Chapter 4

Willow stares blankly through the dancing flames of the fireplace, crackling softly into the night.

Its flickering light illuminates the otherwise shadowed house in an ember-coloured glow, radiating warmth onto her face. She's leaning forward as she sits on the living room couch, elbows resting in her lap, fingers intertwining absentmindedly.

It's only a couple hours before midnight. The main floor of the house is empty and quiet aside from the occasional crackle of firewood.

Silent tears shimmer in Willow's eyes and glisten on her cheeks that she doesn't bother to wipe away. There's a faint lump in her throat and a lingering exhaustion behind her eyes, though she knows she won't be able to sleep now.

Numbing thoughts cloud her mind until the front door near the fireplace clicks softly.

Willow's gaze flickers upward at the sound. She notices the door slowly swinging open, followed by Cassandra stepping inside.

Her back is turned as she carefully closes it behind her, clearly wary of making noise at this time of night. She doesn't notice Willow sitting there in the living room until she turns around again.

Their gazes naturally flicker towards each other, neither of them expecting to find the other there.

"Oh. Cassandra." Suddenly embarrassed at being found in such a state, Willow straightens her posture. She sniffles in an attempt to compose herself, but her voice comes out weaker than she'd hoped, "I thought you were asleep."

Cassandra freezes there for a moment, her back to the closed door. She's wearing her cloak, and her sword is sheathed on her hip. "I was just training. Lost track of time." Her voice is quiet within the night.

Rapunzel, on the other hand, is sure to be fast asleep by now. Willow hasn't heard a peep from her upstairs for the past couple hours. She's usually in bed at this hour anyway.

The room becomes silent again as Willow lowers her head, returning to fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. Considering the distant look in her eyes, and the tears Cassandra can see glistening on Willow's cheeks from where she stands, it's obvious the woman had just been crying.

The realization makes Cass stiffen even more and she continues to stand there awkwardly, debating if she should say something or just ignore it and head upstairs to her room like she'd originally planned. She wants to do the latter, mainly because she's always been terrible at comforting people.

Seeing others emotional somehow makes her uncomfortable and she's not really sure why. Maybe because emotions were never really something she learned how to handle herself.

But knowing Willow would do the same for her, she figures she should probably say something. Eyes darting around nervously, Cassandra opens her mouth before really planning what to say, "Do you… Are—"

"Oh, don't worry about me, dear. You go on to sleep," Willow makes a sweeping gesture with her hand, which then comes up to hover beneath her reddened nose.

"No, it's fine," Cassandra takes a step further into the house, rubbing her arm, "I probably won't be able to sleep anyway."

It isn't a lie. Like most nights, her insomnia is sure to keep her awake for a least a couple more hours, that is if her nightmares don't do it first. Willow's company is sure to be better than that.

But Willow doesn't ask why Cassandra can't sleep, nor does she protest her staying. So, Cass takes that silence as an invite to join her.

She takes a seat next to Willow on the sofa facing the fireplace, a bit of a distance away from each other. She's on the end of her seat, fingers gripping the edge of it by her sides. They don't meet eyes again, though. Instead, Cass mimics her in watching the crackling flames.

After a few moments, Willow shakes her head, "I'm sorry." She frantically wipes her cheeks with her palms, no longer trying to hide it. Despite her current state, she chuckles softly, "Look at me, I'm a mess. You shouldn't have to deal with this right now."

But Cass hadn't expected an apology from her, nor was she thinking Willow to be a mess. In fact, the woman doesn't have to explain herself at all, because Cassandra already assumes the reason behind her tears, and that is the last thing she should be sorry for.

So, in a pathetic attempt to make her feel better, the only thing Cass can find herself to say in response to all of this is, "I miss her too."

A sense of relief washes over Willow at that, realizing that she doesn't have to explain it, and realizing that Cassandra just knows. Because even though Willow forgets it sometimes, Arianna was just as much of a mother to Cassandra as she was a sister to Willow.

They'd loved her all the same. She was family to them both, and that puts them in the same boat now.

"Arianna and I didn't always get along, you know," laments Willow after a while. "She was always so serious. Lived her life by the books because she wanted to make everyone proud." A weak, teary grin flashes on her face. "I was the opposite. Always seeking adventure, and a little bit of rebellion. I guess you could say I was a bad influence on her. But… we loved each other."

The corner of Cassandra's lips briefly twitches upward at that. She stares absently through the fire as she says, "That sounds a lot like me and Rapunzel."

The reflection tugs at her heart a little bit – remembering the way things used to be at the castle. So recent yet so long ago. When they were teenagers, Rapunzel had influenced Cass to break the rules on more than one occasion, because she wanted every opportunity to not have to live under strict rule all the time. Cassandra had always been so worried about getting into trouble. Mostly because reputation was everything when it came to knights earning their titles. Yet, Rapunzel would convince her every time anyway.

But there's no surprise the two relationships had been so similar. It's sometimes uncanny how much Rapunzel and her aunt are alike. So energetic and positive all the time. Though, Rapunzel seems to be much less of that now.

"Well," Willow smiles gently, "I'm sure you love each other just the same."

Cassandra only continues to stare forward at that, once again stunned into an awkward silence.

Willow doesn't know how right she is about that. Just not in the way that she thinks she does.

Cassandra thinks back to the moment she'd finally admitted how she felt about Rapunzel all that time ago, how she always felt about her. It's a memory that consumes her mind far too often. And instead of their relationship being ruined forever like Cass had initially thought, the princess had kissed her and told her that she loved her too, and in that moment, Cassandra swore she was the happiest she'd ever been. Sometimes, it all still feels like a dream. As if she's still longing for something that was never meant to be hers.

Suddenly, Cassandra's not sure what to say anymore.

"Can I ask you something?" Willow rescues her.

Cass finally looks over at her, "Anything."

The woman's gaze flickers down to her hands folded in her lap, as if second guessing her next words. Finally, she asks, "Is Rapunzel happy?"

It isn't a question Cass had expected to hear. But after a few moments of thought, she understands why Willow is asking it.

But how happy can someone be after losing her parents, witnessing her own kingdom burn to the ground so brutally, being forced to say goodbye to her entire life literally overnight? That kind of thing changes a person, alters them into another version of themselves that can never go back to who they once were. Especially for someone who had radiated sunshine everywhere she went, like the world had been so vibrant in her eyes, now must seem so gray.

Cass chooses her words carefully so as not to disappoint Willow, because she knows what the woman wants to hear, "I think she's a lot happier now that we're here." But it's her honest answer. It had once gotten to a point between them where Cass honestly wasn't sure she would ever hear Rapunzel laugh again, not like she did that day during their sparring lesson in the snow.

"I don't doubt that you did everything you could to take care of her while you were out there," mentions Willow, "And I realized I never thanked you for that."

Cassandra can't help but cringe internally at that, considering taking care of Rapunzel is literally her job and therefore doesn't require a thank you. But even if it wasn't her duty, she'd still do it as if her life depended on it, without question.

She shakes her head in refusal, "You don't have to—"

"No, I do," Willow insists, and that silences Cassandra. "I've always known how strong and brave you are. Ever since I first met you. When you were just a little girl. Even at five years old, you were a tough cookie." Willow almost chuckles at the recollection. Her eyes brim with a fond nostalgia, then fade just as fast. "I'm sure you fought well out there, but I can only imagine how hard everything was on her. After being so sheltered and protected her entire life, well… she must have been so scared."

Cassandra thinks of their first nights after the raid, when Rapunzel had woken after a nightmare and sobbed in Cassandra's arms, blaming herself for what had happened, telling her how scared she was.

What Willow doesn't know is that Cassandra would be dead right now if it weren't for Rapunzel. The princess had saved her life more than once. Not only literally.

"We took care of each other," Cass reassures, unsure what else to say. "She was brave too. You'd be surprised how far she's come."

Willow smirks faintly, proudly. "I can see it already. She's definitely not the little girl I remember from Corona. And I don't blame her, after everything she went through. She's had to grow up fast. I guess it's just hard for me, seeing her change like that so quickly."

If she's honest, she never thought she'd see her niece, a princess, wielding a sword. She supposes it's just one of the many things she will have to get used to.

"I just want to make sure she's okay," explains Willow, "For Arianna."

Cassandra truly wants nothing more. "I'll take care of her. I promise."

When Cassandra makes it to her and Rapunzel's bedroom later that night, she's careful to open the door as quietly as possible. She isn't sure how late it is, but her eyes are tired enough at this point to let her know that she should definitely be asleep by now.

Just as she'd expected, Rapunzel is passed out in bed when she walks in, the bedroom entirely silent. The princess is laying on her back, with her eyes closed and her head lolled to the side. The curled fingers of one arm are resting near her face, her brown hair splayed out on the pillow. There's an open book placed upside down on her stomach.

The sight of her like that is both comforting and a little comical, knowing that she'd fallen asleep while reading.

The door clicks softly as Cassandra closes it behind her, walking fully inside. The room is draped in shadows, but the flame of the bedside lantern provides just enough light for her to see where she's going.

She stops in front of the dresser, facing the wall and her back to Rapunzel. She kicks off her boots first, then she hangs her cloak and removes her sheathed sword, leaning it gently in a corner against the wall. It isn't until now that she truly realizes how exhausted she is. Her muscles have begun to stiffen from training earlier which are sure to become worse in the morning.

She grabs the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head. She sighs softly while running a hand through her tangled hair, figuring she'll brush it in the morning. She throws on a new tunic from the drawer in front of her that hangs loose around her small frame.

Rapunzel doesn't wake at the sound of her continued shuffling, having always been a heavy sleeper.

When she's done, Cassandra approaches the bed. Leaning forward, she reaches a hand over Rapunzel to gingerly take the book currently laying on her stomach. She's sure to fold over the corner of the page before closing it and setting it down on the bedside table. She blows out the bedside lantern's flame, drowning the room in darkness, and the faint moonlight beaming through the window.

Slowly, she slithers under the blanket next to Rapunzel, who stirs softly at the feeling of the mattress dipping down.

A faint moan emits from Rapunzel's throat as she rolls over onto her side, seeking Cassandra's bodily warmth. Her eyes remain closed, but Cass knows she's awake now, just half-asleep.

After a few moments of shifting, they end facing the other, both curled on their sides. Rapunzel sleepily nuzzles her nose in Cassandra's neck, sighing contentedly. Cassandra's arms are wrapped around Rapunzel's shoulders, lips buried in her hair, eyelids closed and heavy.

They settle that way at last - with the sheets a mess, and their limbs tangled within each other, both finally drifting into a deep sleep.