Cassandra's Betrayal Rewritten

The Plot for Revenge

Her old friend turned villain stood before Cassandra. He hadn't change much, except for his height, and his eyes. His eyes were hateful, no longer those of a sweet, naive boy, but a person consumed by anger and a thirst for revenge. The last time she'd seen him, he had tried to kill her. Was he going to continue what he had started, or was this a mere coincidence?

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"Well, after I escaped the dungeons, I went searching for Rapunzel. When I found out she'd left, I set out to follow her. But every time I came close, she was already gone. So, I stopped here to try to cut her off on her trip."

"Why do you need me if you're after Rapunzel?!"

"Well, I thought you were going to be with her, so originally the plan was to ambush your group when you arrived."

"Yea, well, she abandoned me! Left me to die in the ruins of some tree. So, can I go now?"

"See the thing is, Cassandra, I can't let you go. I need you here to lure the princess to me so that I can finish what I started."

"Come on Varian, she's probably on this route anyways. You won't need me to get her here. I don't want to see her right now. Just let me go!"

"Not gonna happen Cass. You're not leaving until I have Rapunzel right here. When she and the rest of the group arrive, I'm going to make sure she never forgets what she did to me and my father! I'll show her what it feels like to see the people you love in danger, and once I'm done with them, she'll be done for too!"

"That won't bring your father back! Let me go and we can get him out of the amber together! I swear!"

"NO! You can 'swear' and 'promise' all you want, but I'm not going to let you go! Besides, killing off Rapunzel's helpless best friend right in front of her is so much more fun."

Cassandra's eyes grew wider with fear.

"WHAT?! VARIAN PLEASE! I CAN HELP YOU! PLEASE VARIAN!"

Her eyes began to water. The young boy approached her, wiping a tear of her reddened cheek. He laughed, then smirked.

"Corona's strongest warrior torn down by a few words. I thought you were meant to be the next captain of the guard, but it seems you've lost your touch. Matthews, watch our guest. Make sure she doesn't try anything. I'm going to continue the preparations for the others."

Varian marched out of the room. Cassandra sat in her chair, finally giving up all hope. This was the end for her. There was no use struggling against the rope, it wasn't going to break no matter how hard she pushed herself. Ready to accept her fate, she slumped. Suddenly, a memory from the tree struck her.

"Take your anger and focus." She remembered what that strange green orb told her. Could it help her like it did under the rubble?

"Take my anger and focus." She whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Matthews shot her a look.

"TAKE MY ANGER AND FOCUS!" She closed her eyes and thought of the hurt she had been feeling. Her feelings towards Rapunzel. Her feelings in this very moment. She pushed against her binds, with a force she didn't even know she had.

One by one, her restraints snapped. First her legs, then torso, her left arm and finally, her right arm's rope.

"What are you doing?!" Matthews yelled to her.

"I'M USING MY ANGER!"

She shot up from the chair, feeling alive as ever. Matthews dove over to her, but she was too fast. She darted down the hall that Varian disappeared into.

The hallway was covered in doors. Every few meters, there would be another door to enter. She raced down, determined to get to Varian and show him a piece of her mind. Finally, an open door stood in her path. She peaked in to see a fully furnished lab and Varian working away at another serum.

"VARIAN!"

"CASSANDRA?"

"I am leaving!"

"How did you- No! You are staying here until Rapunzel arrives, even if I have to lock you in a dungeon to keep you put!"

"How about I shove you in a dungeon, hmm? How would you like to return to the Corona prison?"

"Not gonna happen, Cassandra. You underestimate me." With that, he threw a vial at her, this time filled with a red liquid.

Just as the little serum exploded, Cassandra felt her right hand burning. She looked down to see her fingertips glowing a bright blue, where she had once been burned by a blue flame. She moved it over herself to brace for impact an shut her eyes. But nothing happened. No pain, no agony.

She opened her eyes again to see a ring of fire around her, blocked by a circle of the black rocks.

"WHAT THE-" she looked back at her hands, but the glow was gone.

"What did you just do?" Varian backed away from her and began to throw every vial left on his work bench. None touched Cassandra, however, as the rocks acted like a force field.

"Screw you Varian!" She ran away from the site of the fight.

Still in disbelief, Varian chased after her.

"Give up Cassandra! Get back here and you'll be able to see Rapunzel again!"

"I don't want to see her!" She sped down the hallway, searching for any open door she could quickly hide inside of.

Suddenly, a door popped open. She couldn't see what was inside, as a blinding light was all that shone through.

"Better than nothing." She raced through the door, as it slammed behind her.

Varian had lost sight of her. He couldn't see any trace of where she had been. Still running, he found an open door. It let out a white light as well. He decided to walk in, not realizing where it was taking him. As he continued walking deeper into the passage, it became more and more familiar. Stone walls with dim lighting and a low ceiling.

"Shit." He turned around to see a swarm of Corona royal guards behind him. He was back in the dungeons of the kingdom. After working so hard to be free, he wound up back where he started.

Cassandra was still running through the tunnel of light. No sign of anything bad, but nothing good either. She stopped when a nature landscape finally appeared before her eyes.

"I recognize this place."