It was a narrow hole, with overgrown branches and vines. Cass tried to grasp one of the vines to catch her fall, but it was to no avail. She let out a yell and covered her face with her arms as she came close to the ground. Rocks and sticks were clawing at her arms and sides.

Right when she reached the end of the hole, her foot caught on a vine, causing her to bounce up and down and to spin getting caught in other vines, before leaving her hanging upside down.

She let out a groan and went to reach for the hilt of her sword, only for Varian to come tumbling out of the hole. His foot caught to another vine, and it swung around hers, causing them both to be tied together, face to face.

"Great! Just great!" Cassandra complained, struggling against the vines that twisted around them.

Varian couldn't speak, his face was heating up from being so near her. He has never been this close to a woman before. Sure he's hugged Rapunzel, but this was different. He will never hear the end of it from Ruddiger.

"Can you reach my sword?" She asked, trying to reach it herself in a futile attempt.

Varian blinked and looked up at her sheath that was holding her sword. He wiggled his arm, trying to get it. "Almost….almost," he mumbled, his fingers barely brushing against it before he had his whole hand on it. "Got it!"

"Good! Cut us down!" She exclaimed, gesturing to their feet with her head.

Varian struggled to get it out, but managed to slide it out, when Ruddiger, Eden, and Fidella came sliding through the hole.

With the vibrations of the large animals falling onto the ground, Varian's grip on the sword loosened, and it fell to the ground below them.

He slowly lifted his head and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I knew leaving with you was a bad idea!" She said in frustration.

Varian's expression fell at her words. Did she regret coming? Then why come with him at all? Varian's frown deepened, his heart started to slow, and being this close to her no longer held its spark. They needed to get out of there and fast.

He spotted Ruddiger, watching them from below and cracked a slight smile. "Hey! Ruddiger! Can you help us out here, Buddy?" He asked the Raccoon, who nodded and ran up the tree that held them.

"Varian, I appreciate your confidence in Ruddiger, but I don't think-" she was cut off by them falling from the vines and onto the ground below.

"Oh, nevermind then." She laughed, looking at the Raccoon. Her gaze flickered up at the young man on top of her. She felt like a fish from the way her mouth opened and closed at their closeness. She was so distracted by trying to free them from the vines before. Now he was on top of her... Without her consent, her heart fluttered, and she quickly pushed it aside and locked all thoughts away. Nope, not now.

Varian stared at the girl below him for a second before getting up and walking over to Ruddiger. "Good job, bud." He murmured, leaning down so he could crawl up his arm to his shoulder. "I'm so happy you're with me." He said to his best friend, not even sparing a glance Cassandra's way.

Cassandra frowned at Varian's sudden coldness, as she slowly got to her feet. What's with him?

Varian walked over to Eden and Fidella and made sure they were okay before looking around them. "Let's go find where to camp for tonight." He said, guiding Eden past her towards an overgrown path.

Cass blinked at him and grabbed Fidella to do the same. "Are you okay?" She asked, confused.

"Yep, just doing what you wanted." He said monotonously, "After all, I don't want you to regret being here with me any more than you have to."

It took her a second to process his words before she gasped. "Are you talking about what I said earlier when we were trapped?"

"Look, I know you aren't happy to be here with me and probably wish I was Rapunzel instead, but she sent me. Corona needs your help. If we weren't so desperate, I wouldn't have even bothered you." He snapped, his frustration and anger coming out. "I know you don't like me, and I'm sorry for whatever I did or said that caused you to stop writing to me and stopped wanting to be your friend."

"Varian…" she trailed off, shocked by his words.

"Let's just go." He grumbled, walking into a clearing. He looked around before setting his bag down. "We'll camp here."

"Varian." she tried again, only to get cut off.

"What? Is this not a good place? It's out in the open, and its surrounded by trees that we can flee in if we need to." He crossed his arms and sat on a log, staring at the ground.

She looked at the horses with a sigh before setting her bag and bow down and sitting next to him.

"Varian, kid…" she looked him over, "You're not a kid anymore, are you?" She let out a chuckle before looking down with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm just frustrated, and I'm scared, Varian, I'm scared of what we will find in Corona. I saw first hand what Andrew could do. I saw my new home fall to ash, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Varian let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped, causing Ruddiger to scamper off, "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have lashed out."

"No, no. You had every right to." She played with her gloved hands and closed her eyes, "I do wish Raps was here because I miss her, but you Varian, are not Rapunzel. And I'm glad about that." She nudged him slightly, "you may have some qualities like her, but you also...you remind me so much of myself." She looked down, "and it's hard to focus on those qualities because I admire the optimism and the wide-eyed look of the world you both share."

Varian frowned and looked down, "so you think I'm just a combo of you both?"

"No, I think of you as Varian. The smart, kind, strong kid who has seen darkness but still finds beauty in the light." She placed her hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry if I haven't been a good friend to you."

"It's...it's okay, Cassandra." He smiled slightly at her, his hand resting on top of hers.

She returned the smile and squeezed his shoulder before standing up. "You set up our sleeping area, and I'll go get firewood. It gets cold at night."

"Aye, aye." He gave her a salute, before going to do what she told him to do.

Cass walked through the forest, sword out to chop wood, and anything else she might come across. Something didn't feel right. It felt like someone was watching her, and it put her on edge. She hated this place so much.

Once she returned to the camp, she stopped at the sight of Varian mixing chemicals in his tubes. His face brightened at the sight of her and held up his creation. "Instead of spending a long time trying to light a fire, just pour this bad boy on there, and it will catch fire instantly." He said proudly.

She smiled and set the wood down. She then grabbed some rocks and placed them around the firewood to create a barrier for it not to spread. "Let's see how it works." She said, causing Varian to grin.

He pulled out his baster and got the right amount of the formula measured. He then moved to the wood and sprinkled a few drops on it, causing it to burst into greenish flames. He smiled in triumph and looked at Cass. "Three drops, nothing more," he warned, once again thanking the stars that he didn't have to travel with Lance.

"Not bad." She smiled, sitting back down on the log as she warmed herself by the fire.

Varian smiled and pulled out another couple of apples. "Sorry, I have a lot of apples, but I suppose that's what happens when your father harvests them."

"It's not really the season for apples, yet these are ripe and almost perfect." Cass observed, causing Varian to shrug, "They always seemed to be good year-round. I think my dad said the last time they had a bad harvest was when I was before I was born, and the year I was….gone, of course, because no one was there to tend them."

She nodded and bit into the apple with a small smile.

When done with the apple, Varian threw his core into the fire. He glanced at Cass from the corner of his eye. The same question as before weighed on his mind, and she still hadn't answered it.

"What?" She asked, throwing her core in the fire as well.

Varian swallowed and gazed at the dancing flames, fidgeting with his hands awkwardly as he gained the courage to ask her. "Why did you stop writing?" He asked her quietly.

She froze and looked at the fire herself with a frown. She had hoped he would let it go, but she should have known. "Because...well…" she let out a breath and shifted to look at him.

"Varian, I liked our letters, but when you sent me…" she trailed off and cleared her throat, "you were 17, and it was inappropriate, and I didn't think it was a good idea to lead you on."

Varian looked at her with complete confusion. "What? How is telling you about the mechanics of the Automatons and how I improved them inappropriate?"

She shared his confused expression, "that's...that's not what your letter said."

"What?" He asked, his eyebrows knitted together as he watched her reach in her bag and dig around until she found what she was looking for.

Without a word, she handed him the letter.

"Dearest Cassie," he read out loud, "I love you. I can't hold back how I feel anymore, and you need to know I love you so much! Sometimes when I am doing alchemy, I lose myself in a daydream about us holding hands and kissing and going on dates! Please accept my love! Your lover, Varian.." he looked at the offending paper in his hands, pale, and he looked sick.

"Now you see why…" she trailed off, looking down, "I should have replied, but I was scared…"

Varian held up his hand, his face red with anger, "I am going to kill those girls!" He shouted, jumping up and pacing.

"What?" Cass asked in confusion

"I never wrote that! I must have been one of Kiera and Catalina's stupid pranks." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Oh." Cass looked at the letter and realized how stupid she was to have fallen for it. "I'm sorry, Varian."

"It's not your fault." Varian let out a sigh and sat back on the log, his exhaustion setting in. "I am going to kill them."

She smirked at him and let out a small chuckle, "they sure know how to prank, though." She took the letter from him and put it back in her bag.

"The truth is, I did have a crush on you when I was younger, but how could I not? You were strong, independent, and beautiful...but after all, that happened, I never allowed myself to think like that again." He admitted quietly.

Cass stared at him for a moment and felt her heart leap in her chest at his confession before it sunk into her stomach. What was wrong with her?

"We have a long day tomorrow. You should sleep." He looked at her and smiled, "I'll keep watch."

"Varian, you look like you are about to pass out. You should sleep." At the panic on his face, she held up her hand and gave him a stern look, "no protesting."

"You need to sleep too." He pointed out.

She looked around thoughtfully before sighing, "fine. I'll sleep too."

He was going to say something else before letting out a sigh and agreeing.

They both shifted off the log and laid down on the blankets Varian had laid out, using their arms as pillows, they got ready for sleep.

Ruddiger crept over and curled up next to Varian, snuggling into the man's warmth, causing him to smile.

"Good night, Cass."

"Good night, Varian."