Chapter 8
Eugene doesn't look over when somebody sits down next to him at the bar of the tavern, the sound of quiet chatter and distant laughter filling his ears.
He only continues to stare down at his drink glumly, tracing his finger around the rim. His other elbow rests on the counter, his shoulders hunched over as he sits at the otherwise empty bar.
The tavern is filled with drunkards and travelers, being such a late hour of the night. Eugene doesn't pay them any attention. But he wouldn't mind losing himself in alcohol right now, if it helps him to forget about whatever is going on with Rapunzel.
It isn't until he hears the person next to him ordering a drink that he takes a second glance at the messy black hair in his peripheral vision.
He recognizes her face immediately, and her voice - though it takes him a moment to register it, having believed he'd never see her again.
"Cassandra?" asks Eugene.
The barman places a full tankard down in front of her.
Cassandra doesn't look over at Eugene as she says, "Don't get too excited, pretty boy." She wastes no time in taking a heavy swig from her drink, clearly not as fazed to run into him as he is. She'd sat next to him on purpose.
Eugene blinks, beyond confused. "What are you doing all the way out here?"
She shrugs, raising an eyebrow. "Looking for you. And the missing princess you ran away with."
It isn't until now he really notices the uniform she's wearing, and the armor he recognizes from Corona. The kingdom's emblem is printed clearly on her chest plate in gold. She isn't wearing a helmet though, her hair loose instead.
"You're… a royal guard now?" realizes Eugene.
"Yep. Have been for a while," she says unenthusiastically. "After Rapunzel left… it gave my father a reason to finally put me on the guard." She stares distantly for a moment as she thinks about that, absentmindedly swirling her drink, before raising it to her lips again. "Guess he felt bad for me or something."
Well, Eugene really hadn't expected to run into her… ever. Especially considering how far away they are from Corona. Though, it makes sense why she would be here, if she's a guard now. What doesn't make sense is the fact that she is currently sitting next to him and not arresting him, despite it being her duty.
The last time Eugene had seen Cassandra was the night he'd fled the city with Rapunzel, and Cass had denied coming with them. She said she wanted to focus on becoming a guard. Looks like it all worked out for her, after all.
Why she doesn't seem enthused about that fact at all, Eugene doesn't know.
But somehow, talking to her makes Eugene feel better about everything, despite the circumstances. Or maybe it just helps take his mind off it, having someone to talk to.
Rapunzel is still no where to be found, and Eugene doesn't even know how or when he'll find her again, or what's going on with her. So, after days of searching and racking his brain, he's found himself here, as some way of drowning his sorrows or something like that. Everything is a mess.
This is the most Eugene has ever spoken to Cassandra, in those few months they knew each other. It had been so long ago, but he remembers how much she had helped him during that time. He never did get to thank her for that.
Then for the two years that followed, Eugene heard so much about her from Rapunzel that he may as well know Cassandra as well as Rapunzel does. She talked about her a lot.
If only Rapunzel were here now. Eugene knows how much she misses Cass.
She looks over at him next to her as she says, "Don't worry. I'm not gonna turn you in," taking his silence for something else.
"Why not?" Eugene can't help but wonder. He wouldn't blame her in she did.
Cassandra inhales deeply as she thinks about that. Somehow, she doesn't know the answer, yet at the same time, there is so much she can say.
Because Rapunzel cares about him, and she cares about Rapunzel. Because Cass would never hurt someone even when ordered to kill them. Because his familiar face makes her feel slightly less lonely out here even though she's not even sure they can call each other friends.
Instead of saying any of that, Cassandra shrugs as she ultimately tells him, "Because there'd be no point in that."
Eugene chuckles briefly, unable to agree more, "I think that's… accurate."
Despite her supposed power over him, he hadn't been worried about her turning him in anyway. It would be ironic for her to save him from being executed two years ago just to turn him in again. Then who's to say he wouldn't be able to escape a third time?
A silence falls between them as they both take a sip from their drinks, not looking at each other. Somehow, the silence is entirely comfortable – like old friends who were never really friends in the first place, more like acquaintances who share a common friend.
Whatever it is, Eugene accepts the fact that they are now just two outsiders drinking at a tavern in the middle of the week, and it actually makes him kind of happy.
"Where is your fugitive girlfriend anyway? You two get in a fight?" Cassandra eventually asks, considering how offended Rapunzel had reacted when Cass had mentioned his name.
"Well… yes. Though, it's probably not the kind of fight you're thinking of," admits Eugene.
"What do you mean?"
He hesitates for a moment, wondering how to phrase it. He isn't even sure how to explain it himself. "It was more of the 'hitting me over the head with a frying pan' kind of fight."
Cassandra winces with her tankard still raised to her lips. She swallows, giving him an appalled look. "God. What did you do?"
"Nothing! She was acting weird and… thought I was after her or something. I—I don't know," Eugene sighs, dropping his forehead in his hand. Just thinking about it again is stressing him out.
"Huh," Cass digests this information, confused but also not entirely caring about what would lead Rapunzel to think that. She hardly even wants to talk about Rapunzel right now, still dwelling on the fact that she had refused to let Cass help her and basically told her to leave her alone forever. "Seems like she was bitter to both of us," comments Cass irritably.
Eugene looks over at her, "Wait… you talked to her?"
"Twice. She was upset when I told her I was sent here to hunt you two down. Next time I saw her, she pretended like she didn't even know me," Cassandra scoffs, shaking her head. "Stupid," she mutters underneath her breath.
"Wait, wait, wait…" Eugene waves his hands frantically, angling himself toward Cassandra. "Did it seem like she didn't remember you?"
Cassandra only stares blankly at him, taken aback by his sudden intensity. Though, as she thinks about it, that's exactly what it seemed like to her. "…Yes?"
Eugene feels a sudden weight lifted from his shoulders at hearing that, exhaling softly. "She didn't remember me either."
"What?" Cassandra perks up in her chair, creasing her eyebrows.
"I wasn't sure if it was just me, but… if she doesn't remember you either, then… something's really not right here." Not that he is excited about the fact, but knowing that it happened to Cass too makes him feel slightly less crazy.
Cassandra stares intensely at the ground for a moment as she attempts to take in all this information. That doesn't make any sense, but it seems like he has a better idea of what's going on that she does. "What do you think happened?"
Eugene frantically reaches inside his satchel, pulling out the vial he had discovered at that house. He presents it to Cassandra in his palm. "I found this… in the cabin I found her in. it looked like someone else was living there."
She takes the bottle from him with intrigue, "That symbol…" Cassandra squints at the diamond drawn on the tag, recognizing it but unable to place its meaning. When she flips it over to the other side, her eyes widen in realization at the letter 'V' written in cursive. Her brows crease with determination as she tells Eugene, "I think I know someone who might have an idea."
