I don't have an introduction this time, so here we are with the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Tangled. I only own this story idea.
It was a new day in Corona as news spread of an event coming to the Kingdom. A couple of citizens stared at some posters for the Challenge of the Brave as Cass walked past them with laundry.
"Challenge of the Brave? Looks like some kind of tournament," the woman smiled.
"Heh, not just any tournament," The butcher corrected beside her. "I hear the fiercest fighters from all over are coming to compete."
"Whoa!" She gasped in wonder as they walked away. "Let me tell ya, whoever walks away champ will have earned the respect of every warrior in the Seven Kingdoms!"
A little boy ran past Cass, bumping into her and causing the material from her headdress to fall over her face. Blowing it away with an annoyed expression, she looked closer at the posters as a smirk spread across her face.
After that, Cass began training tirelessly for the competition, squeezing training sessions between her handmaiden duties. It was taxing, but she was determined to win and get the glory she yearned for. She would start her day running across a training clearing. She jumped onto a log in the pond and then the grass, rolling into a crouch before taking off again.
Later, she would scrub clothes in the castle, suds flying everywhere. Suddenly, the maids gave her even more clothes to wash, making her groan irritably as her veil ended up in her face again.
Back at the clearing, she ran again as she jumped onto a sail-like sheet, Owl flying above her. She climbed up to the top, where a zipline awaited, before sliding down. As she descended, she smirked as she pulled her bow from across her shoulder…
She then carefully put the thread in the needle, mending one of Rapunzel's dresses. Hearing marching, she glanced out the window and watched her dad inspect the guards. Cass sighed wearily before returning to work, fixing the hole in the dress.
Training again, Cass decided to focus on her archery. She pulled back three arrows in her bow and fired, each hitting the bullseye.
Later, a woman cried out in town as her purse was snatched. "Stop! Thief!"
Cass was walking nearby when she heard. Seeing her chance, she spun around and threw off her headdress with a smirk… before a guard stepped in front of her.
"Stay back," Pete said, grabbing the thief as he tried to run past him. "We'll handle it."
Cass walked away dejectedly.
She later returned to training, running as she pulled out her sword. She tossed it into the air, Owl catching it while she kept running towards a high fence with a scarecrow set up behind it. Smiling determinedly, Cass spun around and backflipped over the wall gracefully. Without breaking momentum as she landed, she caught her sword and swung it around to chop the scarecrow's head, the straw-filled head rolling away as some kids watched her. They flinched when Cass stabbed her sword in the head, posing as Owl landed on her arm.
"Whoa…" The one of the kids said, causing Cass to smile since she thought it was about her. "It's Princess Rapunzel!"
She and Owl gave confused looks, Cass glancing behind her to find her friend was there. The kids cheered as they ran up to the Princess. Rapunzel gave them a group hug and tugged at a kid's hat.
Cass frowned a little. She really thought they were impressed by her…
"Wow, Cass," Rapunzel stood up, looking at the obstacle course. "What is all this?"
"Nothing. I'm warming up for the Challenge of the Brave this morning," Cass explained, sheathing her sword. "It's just a competition to find the toughest warrior in all of Corona. No big deal."
"Ooh! Sounds exciting! Where can I sign up?" Rapunzel asked eagerly.
"Yeah, like I said, no big–" Cassandra started to say when it sunk in what she had just asked. "Oh, sorry, what?"
"I wanna sign up!" Rapunzel repeated, gesturing to herself.
"You mean compete?!" Cass asked, both confused and shocked. Did she… not understand her when she said about the competition?
"Let's do it together!" Rapunzel smiled at her, and the kids encouraged the idea.
"You could be princess and the most 'reverdest' warrior!" One of the boys said.
"Aw," The Princess chuckled.
"That would be fun…" Cass glanced away. As much as she liked and respected Rapunzel, she needed to keep her out of this so she wouldn't get hurt. Plus, the handmaiden wanted to win this and prove herself, and Rapunzel would just get in the way. "But I'm not so sure that's the best idea."
"I'm brave," Rapunzel gestured to herself. "And I'm always up for a challenge!"
"But the–the thing is, the challenge is by invitation only, so you can't do it," Cass lied through her teeth, hoping Rapunzel would forgive her if she ever found out. "Oh, man, ugggh. Rules are rules."
Owl narrowed his eyes at her, seeing through her lies. Cass gave him a slightly guilty look before Rapunzel started talking again.
"Aw," Rapunzel clicked her teeth in disappointment. "Okay… but you can always count on me to cheer you on."
Cassandra smiled warmly at her support.
(Later that night)
In addition to training around her lady-in-waiting duties, Cass also did some night training for extra practice. She was sacrificing sleep for this, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make to win.
She was training under the moonlight when she heard something nearby. Gasping, she held her sword at the ready and waited tensely. Moments later, a familiar figure with goggles entered the clearing she was training in.
"Varian?"
"Whoa!" He gasped when he realized he wasn't alone. Not to mention having a sword pointed at him. "Oh, whoa, hey, Cass, heh. How's it going?"
"Fine," She replied, sheathing her sword. "What are you doing out here?"
"Just some, uh, nocturnal research," Varian said as he got over his surprise. "I'm looking for places where ingredients I need grow so I can find them again later."
That's what he claimed. Really, he was going to train with his powers, and the clearing Cass was using was his usual practice ground.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Training."
"For the Challenge of the Brave, right?" Varian guessed. "I saw the flyers in town."
"You guessed it," She smirked determinedly. "And I'm gonna win it!"
"Just remember to get some sleep, Cass," The alchemist told her. "It's not good to stay up so late."
"Now, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black," The warrior joked.
"Maybe, but I'm not about to fight fifty people for honor and glory in a few days."
"Touche."
The duo laughed a little at their joke before Varian spoke again. "Well, I'll leave you to your training. Just remember to go to bed when you're done."
"Same to you, kid," She replied with a slight smile before returning to practice. "But, yeah, I'll turn in after a few more drills."
"I'll do the same once I find the moonflower I'm looking for," He said as he headed out of the clearing. "'Night, Cass."
"Good night, Varian."
Cassandra became so absorbed in her training that she didn't notice Varian melt naturally into the shadows. Nor did she see a flash of moonlight as the Moonlight Phantom took to the sky behind her.
(The day of the challenge)
Soon, it was time for the Challenge of the Brave. A stadium had been erected for everyone to watch the competition.
"Welcome to the Challenge of the Brave, where you will see skilled combatants from all the lands compete in a series of death-defying challenges that culminate in the main event! The ultimate melee!" An announcer spoke as the citizens gathered, milling about outside the arena or finding seats in the stands. Meanwhile, the competitors gathered in their own spot for some last-minute warm-ups. "Only one will walk away with the respect of the Seven Kingdoms! Today's favorite is the world's most renowned warrior. Some say he's the meanest, most ruthless fighter the world has ever seen! Wreck Marauder!"
Giant footsteps shook the ground as the crowd erupted in cheers. The other warriors were frightened of the person those stomps belonged to, one competitor's teeth falling out in his terror. One of the female competitors had poured honey on her face to attract bees, and the bees fled in terror.
Everyone ran away as a hulking man with a boar hood over his face approached. An usher also ran away but ran into the man, falling to the ground. He trembled as the warrior towered over him before removing his hood to reveal a man's face with long black hair and an eyepatch.
"Boo." Wreck said, laughing as the usher ran away screaming, fleeing across the field and jumping into the bleachers.
"Whose house is this? This is Wreck's house!" He roared, throwing the boar cloak into the crowd. Several people tried to catch it, but it landed on Shorty.
Sitting in the front row and wearing a black cloak, Varian rolled his eyes. He could tell this guy relied heavily on intimidation and physical strength more than actual brains. The alchemist then cringed when Eugene yelled right next to him, waving around a wooden hand with Wreck Marauder's insignia.
"Whoo! Yeah! That's my boy right there! Wreck Maraudeeeer!" Eugene got a couple of annoyed glares from the people around him as he turned to the guy next to him. "I have seen that guy fight all over the world. He's undefeated!"
He then posed as he started singing and dancing, Pascal squeaking backup vocals as he danced along. "Challenge of the Brave! Challenge of the Brave! Everybody, come on!"
Ruddiger facepalmed with his paw while Varian covered his face with his hands, sighing.
"Alright, the beard of bees lady!" Eugene stopped dancing and held up a hand, but the competitor just walked past him. Pascal snagged a bee with his tongue, holding it in his mouth before it fought its way out.
"Oh, yeah!" Eugene hugged Varian with one arm, who pushed him away slightly. "How about these seats, huh, buddy? If we were any closer to the action, they'd be scraping my face off of Wreck Marauder's knuckles!"
He placed his wooden hand on a kid's head before picking up a trumpet and blowing it loudly. The alchemist and his raccoon covered their ears in pain while Pascal turned multiple patterns. The audience also plugged their ears; even Shorty couldn't stand the noise.
"Uh, sir?" The usher walked up to him. "Some of the competitors are requesting we move you to a new seat.
"Oh, you see that? Moving this superfan to the superfan section. Ha!" Eugene bragged to everyone around him as he headed up the stairs. "I wish I could say this has been fun, but I respect you all too much to lie to your faces!"
The usher glanced at the teen in the cloak, wondering if he was with him.
"I've never seen him before in my life," Varian quickly denied, and he left. Sighing, the teen alchemist got up and headed in the other direction. "I should probably tell the Princess where her boyfriend is. Ruddiger, save my spot, okay?"
The raccoon jumped down and saluted as his human left to find Rapunzel.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Cass was down in the competitors' area, warming up for the challenge. With her bow armed with three arrows, she pulled back the drawstring and fired, getting another triple bullseye. She placed her bow around her shoulders with a smug look.
"She's just here 'cause she's Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting," One of the competitors sneered. A group of fighters laughed, causing Cass to look disheartened as she took her bow off her shoulders.
"Hi, hello, good morning, how are you? Ohh!" Speaking of the Princess, Rapunzel was walking through the area, greeting everyone she saw when something caught her eye. She went up to one of the woman fighters who had razor-sharp teeth. "Wow! Your teeth are so sharp!"
The woman smiled at the compliment before Rapunzel gasped sharply when she saw someone she knew.
"Hook Foot? Why so mad? Just do a dance and give that smile a second chance!" She laughed as she hugged him, the man smiling brightly at the warm contact.
"Probably not the best place for hugs, Raps," Cassandra pulled her away so they could talk privately. "What are you doing down here? This is for competitors only."
"I came to wish you luck!" Rapunzel chirped.
"Thanks, but I don't need luck. I need to use this time to get inside the competition's head. You know, psyche 'em out with some trash talk," The lady-in-waiting smirked, crossing her arms.
"'Trash talk?'" Her friend asked, unfamiliar with the term. "Like talk about garbage literally?"
"What? No, that's… not even close," Cass shook her head. She glanced past her with a sigh before walking off. "Watch this."
A steak was placed in front of a competitor wearing a bandana, who lowered it so he could swallow it whole. He turned to leave and ended up face-to-face with Cassandra.
"Hey, you. You do realize when they put the call up for the strongest warriors, they weren't talking about breath," She taunted, waving her hand in front of her face as Rapunzel watched her with mild disapproval. "Right?"
However, instead of being intimidated, he breathed his nasty breath in front of her, and she recoiled in disgust, almost gagging.
"Why don't you go back to the castle, lady-in-waiting?" He laughed as he walked past her.
"That wasn't very nice, Cass," Rapunzel approached her.
"Yeah, that's the point," Cass elaborated.
"Either way, I don't think that's gonna work here," Varian walked over to them.
"Oh, hey, Varian," Rapunzel greeted him.
"What do you mean?" Cass asked.
"A lot of these guys are hardcore. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them have criminal records. They're not gonna be intimidated by trash talk. It's just gonna make you look like an amateur."
His friend frowned as she wrapped her arms around herself, seeing he was right. Maybe this was a mistake. She wasn't fooling anyone.
"Cass," Varian got her attention. "I've seen you fight off pirates with a candlestick and go toe-to-toe with Lady Caine. You don't need trash talk. You're strong enough to beat these guys without it."
"You think so?"
"I know so." He nodded with a confident smile.
Cassandra smiled silently, feeling her old confidence return as she breathed deeply. "Thanks, Varian."
"No problem. Now, we need to catch up with Rapunzel because she's gone."
"What?" She turned and realized that the Princess was gone. Groaning, Cass ran off to find her with Varian in step behind her. "Where'd she go now?!"
"Ohh, I love your tattoos!" Rapunzel said, talking to a heavily tattooed man.
"Rapunzel!" Cass and Varian found her.
"Sorry, sorry, I just had to get a closer look!" Rapunzel explained, looking again. "I mean, did you see the lettering on Skull Kicker? Wow!"
"What about it?" The man towered over her, glaring at the woman while showing off his pecs.
"Ah, it's lovely," Rapunzel smiled at it.
He raised an eyebrow at her before looking a bit sad. "Yeah, well… it-it was my mother's name."
"Your mom is really special to you, isn't she?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. He nodded silently, causing Cass to facepalm while Varian looked away sympathetically. "Well, I think she'd be really proud of the menacing goon you've become."
He smiled a bit, appreciating her words. The competitor Cass trash-talked to started sniffling as he wiped his nose before running off, crying, "I'm gonna go see my mom!"
Cass pouted at this, having not wanted to be around this kind of talk in the first place.
Suddenly, Wreck Marauder came through, growling at the warrior handmaiden and alchemist. Rapunzel turned around and almost ran into him.
"Whoa! Look at you! You're a big guy, aren't ya?" She said in surprise as he snarled at her.
"Oh boy," Varian muttered as Cass walked over to her.
"Come on, Rapunzel," She grabbed her hand to lead the Princess away from Wreck.
"What do we have here?" The man taunted, causing Cass to tense as she gritted her teeth. "No one told me they were letting table scraps compete."
"Scraps?!" She whipped around to him, glaring up at the man. "You're the one that's gonna walk out of this in pieces!"
"I look forward to makin' everyone who ever loved you cry their eyes out." He pointed to his eye, cackling.
"Whoa," Rapunzel moved between them. "Listen, mister, trash talk is one thing, but that was just mean!"
"Rapunzel…" Cassandra hissed for her to stop.
"Cassandra has feelings, you know!" The Princess continued, protectively holding her friend.
"Aww, poor baby," Wreck teased, clasping his hands together. He snickered while Cass looked away in embarrassment.
Varian glared as he stepped in. "At least Cass has the self-respect to act like a real warrior instead of a schoolyard bully."
Wreck stopped laughing and glared down at the smaller male. Unintimidated, the alchemist glared up at him. After the stuff he's seen and been through for the past two years, almost nothing scared Varian anymore.
After a tense stare-off, Wreck clicked his tongue and walked away, losing interest in the confrontation. The other fighters looked between the two in stunned silence, unsure whether Varian was brave or nuts for standing up to the champ like that.
Cassandra felt the same but recovered, sighing as she pulled Rapunzel away from the fighters. "Okay, let's go, guys."
"I'm gonna grab some snacks," Varian said before walking in the other direction.
"Alright."
Cass could hear the competitors start to murmur as they left. Once out of earshot, she rubbed her temple with a long-suffering sigh.
"Listen, I have to warm up, so…" She looked at the other fighters, then back at them. "Why don't you find Eugene in the stands? You can cheer me on from there… way back there."
"Yeah… yeah, sure. Okay, I got it. I got it. You need to focus! No distractions!" Rapunzel understood despite looking disheartened. She smiled and waved as she walked off to the stands.
Cassandra turned back to the fighters, trying to look tough, when…
"Oh! Sorry!" Rapunzel ran over and hugged her from behind, causing Cass to cringe with a surprised grunt. "I forgot a good luck hug!"
She hugged her tighter before remembering what Cassandra had said earlier and let go.
"Oh, right, it's not a place for hugging, I'm sorry…" Rapunzel apologized before betting her on the head. "Good luck."
The contestants laughed at the display as Cass watched the Princess walk away obliviously, actually leaving this time. The other fighters walked away, still laughing, causing her to look down dejectedly just as Varian returned with some popcorn, meat, and cotton candy.
"If it helps at all, Eugene got moved to a seat near the top of the stands," He offered.
"Thanks, Kid," Cass said, though her voice was flat. She then blinked when she saw how much food he had. "Hitting a growth spurt?"
"My raccoon eats like a pig," He responded with an eye-roll, getting a slight laugh from the older woman. Varian smiled at her as he said, "You've got this, Cass. You'll make them eat their words when they see you in action."
"Thanks, Varian."
"Go get 'em, Cass!" The alchemist encouraged her before going back to his own seat.
Slightly renewed, Cass stood tall and took a deep breath. Confidence restored, she returned to warming up, ready to show everyone what she could do.
I know this chapter's a little short, but it's done. We'll get into the competition in the next one, which I'll start today.
Be back soon with the next chapter of Moonlight Phantom.