Cassandra's Betrayal Rewritten

The Fight Continues

Cassandra's confrontation with the Captain reached a crescendo of emotion and turmoil. The air crackled with tension as accusations flew between them, emotions raw and unfiltered.

"I trusted you! I thought you cared about me!" Cassandra's voice quivered with rage and hurt as she grappled with the truth she sought.

The Captain struggled to maintain his composure, caught between the weight of Cassandra's accusations and his defence against her. "Cassandra, there are reasons why things were kept from you. Reasons you might not understand."

"Stop treating me like a child! I deserve to know the truth!" Her eyes blazed with determination, fueled by a thirst for answers.

Outside, the guards struggled with the door. One of the pair went to get more men, in attempt to break it down.

Back in the room, Cassandra's emotions surged wildly , creating a whirlwind of betrayal, anger, and a desperate need for resolution. Her adoptive father's demeanor softened slightly, his expression weakening in the face of Cassandra's relentless pursuit of the truth.

He stood before her, defeated. "Cassandra, this has to stop! I don't understand why you're fighting me this way! Whatever is bothering you, we can fix it it. I can help you!"

"You can't help me! All my life I've been ignored by YOU and now you want to help?! You made this happen!" Cassandra's words sliced through the room, the pain and resentment palpable in her voice. She couldn't shake off the feeling of betrayal and abandonment that had festered within her for so long.

"THAT'S IT CASSANDRA! THIS MADNESS STOPS NOW!" He adjusted his tone, unsure if it had been the right method. "Put down your sword and we can talk and pretend none of this happened."

Cassandra eyed the Captain, halting her attack for a mere moment. "Don't wanna play with swords? Fine," she slid the weapon into its case on her back. "I don't need it anyway."

"Thank you, now just wait right there and I'm going to take the chair off the door knob, ok? I promise, I won't hurt you." He reached for the chair, cautiously moving it out of place. He then began to open the door, to Cassandra's anger.

"Wait?! I've feel like I've been told to wait my whole life, and I won't take it anymore, especially from you!" She began hovering her hands over the ground, just as she had done in the woods and in her previous battle. "Come on..." she closed her eyes, solely focusing on making the rocks. Her fingertips began to emit a blue light, and her hair started glowing.

"Cassandra, what are you doing?!"

"Something I should've done the moment I entered this room!" Finally, a black rock flew out of the ground, aimed at the Captain. He stopped dead in his tracks, his back glued to the door. The pointed end of the rock inched closer and closer to his face, Cassandra pushing her powers more and more, a look of determination on her face.

Abandoning his strong facade, the Captain spoke out to his daughter. "Cassandra, I've cared for you since you were a little girl, as if you were my own. I know you! I don't know what happened on your journey, and I don't know where this power came from, but I do know that you don't want to do this. Listen to me... please."

Cassandra's focus faltered, now staring at the man who raised her, looking completely helpless. The blue sparks from her hands stopped as she pondered what she was doing, if this action was truly necessary to get what she wanted.

"You," she made up her mind. "You don't know me," her words felt like ice to the Captain. "For eighteen years, you cast me aside to search for a princess you didn't even know was alive. You gave every minute of attention to her, instead of focusing on your supposed daughter, who was actually here! So no, you don't know me or who I am, because you were never here. And now, I finally realized it, so I won't allow myself to be forgotten anymore, and that starts with you!"

She continued the growth of the rock, but suddenly realized the Captain had moved out of its way. He had unlocked the door during her speech, allowing a swarm of guards to enter his quarters. The King and Queen followed close behind.

"I'm sorry Cassandra, but you are out of control."

The guards circled around the angry girl, who had raised her arms in the air begrudgingly. She stared at the rock, attempting to make it grow with just her mind, to no avail.

As a guard reached for his shackles, Cassandra made a split-second decision. Quickly, she grabbed her sword and spun around, causing every guard to back away.

"Cassandra, please comply." The captain called to her, giving up with his original soft approach. "Look at the damage you've done, this is what you deserve. You've committed a crime, and like any criminal, you need to accept the consequences."

"No. You betrayed me, just like everyone else did, and I won't let you get away with it." Using her sword as a threat, she made her way towards the door, stopping just in front of Rapunzel's parents.

"If you walk out that door," Queen Ariana placed her hand on Cassandra's shoulder once more. "You will be considered a traitor to Corona."

Cassandra removed the hand, not looking at the queen once.

She remembered her fabricated tale, and decided to use it one last time. "I had fun killing your daughter." She smirked and swung her sword towards her adoptive father one last time, creating a long cut along his arm. The man held his arm in agony as Cassandra sped out of the room.

"What are you doing just standing there?! Go after her!" King Frederic yelled to the guards, directing them out the door.

But Cassandra was already in the throne room, still running at full speed towards the exit. When she finally reached the door, it was pushed open from the outside, revealing Rapunzel and the rest of the group she had left in the Dark Kingdom.

"Cassandra?!" Rapunzel cried, freezing in shock at the sight of her ex-best friend.

"I don't time for this." She continued running out the door, not stopping once to look back at the princess.

Villagers watched as she ran, moving out of her way in fear. She never tired once while inside the kingdom, and made it past the bridge in little time. She reached the forest, taking several twists and turns to ensure no one could follow her tracks properly. She heard shouts and galloping not far behind her, and turned her head, seeing a small group were still keeping up. She jumped into a part of the forest with no path, and kept running until she came across a wild river. Wasting no time, she chopped down a tree in one cut with her sword, allowing it to fall over the river, creating a path for her to follow. At the other end of the rapids, she kicked the trunk away, and continued her escape deeper into the woods. She only stopped when the sound of guards was gone, and no one could be seen behind her.

She was in a part of the forest she didn't recognize, but it didn't matter to her. As she walked through the unfamiliar area, she reflected on seeing Rapunzel again. A surge of emotions bundled in her head, causing her to stop and sit. First it was a rush of excitement from the day, but it soon changed. Feelings of anger and sadness overtook her, and she began to cry hot, burning tears. Fury builded in her, and then suddenly, fear came into the mix. Fear of what would happen if the guards found her, fear of Rapunzel coming after her, and then... fear of failing.

The words of caution from the Ghost Girl played back, reminding Cassandra that one would fall to the other. She was scared she would fail her quest of getting the Sunstone, and then realized what it would mean if she did: she would die the hands of Rapunzel.

Nothing could help her clear her mind; the thought of dying continuing to haunt her. In attempt to focus on something else, she held her hands over the ground, trying to grow another rock. It came out in an instant, but something was wrong. The rock that was supposed to be black was instead a bright, shimmering red. She looked into it and saw an image of herself lying on the ground, under a pile of rubble, with Rapunzel standing on top. Her eyes widened at the visual of her dying, and she fell to her knees from fear.

All of a sudden, another rock sprouted, same as the other. Then another, and another, and soon enough, a series of the rocks were growing, following the path Cassandra had ran through. They continued popping up from the ground, all the way towards the edge of Corona. And then, one grew in the center of the town.