Summary: Burned by Princess Rapunzel's betrayal, Cassandra declares war on her homeland Corona. As the wielder of the destructive magical object, The Moonstone, and the most skilled warrior in the kingdom, no one can stand in the way of Cassandra and domination. No one, that is, except the one who trained her.

After enduring excruciating pain and subjugation at the hands of former friends, Cassandra's only hope for conquest lies in obtaining Rapunzel's Sundrop. If she fails, she will be condemned to life-long imprisonment or death. If she succeeds, she will lose everything she's ever loved.

Starts at the end of "Once a handmaiden..." season 3 episode, mostly canon compliant.

PART ONE

Chapter One

The Battle

"Corona falls today!"

Cassandra's battle cry shot through the festive courtyard and into the trembling hearts of the bystanders. The people who used to be her neighbors, co-workers, and friends held their breath and clutched their loved ones or wet themselves. And then they ran. Screaming.

Cassandra sneered at their backs. She felt no remorse or pity for the cowards. They'd made quite clear whose side they were on. They all supported their oh so precious princess who only ever sought to deny Cass her rights and keep her invisible, voiceless, and in her "proper place". But no more. Now it was their turn to feel the pain of being powerless and cast aside.

Now they would all pay.

Cassandra commanded her black rocks to rage around them. Cobblestones were knocked from their plots. The very earth opened to consume those that opposed. Wiser citizens ran for safety they would not find. There was no crevice she would not soon rule, no place they would be able to hide and plan her fall. She was inevitable. She was strength.

Cass leapt over one of the many cages she'd created to contain the royal guards that rushed her and sent a chunk of rubble flying for the inexperienced Captain Fitzherbert at the gates. She smiled at his cry as it slammed him flat against the cracking wall.

A dozen more shield bearing, stone-faced, guards charged her head-on but were flung back by her rocks before they could reach her. The next wave of men took their place, running with shield and sword at the ready and she batted them aside just as easily. They were hardly a distraction from what had caught her eye on the horizon. Draped across her father's old horse and barreling at top speed away from the palace and toward the fiery setting sun, was her prize and curse: The Sundrop and the Princess. The second stone of power was still within her former best friend. And now they were both vanishing from sight.

Cass allowed the next golden canned guard closer and disarmed him before kneeing him in the face with a cry of frustration. The vicious crunch of his nose hardly made her feel any better.

She looked at the shrinking figures again and took a deep breath. This development changed very little. She would get Rapunzel back once her victory over the castle was secured. One step at a time. She didn't need the Sundrop to defeat this sorry lot, she hardly needed the Moonstone. She wouldn't have needed to fight at all if Rapunzel hadn't betrayed her and made a mess of things as usual.

Cassandra had come to reconcile with the princess and make things right by her. She'd had no intention of attacking. But from the moment her shield of the docile handmaid's identity fell away, Cass had been attacked. Fired upon, encased in amber, and thrown under a net as though a monstrous animal… all for the crime of merely showing her face. She'd been a fool to believe things could change, could be talked out.

The relationship between she and the princess would never change. They would always be on unequal ground. Their friendship had been nothing but another lie forced into the wood-work of Cassandra's life.

She'd been a fool to have considered reconciling— surrendering even. But now… surrender was as likely to happen as the falling of the moon from the sky. She would not be caged. Death would come first. And that was even less likely to happen. Well, her own death anyway.

All that was Rapunzel's, all that had magically fallen into the princess' lap, would be Cassandra's now. She would make sure of it. Every last piece. And as the Crown Princess… didn't the lives of the citizens belong to the blonde as well? But maybe Cass would leave such crumbs.

However, she would claim their respect. Adoration, Cass no longer needed. Their fear would suffice to keep them from being anything other than the simple-minded peasants they were. The sun-splotch could keep their blind love.

Soon, the sundrop would also be hers and then they would know true power. Then they would know what it's like to be lost in the shadows. Her shadows. And they would never fade.

"Cassandra!" Eugene called, having regained his dignity and stood boldly—stupidly— between Cass and her Sundrop. "I'm putting a stop to this right now!"

"Oh this ought to be good!" Cass laughed at the sad challenge but still, a challenge was a challenge. She humored the new Captain and summoned her sword.

As it turned out, the shadow blade was completely unnecessary. The fight—if something that lasted all of five seconds could be called a fight—was over before it began.

Re-sheathing her blade and waving a barrage of rocks into action to keep the soldiers behind her busy, Cass swaggered over to the downed and groaning Captain. She said with a pout, "Must be hard to fight in shoes that were never meant for you, huh buddy?"

Eugene scowled. "Your father recommended me."

"Not the first shameful decision he's made," Cass said with a shrug.

A new wave of fearful shrieks caught Cass's attention and had her stopping a racing rock about to skewer a young boy frozen against a wall. A woman snatched him away and pointed to the untouched structure before them, shouting, "Everyone to the palace, we'll be safe there!"

Cassandra smirked. Time for her pawns to join the game.

Leaving the recommended-Captain to struggle to his feet, Cass pulled the glowing Mind Trap stone from her satchel and silently ordered her own soldiers into play. "Sorry," She called up to the desperate crowd, "But the castle's off limits."

Her brainwashed warriors, along with their hulking rhinoceros and bearcats, appeared in time to block the castle's entrance and force the people back into the chaotic courtyard.

A near-miss from the amber gun had Cassandra tuning back into the battle around her. The cloudy blasts started coming in rapid succession but she blocked each with a black rock. The amber blew apart each upon impact. Boosting herself on a jagged stump, she flipped out of the path of another shot and bowled a row of black peaks around the assailant. That should hold him. Still, she willed her magic to keep striking throughout the royal's ranks.

Panting in the grainy dirt and dust clogged air, Cassandra crouched behind one of her rocks and let the unevenly matched battle continue around her.

This was a waste. They were wasting their time, breath, and effort in trying to stop her. But Cass had to admit she was enjoying the toying. Let them tire, let them push. She would walk over their hopeless remains soon enough. Their rubble would pave the way to her throne nicely. She might even have Rapunzel paint the scene for her new bedroom.

Another whooshing blast of the amber exploded behind her and she sighed. That thing was a nuisance. Cass laid her hand against the ground and bid her rocks to snuff out the gadget. The shattering death of the weapon was melodious to her ears.

Above the clanging of dueling blades and grunts and groans of the guards, she heard the dark king cry, "Son! You cannot protect a kingdom while being trapped inside of it."

Wise words. But she had no desire to keep such company here. With a thought, Cass directed her mind-trapped soldiers to herd everyone from the palace grounds. Then she stood.

It was time to end this.

She had offered to leave Corona in peace before— but now she would leave it in pieces.

As though he had a choice, Eugene took one look at her emerging from the smoke—unscathed—and shouted, "Everyone fall back!"

Cass grinned at her victory but launched a tidal wave of rocks to seal the deal.

Eugene spun out of the black rocks' path and hesitated at the gates. The one-armed king pushed his son to join the fleeing masses and said, "Come, we will regroup elsewhere!"

Eugene stood his ground, just watching her.

Cass roared and sent several more thundering rocks his way but still he remained in the square. Did he have a death wish?

The king growled, "You can't help her, son, it's your people that need you now. Think of Rapunzel."

Cassandra watched Eugene pull from the king's grasp. "I am," The idiot said, "I'll meet you with the others later. Go!"

He was persistent, she'd give him that. Persistent as a mosquito.

Not breaking the sudden silence in the square, Cassandra sent her soldiers to stand sentry outside the gate and didn't bother drawing her sword as Eugene approached her amongst the rubble once again. Cass snorted when he raised his sword. She said, "And here I was thinking you couldn't get any more idiotic."

The young Captain remained steadfast and only glared. Cass could see the sweat running from his brow and cutting a trail through a layer of grime and hear how he labored to take in each quick breath. While it was clear he was exhausted, his blade held sure.

"Fine. If you want to stay so badly…" Cassandra lifted her hand and her rocks followed her bidding.

Eugene spun away from her as a large, impenetrable, rumbling wall rose behind him. The gate and world beyond disappeared from view as it grew high above their heads. She cupped her hands to shape its ends into a dome and left it to settle heavily against and around the exterior of the palace's entry wall. It left much of the castle still vulnerable, but it was only temporary and was only meant to keep in rather than keep out.

Satisfied with the structure, Cass walked away from her gaping prisoner. She rapped a knuckle against a cage that held one of her other gaping, foolish, prisoners as she sauntered by and tossed over her shoulder, "You can keep your men company."

Cassandra didn't pause as Eugene called after her, "Rapunzel won't take lightly to what you've done, Cass! I hope you're prepared to deal with whatever counter measure she comes up with because you should know by now not to underestimate her. Rapunzel will find a way in once she wakes up."

Cass smiled as she ascended the steps to her newest conquest. "I'm counting on it."

The palace hadn't changed in the slightest since she'd last been inside it's walls. Pristine white pillars still supported the ceilings. Fresh flowers sat unwilted and undisturbed in their porcelain vases. Dust-free candelabras and golden threaded tapestries lined the halls. Cassandra redecorated each hall with a few hundred black rocks.

As she made her way to the throne room, she took a small detour into one of the many studies. Interspersed between towering and well-stocked bookcases were dozens of paintings of past royals; princesses, princes, kings, queens, and even some dukes. Royals that her ancestors—well her adopted ancestors—served, fought for, and died for. Cass knew there wasn't a single painting in the castle that was dedicated to her line of the Captains of the Royal Guard or other heroes of their kingdom. Not even a pathetic bust.

This was a lesson she'd learned the hard way: In Corona, the only way to obtain honor or due credit was to be in a place of power and take it from those that have actually earned it.

But that changed today. Today, the power finally belonged to someone that deserved it.

Cass sheathed her sword as she left the study with its new shredded art and marched through the doors of the throne room. The grand space was just as unchanged as the rest of the palace had been. The familiar sweet aromas of orchid and rose mixed with sterile soap still hung in the air. The three thrones for the royal family still sat proud upon the dais but were now swathed in shadows. And though moonbeams shone through the high stained-glass windows, they were unable to banish the dark blanketing the room.

As Cassandra ascended the dais, gaze locked on her throne, she found that for the first time she didn't mind being in the shadows. She would not be forgotten in them now. It would be a long time before anyone forgot her name. It would ring in reverent hailing from every tongue throughout the land from this day forward.

"Cassandra!"

She froze on the top step at Eugene's shout and her sleek armor clicked as she clenched her fists. This mosquito was flying around her too often. She forced herself not to reach for her sword or rocks and instead turned with a hand on her hip. "Does your pea brain already need stimulation?"

The young captain's creaking boots tracked dirt across her new throne room's plush rug as he crept towards her, sword point first, as though she were a snake poised to strike. "I need you to step down from there and hand over the Moonstone, Cass."

Her brows shot up. "Would you like me to sprout wings and fly around the room too?"

"No that won't be necessary, giving me the Moonstone will be delightful enough. After that, we can settle this the good old-fashioned way."

Cass's short laugh cut through the room. "You don't even stand a chance against me in a regular fight, Fitzherbert."

"Maybe not, but I'm the Captain now and I'm not going to let you get away with this as long as I'm still standing."

The shadow blade sang shrilly as it slid free of its sheath. Cass prowled down the steps. "Then let me fix that."

Eugene stopped mid-way down the carpet. "Though I believe you to be entirely capable, I don't think you will."

"You sure about that?" Cassandra said, "My dad tried to stop me too, you know. I trapped him in a tomb."

"I heard," Eugene said with a nod, gaze darting around the mostly empty room. "But you didn't kill him. He stood against you but you let him live. Why?"

"He's my father." Cass stalked closer. "We're not related, Captain. What makes you think I'll spare you? I don't need you alive to be useful bait."

"Okay that's terrifying," Eugene said, backing up a step, eyes still straying. "But look, I was just out there in the courtyard, remember? I saw everything you did… and everything you didn't do, Cass. Sure, almost everyone involved will walk away with some pretty nasty bruises and may be limping for a while, and clean-up is going to be quite the pain but you didn't cross any major lines."

"So I need to get my hands dirty for you to take me seriously?"

"No, and again, I don't think you will. You have a lot of anger; I can see that and maybe understand it. But I can also see that Rapunzel's been right all along…" Eugene paused and— lowering his sword to his side— had the gall to extend his free hand, palm up. A small sappy smile lit his face. "You're still in there. And I'm not giving up on you either."

Cassandra glanced at his offered hand, unimpressed. "And here I thought you wanted to fight, not hold hands."

The hope flickered in his eyes but he pressed on, saying, "I want you to come back to us. Come back to your right mind. None of this is the real you. Please…"

Her lip curled at the insult to her sanity but despite that, she found herself lowering her sword an inch. A voice in the back of her mind was pleading with her to listen, telling her he was right. Maybe it wasn't too late to return things to normal.

Eugene inhaled shakily and rolled a step closer. "Surrender, Cassandra."

With those two words, Cass dismissed the doubts. Things would never return to normal now and even if they did, she could never go back to kissing the feet that stepped all over her. And she knew what awaited her if she surrendered; she wasn't daft. Either alternative only promised her pain and silence. No, surrender would never come.

Cassandra slid up to the prince and smirked at his flinch as she placed the tip of her blade under his chin. She whispered, "And if I don't?"

Her eyes widened as her father's saddened voice arose from behind, "Then I'm afraid it's come to this."

Cass spun on her heel, blade slicing through the air, but she wasn't in time to stop the solid candle holder from slamming into her head nor the darkness that sent her sprawling to the floor.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is a little project I'm working on while working on my Throne of Glass stories. I've got about ten stories I'm in the middle of XD This story will have 23 chapters, they are all pre-plotted, and I am doing my best to do an update each week on my profile on Archive of Our Own, I will update the next chapter on here once I know if someone is reading it on here or if I should just keep it to my profile on Ao3. Thank you for reading! Until next time ~V