"Wow, you met your mother? Who is she?", Varian asked sensitively.
"Frankly, it would be better for me if we won't talk about her.", Cass replied.
Then she sighed and said:"What I'm interested in is why you had to go back to jail after you became good again. I wasn't there and Rapunzel didn't want to tell me."
"Long story Cassie.", Varian said and laughed but then he suddenly stopped.
He grabbed Cassandra's wrist and kept her from moving on. "What's going on?" She asked confused. Varian was quiet for a short time but then answered: "We are being watched." "What?" Cass shouted in shock. "But nobody else is here in Corona ?!" "You're right ... but only in Corona."
"You mean someone from another kingdom came here? No wait! This is just crazy! No one is watching us!"
She released her wrist and continued walking but after a few steps an arrow shot past her. Immediately, Cass drew her sword. "Alright, an arrow can't move on its own, the round goes to you."
Varian laughed. "Come on, Cassie, who counts points?"
Then he took out his sword and flames came out at the sides. "But I probably won in the round of the better weapon, too," he said and kept laughing. But the sword really fascinated Cass and she stared at it with wide eyes. "Wow ..."
"Are you impressed?", He asked. "Well...", Cass replied. "But an impressive sword doesn't make an impressive fighter!", She exclaimed, swerving with her sword and running to where the arrow came from but suddenly she was standing in a sticky pink substance.
"Varian!" She exclaimed angrily. "What should that?" Varian came up to her confused. "But ... that was not me. Andrew!" He said angrily. "Andrew? But why do you think he was that?" She asked. "Long story," Varian replied again.
"Come out Hubert!", Cass yelled.
"Oh Cassie, you know my name is Andrew.", he said as he came out of the dark bushes. He took off his hood and revealed his face.
"Well. Then stop calling me Cassie! I hate it when even one of you says that to me.", Cassie said.
"Wait, why is he calling you Cassie?" Varian asked, confused.
"You call me that too!" Cassandra replied, her arms crossed.
Hubert walked over to them and interrupted their conversation: "Can someone explain to me why your kingdom is so deserted?" Then he freed Cass from the pink substance.
"Andrew.", Varian answered. "You remember Zhan Tiri's spell, don't you?" "Yes, so?", he asked confused.
"Zhan Tiri has attacked the kingdom and kidnapped everyone." "Wait really?", he asked in shock. But then a diabolical laugh followed. "That means the throne is finally mine!"
He ran away but Cassandra pulled him back on the hood he was wearing with the cape, and did the same thing with Varian's shirt.
"First you have to explain the whole spell thing."
They climbed through the rubble that lay in front of the castle gate and went into the hall. When they opened the door, all the dust came in their faces and they had to cough.
All three put on a blackened face when they saw the room.
Everything was destroyed.
The curtains as well as the carpet were torn, the royal dining that was in the middle in the normal way, lay in parts in the corner and the painting of the royal family hanging over the fireplace was overlooked with scratches.
Cassandra paid particular attention. She stood in front of it and stared at it. Her eyes fell on her best friend Rapunzel and she hung on.
Varian stood beside her and looked at the painting with a serious face. "Looks like Zhan Tiri is targeting the royal family above all else." he said but how Cassandra could hear out of his voice, he doesn't cared about that.
Without looking at him Cass said:"What is if he will harm Rapunzel? What if this was all my fault." Now she looked with fear in her eyes at him. "What if..." "What if not.", he interrupted her and smiled at her. Now Cass smiled back. Somehow... His smile made her feel save... and it made her feel in such a bad situation... like everything is alright.
Suddenly cold wind blew through the broken window and it getted really cold for them all. Hubert kneed down beside the fireplace. He took out some firewood and made a warm fire for them.
They sat down on the floor beside the fireplace and Cass asked:"So you two... Tell me about that magic spell."
"You do know Cassie, i am a man of science. Ask Hubert."
Hubert first looked angrily at Varian as if he could kill him right now but then he calmed down and said:"Well it might be true that i called the darkness."
"You did what?" Cassandra asked unbelievers.
"I called the darkness. Well, it was a little girl."
Cass looked in shock at him. "W-wait! Was that girl blue?! Like a ghost?!", she asked way too fast. Varian and Hubert looked both confused at her.
"Err, no...", Hubert asked confused. " She... She was black, more like in a gray tone. You unterstand, like darkness?"
"And why did you ask for a blue girl?", Varian asked suspiciously.
"I... Just wondered.", she lied. "Cassie, I don't think that you're telling us the whole truth."
"Well, I don't think that you are telling us the whole truth either! Or why were you in prison again?!", she asked angrily. Varian looked back angrily. After a while of silence Varian stood up and said in a annoyed tone: "I'll just get some blankets for the night. Wait here."
Varian went out the room and then Hubert asked:"Don't you think he is going to leave us? He is still a criminal." "Maybe he is. Maybe not. I was on a mission for a whole year. But... I still trust him."
"Wrong choice Cassie."
"Stop calling me like that!", she said angrily.
"Oh, but you allow Varian to call you like that? If I wouldn't know better, I would say you have some special feelings for that alchemist."
Cass's face became a bright red as she heared that.
