Chapter 3

Rapunzel isn't sure how long she finds herself buried away in Fairview's local library for.

The second floor of the building is a cramped stone tower, with a steep spiral staircase leading downstairs to the main library. Tall bookshelves line the walls amongst leaning stacks of novels and rolled-up scrolls that are placed sporadically on the floor and on every surface. The dark evening sky is visible through the small stone windows, leaving the room illuminated by a few flickering lanterns.

Most of the town's villagers are presumably eating dinner in their homes right now. It only means the library is a lot quieter at this time of day, encasing Rapunzel in silence and solitude. However, she's spiraled into such a deep focus that she hardly even notices the world around her anymore, or the fact that she's probably been here for hours now.

Her skirt is sprawled out around her as she sits on the hardwood floor, despite there being a writing desk in the room. There's a pile of books scattered on the ground around her, some of them opened to a specific page, others closed. Her gaze is lowered to a particular one splayed open on the ground before her. Her brow creases as she concentrates on scanning the words.

It isn't until Rapunzel hears footsteps ascending the staircase of the tower that she finally looks up.

A sense of ease overcomes her at the familiar sight of short black curls, and the shadowed figure now standing at the top of the spiral staircase across the room.

"Hey," Rapunzel greets joyfully, a little surprised to find Cassandra here. She almost hadn't noticed she'd walked in.

"Hey," Cass says softly, sauntering into the firelight. The sound of her footsteps are almost loud after how quiet it had been in here, and for so long. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, not at all," Rapunzel shakes her head, genuinely happy for the company. "How'd you know where I was?"

"Willow said I might find you here." As Cassandra approaches her, she peers curiously down at the scattered pile of books currently surrounding the other girl, "What are you reading?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just… doing some research," Rapunzel dismisses.

Cassandra takes a seat on the floor next to her. "About what?" She settles with her legs crossed beneath her.

Rapunzel shrugs reluctantly, her gaze awkwardly falling downward. "Well, about… me. I mean, my power. Or whatever you wanna call it."

The corners of Cassandra's lips fall, and she blinks in surprise. "Oh."

It's a topic they haven't spoken much about, and one that seemed to come up less as time went by. Neither of them are quite sure why. Maybe it's just another one of those things they'd tried so hard to forget, because of all the bad memories associated with it. Or maybe it's because neither of them would know where to start in explaining it.

"I know it happened a long time ago, but I just can't stop thinking about it," says Rapunzel. "What I… did to you. How I healed you. I mean, it can't be normal, right?"

Cassandra's stomach seems to sink along with her gaze as the memories of that day flood into her mind. She remembers it so clearly. That house – how cold it was and even what it smelled like. The blood, the amount of pain she'd been in. How terrified she'd been as she'd accepted her own death. How it felt like she'd been dreaming when she woke up again, and that pain had suddenly been gone. Everything about it was surreal. Like a nightmare that never quite leaves.

"I've tried to forget about it, because I know that part of our lives is over," continues Rapunzel, "And I haven't told anybody about it since. But I feel like this is a part of me now, and I can't just ignore that."

With a new determination, she reaches on the floor behind her and retrieves a rolled-up sheet of parchment. She spreads it open in her lap, revealing a page stained yellow, tattered at the edges. Among a few lines of written words are the painted images of a sunbeam and a golden flower.

"Your mother—I mean… that woman…" Never actually learning the woman's name before she died, Rapunzel isn't quite sure what to call her. "She had this," The princess peers down at the page in her hands. "She was trying to use it as some sort of key to my power, but it wouldn't work."

After being rescued from that house, Rapunzel had told Cass everything that happened afterwards - how she was captured, the fact that she'd woken up and Gothel had been there, demanding something Rapunzel couldn't give. Though Cassandra already knows everything that was discussed between them that day, all she can do is stare down at the scroll in Rapunzel's hands with a slightly pained expression on her face.

"You kept it?" Cass asks softly.

It isn't that she's upset about the fact. More so, this page right in front of her seems to be the only thing left of her biological mother, and something about that causes a sense of both unease and sadness to twist within her. Somehow, she wants to cradle the thing to her chest and burn it into ash all at once.

"Well, yeah," Rapunzel admits, a little shamefully. "I thought that maybe it was important. That it could give me the answers or something. About who I really am. And why I can do what I do." A part of her hadn't expected anything to come of it. She had been just about ready to deem the scroll useless until now.

Cassandra chews her lip in thought for a while, her eyes distant. "You know… she would've done or said anything to get you to believe what she wanted," she says. "Maybe it doesn't mean anything. Maybe it's just another one of her tricks." A twinge of anger ignites within her at the thought of Gothel's effortless ability to deceive, to manipulate. Despite this, her voice comes out rather emotionless instead.

"I didn't wanna trust her either, but she was the one who told me I can heal, and it all ended up being true. And everything else she said about my parents and what happened to me as a baby, it all makes total sense. So why wouldn't this?" With brimming determination, Rapunzel's gaze lowers once more to the scroll in her hands. "It's just got to mean something."

Well, Cassandra supposes it's not her place to argue with that. She'd be lying to say she isn't also curious about all of this. "So, what have you found?"

"Not much," Rapunzel shakes her head disappointedly, releasing a soft sigh. "There's some sort of rhyme on it. She called it an incantation. But nothing happens when I read it. She wanted me to sing it, but that didn't work either. So, I thought that was all there was to it. That it just didn't work. Then I found this." She reaches over and picks up one of the open books on the ground next to her. "She kept going on about a sundrop, saying that its power lives inside of me or something. So, I started doing some reading on it." She flips frantically through the pages until she finds the one she's looking for.

Amongst paragraphs of words are sketches of various symbols Cassandra can't quite place as she too observes the page. The most decipherable one is a crescent moon, with aquamarine droplets like rain dripping from its base and trailing down the page.

"Apparently, there's another one just like it, only it came from the moon rather than the sun," explains Rapunzel, like an excited child. "It's the opposite. The moonstone." She flips the page again, revealing the image of a silhouetted castle, with pointed towers and similar black points bursting from its base. "It was believed to have belonged to an ancient kingdom called Celest, but nobody knows what happened to it since then. I'm not quite sure what it does yet. It's all legendary, of course. I don't even know if any of this is real. But if it is, maybe whatever I can do is related to this moonstone somehow."

It's silent between them for a few moments as Cassandra attempts to digest all this unexpected information, yet all she can wonder is, "How long have you been thinking about this?"

Rapunzel shrugs, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know. I guess… ever since it happened. I didn't actually think to start researching it until recently though. I mean, how could I not?"

Well, this at least partially explains what Rapunzel does on her own time, and where she goes off to during the day. Cass had no idea she'd been coming here so often, with the intention of researching such things.

"She said my power has great potential," Rapunzel puzzles. Even now, she remembers every word. They've stuck with her as if she'd first heard them yesterday. "What does that even mean? And why didn't my parents ever tell me about it? What if there was something else they were hiding?"

"I guess they knew it would make you a target," supposes Cass. "I'm sure whatever the reason, it's because they wanted to protect you."

Learning of Rapunzel's ability to heal was thought provoking for both of them to say the least. They'd had plenty of time to ponder it during the remainder of their journey to Fairview after their escape from Gothel. At some point, Cassandra had realized what Arianna meant when she'd warned her that night in the castle, moments before she'd died.

The king and queen knew about their daughter's ability all along. They'd predicted the raid because they knew Rapunzel would one day be hunted for it. It's why Arianna had immediately known the bandits were after Rapunzel. It's why she was so quick to accept her own death. It's why her and Frederic died that night – to protect their daughter, along with their secret.

It's why they wanted Rapunzel to have an appointed knight in the first place. Because Cassandra's own mother nearly kidnapped her when she was a baby.

Cassandra just hadn't figured any of it out until much later. Now that she has, it all makes so much sense.

The eagerness within Rapunzel seems to fade, and the corners of her mouth suddenly fall into a frown. She lowers the book in her lap, now staring blankly over it in deep thought. "Cass… Do you ever think about going back?" Longing brims in her eyes and between her words. "To Corona, I mean."

Cass had known what she'd meant.

She's not sure if she's ever really thought about it. Maybe the idea had creeped into her mind at some point, only for her to force it away shortly afterward. Because she knows there'd be no point in wishing for something that they can't have.

Still, she'd be lying to say a part of her doesn't want it.

"I… don't know," Cassandra answers honestly.

"There's probably nothing left of it, anyway," Rapunzel mumbles bitterly.

Cassandra can almost feel her own heart cracking at that. "Rapunzel…"

"If I had known what I could do, I could've healed them. I could've saved so many people that night." A deep regret is visible in the princess' sorrowful eyes, just staring forward into nothing. Like she's picturing something vivid. Something horrifying.

"You didn't know," reminds Cass, her voice soft.

"But they did."

"Your parents only ever wanted what was best for you."

Rapunzel feels like she's heard that a thousand times, yet she can't deny its truth. "I know. I just wish they were here," she sighs softly, then her thoughts drift away again. Oftentimes, she wonders if even now, she could somehow atone for all the suffering that happened that night. All the innocent people that had died because of her. "I just… I wanna use my power for good. To help people. If I'm the only one who can, maybe I can make the world a better place."

A breath of a chuckle escapes Cassandra's lips. "You already do that perfectly well on your own." But her attempts at making Rapunzel feel better seem to be rather useless, because the girl still hasn't met her eyes.

But of course, Rapunzel would say such a thing. Her compassion has always been admirable, though Cass doesn't understand it at times. It's not something she herself was ever taught to have.

Cassandra leans forward in an attempt to get Rapunzel to look up. Her voice is more serious when she speaks again, "I know you wanna do a good thing here, but before you go off saving the world and everything, just remember that your parents kept it a secret for a reason. And maybe it's best we keep it that way. It'll just make you a target otherwise."

Rapunzel thinks about that.

Cass doesn't need to explain why other people knowing would be bad. This power of hers has already gotten them into more trouble than not. Using it recklessly might just drag them into a repeat of the past. Maybe she is getting too ahead of herself.

It's times like these when she truly does wonder what she would do without Cassandra.

"You're right," Rapunzel decides, stressfully running a hand through her hair. "I guess I've just been thinking too much."

Cassandra's lips purse into a sad grin, just seeing her like this - so lost and confused, much like she had been during the early days following their escape from Corona. She just wishes Rapunzel knew that she has nothing to worry about anymore. That it's all over. That as much as she too wishes they could go back in time, all they can do instead is move forward.

"Hey…"

Rapunzel lifts her chin at the sound of Casandra's soothing voice, and they meet eyes at last.

"Nothing that happened is your fault. You know that, right?"

Rapunzel only gazes back at her for a few moments, unable to resist the slight flutter in her chest. "I know," she lies. Though she's not sure she'll ever convince herself of such a thing, she appreciates the reassurance.

With that, Cass playfully nudges her in the arm before pushing herself back to her feet. "All right, come on. Your aunt said she wants you to come home and eat before you starve to death. A little dramatic if you ask me, but you know how she is."

It isn't until now that Rapunzel notices the slight grumbling of her stomach, and the sudden idea of enjoying some of Willow's amazing cooking right now is what brings her back to her feet. There's a numbness in her legs after sitting on the floor for so long, and she briefly rolls out the stiffness in her shoulders too.

So, they quickly stack the various books back onto their respective shelves, returning the library to its neutral state.

Afterwards, Cassandra makes for the staircase, but Rapunzel's feet remain planted, watching her backside. "Hey, Cass?"

Cassandra turns, and the room falls quiet for a moment.

Rapunzel's hands are clasped behind her back. A shy grin radiates on her face as she says, "Thanks."

Cassandra had thought they'd been past the stage of thanking each other a long time ago. Regardless, she smirks, "Don't mention it."

Without another word, Rapunzel follows her down the stairs.