Twisted Destiny

Truce

"Why did Miss Gothel have a door to this mine in her house?" Varian asked as they walked.

"I don't know." Cassandra frowned. "I don't remember her ever using it."

"Cassandra, you only remember one vision's worth of a life with her." Varian shook his head. Cassandra scowled.

Rapunzel cleared her throat. "So, uhm...you've...never mentioned knowing her before."

"Yeah, uhm...I didn't intend to tell you, it just...came out in my anger." Varian admitted. "I mean, we were harboring a criminal, and didn't even know it. I was spending hours hanging out with a kidnapper." He glanced at Cassandra. "Like mother, like daughter, I suppose."

"I only took you because you destroyed the translation key and I needed control of the rocks!" Cassandra said firmly.

"So why didn't you let me go after that? Oh, that's right, I was a threat. You couldn't stand to have me be on Rapunzel's side, so you tried to keep me away from her." Varian said coldly.

"You were bait, Varian." Cassandra scoffed. "If I wanted to take you away from Rapunzel so badly, I'd have taken you at the Spire." She smirked. "You were completely at my mercy there."

"Conspiring with demons, do you even have a soul left to save?" Varian looked away from her. "Or has the darkness swallowed you up completely, so there's nothing left?"

Rapunzel sighed and then looked around as they stopped. "Uhm...which way should we go? There's three paths."

"We could split up." Cassandra suggested.

"Bad idea." Varian looked at Rapunzel. "Let's take one tunnel and Cassandra can take one of the others."

"I thought you just said it was a bad idea?" Cassandra frowned.

"Oh, I don't care if you die down here or not, but I'm not leaving Rapunzel's side." Varian said with a shrug. "You can come with us or go on your own." He knelt down and Ruddiger hopped off his shoulders. "Ruddiger, see if you can smell fresh air."

"Do you think if we contacted the Saporians, they could use some kind of tracing spell on us?" Rapunzel asked.

"I don't think they have one, or else they'd have used one to find me before when I was kidnapped." Varian shook his head. "Might be worth an ask, though."

"How do you expect to ask them? They're out there, we're in here." Cassandra asked with an irritated tone.

Varian ignored her and took off his backpack to pull out a mirror as he tapped the surface. "Andrew?"

Cassandra gasped as the mirror glowed and she heard Andrew's voice coming from it. "Hey, it's good to hear from you. No one's seen you in a few hours. Everything okay?"

"Er, well, k-kind of? We're stuck in an underground mine with Cassandra. Rapunzel's with me." Varian said as Rapunzel leaned over his shoulder and waved.

"Why on Earth are you two with Cassandra?! Alone?!" Eugene cried.

"We ran into her while checking something out, and now we're stuck." Rapunzel explained. "Can you use a tracing spell on us or anything?"

"Only if you keep the mirror activated until the spell is done." Andrew replied. "Juniper, we're going to need some components for a tracing spell. Rapunzel and Varian got themselves stuck somewhere with Cassandra."

"We'll keep the mirror activated." Varian promised, then followed Ruddiger as he scampered off, Rapunzel right behind him.

"Hey!" Cassandra went after them.