to lose Cassandra!

Varian clenched his fists; they felt weak due to being afraid.

There was only one solution, and he wasn't sure it could even work... (Alchemy could have been a solution, quite literally if you think about it, but he couldn't make the chemical compound in a timely manner.) Varian took in as much air as he could and then jumped into the water.

Cassandra panicked even more at this point, "V...Varian, no!" She shouted before her head went into the water again. She pulled herself up again and spat out water, "You can't do this!" She told him, no longer being her aggressive, sarcastic self. "Yes, I can! You didn't give up on me, I'm not giving up on you!" He cried as he tried to fight the whirlpool's current along with her.

"Grab my hands, please!" Varian said, barely being able to stay afloat.
Cassandra shakily grabbed his hands and held them tightly. Varian doing the same in-return.

Ruddiger and Owl was frightened and worried about their friends...

Varian and Cassandra then went into the water, but didn't come back to the air, which terrified the raccoon and owl... Are they... No, they can't be...

Ruddiger held onto his security pine-cone and Owl wrapped his wings over Ruddiger to attempt to comfort him during this scary time...

Varian opened his eyes, barely, to see Cassandra in front of him, underwater, her hair floating around in a wavering fashion. Varian's hair was doing the same... Cassandra forced her eyes open to look at Varian, she didn't (and couldn't) say anything, but her eyes said it all; "I'm sorry."