Chapter 2

A chill breeze crashes against Cassandra's face as she rides on Maximus' back at top speed.

The horses' hooves are pounding rhythmically against the trail. Her body leans slightly forward in the saddle as he kicks snow up behind them with every gallop. Pine trees dart past her vision in dark blurs amongst the pale white forest surrounding them.

The brightness of the morning sun is nearly blinding, with today seeming to be a warmer day than most. The fresh scent of pine within the morning air thrills her in a way that she can't describe, and somehow it reminds her of home - of a time she used to ride outside of the kingdom for hours, clearing her head, trying to feel something, creating distance from the rest of the world because it felt like freedom to her, even if it was only temporary.

Rapunzel had still been sound asleep when Cassandra had risen at the break of dawn, though that's usually how the mornings go between them. Though Cass has been a knight for years, she's never since rested from all the training that comes along with it.

She busies herself with target practice and general physical exercise, to upkeep her strength and stamina. Mostly because it's required of her job, but also to rid herself of boredom. Riding has become a regular method of passing the time, so she'd been out of the house and on her horse before the majority of the village had even woken up. That had been nearly two hours ago.

Eventually, Cassandra notices a bend in the trail ahead. Beyond it, the forest of trees come to an end, revealing a pale gray sky on the other side. She recognizes it as the particular cliff she has grown so used to riding along during the past few months.

As they near the edge, Cassandra pulls on Maximus' reigns, slowing the horse to a halt.

The rush of exhilaration coursing throughout her veins finally begins to slow. Her throat is dry. Her pulse lingers in her ears and in her chest, as if she'd just finished a satisfying workout. Her body is warm now beneath her jacket and cloak, despite the weather.

A peaceful silence envelopes her now, birds tweeting lively in the distance. The forest is otherwise silent behind her, presumably bare of anybody else.

Max's hooves thud against the snow as he trots toward the edge of the cliff.

Below them and far off in the distance is the quaint and secluded village of Fairview, nestled within a snowy pit at the base of the mountains and amongst scattered pine trees. Plumes of smoke drift from various chimneys among the cluster of pointed rooftops, each small and wooden house appearing nearly identical to each other. Figures of wandering villagers beginning their day weave through the streets, hauling wagons and donkeys behind them, though they appear as mere specks from up here.

Cassandra gazes down at it all with a mix of admiration and melancholy.

Without the elegant and pointed teal rooftops of the castle, a harbour full of ships and an ocean view, somehow the winter mountains of Fairview are just as beautiful. It's a sight she has grown so used to seeing now. One that sometimes brings a twinge of sadness into her heart knowing what her and Rapunzel had lost in exchange for it. It only reminds her of how far away they are from the kingdom now. As if they're in an entirely new world. Though this couldn't be more different than Corona, the only word that comes to Cassandra's mind now is 'home'.

Deciding she should probably head back, she lightly tugs on Maximus' reigns. He turns from the cliff, and she leads him back down the hill.

Rapunzel tightly grips her steel sword between her gloved hands. Strenuously, she raises it above her shoulder.

Glaring down the imaginary target before her, she whips the weapon across her body and slashes it through the air, creating an audible gust of wind. The movement is so forceful that she briefly stumbles forward, catching herself before she falls.

She regains her footing. After a moment, she tries the motion again and a soft grunt escapes her lips from the exertion of it.

She'd found a wide enough area behind Willow's house to practice, which sits on top of a hill and is therefore away from most of the other houses. The yard is closed off by a wooden country fence. On the outside of it is a closed-off pen of clucking chickens, pecking the ground outside their coop.

Around her are collections of logs and firewood, a chopping block, a wheelbarrow, and a stone well. A small wooden horse shelter is attached to the back of the house, with Willow's dark brown steed currently grazing on a bale of hay inside. Beyond the village is the breathtaking sight of the mountains peaking toward the murky pale sky.

Rapunzel's thick winter cloak drapes over her layered dress. The top half of her brown hair is tied up in a bun, the rest of it falling around her shoulders in loose waves.

She swipes her sword through the air again and again, experimenting coming from different directions, more with a clumsy urgency than proper technique. Her brow is creased with determination. She doesn't notice how tightly she's pressing her lips together just from concentrating.

She briefly pauses to release a sharp exhale, exhaustion creeping up on her. When she swings again, the motion is so vigorous that she ends up whipping herself all the way around.

The sound of ringing metal causes her to freeze when her blade unexpectedly collides with another.

She'd whipped around just in time to come face to face with Cassandra, who is now holding her own sword up above their heads with one arm.

"You're getting better at that," smirks Cassandra from beneath their crossed blades.

Heat immediately rises to Rapunzel's cheeks.

She's not quite sure why. Maybe it's because the last time Cassandra had been this close to her, she'd been breathless and pinned against a dresser while combing her fingers through curly locks of black hair.

The intrusive memory of it causes her stomach to flutter, and she just stands there in that position for a few moments like an awestruck fool.

She'd been so focused that she hadn't even realized when Cass had entered the yard, and she wonders how long she had been there for, watching her.

It feels like a lifetime before Rapunzel finally lowers her own sword, stepping away. "Not well enough," she says, brushing aside her momentary daze. "I feel like my stance is all over the place. And swords are really heavy. I can't even hold it up with one hand without my arm feeling like it's gonna fall off. I don't know how you make it look so easy."

"Years of practice." There's a sound of metal scraping as Cassandra sheathes her sword into her hip holster, looking very proud of herself. "And a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears." She turns around, walking back toward Maximus a distance away where she'd dismounted him just a few moments earlier. She guides him toward the house by the reigns.

Rapunzel briefly rolls out her shoulder, feeling the soreness of her arm. A silence stretches between them that usually wouldn't be so uncomfortable.

She wonders if Cassandra is thinking about last night too. Or was it such a regular occurrence for her that she thinks nothing of it?

Rapunzel knows it wasn't Cassandra's first time, though it definitely had been hers. Not that that's something Cass ever told her directly. Rapunzel just kind of… assumes.

Being the princess, she was rarely allowed to leave the castle or socialize with anyone who wasn't a servant or her own parents. Whereas Cassandra basically had the freedom to do whatever she wanted, go wherever she wanted to go, associate with whoever she wanted to. Rapunzel always envied that about her. Cass would sometimes go into town with the rest of the knights and come back to the castle late at night, sometimes smelling strongly of alcohol.

They would never talk about it the next day, despite being best friends. Cass was always withdrawn about that kind of stuff. And Rapunzel never asked.

Rapunzel forces herself to think of something else. "How was riding?" There's a joking tone in her voice as she asks, "Find any bandits lurking around out there?"

She'd known that's what Cassandra had been doing when she'd woken up this morning and Cass' side of the bed had been empty, and Max had been gone from his stall too.

Cassandra snickers softly, "I'd actually be surprised if any of them made it all the way up the mountains in this weather. Half a year later." She walks the horse inside the stall, pushing open the wooden gate. Willow's hitched horse pays them no mind.

Of course, finding one of the very bandits that had chased them out of Corona after all this time is still entirely possible. They'd proven themselves to be determined and capable, and Cassandra still isn't sure how many of them there were. But it seems Gothel had called them off the hunt once she'd found Rapunzel, thankfully.

Not that Cassandra goes out riding for the purpose of searching for threats. She merely does it for enjoyment, and as a chance to be in solitude for a while. Despite how cautious she usually is about the world, the forests outside of Fairview seem rather safe.

If the bandits were still after them, they would've encountered one by now.

"You know, I feel like I should've picked up sword fighting forever ago," Rapunzel thinks aloud, already returned to her own world. She pays no attention to the sound of the stable's wooden gate rattling closed. "I mean, it's so much more useful than ballroom dancing or violin lessons." She experimentally swishes the blade around a couple times, grimacing at what she was forced to learn back at the castle. "Then I would be so much better at it by now. Like you."

Cassandra appears beside her a moment later. "You can start by unlocking your elbows." She puts a hand on Rapunzel's arms, lowering them slightly.

Allowing herself to be adjusted, Rapunzel chuckles awkwardly, "Right. Loose elbows. I knew that," before Cass walks away from her again.

It wasn't until recently that Rapunzel had realized it might be good for her to learn how to handle a sword. Partially out of boredom, with not much else to do around here. But mostly because she wants to make herself more useful, less helpless, stronger. In case she ever needed to defend herself again.

Of course, the fact that sword fighting is not exactly proper for a princess had given Rapunzel doubts at first. That kind of mindset has been nailed into her brain practically since she was born. Her mother and father definitely wouldn't have approved of it, that's for sure. Swords are for warriors and knights, like Cassandra. And definitely not for princesses.

But that title doesn't much matter now. Here, she's no different than every other villager that lives in this town. To them, she's just a commoner, and she kind of likes it that way - not having to act like a princess anymore.

A year ago, she would've never needed a reason to even hold a weapon. But things are different now. They aren't in the kingdom anymore. Her parents aren't here to tell her otherwise. She's seen and done things she never thought she would. Her entire life has changed, and so has she.

So, she'd asked Cassandra to teach her a few basics, who can't deny how beneficial it would be for her to learn. After everything that happened. Not that Cassandra plans for it to ever come to that again.

So, they'd found a new sword for Rapunzel at the local blacksmith, which she'd recently started practicing with whenever Cassandra is gone.

Rapunzel exhales sharply, as if preparing herself to run a marathon. She's staring down an invisible spot in the air again, as if there were a person in front of her. Then she twists her body, pulls her elbow all the way back, and jabs the sword forward in one stabbing motion. However, it's so heavy that the tip of it ends up plummeting into the snow, and she stumbles forward after it with a squeak.

Cassandra snorts faintly, pressing her lips together to keep herself from laughing.

But Rapunzel is so busy fumbling around trying to pick up the sword again that she doesn't notice the way Cass is just standing there with her arms crossed, watching her.

Cassandra supposes this is what it looks like when a princess who has been training to be proper her entire life tries to handle a weapon.

"All right, stop before you hurt yourself," says Cass, deciding this can't go on any longer, "You're about due for a lesson anyway." She draws the sword from her own hip once more, walking past Rapunzel and toward a patch of snow further out in the yard. "Let me at least give you a real target to practice on."

Rapunzel lifts her chin to watch her walking past. Finding no other choice, she follows her.

The two of them stop to face each other from afar, a safe distance away from the horses and the house.

"Now remember, when you're attacking, don't let your heel come off the ground," advises Cassandra, repeating what she'd taught her in their previous lesson. "That's how you get knocked off balance easily. Keep them both planted. Knees bent. One foot in front of the other."

Rapunzel adjusts the positioning of her feet, mirroring Cass across from her. She bends her knees a couple times, feeling her own weight against the ground.

"Let's see what you remember about basic attacks. Try a swing at me."

After a moment of twisting her lips in deep thought, Rapunzel does so hesitantly, lunging forward and swiping her blade toward Cassandra. However, the aching of her arm muscles causes the motion to be slower than she'd hoped, and it ends up looking kind of pathetic.

Her weapon is barely in the air for two seconds before Cassandra counters her attack, their blades scraping against each other audibly.

"Try it again. This time, keep your head out of my line of attack," says Cass. "You always wanna make sure you're not leaving any part of your body vulnerable."

Rapunzel takes a step back, resetting her stance. Then she tries it again, this time conscious of where her body ends up in relation to Cassandra's blade.

"Better. But you're aiming at my sword. Try to hit me instead."

"It feels wrong," says Rapunzel, "I'm scared I'm gonna hurt you."

"You won't. I'll block you," she reassures. "I know it feels weird, but you just have to give it your all. Pretend I'm a threat."

Rapunzel's body is so warm beneath her multiple layers of clothing yet the cold bites her face. All this swinging and lifting is making her arms tired, and she's panting a little, but she concentrates hard on picturing Cassandra as a black-masked bandit trying to hurt her, or something of the sort.

With a newfound determination, Rapunzel tightens all of the muscles in her body and musters up her remaining strength, lunging forward to strike twice as hard.

The sound of metal rings out as Cassandra counters her, shoving Rapunzel's blade away with her own.

"There you go. That's what it should feel like every time," says Cass, lowering her weapon and taking a step back. She begins to slowly pace. "Now that you've got down the basics of how to swing, let's take it to the next level. The first rule of combat training is to never let your guard down. Expect the unexpected. And you gotta think fast. Now this time when I block you, try to anticipate my next move. Find a way to counter it. Remember, you can always dodge. Sometimes it's better to sidestep or to duck than to try and block every attack. But choose which action you think is best."

Rapunzel exhales sharply, briefly shaking out her neck and shoulders. With her feet planted again, she raises her sword in preparation.

"You ready?" asks Cass.

There's a challenging glint in Rapunzel's narrowed eyes, "You're on."

"Confident. I like it."

With that, the princess flings herself forward, fully raising the weapon in the air with both arms. A grunt escapes her throat as she thrusts it forcefully downward toward Cassandra's head.

Cass mirrors her in raising her arms, blocking Rapunzel's strike instantly. Their blades halt in the air above them for a moment, then Cassandra kicks her boot directly into Rapunzel's stomach. It isn't enough to hurt her, and the blanket of fluffy snow beneath her cushions Rapunzel's fall as she stumbles backward to the ground.

Her sword slips out of her fingers.

In one swift motion, Cassandra is on top of her on the ground, with one knee pinning Rapunzel's arm, and her blade held across the princess' throat, though she's careful not to apply too much pressure.

"Now you're pinned. What do you do?" challenges Cass.

At first, Rapunzel only lays there with her arms splayed out, stunned as to how she had ended up on the ground so quickly.

Then she thinks again of last night, and the feeling of Cassandra's body pressed against hers in a way similar to this.

Shoving the thought away, Rapunzel groans as she struggles beneath the other girl, but her muscles are so weak that she barely even budges. Not like she would anyway if she were at full energy right now. It's always been a little scary how strong Cassandra is despite her size, even when they were kids. Especially when they were kids.

"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that, princess," Cassandra gloats with amusement as Rapunzel continues to thrash uselessly beneath her, "By this time, you'd already be—"

Rapunzel suddenly lobs a handful of snow directly at Cassandra's face, hitting her square in the nose.

The snow is soft enough that it doesn't hurt, but it still catches Cass off guard and causes her head to snap to the side and her body to roll off of Rapunzel. Her sword slips from her grip and thuds onto the ground next to her.

It isn't until Cass hears Rapunzel giggling uncontrollably that she actually comprehends what just happened.

When she lifts her chin again, Rapunzel is just sitting there on the ground next to her, clutching her stomach from laughter, "You—you shoulda seen your face!"

Sprinkles of freezing snow melt into the neckline of Cassandra's cloak, causing her to shiver. With a completely serious expression, she begins to aggressively brush them from her shoulders and her face, all while Rapunzel continues absolutely losing herself.

Cassandra's slight embarrassment brings a pout to her lips. Then it slowly disappears when she realizes – she can't remember the last time she had heard Rapunzel laugh so much, or even smiled quite like this. After nearly an entire year of so many bad things happening to them, it seemed they'd both forgotten how.

Deciding two can play at this game, Cass reaches forward on her hands and knees to scoop snow into her glove, a mischievous tone reaching her voice, "Oh yeah?"

Immediately, Rapunzel switches her act into seriousness, holding out her hands in protest, "No, I'm sorry—I didn't mean it!" She tries to scurry away, but Cassandra has already launched a handful of snow at her. Rapunzel shrieks as it explodes against her hair, also melting into her neck.

"Who's laughing now?" Cassandra smirks.

But Rapunzel can't even pretend to be upset. She just continues giggling to herself, "All right, all right. I guess I deserved that." Finally, she pulls herself to her feet again, brushing off the back of her long skirt. She holds a hand out toward Cassandra, who is still sitting on the ground and glaring at her. Rapunzel winces, saying in a sweet voice, "I don't suppose a 'sorry' would cut it?"

"No," decides Cass smugly, reaching up to take Rapunzel's hand, "But this will." She yanks Rapunzel by the arm, forcefully pulling her down into the snow.

The princess lets out a short squeak as she stumbles forward onto her hands and knees, landing next to Cassandra.

Meanwhile, Cass chuckles as she easily helps herself to her feet, wearing a proud grin. "You should've seen your face just now."

Deciding that's enough practice for today, they eventually manage to compose themselves again and head back inside the house, bringing their weapons along with them. Mostly because they're both soaked with melted snow now and their skin is starting to go numb beneath their clothes.

Rapunzel follows Cassandra through the back door, closing it behind her. Warmth immediately encases them along with the appetizing scent of herbs and garlic as they remove their cloaks and gloves by the door. They can hear shuffling somewhere in the next room.

"So, what do you think? Did I win?" Rapunzel asks as she removes her wet boots.

Cassandra supposes Rapunzel's method of defense by throwing snow in her face was effective, though she would never give Rapunzel the satisfaction of admitting that out loud. Instead, Cass says jokingly, "I think you cheated."

"What? How did I cheat?" Rapunzel exclaims in a high-pitched voice as she follows Cass through the house.

Through the archway of the kitchen, Willow is busy at the counter with her back turned, an apron wrapped around her waist and her long brown hair tied into two messy braids. Her hands are caked in flour as well as the surface of the counter before her as she kneads a heap of dough beneath her palms.

The kitchen is cramped yet the evidence of it being extremely lived-in is quaint and cozy. A ray of light beams through the frosted window above the sink, illuminating the room and the dust particles that drift through the air. Various shelves holding jars of spices line the walls. Potted plants decorate the windowsill. The countertops are currently cluttered with dirty dishes and opened sacks of ingredients.

"The whole point of the lesson was to fight." Cassandra removes her holstered sword and belt as she steps into the kitchen. There's a thud as she sets it all down onto the table in the centre of the room.

"Oh, come on, Cass." Rapunzel follows her in placing her own sword down, the metal briefly clanging. "We both know I could've won that if you were actually a threat. Don't be a sore loser," she grins teasingly.

"I am not a sore loser," Cassandra insists, though she can't resist the slight chuckle beneath her words.

"I think you're just upset because I found a way to think outside the box. You weren't expecting that, huh?"

Willow perks her eyebrows as she listens to the banter happening behind her. Her gaze remains focused on what she's doing at the counter, but her lips have tugged into a fond grin, "Sounds like you two had fun out there."

Rapunzel wanders toward her aunt. "Oh, no, I think Cass forgot how to do that. She wouldn't know 'fun' if it hit her in the— ow!" She jumps as Cassandra pinches her directly in the side while walking past, though the noise she makes is more out of surprise than actual pain.

"Oops. My hand slipped." Cassandra doesn't meet her eyes, and Rapunzel pretends to glare at her backside as she passes.

Willow chuckles softly. Suddenly, it's as if they're both kids in the castle again. As if the two girls that had appeared on her doorstep all that time ago had been entirely different people. It all seems so far away now. "You know, you two are just like your mother and I when we were kids. Although, I hope you don't get into as much trouble as we did."

Somehow, they'd arrived at a place where they can easily mention Arianna again.

"Only sometimes," Cassandra hovers near Willow's shoulder, gripping the edge of the counter and peering down at what the woman is doing like an intrigued child, "What are you making?"

"Just some preparations for dinner tonight. I'm trying out a new chicken pot pie recipe."

"Oooh, my favourite!" Rapunzel celebrates from somewhere else in the room.

"You literally say that about everything she makes," Cassandra turns around just in time to brush past Rapunzel again, who is now rushing over excitedly to also observe what Willow is doing.

The three of them navigating around each other through such a cramped space had become normal to them at some point, despite growing up in such a spacious maze of a palace. Somehow, none of them mind the crowdedness.

"Maybe because everything she makes is just so good!" Rapunzel briefly springs up on her toes to peck her aunt on the cheek, placing both her hands on Willow's shoulder to do so.

Willow chuckles, letting her body sway briefly from the force of it, "Oh honey, you know you flatter me too much. Now, make yourself useful and help me chop those vegetables there."

Rapunzel obliges happily, finding the bowl of vegetables and wooden cutting board that had been left on the next counter.

On the other end of the kitchen, Cassandra digs through a cupboard for a glass, pouring herself some water from a pitcher.

The sounds of their various shuffling fills the room as they all busy themselves with their own preoccupations.

Rapunzel's gaze is fixed downward, knife in hand as she continues to rhythmically chop through a carrot. She sneaks a piece of one into her mouth. "You know, Cass, I'm just saying…" her words are slurred from chewing, "I'm putting a tally under my name today for outsmarting you."

Cassandra appears next to her, holding her glass of water in one hand, "Sure," she chirps, unbothered, "Whatever makes you feel better, princess." Then she steals a slice of carrot from the cutting board before disappearing again.

"Rapunzel, did you remember to feed the chickens this morning?" Willow asks, brushing the flour from her hands on her apron.

Cassandra casually leans her back against the counter, tossing the chunk of carrot into the air and effortlessly catching it in her mouth.

"Done! And I collected the eggs too."

Willow retrieves an empty wooden pail from a corner in the room, aiming to fill it at the well outside. However, she barely makes it one step past Cassandra before the girl makes a brief mumbling noise of protest, her mouth currently full of carrot. She sets her glass down on the counter behind her. "I got it," says Cass, gingerly taking the pail from the woman's hands. "You have your hands full already."

Willow sighs softly, surprised yet relieved, "Oh. Thank you, dear." Having so much help around the house now is just one of the many things she's not quite used to.

With that, Cassandra disappears from the room.

A few moments later, they hear the back door opening and shutting closed as she exits outside.

Now only Willow and Rapunzel's shuffling can be heard as they both continue their work, backs turned to each other.

The thought of Willow possibly hearing her and Cassandra last night suddenly intrudes Rapunzel's mind. She spirals into an awkward silence just dreading the possibility as she continues to mindlessly toss minced vegetables into a bowl.

If Willow does suspect something, Rapunzel hopes she won't mention it. It would be hard to explain to say the least, considering Willow still doesn't have a clue about what's been going on between Cass and Rapunzel lately. But if they're honest, neither do they.

Rapunzel's relationship with Cassandra has just been one huge question mark for the past six months. They haven't talked about the fact that Cass told Rapunzel she always loved her, after she'd woken up fully healed in Gothel's house. Sometimes, it all still feels like a dream. Everything just kind of unraveled naturally after that, into whatever it is now. And now, Rapunzel's not even sure what to call her anymore - Best friend, appointed knight, or something else?

"You know, Rapunzel, I think it's great that you're learning a new hobby," Willow comments gleefully, oblivious to her niece's thoughts, "Though I must admit sword fighting is a little… unexpected."

A part of Rapunzel is thankful for the topic change. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just didn't think it was something that you liked, that's all," Willow explains. "You always seemed like you didn't really like swords, or any weapon for that matter."

For a moment, Rapunzel is at a loss of what to say.

Since living here, her and Cassandra have kept the details of their escape from Corona quite vague, along with everything that happened after that - All the fighting that they did and the bad people they'd encountered to get here, and the fact that Cassandra had essentially died before being resurrected by Rapunzel's mysterious healing powers.

A part of Rapunzel feels guilty for keeping such details from her aunt, but she convinces herself it's easier this way, for all of them. If Willow ever knew that Rapunzel once killed a man, she'd never look at Rapunzel the same again. Maybe grasping onto what's left of her own innocence is the reason for all of it, because it's all she has left of who she used to be. Either way, the last thing Rapunzel wants to do is relive all of that, and cause Willow to worry more than she needs to.

What Willow doesn't know is that after everything that happened, sword fighting is more of a necessity than a hobby.

"Yeah, well, I just thought that maybe this could be important. You know, like… in case I ever needed to defend myself or something," Rapunzel explains, deliberately casual.

Cleaning up her mess, Willow collects the sack of flour from the counter, cradling it in her arms as she peers quizzically over at Rapunzel. "Why would you need to do that?" she asks, thinking a raid like the one at Corona will surely never happen again.

But Rapunzel doesn't meet her eyes. "I don't know."

A moment passes. Then Willow clicks her tongue in understanding, and her voice softens, "I see what's going on here." She appears by Rapunzel's side, who finds no choice but to look up at her. "Look, Rapunzel. I know that living here must be very different than what you're used to. It's a different place, different people. I mean, sure, there are no castle walls and royal guards to protect you, but you're perfectly safe here. Besides, you have Cassandra. Isn't that what having an appointed knight is all about?" With that, Willow continues across the kitchen, returning the sack of flour to its rightful cupboard.

Rapunzel debates explaining herself, then she thinks better of it. The cupboard shuts closed somewhere behind her. "You're right. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid."

Willow scoffs lightly to herself, "But I mean… What do I know? Change is a part of growing up. And you definitely have since the last time I saw you. And somehow, you've become all the more beautiful." She returns to Rapunzel's side again to lovingly brush her hair behind her shoulder. "I just hope you know that I visited you as much as I could. It's just with all the travelling that I do, and the distance, sometimes I didn't always have the means to come back. It's a miracle I even settled down here in the first place."

"I know, Aunt Willow," Rapunzel grins at her reassuringly, genuinely, "You don't have to explain. I understand."

Willow returns her smile, before the back door opens again and they hear Cassandra's heavy boots stomping the snow off of them from somewhere around the corner. The door shuts, and Cass returns to the kitchen with a full pail of water a few moments later.

Willow gratefully accepts it from her with another "Thank you."

The next couple hours consist of the three of them idling, conversing, and cooking together in the kitchen. Grazing on food. Laughing in a way they'd almost forgotten how. As the bright sun reaches its peak in the sky and the air starts to feel a little warmer, they prepare dinner together like they've grown used to doing, as the small family that they've become.

Everything about it is home.