Chapter 5
Resisting a shiver, Rapunzel wraps her arms around herself as she treads slowly through the forest. She peers down at her bare feet brushing through blades of grass with every weary step, her thoughts dwelling on everything and nothing at once.
She can see dirt smudged along the tops of her feet and nestling between her toes. The hem of her nightgown that had once been so pristine only a day ago is now covered in filth too.
Rapunzel lifts her chin, peering at Cassandra's backside walking a few paces ahead of her.
Cass is holding Max's reigns in one of her gloved hands, pulling the horse to walk alongside her, whose hooves thud rhythmically into the dirt.
Beneath their footsteps, all that can be heard are the faint noises of birds tweeting within the trees beneath the sun, singing softly into the morning.
Rapunzel's muscles are aching, no doubt from the cave floor she had slept on the night before. She can't say it's ever something she's done before, when her body has grown so used to sleeping on a mattress as soft as a cloud.
She isn't sure how long she'd slept. It felt like she'd spent most of the night tossing and turning trying to rid her mind of memories, but had drifted off at some point or another solely from how exhausted she had been.
Rapunzel had insisted she return Cassandra's cloak to her this morning, of which they surprisingly didn't argue about. Cass had already been on her feet and rummaging through her things when Rapunzel woke up, so Rapunzel isn't even sure whether Cass had slept, though she doesn't ask. She swears that girl is nocturnal sometimes.
Brief words were exchanged as they'd packed up what little possessions they had at the break of dawn, after eating a breakfast that consisted of a couple handfuls of berries each. Then they'd immediately ventured off into the forest again, continuing what they had been doing the day before – endless, silent walking.
"Where are we going?" Rapunzel finally asks.
They haven't talked about it since they'd fled the city. Rapunzel had been too weary to ask. In fact, they haven't talked about anything.
Rapunzel has been doing nothing but following Cass this entire time, who seems like she knows where she's going. Or maybe that's just her natural confident demeanor that she always seems to maintain somehow, even when things look as bad as they do now.
Rapunzel hopes they at least have a plan here, and that they're not just lost or aimlessly wandering, which is exactly how it feels.
"To Fairview Village. Where your aunt lives." Cass doesn't look back as she speaks.
Rapunzel blinks. "My aunt?"
She's familiar with Fairview. It's a small town outside of the kingdom of Galcrest that Rapunzel has only heard of, practically hidden within the mountains, and secluded from the rest of society.
But why would they be going there? That's on the other side of the ocean, and in the exact opposite direction of Corona. It's miles away. It could take them weeks to get there on foot.
Rapunzel hasn't even seen her aunt Willow in years. She travels between kingdoms quite often, and only passes by Corona once every few years, but Rapunzel knows from her letters that she's been in Fairview for the past while.
"It'll be a bit of a journey, but it's the best chance we've got," is all that Cassandra says to elaborate.
Rapunzel creases her brows in confusion, searching for an explanation as to why Cass has seemed to have already decided this for them. "But… I don't want to go to Fairview. I want to go home."
"We can't. It's too dangerous."
"Wait, Cass," Rapunzel suddenly stops walking, which causes Cass to do the same.
They face each other at a distance.
Rapunzel nervously peers over her shoulder and back the way they came. She stares through the endless forest of trees that seem to stretch on forever, pulling them further and further away from home, dragging them into an unknown abyss. "We… we really should go back. There may be people that are still alive. We can help them."
"No. We can't," Cassandra's stern voice nearly interrupts her. "Rapunzel, I'm sorry, but we can't be responsible for those people. We have to look out for ourselves now, and that means getting as far away from the kingdom as possible." With that, she turns over her shoulder again. A heaviness falls over her eyes as she continues to march forward.
Rapunzel follows her. "How can you say that?"
Cassandra doesn't respond, which only irks Rapunzel more. Cass definitely doesn't sound like she's sorry, if it's apparently so easy for her to walk away. How can she be so selfish?
Frustration rises in Rapunzel's voice until she's nearly shouting, "So, what? You're just gonna let all of them die?"
"I swore an oath to protect you, no matter what. Even if that means sacrifice," states Cass as if it is the most simple thing in the world, her voice much calmer. "You aremy responsibility. Not them."
Rapunzel continues to jog after her, but Cassandra is walking so fast that Rapunzel actually stumbles forward on her own feet, "The kingdom is myresponsibility! Those are my people back there and we need to go home so we can fix—"
"Don't you understand?" Cassandra whips around to face her so fast that Rapunzel nearly collides into her, forced to stop in her tracks. "There is no home! Corona is gone and there's nothing we can do to bring it back."
A soft gasp escapes Rapunzel's lips.
The princess stumbles backward, eyes widening with sudden and brutal heartbreak. Whatever argument she'd had has been diminished from her tongue so quickly that all she can do is stand there in shock.
"Do you even know why any of this happened in the first place?" Cassandra bites, her voice raising with anger. "Those bandits were after you. They want to kidnap you or worse, and they're not going to stop looking for you until that happens. If we go back there, I am giving your life to them and there is no way I am going to let that happen."
Cass angles herself away, absentmindedly holding her breath. She plants her hands on her hips and closes her eyes, exhaling steadily. When she opens them again, the glower within them is suddenly replaced with distance and defeat.
Her voice softens as she speaks again. "Your mother told me to take you to Fairview and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
"My mother?" Rapunzel perks up with intrigue. "When?"
She stares expectantly at the distressed expression on Cassandra's face, now avoiding Rapunzel's gaze. It isn't often Cassandra wears a look like that. It's terrifying for Rapunzel to learn what may be the cause of it, but if it's about her mother, then she has to know. Clearly, there is something Cassandra isn't telling her.
"Cass… What happened?" demands Rapunzel.
Cass had hoped she could avoid this conversation for a little longer, but there's no escaping it now. As easy as it would be to just avoid the question altogether, Rapunzel deserves to know.
She thinks back to that night, and the horrible sight she had been met with once she walked into the king and queen's bedroom.
It's still so vivid. As much as Cass wishes she could forget it, she's not sure she ever will. It'll probably live in her nightmares until the day that she dies, along with the guilt that's been eating away at her of not being able to do anything to stop it.
"Back at the castle… I found your dad," reveals Cassandra. She closes her eyes for a brief moment, as if to rid her mind of the memory. "He didn't make it. And your mom... She told me to tell you that they love you." She sighs softly, her gaze falling somberly, "I tried to save them, but… I was too late."
All this time… Rapunzel had no idea that any of this had happened. Cassandra had told her that her parents were gone, but that was all she knew. She didn't know how or when, or the fact that Cass had been there too.
She remembers the sight of Cassandra rescuing her from her bedroom, in the midst of chaos and fire and screams. There was blood on her face. Her hands had been coated in it too, remaining there until the day after.
It's no secret that Cassandra has killed. That's what knights do. They defend. They protect. They fight. She's been trained to do it from a young age. Rapunzel had assumed that's all it had been.
But it isn't until now that she realizes the possibility – the blood hadn't been that of a bandit's at all, but someone else's entirely.
It was her mother's blood.
It's as if Rapunzel can somehow feel her own heart getting crushed and shriveling up inside her chest until it aches. The thought of it alone is horrifying. She couldn't imagine if she had been the one to have found her parents instead. A huge part of her is thankful she never had.
But Cass… Rapunzel can see the pain on her face so clearly now that she realizes Cassandra's heart is just as broken as hers. And she had no idea about any of it.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Rapunzel snivels, her voice breaking.
"It was too hard," says Cass, numbly. Then she lifts her chin, finally meeting eyes with Rapunzel again. When she does, there's a tenderness within her that Rapunzel isn't used to seeing. "She was my mom too."
Rapunzel's eyes well with tears at that, because she knows better than anyone how loving Arianna had been to both of them. Even though Cassandra wasn't the queen's biological daughter, and hadn't been born into a life of royalty like everyone else, but rather adopted into it, Arianna always treated them equally. She never made one feel more loved than the other, because Cassandra was as much of a daughter to her as Rapunzel was.
Cassandra hugs her own arms, her gaze lowering to the ground.
Rapunzel takes a step toward her. "Cass…"
She reaches a hand out, and for a moment, Cassandra lets Rapunzel touch her arm. Then she glances down at Rapunzel's fingertips against her cloak just below her shoulder, and she turns away.
Cassandra takes a breath. She blinks away the tears that had been threatening to fall, and straightens herself up.
A coldness returns to her voice, "We should keep moving. Before the snow falls."
Rapunzel watches her as she takes Maximus by the reigns again, pulling him ahead as she had been before.
"I'm taking you to Fairview," repeats Cass as she continues walking, "Whether you want me to or not."
Rapunzel stares longingly after Cass' backside. A heap of unspoken words linger on her tongue, but it's clear to her that the conversation is over.
Finding no other choice, she follows Cassandra and walks in silence.