Chapter 3

Cassandra stares absently down at her blood-stained hands.

As if to rid herself of whatever memories are associated with it, she submerges them into the pond before her, roughly scrubbing the dried blood off of her skin with her fingertips.

She's kneeling on the grass before the small body of water buried deep within a forest of pine trees, a few hours outside of Corona.

It's early morning now, the sun having risen a couple hours ago. Instead of the screams that still haunt her mind from the night before, all she hears now is the peaceful sound of birds singing within the forest, and the water swishing softly before her.

They've been riding on Maximus all night, creating more and more distance from the kingdom, or at least, what once was their kingdom. It isn't until now that Cassandra deems it safe enough to finally rest and recuperate, at least for a few minutes.

She watches the red mist emitting from her hands, fading into the water like smoke and eventually disappearing into nothing.

She doesn't even remember how the blood had gotten there, or at what point it had happened. It all seems a blur now. Her mind reverts back to Arianna, and the crimson splotch that had coated the queen's stomach as Cassandra cradled her in her arms.

So much happened last night. The fire, the explosions, the masked bandits, the king and queen's lifeless bodies laying before her… None of it feels real.

She wonders how any of it may have come to be. The circumstances are plain to her – bandits had raided the kingdom, stormed the castle, and assassinated the monarch as they slept. Arianna had told her they were after Rapunzel. But why?

She supposes that much is obvious too. Rapunzel is the princess. And something tells Cass that whoever these people are won't stop until she is dead too. Why they want her dead, Cassandra doesn't know. Maybe it's all part of a grand plan to overthrow the monarchy and reign power over Corona. Whatever the reason, all that matters now is that Cass doesn't let that happen.

There's an itch of dried blood on her face. She scoops a handful of water into her palm, rubbing it into her cheek and attempting to wash away the smear that she knows is there.

When she's done, she lifts her chin and her eyes catch sight of Rapunzel, sitting on a boulder within the forest a few feet away.

The princess' back is turned to her. Her shoulders are hunched over, head lowered to her chest, arms wrapped around herself as if she is cold, despite the warm air. Maximus is standing near her, munching on the grass of the forest floor, white tail flickering behind him.

Rapunzel hasn't asked Cassandra about the blood. How it got there, whose it is, what happened in that castle before Cass found her. In fact, Rapunzel hasn't said a word to her since they'd fled the village the night before. They've only been riding together in silence ever since, the events of last night weighing heavily on both of them.

But a part of Cass is thankful for that. It saves her the struggle of having to tell Rapunzel what exactly had happened. Cass is not so sure she wants to relive that right now, and she can only imagine the pain it will cause the princess too. Maybe it's best that they don't talk about it. At least not right now.

As she kneels there in thought, Cassandra notices a cluster of green berries clinging to a bush next to her. She recognizes them immediately – gooseberries, like water in a desert.

Glancing over at Rapunzel, then away again, she picks a few of them into her palm and rises from her knelt position by the pond.

Blades of soft grass brush against her boots as she walks back toward Rapunzel and Maximus.

As Cassandra stops in front of Rapunzel, the girl doesn't look up at her. She doesn't even seem to have noticed her, and is instead staring absently at the ground, face emotionless and looking exhausted.

Cassandra holds a hand out to her, revealing the cluster of berries in her palm. "You need to eat something."

For a moment, Rapunzel doesn't react. Then without making eye contact, she turns her head away. Her eyebrows are creased slightly as she only continues to sit there in silence, lips pressed together.

Cassandra sighs softly.

She wonders if maybe this is the moment she should say something about what happened. Or at least anything to try and make the girl feel better.

Clearly, Rapunzel is in no mood to talk. Cass doesn't blame her. Why would she be? Her parents are dead. Her kingdom is gone. And now they're stranded out here with no idea what's going to happen or who might be after them and why.

But Cassandra has no clue where to begin. She doesn't know how. What do you say to someone who had just lost everything they've ever known?

Besides, she's sure the last thing Rapunzel wants right now is to be reminded of it.

Because it's easier than thinking of what to say, Cass retracts her hand and pops the handful of berries into her own mouth, figuring someone should eat them if Rapunzel won't.

After a moment, she peers around themselves warily, eyeing the shadows between the trees that surround them in all directions.

There isn't a soul or a sound in sight, but that doesn't mean there isn't anybody following closely behind. It's probably best they don't stick around too long to find out.

"Come on," Cassandra turns away from Rapunzel, walking back over to Maximus. "It's not safe here. We have to keep moving."

They walk on Maximus for hours more, and by late afternoon, manage to find a small cave in the side of a rock mountain, hidden within the forest.

Decaying vines hang over the wide circular opening, forming a tunnel that bends to one side. Around the corner is a small clearing amidst jagged stone walls and a dome-like ceiling. The skylight still seeps in from around the corner, but it keeps them hidden well enough from whatever may be lurking outside.

There are no signs of animals residing within, so Cassandra figures it to be a sufficient place to spend the night. It isn't much, but it's safer than sleeping in the forest and out in the open.

Cassandra builds a small fire in the centre of the cave, considering a plume of smoke in the woods would otherwise be visible for miles. At least in here they aren't able to give their position away so easily, which brings them both a sense of ease.

Rapunzel is sitting on the hard ground with her knees pulled up to her chest, staring at the weak flames. Her back hovers near Maximus, who is laying awake on the cave floor directly behind her.

"Sky looks clear of rain," Cassandra observes. She's standing near the opening of the rock wall and peering outside, her hands on her hips. "The sun should set within the hour. I'm going out to find us some food."

With determination in her stride, she makes her way across the cave and retrieves her quiver of arrows from the ground, hooking it around her torso. She grabs her bow next, holding it by her side.

As much as she hates to leave Rapunzel alone right now, especially in the state that she's in, they haven't eaten all day. The last thing they need right now is to starve too, on top of everything else. They'll need to be well fed and rested if they're going to be riding all day tomorrow too.

A part of Cassandra would feel better if Rapunzel came with her. At least then she'd be able to keep an eye on her. But the girl is clearly exhausted. They'd both been awakened from their sleep last night, not to mention the emotional state of her mind right now.

This cave is hidden well enough that Rapunzel should be safe for a few minutes. If anything goes wrong, Cassandra trusts that Maximus will protect her, and get her out of here if need be. He's always been loyal like that.

"I won't be gone for long," she tells Rapunzel. "Just… stay here until I come back."

Cass doesn't expect to hear a response to that, considering she's practically been talking to a brick wall all day. So, she begins to turn away. Then she stops herself, suddenly remembering something.

She pulls the fabric of her cloak aside to retrieve the small dagger from one of the many holsters on her belt. She flips it over and hands the hilt to Rapunzel. "Here."

The princess peers up at her from her spot on the ground, eyeing the dagger with confusion.

"To protect you," says Cass.

Now that they're not in the kingdom anymore, and with bandits presumably pursuing them, it's the least Cassandra can do for her. She just hopes Rapunzel won't have to use it.

After a moment, Rapunzel reaches upward and hesitantly takes the weapon from her.

She holds it like it's a fragile thing that may break at any moment, having never had to use one before. She's had a few sparring lessons before in which she'd learned to handle a sword, but those had always been within the castle's training grounds, and never had any real threat to it. The realization of actually needing one to protect herself now unsettles her, but she accepts it nonetheless.

With that, Cassandra leaves through the cave entrance and disappears into the woods.

Rays of light beam through the trees overhead, illuminating the forest in an orange hue as the sun sets. It's quiet aside from the faint noises of wildlife and insects, beneath the soft rustling of leaves and distant running water.

Cassandra peers through the thick foliage of rustling trees and protruding branches, knelt behind a wall of lush bushes. Her narrowed eyes are focused on the brown rabbit a distance away, currently munching on blades of grass and completely unaware of her presence.

The small animal perks its head upward. It stands back on its hind legs, eyes alert and head darting back and forth. After a few moments, it lowers back down again, continuing to eat.

The forest floor is a canvas of twigs and shards of wood, of which Cassandra is careful not to move too abruptly in fear of making noise.

Without taking her eyes away, she slowly reaches behind her back and pulls an arrow from her quiver.

She quietly loads it into her bowstring, raising the weapon up in front of her. The string brushes against her cheek as she pulls her elbow all the way back. Holding her breath, she peers down the length of the arrow and carefully lines up her aim.

After a few moments, she releases.

There's a whizzing sound through the air followed by a sharp thud as the arrow pierces the rabbit directly in the side of its neck.

The animal collapses onto its side, body freezing up and wide black eyes staring lifelessly ahead.

Lowering her bow, Cassandra rises from her knelt position, stepping out of the foliage and into the clearing.

Her boots crunch into the leaves as she retrieves her kill, picking it up in one hand. She yanks the blood-stained arrow out of its body, returning it to the quiver on her back.

By the time Cassandra hikes back to the cave, the sun has already set. A darkness looms over the forest that hadn't been there before, turning the trees to mere shadowed silhouettes. Crickets have begun to chirp softly into the night, beneath the faint whistling of a cool wind.

The light of their small campfire flickers shadows along the rock walls of the cave. The chill breeze from outside turns to warmth as soon as Cassandra steps inside, bringing an immediate sense of comfort just from the flames alone.

At the sound of soft approaching footsteps, Rapunzel bolts to her feet and frantically points Cassandra's dagger toward the entrance, a whimper of fear escaping her throat.

A bit startled herself, Cass halts in her tracks from the unexpected reaction. "Hey. It's just me," she says, her tone both stern and gentle all at once.

She recognizes the look of sheer terror in Rapunzel's eyes and the way that her hand quivers as she clenches her fist around the hilt of the knife.

At first, Rapunzel only continues to point the blade out in front of herself, chest heaving for breath. Then after a delayed moment, she realizes that it is in fact only Cass and not anybody else, and lowers the weapon to her side at last.

Her shoulders deflate as she takes a relieved breath, which causes Cassandra to do the same.

Clearly, the girl is still shaken up. More so now than Cassandra has ever seen. For someone that had always brought joy and light wherever she went, who Cass almost never saw without a smile on her face, she seems so timid and broken now. As if she is almost a completely different person.

"Sorry," Rapunzel says.

It's the first word Cassandra has heard from her mouth all day, which is at least reassuring, no matter how insignificant it may have seemed otherwise.

Rapunzel's gaze lowers to the dead rabbit currently held in Cassandra's hand, dangling by her side. The sight of it makes her swallow uneasily.

Cass notices it as she makes her way across the clearing toward the fire, warily glancing over at Rapunzel. The princess has always been a lover of animals. Maybe even too much, in Cassandra's opinion, who couldn't be less bothered by it. But it's surprising that Rapunzel doesn't say anything about it.

A few minutes later, they've both settle around the fire with Maximus still lounging behind Rapunzel, all three of them listening to the faint crackling of firewood. Cassandra sits with her legs crossed beneath herself, skinning her kill with her knife, face concentrated on what she's doing.

Rapunzel watches her as she sits a few feet away.

The sight of the rabbit makes her grimace more than once, not to mention the noises of Cassandra's blade hacking into blood and flesh. It's not something Rapunzel can say she's ever seen before, having had all of her meals served to her on a silver platter in the castle. Still, she continues to watch Cass roast the animal over the fire in silence, too exhausted to do otherwise.

Cassandra, on the other hand - her father had taught her how to survive out in the wilderness many years ago. She'd learned how to defend herself at a young age, having been put into preparation for knighthood basically since the day she was taken into the kingdom as a child.

By the time they've both finished eating, the flames of the fire have died down slightly, dimming the little light that they have.

Maximus has fallen asleep. Cassandra is still awake, flames flickering across her face in shadows. She stokes the fire with a stick, while Rapunzel's eyes are practically begging to close as she remains sitting upright.

Cassandra watches Rapunzel out of the corner of her eye, who has hardly done the same.

The princess is still wearing her pale green nightgown beneath her hooded cloak, though the hem holds a thin layer of dirt now. Her feet are bare, having never been given the time to put proper shoes on before they were forced to flee. Her brown hair is slightly more disheveled than usual. Her usual perfect curls are beginning to fall out now, draping over her shoulders in long waves and trailing down her back.

Her knees are pulled up to her chest, arms tugging her cloak tightly around herself.

Cassandra can notice her shivering all the way from the other side of the fire.

After a moment's thought, Cass pushes herself to her feet and walks over to Rapunzel.

She unclasps the cloak around her own neck, revealing her black long-sleeve underneath. She holds the garment down to the other girl. "You can take mine."

The princess peers up at her in confusion. She eyes it in Cassandra's hand, then looks away again. She shakes her head. "I'm okay."

Though Rapunzel already has one of her own, it's obvious she is freezing. Cassandra knows she is only being polite by refusing it, considering that's just the kind of person she is. But there isn't much else that Cassandra can do to help her.

"You need it more than I do," says Cass. "I'll be fine."

Pressing her lips together, Rapunzel hesitantly takes the cloak from her.

"Just… get some sleep, okay? I'll keep watch for a bit." Cassandra walks across the cave again, sitting down with her back against the wall.

Rapunzel follows her with her gaze. "Are you sure?"

Cass pulls her knees up, letting her elbows rest over them, wrists hanging limply. "I'm not tired yet." She lets her head fall back against the wall for a moment. Then she lolls her head to the side, peering over at Rapunzel.

When she does, all she sees is fear. The same fear she'd seen in Rapunzel's innocent eyes as they'd been running for their lives through the kingdom the night before. Somehow, Cassandra knows exactly what Rapunzel is thinking - the worry that she must feel, having gone through something so traumatizing not even a day sooner.

"Don't worry," assures Cass, her voice soft, "I won't let anything happen to you." Then the corners of her lips twitch into a faint grin.

Rapunzel seems to relax at that, the unease in her body language lessening slightly. Despite how horrific everything has been for them, having Cassandra here with her is enough reassurance to know that she can sleep safely tonight, without anybody trying to hurt her.

As much as Rapunzel wants to stay awake, solely to avoid whatever nightmares may come to her in her sleep, she's absolutely exhausted. Her head feels heavy, muscles weak, eyes stinging and drifting slowly out of focus.

"Okay," murmurs Rapunzel, unable to argue.

For a moment, she thinks about getting up and moving closer to Cassandra, solely so that she doesn't have to feel so alone, and maybe even remedy the cold along with the aching hole in her chest just by being close to somebody.

But she doesn't.

Rapunzel stays where she is and wraps Cassandra's cloak around herself, embracing the mere scent of her instead. She shifts to lay down on the hard stone floor, curling up onto her side. She pulls the garment up to her ears like a blanket, though it doesn't cover her bare feet. With her back turned to Cass and the crackling fire, she finally lets her eyelids fall closed.

After a moment, Cassandra sighs softly. Her head falls back against the wall once more, eyes momentarily closing.

She should be tired right now, considering everything, but it seems even after the most exhausting nights, her insomnia still manages to get the best of her. She'll sleep eventually, just not yet. And if there are any noises or potential intruders, she'll wake herself up immediately. She's always been a light sleeper.

So, Cassandra sits there with the hilt of her knife clasped in one hand, eyes staring distantly into the shadows, thoughts spiraling into madness.

She isn't sure how long she stays there for, fiddling with her own hands – a habit she's never been able to escape. Eventually, her fingertips find the golden pendant strung around her neck, hidden beneath the black fabric of her turtleneck.

She absentmindedly pulls it out of her shirt while staring ahead, brushing her thumb across the faint grooves that form the shape of a small round-petalled flower wrapped in twine.

It's something she's had for as long as she can remember, something that not even her father is certain how it had come into her possession before he had adopted her. She's worn it every day since she were a child, hidden beneath whatever she wears and kept away from view.

For all the years she has spent staring at it, wondering who had given it to her, the only word that ever seems to come into her mind is 'mother'.

Because Cassandra had to have come from somewhere, before she was ever found by the royal guards, and taken into the kingdom of Corona, sheltered within the castle, and raised as a member of the royal family.

She'd accepted years ago that the answer was something she would never know. She questions why she even wears the damn thing in the first place.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Cassandra drops her hand into her lap, releasing the pendant with a soft sigh.

Forcing herself to think of anything else, she closes her eyes once more, and eventually drifts into sleep.