Chapter 14: Aftermath

Hello again! Sorry for the long wait, I had a very rough and horrible few months. Anyway now that I'm back let's hit the angst head on. As always thanks for all the lovely reviews, they always warm my heart.

Now important (and long) AN: as some of you predicted, yes the obvious choice for the TTS character I'm introducing is Cassandra, however I want to clear some things up before we continue. I have a lot, and I do mean a lot, of issues with Cassandra and the way she was written, especially her S3 arc. However, I wanted Rapunzel to have someone to lean on, and it seemed pointless to create a whole new OC just to avoid including Cassandra in this fic now that she's a part of canon. That being said, I'll write her as in character as possible, but her relationship with Rapunzel will be slightly different than what it is in the series. And for those concerned, no she will not be taking precedence over Eugene like she often did in the series, rest assured. This fic is New Dream centric. She will, however, be somewhat prominent in this chapter.

Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the angst ahead.

Air, in this lazy summer afternoon

Your memory is a grey picture

That the hours are slowly blurring

How difficult to draw your features

Only half a day after you've left(...)

The mind, when the tide recedes

Out of sheer survival instinct

Tries to cauterize every trace

That love left behind in its wake

~Cuando Baja la Marea (When the Tide Recedes)

The minutes ticked by with an agonizingly slow pace. Her green eyes surveyed the room at large, and with nothing of utter importance to inspect they finally landed on the immaculate patterns of the mahogany table, her hands perfectly folded one on top of the other over the smooth surface. Straight back, head held high, an inscrutable expression on her face, all poise and grace. Biting back a sigh, she mentally ticked off all the pertinent requirements her image needed to meet during a council meeting. It wouldn't do for a queen's perfectly composed facade to break, even amidst her inner turmoil. And so Arianna forced her mind to focus on the matter presently being discussed, even though she would much rather let her wandering thoughts worry over the only real thing that mattered to her at the moment; her daughter.

"...and after a thorough revision of the trading treaties with the neighboring kingdoms, we are pleased to inform you that Corona's coffers have finally recovered after the terrible drought of three years ago," one of the council members informed, Arianna couldn't concentrate enough to remember his name.

She had never been quite good with this aspect of her duties, and was momentarily glad that she had no actual say in the matters treated during these particular reunions. No, that responsibility fell solely upon the sovereign of the kingdom. Fortunately for them, her husband had always been much better handling council meetings, discussing political matters for hours on end and reaching a solid agreement that would determine the fate of the kingdom, unbiased, not ever letting emotion cloud his judgement. Arianna couldn't imagine having the head to make any important decisions with their family situation being what it currently was. Frederic, however, seemed perfectly unfazed, his regal mask much more solid than her fragile facade already cracking at the edges.

The King's deep voice resonated across the room, steady and imposing and everything Arianna couldn't muster at the moment. "Very well, if there are no more pressing matters to be discussed, I believe we can declare this meeting adjourned."

A tense silence settled over the room, Arianna did not like the glances exchanged by the council members.

"Actually, Your Majesties," one of them piped up, a Lord Everard if Arianna remembered correctly, "if you do not mind, there is something of utmost importance to be discussed."

She felt her shoulders tense and her hackles rise at the pregnant pause that followed. She recognized the hesitant glances, Arianna had seen them before while discussing one particular subject. She had no wish to deal with their insistence now.

Taking a controlled breath to steady her voice into a soft but authoritative tone, Arianna spoke for the first time during the meeting, "My Lord, if this is about what was discussed during the last meeting regarding Princess Rapunzel, our answer remains the same."

Hushed whispers followed her statement, and she knew in that instant the council members wouldn't be so easily swayed this time around.

"I apologize for the insistence, Your Majesty, but surely you recognize the importance of reaching an agreement soon," Lord Everard pressed, this time addressing only the King, as if Arianna's quiet finality held no authority in the room. She wouldn't bristle, it would be undignified, however she couldn't help her lips pursing just slightly.

Her eyes drifted from the self-important lord to her husband's imposing figure, his face betraying no emotion to the room, "Indeed I do, My Lord, however I believe the Queen spoke clearly, the subject of my daughter's... condition will not be discussed at present."

The King's words should have been enough to appease the royal council, however they had been stalling long enough for the council members to grow quite impatient. Arianna recognized they would have to give them a solid answer sooner rather than later.

"With all due respect, Your Majesties," another lord spoke up, much less deferential than Lord Everard, "this subject cannot be postponed much longer. Given the delicate state of the Princess'... reputation, it is imperative that an arrangement be made at the earliest convenience."

Arianna understood duty, she understood tradition and the law that they were bound to follow, however she wouldn't trample with Rapunzel's already delicate state of mind, not like this, not with this subject.

"My daughter just went through a very traumatic experience. She is in no state of mind to make such an important decision. I respectfully asked for you to give her some time," she reminded firmly.

"Of course, we completely understand, Your Majesty," Lord Everard continued, sounding anything but understanding. "To be sure, she need not make any major decision at all. After all, it is only Your Majesties and the Royal Council who have the final say in the matter. And I do believe we have allowed some time for the Princess to readjust."

"A week is not nearly enough time to readjust!" Arianna cleared her throat, trying to refrain from raising her voice. "As I said before, My Lords, our stance on the subject remains the same. The Princess needs time to recover from that horrible ordeal and should not be pressured with such a life altering arrangement."

"And time, ma'am, is precisely a luxury that we no longer have," another lord intervened, his resolute tone indicating Arianna that she was losing the argument. "We have made some exceptions in the past, and of course we recognize the abominable hardships that the Princess has braved, and we are truly sorry. However we have to face the consequences of such an unfortunate event."

Lord Everard continued his peer's statement, if a bit more delicately, "Your Majesties, unfortunately we have to address the implications of the kidnapping of Princess Rapunzel. She disappeared for over a month, unchaperoned and unsupervised, heaven only knows where she was kept, we can only asume under dubious conditions, and..." he trailed off, apparently reluctant to voice what everybody else in the room was already thinking.

Arianna fought back the tears that threatened to well in her eyes. She hated to imagine what her daughter went through, and although she appeared to be physically unharmed when she was found, Arianna knew her daughter had been deeply emotionally scarred, it was evident in her hollow eyes, the drained color of her cheeks, the light that seemed to have extinguished from within her. The mere thought of someone hurting her daughter, of someone laying a hand on her against her will... Arianna recoiled at the idea, but she knew it was what all the others present in the room were thinking. Not her emotional state, not her physical well-being, not the psychological damage that such an experience could have caused on her, but her pristine reputation, now tarnished and broken.

Lord Everard continued, skirting around the subject, "Word travels fast across the kingdoms, and unfortunately we have precious little time before the rumors spread... the Princess' good name and reputation are at stake, and if word gets out that she might have been... compromised... well..."

"We need to lessen the damage, give the people something else to discuss and make an arrangement before word spreads any further," another council member interrupted. "A betrothal is imperative now, before all the offers of marriage are withdrawn when the news of the scandalous conditions of the Princess' kidnapping spread all over the seven kingdoms."

Arianna could almost feel herself vibrating with righteous indignation. Logically, she knew they were right to an extent and there was some damage control that needed to be made to safeguard her daughter's image. But to treat Rapunzel's kidnapping with such callous indifference, only thinking of the political implications and not the emotional toll it had taken upon her daughter... she couldn't deny the Royal Council was made up of the coldest men she had ever met, calculating and unforgiving, they wouldn't be swayed, not anymore.

"Your Majesty, we need an answer today. It cannot wait any longer."

"Frederic..." Arianna whispered, a barely audible plea that only reached her husband's ears.

He would always have the last word, but given enough pressure from the council he could be pushed to make a decision with which he didn't entirely agree. But Rapunzel needed to be an exception. They couldn't do this to her, not right now, not without her having a say in the matter.

The King's shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly, and for a moment Arianna could see the weight of the whole world falling upon his shoulders, a crack in the always regal mask he had upon his face.

When he spoke, however, his voice was firm, "We will give her a month to readjust and recover before a betrothal is announced. In the meantime we will survey all the possible candidates and select only the one the Queen and I deem to be the best suitor."

"I am afraid we can only allow two more weeks, no more," Lord Everard interjected softly.

Arianna bit back the protest bubbling up in her throat. With a deep sigh, the King declared the meeting adjourned, not giving any positive or negative answer to the council's declaration, and as they all exited the room Arianna's thoughts mixed in a whirlwind of possible solutions and obstacles that could arise to the situation.

The King and Queen walked silently through the long empty hallways adjacent to the meeting room, both lost in their own thoughts. The silence prolonged too long for Arianna's liking, a deep worry clawing at her throat. She stopped abruptly, grabbing the King's arm in a tight grip.

"Frederic we cannot do this to her," she pleaded, her eyes sweeping through her husband's tired face. "We cannot just betroth her like that, not while she's in the state she is in."

"What would you have me do, Arianna?" Frederic's voice dripped with defeat, his eyes betraying his true regret. "We have a duty to abide by the council, you know that. My hands are tied."

"There must be something we can do, anything to prevent this."

Frederic rubbed a hand through his face, a frown creasing his brow. "We could prolong the engagement, give Rapunzel enough time to get used to the idea and to get to know her fiancé before the wedding."

Arianna mulled over the idea, her lips pressing into a thin line as her mind swept over the possibilities such an arrangement could bring. "Have you thought about what the news would do to her right now?"

Frederic's face contorted into a half grimace. "She seems to be doing better."

"That does not mean she is completely fine."

A hint of worry crossed her husband's features as his frown deepened. "I take it she still hasn't talked to you?"

Arianna let out a defeated sigh. "No, at least not about that."

Silence reigned over the hallway once more, both lost in their own worries. And that, Arianna thought, was the root of the matter; Rapunzel hadn't told a single soul anything about what had happened during her time held captive. Her daughter had been brought back to her a sobbing mess, face splotchy with dried tears and red rimmed eyes. Arianna had held her tightly in her arms as Rapunzel's tiny body shook with uncontrollable sobs, a myriad of broken apologies tumbling out her lips, mumbling incoherently about everything being her fault, her tiny fists clutching the fine fabric of the Queen's dress. Arianna had feared the worst, she'd held her daughter's face gently in her hands, carefully inspecting for any sign of injury marked in her body. But Rapunzel's wounds apparently ran deeper than that, invisible to everyone but herself. It worried Arianna deeply, but whenever she'd tried to broach the subject Rapunzel clammed up, her face blanching as though she'd seen a ghost. No one had been able to get any information out of her, not the location where she'd been kept, not the events that she'd been through, much less the identity of her kidnapper.

On top of that, the bizarre conditions of her abnormal abduction raised more than a few questions. Rapunzel had been found without injury, no bruises, no marks, not a single sign of struggle. There had been no note demanding any kind of payment in exchange of her freedom, she had disappeared for over a month, and yet no one had asked for any ransom, despite there being a significant reward for whoever could provide any information of her whereabouts. The intentions of her kidnapper had been called into question more than once, if money was not what they wanted, why hold the princess captive for so long without demanding anything in return?

But Rapunzel had yet to divulge anything. No, her daughter had cocooned herself into an isolated bundle, sequestering herself into her bedchamber and refusing to talk or step out of her room that first day after her return. Arianna had worried the trauma had been too much for Rapunzel to handle, and then barely a day later, her daughter had emerged from her rooms as if nothing had ever happened, all sunny smiles and bright demeanor, baffling everyone beyond comprehension to say the least. After recovering from the initial bewilderment and upon further inspection, both Frederic and Arianna concluded something was decidedly off. Rapunzel could fool everyone else with her apparently restored bright personality, but Arianna knew better. She noticed how Rapunzel's smile didn't quite reach her eyes, how her gaze seemed empty, her thoughts scattered, her cheeks devoid of their usual healthy color, it was all a carefully constructed facade that only broke whenever the subject of her kidnapping was brought up, and Arianna was determined to get to the bottom of the problem.

"Perhaps with time, she will learn to open up about what happened to her," her husband's deep voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Precisely, she won't have time to recover if we throw her into a whole new difficult situation," Arianna sighed, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth in an uncharacteristic display of anxiety. "It is our duty to protect her, and we failed."

Arianna was no stranger to tragedy, or to the imminent threat of the cruelty of life, she'd feared for her daughter's safety more than once, ever since she was no more than a tiny bump in her belly and her health slowly deteriorated as her pregnancy progressed until there was no other option but to pray for a miracle to save their lives. She'd sworn since then she would do anything to keep her child safe, the world could sometimes be dark, and selfish and cruel, capable of destroying even the most precious ray of sunshine, but it was a mother's duty to protect her daughter from that kind of darkness, Arianna was supposed to guide Rapunzel through the shadows and shield her from the thorns crawling upon her way, and she had failed already.

"We cannot fail her again, Frederic," her whispered broken plea seemed loud across the empty hallway. "I cannot fail her again."

Frederic held her gaze, his blue eyes hiding the deep sorrow that his face would not betray. "And I cannot defy the council, Arianna. I am sorry, but you know the consequences of such an action."

Arianna knew, of course she knew, there were ancient rules that not even the King could defy, but as a mother Arianna would always put Rapunzel's happiness first. She also knew that Frederic, however, had the duty to put the kingdom above all else, even if it meant sacrificing their daughter's happiness.

As much as Arianna disagreed, she could not fault him for that.

"I know this is not the ideal situation," Frederic continued, "and if there was anything in my power to stop it I would, you know that. We cannot change the council's will, but we can try to make it as easy on Rapunzel as possible."

"How can we possibly do that?" Arianna argued, not at all appeased with the idea. "We are talking about marrying her off to a stranger right after being kidnapped and held captive for over a month! How can we make a forced marriage easy on her at all?"

"Well for starters, we can be there for her when she, eventually and inevitably, breaks down."

"You mean more that she already has?"

"You and I both know we have yet to see the worst of it." Frederic sighed. "She is holding it in, and the longer she does, the harder it will be when it all comes tumbling out."

He was right, Rapunzel hadn't given herself the time to properly grief and deal with what happened to her, but when she finally did she would not be alone. "We will be there to hold her and support her every step of the way. We will not fail her again, Arianna, I promise."

The Queen could only agree as her husband gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. Yes, the news of an arranged marriage might very well break whatever fragile and fake sense of composure Rapunzel had carved for herself, but if it broke her they would be there to pick up the pieces and make her whole again. She would make sure of it.

Arianna remained lost in thought as they each took a different path to attend their respective duties of the day. The long, spacious corridors narrowed slightly as Arianna approached the Left Wing of the palace where the private royal chambers were located. She was in the process of coming up with the most sensible way to eventually break the unfortunate news to Rapunzel when she caught a shadow moving out of the corner of her eye. A hint of blue fabric and familiar dark hair, she recognized the person crossing the corridor immediately.

"Miss Cassandra!"

The said miss startled out of her hurried pace, the bundle of fabric in her arms precariously tottering as she tried to regain her balance.

"Your Majesty!" The young woman dropped into a sloppy curtsey. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh that's not necessary, dear." The Queen waved her hand, her eyes expertly scanning the younger woman's appearance. Spotless uniform, headpiece just in the right place, overall impeccable, professional mien, and yet something wasn't quite right. "How have you been adjusting to your new position?"

There was a certain hint in the young woman's olive green eyes that betrayed her discomfort, she answered nonetheless with perfect seriousness. "Perfectly well, Your Majesty."

A lie, Arianna knew. Not because of any lack of professionalism on her part, quite the contrary, Cassandra proved to be one of the most dutiful and dedicated members of her staff. However, Arianna was well aware that being a handmaiden wasn't particularly what Cassandra was cut out for. Which was precisely the reason why Frederic had insisted on her being Rapunzel's new lady-in-waiting.

As the only daughter of the Captain of the Royal Guard, Cassandra was exactly what would be expected of someone having such a father; determined, fierce, profesional and thoroughly skilled. Only not precisely as a handmaiden, but as aspiring member of the Royal Guard itself. Frederic, however, was of a mind that it would be much more useful for any constant companion of Rapunzel to be as proficient with a sword as they should be with handmaiden duties. After all, they couldn't exactly have one of the guards keeping a careful watch over Rapunzel anywhere and everywhere, including her own bedchamber. And she had been abducted inside her own rooms before. Therefore, Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting should serve the same purpose as a bodyguard, and what a better candidate than Cassandra?

Arianna had the sneaking suspicion that the young lady in question wasn't quite as satisfied with that decision as she let on. Nonetheless, ever the dutiful woman, Cassandra showed no signs of defiance, always punctual and polite, always impeccably profesional, save for that tiny, almost imperceptible hint of discomfort that remained permanent in her hardened stare.

But despite what Frederic considered to be best, Arianna knew what Rapunzel really needed wasn't a hardened, fierce warrior as her constant companion, but a genuine friend. Which was precisely what she had been meaning to discuss with the young woman standing awkwardly before her.

"Tell me, have you seen my daughter today?" Arianna asked with what she hoped was a kind smile.

"Not since this morning, Your Majesty." Cassandra shifted, trying to get a better hold of the bundle in her arms. "I was just about to fetch her for her lessons of today."

"Hmm, and how is she? Have you noticed any changes lately? Anything amiss?"

Cassandra seemed to be equal parts confused and slightly impatient with this unexpected interlude, her eyes shifting constantly to the end of the hallway as if eager to get a move on. "Princess Rapunzel is... just as she has been every other day, perfectly fine."

"I am afraid she is not as unbothered as she may appear to be." Arianna frowned, thoughts already focusing on Rapunzel's wellbeing. The phrase seemed to perplex Cassandra further as her gaze snapped back towards the Queen, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Your Majesty?"

"Has she said anything about... that time? Her time held captive, I mean?" Arianna hoped for a positive answer to her tentative question, however Cassandra's face cleared, bewilderment giving way to thinly veiled impatience once more.

"Not at all. But we don't really discuss personal matters, Your Majesty. I'm just a handmaiden after all." The younger woman shrugged.

"But you're not just a handmaiden, Cassandra. You are Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting." Arianna was careful to put just enough emphasis in her words, hopefully enough to make Cassandra understand the dire need Arianna had for her help. "Such a position can serve many purposes. A lady's maid often acts as a confidante, keeper of secrets, a loyal friend to an oftentimes isolated mistress. And that is what I would like you to be for Rapunzel."

The request only seemed to disconcert Cassandra further. Arianna watched almost defeatedly as the younger dark-haired woman tried to stifle her sudden uncharacteristic fidgeting, artfully disguising it as the need to smooth some wrinkles in the fabric in her hands.

"I- uhm... I'm afraid I might not be the best candidate in that case." Cassandra took a step back evidently uncomfortable, her eyes not quite meeting the Queen's. "I'm not the best talking about... feelings."

"You don't need to be." The Queen reached a hand out, feeling more like she was trying to soothe a startled child.

"Rapunzel is easy to befriend, you only need to be there for her, listen to her, be patient with her. I'm sure in time she will learn to open up with you."

"I... I'm not sure..."

Perhaps she was approaching all of this wrong, Arianna silently berated herself. Cassandra seemed perfectly capable of following orders, but maybe Arianna was pushing it too far, startling her into thinking maybe the position demanded more of her than what she was prepared to give. Arianna needed the younger woman to understand though, just how much she needed her help in this.

"Rapunzel is about to face very trying times. I just want to make sure that she is not alone, that she has a friend she can trust, a confidante, other than her parents." She held Cassandra's gaze, her eyes imploring. "Perhaps with you she can bring herself to discuss things that she... won't talk about with us."

A moment passed in tense silence, she could almost see the conflict in Cassandra's face, and then...

"Alright, I'll try my best."

Arianna let out the breath she had been holding, a soft sort of relief momentarily soothing her worries. She watched as Cassandra curtsied once more as she prepared to continue with her day, but before she could take two steps forward Arianna stopped her with a gentle hand.

"Wait. I want to ask of you one more thing, if I may."

The young handmaiden hesitated for a moment before nodding her assent.

"If she ever tells you... about her time away, her kidnapping... I want you to tell me if there is anything wrong."

"I-I... um, I don't-" Cassandra struggled to find the right words, her body language telling Arianna immediately she was preparing to deny her request. Taking a deep breath to still herself, she answered more firmly than the Queen had anticipated.

"With all due respect, your Majesty, if you are asking me to be loyal to her, I don't think it would be right of me to divulge something she told me in confidence, if she is not comfortable discussing it with you herself. Asking me to be her friend is one thing, but asking me to act as your spy-"

"No, you are misunderstanding me." Arianna interrupted. "You need not tell me the details of whatever you discuss with her. I just want- I need to know if she truly is alright, if there is anything seriously wrong... if what happened to her is too unspeakable for her to freely discuss, if she needs help..."

Arianna trailed off, her rambling words were not enough to express the genuine concern running deep inside her. There was always the ever present fear that something truly horrible had happened to her daughter during her time kidnapped, she knew it was an open secret, that many wondered out loud and whispered the possibilities, that there was a strong reason why the council insisted in marrying Rapunzel off with such urgency. But if there was indeed any veracity behind the suspicions and rumors, Arianna needed to know.

"I want to be there for her if she needs me, even if she thinks she cannot discuss certain matters with me." The Queen pleaded, willing Cassandra to understand a mother's concern. "Please, promise me you will tell me if there is anything seriously wrong."

Cassandra hesitated once more, seemingly waring with herself between following her personal morals and the need to follow her Queen's orders. In the end it seemed the latter won, and she conceded with a disgruntled frown.

"Fine, if there is something seriously wrong with her that she might feel confortable telling me... I will let you know." She mumbled reluctantly.

The Queen could only smile her gratitude. "Thank you."

Arianna watched with careful eyes as Cassandra excused herself and hurried down the hallway, surely eager to continue with her day and forget that particular conversation ever happened. She supposed it was a good sign that the young handmaiden would be reluctant to betray her daughter's confidence even before she truly befriended her. Arianna could already tell where Cassandra's loyalties would reside, she just hoped she had made the right decision.

The air tasted different inside the palace, a little too dry, too stale, like an old stuffy room in dire need of fresh air. Fresh breezes did never reach the palace, with its old regal walls witnesses to ancient traditions, its paintings telling stories of ancestors long since gone in detailed dark oils, the stories of what Corona's royal house stood for, and it all came to the same things; tradition, duty, honor. Somewhere along the line, Rapunzel had lost sight of it all. She had wanted more, she had wanted freshness, had wanted new, different, the taste of freedom too close to her grasp to ignore. But taking what wasn't meant for her was like trying to grasp the light of a burning candle, the sting too strong, the light too ephemeral to stay alive for long. She had forgotten herself and in result got burnt.

The scars left behind weren't visible though, she bore them deep inside her soul, carved inside her heart along the name she so tried to forget.

Most days it wasn't too agonizing, just a dull ache in the back of her mind, a faint sting that only worsened if she payed close attention to it for long. But she had the rare blessing of possessing a naturally optimistic personality, and so she was determined not to let it bring her down. She couldn't afford it, if she concentrated long enough to think about it, it would break her. She'd barely even survived it to begin with. That first day had felt like trying to pull herself out of that raging stormy sea in which she had fallen what felt like a lifetime ago, only for the waves to crash over her again and again until it felt like she had no more tears left to cry.

The memories drowned her in a sea of despair, but if she locked them away, saved them in a deep, dark recess of her mind, then it didn't hurt quite as much.

Rapunzel found the best way to keep the pain at bay was to keep herself as busy as possible. Sure, it bewildered her parents and the palace's staff seemed to find her newfound energy quite disconcerting, but it helped. Mostly, anyway. If she concentrated in the good parts.

Indeed, life seemed to have lost a bit of its color for her, what was once a splash of vibrant, saturated harmony was now dull and muted, like a washed-out, old tapestry, faded colors covered by a fine layer of dust. But at least it wasn't all grey, she told herself.

As she busied herself mixing painting to get just the right shade of green she was looking for, Rapunzel's gaze lingered momentarily over a particular spot on her vanity table. The lavender pillow was still resting where she had last left it, empty now of course. She wondered why no one had moved it yet, the soft pillow served no purpose now without a crown to rest on top of it.

A hint of darkness started to stain the muted colors in her otherwise occupied mind at the mere thought, but before she could dwell on it further a light knock on her door startled her out of her momentary distraction.

"Come in." Rapunzel called out, paintbrush lingering on the canvas before her.

The heavy oak doors opened to reveal the now familiar figure of her new lady-in-waiting. Cassandra's face was partially obscured by the large bundle of fabric she carried in her arms, but if Rapunzel were to guess she'd say her handmaiden's face was set in the same firm expression she always bore.

She was five minutes late though, which was new.

"Your Highness," Cassandra entered in a flurry of movement, quickly setting the bundle she was carrying upon her large mattress. "I'm sorry I'm late, I was momentarily sidetracked."

Rapunzel set down her paintbrush with a soft smile. "Please, Cassandra, we've talked about this. Just Rapunzel is fine, there's no need for titles."

It was always the same routine with them, Rapunzel insisted and Cassandra refused to drop propriety in exchange for familiarity. Rapunzel was prepared for Cassandra to ignore her request, as she often did, but then a strange look crossed the handmaiden's face as she paused in the middle of smoothing the gown she had just set over her bed.

"Fine, Rapunzel, you will need to change into this." She nodded towards said gown as she approached a slightly perplexed Rapunzel. "We are already behind schedule and you know Madam Maclean isn't a particularly patient woman."

Pascal squeaked nervously from his spot on her bedpost, she had to agree with her tiny friend, she shuddered to think about the scolding she would get for arriving late to her etiquette lessons. As Rapunzel hurried behind the changing screen, she was momentarily stunned by Cassandra's next question.

"So... how has your day been?"

Huh. Small talk. That was also a new one for her usually tight-lipped handmaiden. Rapunzel hesitated for a moment.

"Uh, good, I guess. Uneventful." She shrugged out of her simple summer dress and tried not to think about laces and a different pair of hands tying them up as she slipped into the more appropriate gown. Distractions! She needed distractions in moments like these. "I tried a new fruit at breakfast though, that was interesting. Couldn't find out it's name, so I'll have to ask the chef about it later, but it was quite delicious, and I think it could be used as pigment for paint too! It had a rich red color, very unique if you ask me and I think it would look so beautiful if I could just try it on a..."

It wasn't until she stepped out of the changing screen that she realized she had been rambling, and promptly stopped at Cassandra's slightly wide-eyed stare. Perhaps the always serious handmaiden wasn't exactly the correct audience for her rambling thoughts.

But Cassandra surprised her once again. "Do go on, I'm listening."

Rapunzel felt her lips twisting into a tentative smile. She was about to continue when a nagging thought stopped her mid sentence. "I-uhm... not that I'm not interested in a little chit-chat but... what brings about this sudden interest?"

Cassandra never seemed to be interested in small talk, she always cut straight to the point, dutiful to a fault, there had been no exchange between them other than what was strictly related to duties around the palace.

Until now, that is.

The question seemed to surprise Cassandra, as she stopped in the middle of tightening the laces at the back of her dress to the point of almost discomfort. She remained quiet for a moment and Rapunzel feared she had accidentally offended her.

"I dunno, I was trying to be friendly for a change, I guess." She finished adjusting the layers of Rapunzel's gown, tugging here and there until her appearance was as impeccable as it ought to be. "I figured if we're going to be stuck with each other for a while, we might as well try to be... friends... sort of... anyway, you're ready now."

In another life, even a few months back, Rapunzel would have been ecstatic at the idea of having a new potential friend other than Pascal. In fact, she was sure she would've tried to befriend Cassandra the moment she had been assigned to work with her, maybe even to the point of it being a bit annoying. Life, however, had just given her a rather bitter lesson when it came to trusting too easily.

Rapunzel hated the wariness that lingered in her mind now, but she couldn't help it. Where she once would've tried to change it, she now appreciated Cassandra's lack of interest in her personal life, her always strictly professional attitude prevented her from asking too intimate questions, digging a little too deep into her life for Rapunzel's present comfort.

But, she supposed a friend wouldn't hurt now, if she only learned to keep it at arms-length. At least for now. Trust was still a fragile thing she wasn't ready to share with anyone else just yet.

Rapunzel let her lips tug into a tiny smile. "I would like a friend, I think. Harriet, my last lady-in-waiting, wasn't quite the talkative type."

"I'm not quite the talkative type either, if I'm being honest." Cassandra replied, dutifully checking Rapunzel's appearance for any possible imperfection, giving a satisfied nod once she noticed nothing amiss. "But, I guess we could try."

Rapunzel thought about it for a moment. Cassandra seemed genuine, and what ulterior motive could the daughter of the Captain possibly have? And yet her judgement had spectacularly backfired before, she once had thought another person truly genuine in his intentions with her...

She shook the thought before it could finish materializing in her head, and as she did Cassandra urged her towards the door. "Now hurry, your etiquette lessons are about to start and Madam Maclean will throw a fit if you're not there on time."

Rapunzel bid Pascal goodbye as the heavy doors closed behind her, and as she did she wondered why it seemed no fresh breeze could ever penetrate the palace's walls, if only to help clear away the darkest clouds lingering in the back of her mind.

Time dragged on in a misty cloud of activity that kept her from drowning, until the minutes became hours, and the hours became days and eventually weeks, and it all passed as if in slow motion, a state of semi-numbness that Rapunzel wasn't sure she appreciated, but neither could she say she preferred the overwhelming feeling that resided just under the surface, brimming beneath a thin, fragile layer of fake normalcy. Sometimes it felt like she was barely keeping her head out of the water.

Rapunzel slowly learned that there were good days and there were bad days. Most days she wouldn't think about it. She couldn't allow herself to remember, memories were just a painful reminder of the past. The past was haunted, tainted with the corpse of broken dreams and empty promises. The past was only plagued with ghosts, and the ghost of him was something she barely even allowed herself to visualize. Most of the time anyway. No, on the good days she focused only on the present.

And if the present drowned the whispers of the past, it was okay. Rapunzel attended her daily tutoring lessons with a newfound sense of determination, focusing especially on the political matters that would be best to learn before she became queen, and if she took one too many books out of the royal library to read late at night until her eyes dropped in exhaustion, no one said anything about it.

Pascal worried, she knew. So did her parents. Rapunzel could notice her mother's gaze lingering over the faint dark circles under her eyes, her father's lips pursing on days when her appetite wasn't quite abundant enough to finish her plate at supper, Pascal's scales turning blue whenever her hand stilled over her sketchbook, the lines of a half finished drawing marking the beginnings of a pair of familiar chestnut eyes and straight nose that no one else ever did seem to get right, before she ripped the page off lest her hand slipped and she ended up finishing drawing the features of a memory she would rather keep hidden.

Instead, Rapunzel lost herself in her paintings, her brushstrokes depicting the landscapes that her mind's eye wouldn't allow her to forget; rocky cliffs covered by a deep forest, a thousand candles littering narrow streets, a tempestuous sea that reminded her of her own soul. And although the activity itself was soothing, she covered the paintings with a white cloth right after finishing, she didn't need a window to the past.

On the good days, Cassandra proved to be a helpful distraction. Her always punctual lady-in-waiting helped her follow her tight schedule to the letter, reminding her of where she needed to be at any given moment and what events she needed to attend, what outfit was appropriate to wear, how her hair should be styled, every meeting and soirée and inane tea parties where her presence was required. It was enough to overwhelm Rapunzel, enough to thankfully keep her mind so busy she wouldn't linger on different thoughts. And all the while they maintained this weak, almost pretend sense of friendship, too superficial to be anything truly intimate but it was there nonetheless, harboring banal knowledge like favorite colors, especial hobbies, preferred foods, and silly childhood memories, until eventually they spent so much time together it was almost inevitable they slip into enough familiarity for Cassandra to become Cass and Rapunzel to became Raps, and the shortened nickname just became another form of address.

Sometimes Rapunzel wondered if their friendship could have developed into an almost sisterly bond had she met Cassandra before. Sometimes she was glad she hadn't. This way Cassandra didn't notice the subtle changes that Rapunzel knew were there, not like Pascal did, not like her mother surely noticed. She hadn't known the Rapunzel of before, and didn't know her now well enough to notice when the smiles weren't quite genuine, when her gaze suddenly became misty and absentminded, when her thoughts wandered inevitably to that time.

The memories snuck up on her without warning either way, like catching just a glimpse of something beyond her reach. Sometimes she would be busy attending a charity event and something would joggle the hidden memory, a certain hint of a burning candle or the smell of strawberry cupcakes. And suddenly her smile would wane, her steps would falter just slightly, perhaps her eyes clouded as the faded memory of his face materialized in the back of her mind before she willed the thought to disappear. It only took an instant and no one ever seemed to be the wiser, no one seemed to notice her suddenly subdued demeanor, or if her conversation wasn't quite as enthusiastic. No one but her mother. Rapunzel could notice the concern behind her emerald gaze, the lines on her forehead creasing as she watched her smiles dimming just enough for her mother to tell the difference. And every morning she would ask Rapunzel if everything was alright, just like every morning Rapunzel would answer with a soft smile; everything was as it ought to be.

Those were the good days, though. The bad days were a different story, dark and unpredictable and ultimately inevitable.

Rapunzel could feel them lingering in the background like dark clouds foreboding a vicious storm. They weren't so much bad days as they were bad nights, because the darkness of the night brought with it the tainted memories, and when her mind was not busy enough with meetings and lessons her thoughts wandered. Exhaustion was a welcome friend, but sleeplessness was a curse she had to deal with more often than not.

Sometimes it materialized in her dreams, that was the only place where she could see him again, where the memory of him was fresh and welcome and she could almost feel his warm touch, remember his lips ghosting over her skin, his soft smile as his hands traced over her face, his eyes drinking her in. Rapunzel silently cursed those nights, the aftermath too painful, waking up to the lackluster realization that it was all in her head only opened up wounds that had not yet begun to heal, and no amount of singing ancient incantations would make the clock reverse, it wouldn't bring him back, wouldn't heal her wounded heart.

Other nights the darkness seeped deep into her soul, filling her mind with torturous nightmares, visions of him that Rapunzel couldn't tell whether they were quite a figment of her imagination or not for how true they must actually be. Her mind pictured that trademark smirk, the one he would often wear when she first met him and he was more a thief than an orphan, arrogant and selfish. She could almost hear his voice, taunting, cruel, jeering.

'Love you? Oh no, sweetheart I never said that. It wasn't love, Blondie.'

It had never been love, and Rapunzel had been naive and gullible enough to let herself believe it might have been, even though he'd never said such a thing. Hadn't he warned her not to trust him when she took his satchel back in that tower? Hadn't he told her time and again that he wasn't interested in being anything but a reluctant ally? Hadn't he said the only thing he actually wanted was that crown and she was just colateral damage?

It wasn't love, it was just perhaps attraction and lust and a fake sense of intimacy until he was reminded of the only thing he truly wanted. And it was her fault for believing anything more could come out of that ridiculous deal.

Indeed he was the best thief in the whole kingdom, not only did he took her crown, but along with it he stole her heart, only to disappear into the night and never come back, leaving Rapunzel feeling lost and broken and adrift in a tumultuous ocean without escape.

In those dark nights plagued by his tainted memory Rapunzel wondered if he even cared, if he thought of her at all and regretted it, if he felt any remorse for leaving a broken shell of what she used to be in his wake. Most likely not. To him she had probably been a means to an end, something to be exchanged for money when the right time came. After all, Rapunzel knew for a fact she handn't been the first woman he had left behind without a second thought. Now he had the ransom money, the crown, and perhaps the satisfying memory of having fooled her, and Rapunzel would never see him again.

It was in those nights when the emotion she kept carefully hidden would burst out, and the brimming tears would come back, slipping down her cheeks in uncontrollable broken sobs, and she could only hold her blankets close to her chest as she felt the urge to scream into her pillow if only to let out just a fraction of the pain his memory brought back. Sometimes temptation was too much, and her hands would slip into her drawer where she kept the only thing she had left of him to remind her he had actually existed in her life. The pendant he had gifted her the night of the Solstice Festival in Cygnus remained just the same, and her fingers would carefully trace the figures of the sun and moon intertwined as Pascal chirped mournfully beside her, scales turned a pale blue to match her mood. And if she pressed it close to her heart in an effort to remember how it felt to be held by him, well that was a secret she would keep deep within herself.

All Rapunzel could really do in those moments was wonder why. Why he had let her believe he cared, why he had done little sweet things that could easily be mistaken for affection if he hadn't meant a single one of them.

Perhaps worst of all was the fact that no matter how much pain she was in, or the reminder that he had betrayed her in the most hurtful way, Rapunzel couldn't bring herself to hate him. Not really. She doubted she ever could. He had taken too much from her, a little part of her soul would always be with him, and yet she couldn't rip the love she still felt for him off her heart. It ran too deep, it was too raw.

Perhaps with time the memory of him would fade enough not to cause her the agonizing pain it did now. But in the meantime Rapunzel settled for what she could do, lock it away like she locked away the pendant in a tiny, dark drawer only to take out occasionally when the feelings overwhelmed her. In the morning no one would be the wiser, and if Cassandra ever noticed a certain puffiness in her red-rimmed eyes when she came to help her dress for the day, she never mentioned it.

But as the weeks slowly became almost a month, Rapunzel couldn't deny that the good days were becoming less and less common and the bad nights seeped into the day and followed her throughout her daily business. The sleepless nights left her exhausted the next day, and the drowsiness would catch up to her by midday. Rapunzel noticed now she tired easily, and the odd spree of energy she had mustered those first days seemed to be slowly diminishing. Even Cassandra was starting to notice her pale complexion and sallow cheeks.

Her lady-in-waiting commented on it one particularly sunny morning as she helped her dress into a rather uncomfortable outfit.

"Hey Raps," Cassandra pulled, and Rapunzel bit back a gasp as her handmaiden adjusted the laces of her corset a little tighter than usual. "Are you feeling alright?"

She felt a little faint actually but that was probably due to the unusually tight corset.

"I'm fine!" Rapunzel answered with what she hoped was a convincing smile. "Just a little tired, but it's been a busy week so that's probably expected."

Cassandra eyed her through the reflection of the floor-length mirror, her scrutinizing eyes a little skeptical. "You've been taking on a lot of activities. You should probably slow down a little, too many events to attend to at once might be taking their toll on you."

Rapunzel was thankful for the brief reprieve she was granted when her face disappeared behind her dress as she haphazardly threw it over her head, voice muffled under the soft fabric. "I'm fine, Cass. Really, nothing to worry about."

"Your mother seems to think you're not eating quite well." Cassandra commented almost casually as she smoothed the faint wrinkles on Rapunzel's dress. "Apparently you have not been finishing your breakfast."

"I've lost my appetite in the mornings lately, but it's nothing serious." Rapunzel waved off, casual smile feeling too artificial on her face. "I've just been waking up too exhausted to be hungry, that's all."

And lately a little bit queasy, but that was neither here nor there. There was no need to worry her already concerned mother with the possible side effects of her exhaustion.

"Hmm, are you sure everything is fine?" Cassandra asked, and Rapunzel noticed a hint of genuine concern hiding underneath her usual stoic expression. "You can tell me anything, you know? My job is to help you, after all."

Rapunzel patted Cassandra's shoulder as she finished adjusting her hair. "Seriously, Cass, I'm perfectly fine. Now if I recall correctly my tutoring lessons start soon, so we better hurry."

"Actually," Cassandra stopped her, adding a pin to placate an unruly lock in her braid. "Your mother asked to speak with you in private, said she needs to discuss some pressing matters and she will be waiting for you in the solar."

"Oh?" Rapunzel paused, a sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach, making it churn unpleasantly. "Do you have any idea what this is about?"

"She only said it was rather important." Cassandra shrugged smoothly, pale face betraying nothing as usual.

"...Alright, I'll go then."

As Rapunzel exited her bedchamber and slowly made her way through the long hallways towards the solar, she couldn't shake the slight feeling of dread tightening her chest. What could her mother possibly want that she needed to discuss with such urgency?

She suddenly felt the urge to tuck herself into a dark corner to avoid whatever conversation she was about to have, and the spot on her shoulder where Pascal was usually perched over felt acutely empty. Hating the fact that propriety forbade her to parade around the palace with a chameleon on her shoulder, Rapunzel slowly braced herself for whatever would come next.

How much worse could it get anyway? She had already hit rock bottom, she could only go up from there, she silently thought, all the while unable to quell the growing queasiness settling in her stomach.

It stayed there as she opened the door to the solar and greeted her awaiting mother with a hesitant smile, it only grew when she nibbled on a sweet pastry as her mother made small talk, every bite tasting like ashes in her mouth. But nothing really could have prepared her for the overwhelming shock that hit her when the Queen finally disclosed the reason for their meeting.

It felt like being punched in the chest, leaving her breathless and disoriented. Her mother continued with the line of conversation, but to Rapunzel it felt like listening from afar, focusing only on bits and pieces; arranged engagement, the council's will, political alliances, preparations to be made, welcoming their guest next week...

Next wee- wait! So soon?! She had just heard about this, she needed more time!

"I know dear, and I am so very sorry, believe me." The Queen patted her limp hand, and it was only then Rapunzel realized she had actually voiced her thoughts out loud. "But you will have time! We asked him to come over soon because then you will have more time to spend together and... get to know each other."

That wasn't as comforting a thought as her mother probably intended. Rapunzel's mouth felt dry, her breathing shallow.

"I-I don't... I don't think I'm ready... it's..." Rapunzel croaked, too short of breath to form a coherent sentence.

"Your father and I did a thorough check of his background. I assure you honey, we chose only the best option for you." Her mother continued, her eyes not quite matching the soothing optimism in her voice. "Prince William proved to be the best candidate. He is young, around your age, agreeable disposition, excellent lineage, indeed very accomplished in various areas, and overall he seems like a decent young man."

Part of Rapunzel's mind already knew it was always going to be him, her mother had already tried to discuss the possibility before... well before. She had only assumed she still had time, that it wouldn't come to this so soon.

No, not yet. She wasn't ready yet, it was all too much, too overwhelming, too sudden, too soon.

Rapunzel felt sick. Like actually sick, the kind of sick that made her head woozy and her mouth dry and her stomach turn. The light filtering through the open windows felt too bright on her tired eyes and suddenly she felt dangerously close to heaving.

She needed out, needed to escape the room before she hurled the contents of her stomach into the polished floors.

"I-I need to go..."

Without waiting for an answer from her bewildered mother, Rapunzel promptly stood up and rushed out of the solar, ignoring her lightheadedness as her feet rapidly carried her across the empty corridors in an effort to get to her bedchamber as soon as possible.

All rational thoughts left her mind and she ran on pure instinct, throwing the heavy doors of her bedroom open with enough force to startle Pascal out of his nap. Rapunzel wasn't even quite aware of her actions, she must've made it into her rooms in record time and before she knew it she was dry-heaving into her chamberpot, feeling uncharacteristically faint and weak.

She could vaguely hear Pascal panicking over the sound of her retching, and Rapunzel couldn't recall a moment when she had felt more nauseous except for that first time she boarded a ship.

That was the pitiful state Cassandra found her in several moments later, hair falling out of her braid and skin clammy with a fine layer of cold sweat. Either Pascal had rushed out to fetch her without Rapunzel noticing or her handmaiden had a weird ability to predict what she needed just in the right moment, for she approached her with a much needed glass of fresh water in hand.

"Still sure you're alright?"

"Did you know?" Rapunzel rounded on her, still dizzy and too weak to say much more.

"Pardon?" Cassandra's eyebrow quirked as she handed her the glass of water.

"Did you know about the engagement?" Rapunzel muttered through her teeth, feeling like another wave of nausea would hit if she talked too much.

Cassandra's briefly remorseful expression was enough answer to her. "I had a vague idea."

Rapunzel let the knowledge sink in, taking a moment to try to calm her heaving breaths. Even as she gulped down the water offered to her, her stomach still wouldn't settle.

"Why didn't you tell me." She whispered under her breath.

"There were just rumors going around, I didn't know anything for certain." Cassandra sighed, shoulders coming up in a half shrug. "And even if I had, it wasn't my place to tell you. That was a conversation that only concerned your parents and you."

Oddly enough Rapunzel felt slightly indifferent, as if her body was too weak and battered to really be able to feel betrayed over this. Perhaps she was already too numb to betrayal. Still, a tiny part of her was starting to feel just a little bit affronted.

"You could've at least warned me before I went to talk to my mother about it."

Rapunzel let her body sag as she sat on the edge of the bed, Pascal immediately crawling to her side.

"I didn't know for a fact what your mother wanted to tell you." Cassandra lifted her hands in defeat. "Besides, I thought you knew this was going to happen sooner rather than later. You're a princess after all, arranged marriages kinda come with the position."

"Doesn't make the situation any less horrible." Rapunzel replied weakly, letting her head hang in defeat. The universe was really testing her ability to find the silver lining this time.

Cassandra for her part seemed truly puzzled by her extreme reaction to the news. She sat by her side on the spacious bed, arms crossed over her chest.

"It's just an arranged marriage, Raps, it's not the end of the world." Cassandra shrugged, and Rapunzel's head snapped towards her handmaiden, eyes widening in disbelief.

"It might as well be for me! It's binding myself for life to a man I don't even know, let alone love!" She jumped to her feet, voice escalating into an almost squeak.

"Love is for children Rapunzel, a silly little fantasy saved for fairytales." Cassandra rolled her eyes in reply. "In the real world, your world, marriage is a transaction, a political alliance in which love has little to no part in, you knew that from the start."

Worst of it all was that Cassandra was right, she had known that any marriage she might have wouldn't come out of love since the beginning. It didn't make the situation any easier on her though. Perhaps it would do her some good to see the world in the pragmatic way Cassandra did, maybe if she'd truly believed romantic love was nothing more than a foolish fantasy she wouldn't have given her heart to the wrong person to begin with.

But Rapunzel had experienced love, however unrequited. The kind of love that made her heart swell and her stomach flutter and her mind fill with silly, impossible dreams. The kind of love that blinded her to the harsh reality of the world. She didn't know if she would ever be able to reconcile herself to the idea that she would never love her husband that way.

"I... I don't think I can do this." Rapunzel whispered almost to herself, the prospect of marriage too daunting when her lovesick wounds were still so raw.

"Sure you can." Cassandra stood, coming to stand directly before her with a determined frown that would seem almost intimidating. "You're a crown princess, it's your duty."

She didn't even have anything to retort to that. Rapunzel could only stare, eyes impossibly vulnerable as her vision blurred, lip quivering in an effort to stifle a sob. Something akin to pity softened Cassandra's harsh features as a tear slipped down Rapunzel's cheek.

"Look, I get it okay?" Cassandra sighed, hand awkwardly patting Rapunzel's shoulder in a weird effort to comfort her. "I know what it's like to give up your hopes and dreams. You think I wanted to be a handmaiden? Of course not! But we all have our responsibilities, and my duty was to follow my king's orders. Yours is to do what's best for your kingdom."

Cassandra reached into her pocket and retrieved a handkerchief, which she promptly used to wipe Rapunzel's tears in a surprisingly gentle gesture. "I know everything must seem hopeless right now, but it will get better with time. Trust me, I should know."

"You think so?" Rapunzel sniffled, feeling pitiful and weak.

"I do." Cassandra nodded. "All you have to do is square up," she straightened Rapunzel's shoulders and tilted her chin upward. "Face adversity and say: you will not defeat me."

"You will not defeat me." Rapunzel repeated, voice coming out more like a teary hiccup.

"Good, now say it like you mean it."

"You will not defeat me!" She tried again, determined frown on her face.

For the first time since their acquaintance, Rapunzel thought she could detect a hint of respect in Cassandra's normally stoic face as she nodded approvingly.

Sometimes the mind knows things that the heart just cannot understand. For Rapunzel it was a common occurrence for her heart to disagree with her logical conscience. Her mind knew this was how things were meant to be, that it all would probably turn out for the best, she would be with her parents, safe in her kingdom, her home, she would marry a suitable prince and fulfill her duties as future queen of Corona.

Her heart however screamed at her to leave while she still had the chance.

It was ridiculous, where would she even go? There was no motivation, no more fight left in her to really try. No one would be there to help her navigate the obscure world beyond Corona, he wouldn't be there waiting for her with open arms.

So Rapunzel resigned herself to her fate, which was an unpleasant ordeal all on its own. She wondered if it was possible to constantly feel like one was on the verge of a panic attack. The queasiness that had assaulted her the day she found out she was to be married didn't leave her body for the rest of the week, it was like a jittery wave of anxiousness always present in the back of her mind, upsetting her stomach at every turn. Sometimes even the smell of her breakfast would be too much, and if her appetite had already diminished before, now it was almost nonexistent. She was even glad for the constant drowsiness that enveloped her everyday, for sleep was the only thing that seemed to quell her frazzled nerves.

Thus the week passed with agonizing trepidation, until the day arrived when she would have to meet her future spouse, much sooner than Rapunzel would've liked.

The whole palace was prepared to receive the future prince consort, with servants rushing here and there finishing the last touches, arranging tables and dusting the halls to perfection. Rapunzel observed from a high window as the castle gates opened and the so called Prince William and his caravan entered the courtyard with great pomp and grace. It made Rapunzel wonder if the owner of such opulence was as sumptuously self-absorbed as his possessions suggested.

She watched as their royal guest was announced with all the deference a prince was due. The whole ordeal was so extravagant it left a weird taste in Rapunzel's mouth as a fleeting memory materialized in the back of her mind of another parade of carriages with their affluent nobles slowly making their way through the narrow cobbled streets of a different kingdom. Rapunzel's own words ghosted in her ears, about her preference to spend her night with someone else rather than with the crowd she truly belonged in. She promptly shoved the memory to the deepest recess of her mind. It wouldn't do to meet her future husband while the reminiscence of another man was still ingrained in her head.

Taking a deep breath, Rapunzel channeled the energy that Cassandra had instigated in her the week prior, and with the handmaiden's words like a war anthem in her head, she exited her bedchamber, fully prepared to face adversity head on.

She had to admit, much to her chagrin, Rapunzel had been pretty much prepared to meet a pompous, haughty, hateful man, the one to be destined to be her future husband. Yes, lately her luck was just that bad.

Surprisingly enough it had been quite the contrary. Apparently, when her mother had told her she and her father had chosen only the best candidate, both in character and rank, she had been telling the truth. Still, predictably, Rapunzel found their choice completely unappealing.

It wasn't that the man in question was an insufferable option. To be fair, Prince William turned out to be just what a respectable royal and decent human being ought to be. The young prince was perfectly well-mannered, sensible, surprisingly kind-hearted for a man of his station, and... well, bland, if Rapunzel was being honest.

Much as she tried, and goodness did she try, she couldn't help but find his soft-spoken conversation dull, his manners too stiff, and although his eyes bore a gracious kindness, there was a certain spark missing in his cerulean stare. He was just too passive, completely uninteresting, like a pretty cardboard cutout meant to act a perfect role.

Rapunzel tried to tell herself it was just a first impression, that perhaps he would turn slightly more appealing in her eyes with time, that it had nothing to do with the fact that her heart just wasn't in it.

Deep down she knew she was lying to herself.

Perhaps if she had met her future husband before she would just be relieved that he hadn't turned out to be a hateful, selfish snob. Perhaps then she would've learned to appreciate his quiet nature and overall monotonous disposition. Now, however, she couldn't help comparing the prince's every action to him.

Prince William, in all his high glory, couldn't be more different to a certain brown-eyed thief that still constantly assaulted her dreams. In fact His Royal Highness was just the complete opposite and it was so glaringly evident to Rapunzel, it stood out like a sore thumb. Wanted thief or not he had always been a charismatic enigma in her eyes, alluringly intriguing even when he had still carried that certain arrogant air that made him so roguishly dangerous. He'd always been interesting, and she remembered the thrill of trying to decipher him with acute nostalgia. Meanwhile Prince William's slightly awkward character made him seem completely insipid rather than endearing, there was absolutely no emotion in their interactions, no joy whatsoever.

Every topic of conversation Rapunzel tried with the foreign prince was met with the same polite smile, a nod here and there, an acquiescent comment that made her feel like she was just having a conversation with herself. After a week of this she was more than ready to cry out her frustration, which was more or less what she did one morning as Cassandra dutifully arranged her outfit for the day.

"Honestly, Cass, I try, I really do, but I can't imagine a lifetime of the same one-sided conversations." Rapunzel complained as Cassandra carefully selected a gown slightly fancier than what Rapunzel would usually wear. "He is just so..."

"Boring?"

"I was going to say passive."

"Could be worse." Cassandra shrugged, extending the chosen gown towards her. "He could be a power-hungry brute twice your age, intent on domineering you into submission until you practically bent to his every will so that he would really be ruling your own kingdom through you."

"That... is a truly horrible scenario, yes." Rapunzel's eyes widened in horror as she paused in the middle of adjusting her freshly donned gown.

"To be honest, Raps, it seems to me you lucked out." Cassandra handed her a few pieces of jewelry she was to wear to complement her outfit. "To most women, marriage means submission for the rest of their lives, but this prince of yours seems so spineless you don't even have to worry about him. I'm pretty sure you could pretend he doesn't even exist and he would just blend into the wall, he's as spiritless as that."

Rapunzel's lips pursed as she tried one of the simple jeweled headpieces Cassandra had given her and examined her reflection in the mirror. Pascal shook his head in distaste, and she promptly removed the offending diadem.

"I think ignoring him for the rest of my life is not exactly the recipe for a happy marriage." Rapunzel muttered under her breath.

"It might be a dull marriage, but at least it won't be a torturous one." Cassandra commented, gaze narrowing in slight disapproval as Rapunzel forwent all the fancy jewelry that her outfit was supposed to include.

"I guess you have a point."

As Cassandra checked every detail to make sure her appearance was perfectly fit to meet the aforementioned prince as was becoming custom every morning, Rapunzel briefly wondered what it could have been like to be able to marry a person her heart actually longed for. Perhaps then the always constant churning in her stomach would be due to butterflies instead of anxiousness.

She suppressed a derisive snort. Silly dreams indeed, when her heart still yearned for the ghost of a man who wouldn't love her back.

That thought was slowly becoming a less painful fact to accept, and although it still stung, Rapunzel supposed she was getting used to the dull ache always present in her soul. However, that particular morning unfortunately wasn't one of her better days. She was thinking of him more often than usual and the memories that came back to assault her felt like a heavy burden in her heart, a pressure in her chest making her feel short of breath and lightheaded.

It didn't help that lately it appeared Cassandra had taken the habit of adjusting her corset even tighter than usual to style her figure properly into the more elaborate gowns Rapunzel wore fit for fancier company. As they slowly made their way into the drawing room where she would usually meet Prince William after breakfast, Rapunzel inwardly lamented the spell of dizziness that was slowly taking over her. This morning her dress was adjusted decidedly too tight.

As usual, the perfectly dignified prince was already waiting for her in the spacious parlor, his appearance as neat and spotless as always as he stood at her entrance and bowed politely before her. Rapunzel quickly schooled her features into a small smile, her curtsey a bit wobbly, and allowed him to direct her towards the settee in the middle of the room, the same spot they had been occupying for the last week while they had their completely inconsequential tête-à-têtes.

She could see out of the corner of her eye as Cassandra discretely scurried to a somewhat obscured corner of the room, and knew by the tension in her shoulders that her lady-in-waiting was inwardly cursing her duty to remain chaperone to their daily meetings. Rapunzel couldn't say she blamed her, what she wouldn't give to be anywhere else herself if she could.

It was already becoming a tedious routine. Rapunzel started their conversation as usual, with a polite smile and an inquiry of his day, slowly moving into an entirely uninteresting chit chat about her own day, and the ever increasing frustration of his complete lack of participation was already wearing her off after a few dragging minutes. She tried, as she always did, to find something, anything of mutual interest that could ignite even a remote spark of life into their otherwise monotonous conversation, and just like every other day, Prince William stunted her efforts with his polite nods and deferential comments which didn't add anything personal to their talk.

Rapunzel's courteous smile slowly faded as the minutes ticked by and the stuffiness in the room made her feel even more breathless. She suddenly wished for a fan to dissipate the still and dry air surrounding her, and her attention couldn't be less focused on the young prince next to her drawling about a political conversation he'd had with her father that morning.

So unfocused was Rapunzel's attention that she didn't even notice the awkward silence settling over them after Prince William finished talking without her uttering a word to acknowledge his existence. That is, until a discreet cough from Cassandra startled her back into the present.

"Oh. I'm happy to hear that you and my father are getting along." Rapunzel tried, hoping that her guess was correct and indeed the prince had said something along those lines.

After a perfunctory nod from his part, Rapunzel was marginally surprised as Prince William abruptly rose to his feet, forcing her to lift her head up to meet his soft, blue gaze and instantly regretting it as her wooziness only increased with the sudden movement.

"Princess Rapunzel, I have been meaning to extend my gratitude towards you and your family for welcoming me into your kingdom with such graciousness." The young prince commented with a slight air of nervousness. "Indeed it is a great honor to finally be able to make your acquaintance, and greater still for our families to strengthen their ties of friendship through our union."

Rapunzel could almost feel Cassandra rolling her eyes at the prince's sudden sycophantic verbosity. She had to admit, although unexpected, she wasn't exactly liking this line of conversation. Noticing how Prince William was apparently not going to regain his seat any time soon, Rapunzel supposed it was only polite to join him in standing as well. No sooner had she risen to her feet, however, than she felt like the ground was moving underneath her, making her clutch the back of the settee for support.

Prince William didn't even seem to notice her unsteady stance, and promptly continued with what he was trying to say. "I realize that this might only be a formality, as we both know the outcome and that the arrangement has pretty much already been settled, but I feel as though it is only appropriate for me to ask nevertheless."

Without waiting for an answer from her part, the prince gently took her slightly shaking hand in his own and, to Rapunzel's utter horror, bent on one knee.

"Princess Rapunzel, I believe nothing would bring our families more happiness than our two kingdoms coming together through us." Rapunzel's eyes could only widen at his words, her breath completely leaving her body. "Please, would you do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage?"

It probably would have been far less embarrassing if even the slightest croak of assent had left her mouth in that instant, however unenthusiastic. Instead, Rapunzel felt the world spinning around her, her knees shaking with the effort of remaining upright, dazed and disoriented. She felt faint, every labored breath she took was not enough to replenish her energy.

"I-I don't... I don't feel good," was all Rapunzel managed to mutter as her vision blurred. Feeling like the ground had disappeared underneath her feet, the world went black around her.

"Rapunzel!"

Warm brown eyes, that's what her mind chose to focus on as she drifted into a sea of darkness. She could faintly feel his searing touch like a ghost against her skin. His far-off voice whispering in the distance, tethering her into existence, keeping her from completely coming adrift. Eugene.

"Blondie..."

"You can't let go again..." Her own voice echoed as if recalling a distant conversation in the depths of her subconscious, desperate, begging. "Promise you won't let go this time."

"...I promise..."

"Rapunzel?" A different voice called out, closer, more tangible.

Suddenly she felt like she was being pulled from underneath dark waters, breaking the surface with a gasping breath of fresh air. The darkness slowly faded. So did his voice.

The first thing she noticed as she slowly came back to her senses was a pale hand pressing a cold, damp cloth against her clammy forehead. Rapunzel recognized the olive green eyes and dark hair a second later.

"Cass?" She croaked weakly.

The hand pressing against her skin instantly retreated. A worried squeak alerted her of Pascal's nearby presence too. "Rapunzel! Are you alright?"

"What happened?" Rapunzel squinted against the too bright light coming from the windows. There was a mild headache already throbbing behind her eyes.

"You fainted." Cassandra answered bluntly, placing the cold cloth on her forehead once more. "Quite a dramatic scene, to be honest. You left prince what's-his-name rather perplexed. Stan and Pete helped me carry you back to your room."

The mention of the two often silly guards brought a faint smile to her lips, which was quickly replaced by a grimace as she felt the nausea returning, a gesture that was not lost on her observant handmaiden.

"How are you feeling?" She repeated with a frown.

"I'm fine." Rapunzel tried to sit up as Pascal hurriedly crawled into her lap, nervous squeaks filling the room. "I guess the stress of the last weeks finally caught up to me."

"I'm starting to think this is more than just stress, Raps." Cassandra shot her a skeptical look. "I called for the doctor, he will be here any minute now to check up on you. I was just about to fetch your parents too."

"No! Cass, please, there's no need to make a fuss about this." Rapunzel tried to reason, although her weak complexion surely didn't benefit her argument. "I'm just tired and I've been feeling pretty anxious the past few weeks, is all. There's no need to worry my parents over nothing."

"This is not 'nothing', Rapunzel!" Cassandra retorted with a stern bite in her tone. "Honestly, at first I thought it was just stress too, and that day when you had that conversation with your mother and then puked your guts out, I thought it was a pretty bad panic attack, I even told your mother so. But you've been feeling weak and dizzy for days now! Maybe you caught a bug or... something."

Rapunzel shook her head, her stomach protesting at the movement. That was highly unlikely. "I never get sick."

"That's a bit of an overstatement, don't you think?" Cassandra replied with a dismissive raise of her eyebrow. "Either way, the doctor will be sure to determine that."

"I really don't think that's necessary." Rapunzel argued. She never got sick and that was a fact, although Cassandra had no way of knowing the reason behind that. "I've just been under too much pressure, what with dealing with being kidnapped and then suddenly learning that I have to get married against my will quite soon. It's just been rough on me, that's all."

"Again, we'll let the doctor decide that once he examines you."

"Fine." Rapunzel conceded with a resigned sigh. "But don't tell my parents just yet. I don't want them to worry any more than they already have, much less for what is probably just pent up anxiousness."

Cassandra hesitated, before finally agreeing with a reluctant groan.

"Alright. But if the doctor says it's something else, I'm telling your mother."

Before Rapunzel had the time to comment on that, there was a firm knock on her door. Cassandra swiftly left her side to open the heavy doors to reveal the royal physician in all his required equipment ready to check on his patient. The serious-looking doctor wasted no time in coming to Rapunzel's side, throughly checking on every detail of her condition — her pulse, body temperature, the color of her skin, whether her breathing was labored — and asking every pertinent question about her current symptoms, to which Rapunzel answered without much worry. She was pretty sure this was rather unnecessary, there was nothing wrong with her health, there never was.

Meanwhile, Cassandra stood dutifully by the corner of the room, appearing uncharacteristically unsettled as she kept a careful watch over the doctor's every movement. Pascal, for his part, adamantly refused to leave her side during the whole process, much to the doctor's slight disapproval.

After a thorough check-up in which the doctor surely determined the cause of her ailment, the older man paused in his ministrations, a troubled look briefly crossing his stern features.

"You say you have been experiencing slight nausea, correct?"

Rapunzel nodded, and the doctor, rather unexpectedly, turned to address Cassandra for the first time during his visit. "Miss Cassandra, would you be so kind to bring Princess Rapunzel some chamomile tea? That will help settle her upset stomach."

Cassandra seemed reluctant to leave her alone, and Rapunzel had the sneaking suspicion that the doctor was just making up an excuse to have Cassandra leave the room. Perhaps this was to discuss details of the healing magic still living within herself. The royal physician after all, was one of the very few people who knew about her secret. After a small, reassuring nod from Rapunzel, Cassandra grudgingly followed the doctors orders and exited the room, not without shooting Rapunzel one last concerned look.

They heard the click of the door ensuring that the room had been secluded in privacy once more, and after the doctor made sure to check for any possible eavesdroppers, he finally turned to address Rapunzel. The grave look in his eyes made Rapunzel wonder if this indeed was to discuss something related to the healing magic residing within her.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid the nature of your... ah, condition... might be of a more delicate concern than initially believed." The doctor said, a hint of uneasiness evident in his hesitant wording.

"What is it?" Rapunzel asked, a nervous chill running down her spine.

"I will require to ask you a few rather personal questions regarding certain... well, delicate matters." The doctor continued tentatively, looking like he would much rather not be continuing this conversation. "And I will need you to answer with utmost honesty."

With her heart in her throat and a foreign feeling of apprehension that something might be seriously wrong with her, Rapunzel nodded hesitantly, bracing herself for whatever the doctor might say next.

Sometimes the mind knows things that the heart can't understand, and sometimes both willfully decide to ignore the blatant signs despite the trepidation always constant, always present like a looming storm. Sometimes, that is the best way to shelter oneself from drowning. That is, until the dam breaks and denial is not an option anymore. That day, the dam broke all too suddenly for Rapunzel, as the doctor revealed the exact reason behind his concern.

So, remember when I said every action in this story had its consequences? What could possibly be ailing our poor Punzie? Did anybody catch the foreshadowing hinted throughout the whole fic? Any thoughts?

Coming in next chapter, we will finally learn what happened to Eugene and what he has been up to during the span of this chapter. Remember reviews always help to keep an author's inspiration fresh and active, so if you've liked it so far please let me know by reviewing! Until next time :)