Betrayal and Trust Part II (different writer) - AU fanfic

Reconciliation II.

[Art NOT by me]

***

Rapunzel felt restless. The campfire had gone out some time ago, and it had gotten chilly. It wasn't dawn yet, but the black of the night had already dissolved into a clear grey. 
She got up and decided to go for a walk to clear her head a bit. Enjoying the sound of early birds and crickets, she slowly made her way through the dense forest. Everything seemed so peaceful today.
Lost in thought, Rapunzel didn't notice the small open space until she stood in it's centre. She stopped walking, curiously looking around, when she suddenly heard a sound on her left. She tensed up, preparing to run for her life.

Varian stumbled out of the bushes and fell on his knees, trying to catch his breath. 

Rapunzel stood now absolutely frozen, utterly confused. It couldn't be... 
He looked terrible. Just like her, he had bags under his eyes due to a severe lack of sleep. His face was so pale he could have passed as a ghost. But the worst part was that he was dreadfully thin. As if he hadn't eaten properly in months (which in fact, he hadn't). 
As he sat there, panting, he just looked so small and fragile...

***

At first, Varian didn't notice her. After sending Amber back for the sake of secrecy, he had been travelling on foot. He hadn't permitted himself to stop for aver a day now, lest he be delayed even more. He had kept walking until his legs just gave out and he stumbled upon a tree root. 
After a minute or so, he looked up and saw Rapunzel. It almost gave him a heart attack. He bolted up. 
Rapunzel blinked a few times. "Varian? How did you get here?" she asked softly. 
Varian stared at her, bewildered. He'd expected her to snap at him, but only saw worry and sadness in her eyes. 
He nervously glanced away, looking at the ground. This was it. The moment he had been dreading ever since he set out to find her. He had practised this over and over in his head. But he wasn't ready, not in the slightest.

"Rapunzel... I'm... I'm so sorry." 

Varian suddenly felt light in his head, as the world turned black for a moment. He shouldn't have gotten up so fast. He staggered backwards and caught himself, leaning against a tree, breathing heavily. 
In seconds, Rapunzel closed the distance between them and put a hand on his shoulder. "Varian, are you okay? Just sit down for a moment." She sounded genuinely concerned. 
Varian took her advice and sat down on a fallen tree trunk. "I'm... fine", he managed to say. Rapunzel sat down next to him. Varian forced himself to breathe steadily. "I came to help you." He paused, then said softly: "If- if you want me to." 
Nervously, Varian started fidgeting with the sleeves of his torn shirt. Stupid. Of course it's not okay. You've betrayed her, why would she want your help? What were you even thinking?  said a voice in his head.
But Rapunzel didn't hesitate. She got up and hugged him fiercely. Varian froze up. When was the last time someone had hugged him? He couldn't even remember. he suddenly felt tears brimming behind his eyes, impossible to keep in. Varian returned the hug, quietly sobbing against Rapunzel's shoulder. After a while, she pulled back, tears glistening in her eyes too. She whispered:
"I am so happy you're here, Varian."

***

Rapunzel could hardly believe it. She had waited for this moment, hoped for it. But to be honest, she never expected it to really happen.
Despite everything, she felt a surge of joy when she heard him say 'I'm sorry'. 
Me too, Varian, me too.

She took a deep breath. "I've been thinking about you. I missed you. I was so afraid." She shuddered.
"What happened?" Varian hesitantly put his arm around her, his shyness making her smile a little.
"She took the moonstone. I was supposed to grab it to neutralize it's destructive power... but Cassandra got there first."
Rapunzel inhaled shakily. "And now she wants to destroy us... and I keep getting these dreams about Cassandra killing the ones I love..." she cried. 
Rapunzel wanted to continue, but then got hit by realization. "Dreams..." she muttered. 

"Varian, am I dreaming?"

"Yes"

She was taken aback. It all felt so real. "But... you... is this-" 
Varian hastily interrupted her. "But that doesn't mean it isn't real!" He searched for words. "You're dreaming, but I'm dreaming the same thing." 
She took a moment, pondering over these words. A feeling of sadness overtook her. "How can I be sure of that?"
Varian thought for a moment. Then his eyes lit up. "We can think of a special sign!"
"Great idea!" Rapunzel replied. "That way, when we meet, we'll know!"
After they thought of something, Rapunzel had one more question. 
"How do you know all this?" 
Varian looked a bit confused. "I'm not completely sure. I think I read about this. Oh, I remember! It was in that piece of scroll. It said that sun and moon can sense eachother and communicate over long distances."

That seemed logical... but wait...

"How do you mean, sun and moon ?" 

Before Varian could answer, a black rock suddenly sprouted up right next to them. They jumped up and looked in terror as they saw Cassandra emerge from the shadows. She laughed, the sound of it hollow and empty.
With one swift motion of her hand, she sent a wave of glowing rocks in their direction. 
Varian shouted: "Rapunzel, remember! You can control them too!"
She tried, and managed to make the rocks stop growing. But Cassandra just sent another wave of them. Rapunzel tried to stop the rocks again, but she wasn't fast enough. The rocks slowed down a bit, but kept closing in with incredible speed. 
With all the strength he had left, Varian pushed Rapunzel out of the way. She could only watch in terror as he threw his hands up in defence. He gave her one last look, with tears in his eyes, but almost... calm, accepting. 

When the rocks reached him, there was a flash of blinding white light, followed by a huge shockwave.

***

Rapunzel was  jolted awake, with her chest heaving and her heart racing. What just happened?

***