Summary: Keep Rapunzel safe. Defend her with your life. That's what Cassandra has been trained to do, as appointed knight of Corona's heir to the throne. When a new threat arises, the task should be easy for Cassandra, that is, if she weren't falling in love with the very same princess she is meant to protect. (Princess Rapunzel/Knight Cassandra AU)
A/N: I'm back! This is going to be a multi-chapter Rapunzel/Cassandra slow burn eventual romance story, in which Rapunzel is a princess and Cassandra is her appointed knight. I am changing their age gap from 4 years to 2 years, making Rapunzel 20 and Cass 22 (except for the flashbacks, in which they will be teenagers).
As much as I love Eugene, unfortunately he won't be making an appearance in this story, since it is an AU and Rapunzel never would've met him. You may notice some parallels to my other work 'sun and moon', but the relationship/circumstances will overall be different as this is a different pairing.
In terms of warnings, there will be violence, death, and killing, making this probably the darkest fic I've ever written for this fandom. The first chapter is pretty intense, just so everyone is fairly warned.
Enjoy!
heart of stone
Chapter 1
Cassandra wakes to the sound of thunderous screams.
As her eyes burst open in the dead of night, a part of her thinks she may still be dreaming. Her gaze is met with the shadowed ceiling of her bedroom as she lays still on her back, body shivering beneath thin covers.
After a stunned moment, she bolts upright, realizing that she is in fact, not dreaming and entirely awake.
Blood rushes from her head down her body. Eyes are stinging for sleep, her muscles rigid.
The voices are clear now, yet still distant from outside the walls.
She flicks the blanket off her lap and leaps out of bed. As she races to the wall and ducks her head to peer through the murky panels of her small square window, she sees flaming torch lights weaving through the village below, glowing brightly within the night.
Far below, through pointed rooftops and clustered buildings, she sees shadowed figures of commoners darting along the cobblestone streets of Corona, fleeing in a panic. Their terrorized screams beneath raging shouts can be heard all the way from the towering castle she's in, perched on the highest hill of the kingdom.
At that moment, she hears a loud thud from somewhere within the castle, followed by muffled voices.
Cassandra whips her head around toward her closed bedroom door, then immediately springs to action.
She bolts to the opposite end of her bedroom, hastily retrieving her sword and holstering it on her waist. She snatches up her bow and quiver next, strapping it around her torso with a pounding heart and reaching for her black cloak a moment after.
In one swift motion, she swings open her bedroom door while sweeping her cloak around her shoulders at the same time.
As she steps outside, the corridor is empty and dark. She whips her head down it both ways, finding nobody. Her eyes are met with nothing but deep violet walls, lined with towering while pillars and various banners of a yellow sunburst hanging on each golden-edged panel.
Pounding footsteps can be heard from somewhere within the castle, and Cassandra knows she's not alone.
With her sword in hand, she rushes down the hallway. Her pace quickens to a run as the sound of men shouting becomes clear in her ears.
"Intruders! Stop in the name of the king!"
The voices are thunderous now, echoing within the walls, weapons and armour rattling in the near distance.
Just before Cassandra reaches the end, she sees faint silhouettes moving along the wall in front of her, hears them running directly toward her from just around the corner.
Nearly colliding into them, she is suddenly face to face with a band of dark figures pursued by royal guards in uniform, all baring swords in their gloved hands.
The next thing she knows, Cassandra is clashing her blade against those of the figures – their scowling faces masked in dark scarves, burly hands baring rusty weapons, and hoarse voices shouting angrily beneath the ringing of metal.
There's at least four of them, with an equal number of guards fighting alongside Cassandra, of which she is only able to get a glimpse of through her peripheral vision. It all happens so fast that she's hardly able to comprehend it, though years of training doesn't delay her reaction to fight.
Cassandra grunts as she collides blades with one of the men.
With their swords crossed, the man strains through clenched teeth as he pushes all his weight against her. With muscles tensing from the force, she sidesteps quickly, allowing him to stumble forward.
As he momentarily loses his balance, Cassandra lunges toward him and plunges her sword directly into his side.
A splatter of blood appears on her face as the man freezes lifelessly against her. A strangled noise emits from his throat, gurgling on blood.
She retracts her blade with a forceful tug and lets his body fall heavily to the ground.
As he plummets forward on his face, a pool of red collects quickly at her feet.
"Cassandra! Get to the king and queen!" one of the guards shouts over to her as the rest of them continue to battle.
Cass takes a few steps away, a sense of panic igniting in her stomach.
She whips around and bolts down the hallway.
The sounds of battle begin to fade as she races through the castle toward the king and queen's bedroom. She somehow darts around a few more corners without running into anyone else, yet there are so many voices around her that it feels like they are right on her heels, surrounding her from all directions.
When she reaches the large double doors of the bedroom, one of them has already been swung open, exposing the shadowy abyss just on the other side.
Cassandra races into the room, panting for breath.
It's darker and much quieter inside, with nothing but the blue moonlight beaming through the tall windows and illuminating the vast space.
However, as soon as she enters, she comes to an abrupt halt.
To her horror, she notices a figure lying still on the large fourposter bed at the opposite end of the room. His eyes are closed as he lays on his back, his aged and sunken face somehow appearing entirely peaceful.
After a moment, she recognizes it to be Frederic, the king of Corona, the man who had in a way raised her as his own, and taken her under his roof as a child. The man she may have even called father.
Cassandra slowly steps toward the bed, eyeing him from a distance. Her footsteps are echoing, sword still raised in front of herself warily.
She's hardly breathing, dreading what she fears may already be true. A part of her hopes his eyes will open again, but after a moment, she notices the blood through the shadows.
It emits from his chest and soaks his pale tunic, staining the bedsheets beneath him in a large crimson splotch.
And all Cassandra does is stare in shock, her throat tightening at the unsettling sight before her.
She's too late.
A noise snaps her out of her thoughts.
Startled, Cass whips around, once again raising her weapon out in front of herself.
She expects another bandit to be standing within the room behind her, somehow having bolted inside without her realizing. What she finds instead nearly sends her into a heart attack at the realization that the sound hadn't been one of them at all, but rather a choked whimper emitting from the queen's throat.
The woman is laying on the ground in the middle of the bedroom, on her side and weakly reaching an arm out toward Cassandra. Her frail figure is hardly noticeable beneath the shadows.
"Arianna," Cass gasps, immediately lowering her sword and rushing over to the woman. She hadn't even noticed the queen had been there when Cass had first walked in.
Within a second, Cassandra is falling to her knees in front of the queen, her sword clattering to the ground.
Arianna groans as she props herself up on one elbow, her hand resting over her stomach.
As Cass' gaze trails downward, she notices the blood that coats the woman's palm, as well as the large red stain on her lavender nightgown, just over her lower abdomen.
"You're hurt," Cass realizes, failing to mask the panic in her voice. Frantically, she attempts to help the queen to a sitting position, "Come on. I'll take you to the nurses. They can help you."
"No," Arianna pushes Cass' hands away in protest, breathing heavily. She shakes her head, voice hoarse and straining, "It's no use… It's too late for me."
Suddenly, Cassandra stops fighting her, stops trying to pull her to her feet and instead lets Arianna's head lower into Cass' lap, letting gravity take her once more.
A sense of overwhelming helplessness overcomes Cassandra as she realizes there's nothing she can do. So, all she does is kneel there, cradling the woman in her arms, staring down at her with a broken heart and wondering how they got here. How all of this had happened so soon.
Suddenly, Cass doesn't know what to say anymore.
"They're here for her," warns Arianna, "Whatever happens, you must not let them take her."
Cass' heart skips a beat at the revelation. Her eyebrows are creased in both confusion and fear, but she attempts to remain strong for Arianna as she shakes her head assuredly, "I won't. I promise."
Tears stream from the corners of the queen's eyes as she stares up in admiration at the young woman leaving over her.
"Oh, sweetheart…" she whispers, desperately clutching her fingers around Cassandra's own. Her voice cracks painfully, as if every emotion is suddenly pouring out of her at once. "I love you so much... Like my own daughter. And I'm so proud of you."
And that makes Cassandra want to crumble right then and there. With tears welling in her own eyes, all sense of words are trapped in her throat as she wishes more than anything that none of this had to happen.
She should have gotten here sooner. She should've stopped this from happening. She should've done better, because from the queen's words alone, Cassandra knows that Arianna has already accepted her fate, and that makes Cass want to cry even more. Because Cass doesn't want to accept it, not after everything. Not after all the years Arianna had spent, being the only mother Cassandra has ever known, when nobody else would.
Now, Cassandra can't help but feel like she has failed her, in a way that Arianna never did.
Frantic footsteps are thudding within the castle again, the sound of rattling metal muffled through the walls.
"They're coming," Arianna tells her worriedly, "You don't have much time. Find Rapunzel. Take her to Fairview Village. My sister will look after her there. You'll be safe… Both of you."
There's a loud, startling shout from the hallway, one that sounds as if it is just outside the door.
Inhaling sharply, Cass whips her head over her shoulder toward it.
"Cassandra…" Arianna's hand finds Cass' cheek, angling the girl's face back toward her.
As Cass is forced to look down into the queen's eyes again, she sees them begin to fade out of focus, eyelids slowly falling.
Arianna's voice is feeble as she murmurs, "Tell Rapunzel… we love her."
Not even a moment after uttering her last word, the queen's eyes fall closed completely.
Her blood-coated palm leaves a red smear on Cass' cheek, before it collapses limply onto her own bleeding stomach.
For a few stunned moments, all Cass does is stare down at the woman's lifeless face in her arms - eyelids closed, eyelashes still sparkling with fresh tears, lips dry and slightly parted.
The voices are overlapping in a chaotic jumble now, getting closer by the second.
Cassandra's eyes are welling with tears too, but she blinks them back. Her heart is pounding now, but she swallows her emotions down, because suddenly there's only one thought in her mind anymore – one that's forcing her to carry on. No matter how much she feels like she can't.
The princess. She has to find Rapunzel.
Hating every moment of it, Cassandra lifts the queen's head off her lap and gently lowers her down onto the floor.
Mustering up all her strength, she forces herself to rise to her feet and retrieve her sword from the ground. Roughly wiping her teary face with her forearm, she stumbles out the door hurriedly and races back down the corridor.
It sounds like the men are right behind her now. Swords are ringing out in battle, guards are shouting somewhere behind her, citizens are screaming in fright from the streets, but Cassandra refuses to look back.
As fast as her quivering legs can carry her, she races through the maze of the castle, up multiple flights of stairs and straight to Rapunzel's bedroom, praying that the girl is still there by some miracle.
Thankfully, the princess' bedroom is located in one of the tallest towers of the palace, one that her parents thought would protect her over the years, being secluded from everyone and everything else. Cassandra hopes there's still truth to that.
When she finally reaches it, the tall double doors of the bedroom are still closed. It's quieter now. It seems like no one else has made it up this far yet – Cassandra hopes.
She aims to burst into the room, but the doors don't budge, and she nearly ends up slamming her body into them instead as she runs. "Rapunzel?" Cass calls out as she pounds her palm against the door. "Rapunzel!"
For a terrified moment, she fears that someone has already made it in there and locked the doors behind them, and that Cass is too late, because they've already kidnapped the princess or worse.
Every worst possible scenario begins to flood her clouded mind until one of the doors suddenly swings open in front of Cassandra's face.
A wave of relief washes over her at the sight of Rapunzel standing on the other side, wearing a terrified yet relieved expression on her face upon finding her best friend standing there and not somebody else.
She's dressed in an elegant pale green nightgown, with short puffed sleeves and a skirt that drapes toward the floor over curved hips. Her long brown hair falls in loose waves over her shoulders, lengthening down to her waist, like the spitting image of her mother. Her appearance is entirely composed and well put-together despite the late hour of night, and the chaos of the situation.
"Cass!" Rapunzel sighs, scooping the other girl into a tight embrace, "Oh, thank god it's you!" She pulls away a second later, glancing around themselves in a panic. Then she notices the smudge of blood on Cassandra's face. Fear grips Rapunzel's voice as she asks, "Wh—what's happening? Are you hurt?"
As Rapunzel speaks, Cassandra is already reaching for the black cloak hanging on the wall next to the door and wrapping it around Rapunzel's shoulders. "Put this on."
"Why?"
"I'm getting you out of here," With one last glance down either end of the corridor behind her, Cassandra takes Rapunzel by the hand and guides her out of the room.
They rush through the castle back the way she came. Rapunzel holds her cloak closed around her neck, stumbling after Cassandra.
"Wait!" The princess tugs her arm away, releasing Cass' fingers. She stops abruptly, "What about mom and dad? I'm not leaving them behind!"
Cass nearly crumbles all over again from the mere thought of it, but there is so much going on right now that she finds herself speaking without thinking, "They're gone, Raps."
A baffled expression appears on Rapunzel's face, before it drops into something that looks more like sudden realization, then brutal heartbreak.
The fact hurts Cassandra just as well, but as much as Cass hates to have to tell her right here and now, they don't have the time.
"We have to go," insists Cass, "We have to go now!"
But all Rapunzel does is gape at her, the stern tone in Cassandra's voice as well as the reality of the situation terrifying her all at once.
A violent boom quakes the ground beneath their feet, causing both Cass and Rapunzel to stumble from the sudden force of it.
There's a loud crash against the castle walls, followed by low rumbling. Cracks appear in the ceiling a moment after, sending down clouds of dust from above.
Rapunzel wavers and loses her balance completely. She falls forward onto her hands and knees with a soft grunt. As she attempts to comprehend what just happened, she feels Cassandra grabbing her by the arms and pulling her to her feet.
They run through the castle hand in hand again as more booms and explosions seem to occur all around them, each one more violent than the last.
Rapunzel tucks her chin to her chest, her free hand coming up to shield her head.
An unbearable heat begins to overcome them, with the sound of crackling flames reaching their ears. They round another corner, only for a bright orange glow to blind them as they find themselves facing a wall of burning flames.
There's fire everywhere. It's spread along the width of the corridor, completely blocking them from their way out. Sparks are floating through the air all around them. A thick cloud of smoke soars toward the high ceiling, seeping into Rapunzel's lungs and causing her to cough.
Cass pulls her back, turning around and returning the way they came. Only when they do, they hear more shouts and stomping footsteps from the other direction.
By the mere sound of it, Cassandra knows there's too many. She can't fight them alone, especially not with the princess by her side.
They only catch a glimpse of the dark figures sprinting into view before Cassandra pulls Rapunzel into an open doorway next to them.
She shuts the door behind them, clicking the lock into place.
"What do we do?" Rapunzel quavers.
Whipping her head around, the first thing Cass notices within the shadowed room is the large window along the opposite wall, open to the night sky.
They're inside one of the many studies of the castle. There's nothing around them but a desk in the centre of the room with bookshelves propped against towering walls. There are no other doors, and there's no chance they're heading back the way they came.
Even from inside here, the heat of the flames burns Cassandra's cheeks. The smoke slowly seeping into the room makes it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.
She races toward the window, wasting no time in stepping up onto the ledge.
Gripping the window frame to steady herself, Cass peers out at the village below, judging the distance from here to the ground.
It isn't far, but it isn't close either. There's a wooden wagon of haystacks below them, parked along the wall of the castle. They should be able to land in the back of it if they aim their fall right.
"We're gonna have to jump," decides Cass.
"What?!"
"Trust me!" Cass peers over her shoulder toward Rapunzel, extending her arm out.
Finding no other choice, Rapunzel steps forward and takes Cassandra's hand, letting herself be pulled up onto the windowsill.
As they stand there side by side, peering down at the ground below, Cassandra gives the princess one last encouraging look, "On three."
Rapunzel squeezes Cass' hand.
"One… two… three!"
The next thing they know, their feet have left the ground and they're soaring through the air together, plummeting to the ground below.
Rapunzel squeezes her eyes shut until she feels her body heavily landing against a solid surface, one that is much softer than she had expected. When she opens them again, she finds herself buried within a pile of haystacks, scratching at her skin. The night sky is a canvas of blackness above her, obscured by smoke.
She can hardly see a thing as she lays there, disoriented from the fall, but the horrified screams of Coronan citizens snap her back to reality.
Cassandra has already hopped off the wagon and onto the ground, with her sword bared in her hand. She pulls Rapunzel back onto her feet, murmuring next to her ear, "Come on. Stay close to me."
There are people everywhere, running through the streets in fear and darting past fallen bodies that litter the ground. Royal guards and bandits battle one another, their weapons chiming beneath the noise. Flames have begun to consume buildings, spreading by the second. The fires illuminate the night, leaving a heavy scent of smoke drifting through the cool air.
Rapunzel ducks her head as Cass pulls her through the crowd and toward the palace stables.
They manage to weave down an alleyway and make it off the streets without encountering any other obstacles, never slowing their pace for a second.
The cool blue of the moonlight as well as the orange glow of the fire illuminates the interior of the dark stables once they're inside. There are rows of horses along either wall, each stationed in their stalls, who whinny in fright when Cassandra shoves open the large double doors.
She immediately rushes toward the white stallion standing in one of the stalls, near the front of the building. He has a flowing white mane and flickering tail, with the name 'Maximus' embedded in his leather saddle in gold.
The horse shakes his head frantically, neighing loudly as Cassandra opens the stall door and pulls him out by the reigns.
She urges Rapunzel toward him, reaching out her hand for the princess once more, "Come on, get on."
Rapunzel pushes her hand against Cassandra's for support as she hoists herself up onto the animal's back. Cass climbs up a moment after, swinging a leg over the saddle and positioning herself at the front of the horse.
Rapunzel wraps her arms around Cass' torso in front of her, before Cass whips the reigns, and they take off into the night.
They gallop down the winding cobblestone road and through the burning city, with their hearts in their throats and the smoke of the flames burrowing into their lungs. Their eyes sting from the thickness of it, but Maximus races effortlessly through it all.
Rapunzel tightens her arms around Cassandra, squeezing her eyes shut and burrowing her face into the other girl's back.
They reach a long stone bridge that arches far across the ocean, lengthening between the island of Corona and the lush mainland that neighbours the kingdom. They maintain speed even after they've made it all the way across, and toward the dark forest that meets them on the other side.
By the time they reach the tree line, the noises from the village have lowered into a mere distant cry, faded within the night. It's much darker and quieter out here, without another soul in sight.
Finally, when they've gained enough distance, Cassandra pulls on the reigns and Maximus slows to a stop.
Rapunzel and Cassandra both peer back the way they came, watching their home burn down in flames.