A New Mistake

You WHAT?

"Cassandra, welcome back- Ariana, what are you doing here? He was very surprised to see his wife.
"I want to be here to witness this." She replied plainly.
"Witness what, my dear?"
"Oh please Fredrick don't act silly. Word gets around you know."
"...alright. Cassandra, please drink that vial you have been handed." He turned his attention back to her, and watched as she drank it in full.

"What is your name?"
"Cassandra."
"Who are your parents?"
"Fredrick!"
"My adoptive father is the ex-captain of the guards, and my biological mother is-" she tried to keep her mouth shut, she didn't want to say it, but it hurt not to. Literally.
"Is Mother Gothel." She spat it out painfully, taking a shape breath in.
"Fredrick! There was no need to ask such a personal question!" The Queen argued.
"We needed to make sure that it works. It clearly does. Now we can move on."

"Cassandra, what did I ask you do to this afternoon?"
"You- you asked me to follow the Queen when she left the castle."
"And did you?"
"Yes."
"What did you find?"
Cassandra grimaced, and looked at the Queen, pain in her eyes. She didn't want to say it, but Ariana gave a slow nod.
"She went- to a cliff top, near the Corona wall- and she met up with-"
"With?"
"V-Varian." She breathed it out hard, it really did hurt, why did he make it like that? She got the sudden memory of him trying so hard to not say the third incantation when she asked, and felt bad. That must have hurt as well.
The king turned appalled to his wife.
"You WHAT?!"
"Met with Varian, didn't you hear the girl?"
"I- Cassandra what did they talk about?"
She hung her head, deciding not to fight it. "The Queen gave him some food, and asked how he was. He was worried that she would get in trouble, but she reassured him that she would be fine. Then my position was compromised. The Queen told me that she knew that Varian had escaped, because he had told her, and that she helped him with setting up a safe camp hide out for him. She then told him to run, because she knew that this would happen." Cass fell shaking to the ground, she knew this feeling, this pain of betrayal. But the Queen kept a calm face, despite her husbands boiling rage beside her.
"Is that it?"
"Yes, sir."
"You are dismissed. That potion should wear off in and hour or two."

Cassandra got up and left, holding herself, still shaking.

The king got up, and stood in front of his seated queen.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Don't play games with me Ariana."
"Because I know you Fredrick. And I know that once you found out Varian had full control over the moonstone, you would have him locked away in jail again until you found a solution."
"You could have talked to me Ariana, about your concerns-" he started.
"We both know that wouldn't have made a difference. We know that because I begged for weeks for you to let him out of prison and you did nothing each time." She countered his every word.
"I-"
"Fredrick listen to me. I know you're afraid for your kingdom, and afraid for Rapunzel and me, but you have to understand, Varian doesn't want to hurt anyone. He actually apologised today, for being a 'hassle'. He just wants everyone to be safe, just life you. But he believes that you see him as a huge threat, so he ran."
"I, I just want to do what's right." He felt quiet, and small, despite being such a large and powerful man.
"I'm afraid that it's a bit late for that. He's gone, or he should be at least. I told him to run, run very far away, because I thought you'd be after him. I don't know where he's gone though. The only way to find him now is if he lets us."
"Oh Ariana. I'm sorry, that you felt you couldn't trust me, or talk to me. I'm just scared, for everyone. This world is so full of threats, we never know what's going to happen. But I never wanted you to stop trusting me."
"I know dear. But things are changing, getting better." She held his hands in hers.
"I'll try. To be more open minded that is, about things like this."
"Thank you dear." She kissed him on the cheek, and headed off to bed.

He joined soon after, but not to sleep. He just lay there, thinking. What was he going to do now?