This is a continuation of 'Betrayal and Trust', an awesome story written by @ChloelineLynnCaro. Since it ended in a cliffhanger, I decided to write an ending for it. I strongly recommend reading 'Betrayal and Trust' before starting this book. The st...
She glanced back. This was one of the hardest decisions she had ever made. But there was no going back now, she was already on her way.
Queen Arianna had left the castle. She disobeyed the king, something she never imagined herself capable of. After hearing Pete's words, she understood that Varian was in grave danger now. Worse yet, it came from two sides, and he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Arianna had no idea how to stop Cass, but she hoped she could at least get the Royal Guard to listen to her and abandon their preposterous plan. It was inhumane, And Frederic knew it. At this moment, Arianna pretty much despised him. She still felt fury burning inside her when she recalled his words. They echoed through her brain and made her head ache. We'll use the boy as a sacrifice.
***
The group halted. Varian lifted his head with effort. He was surprised by how much progress they'd made already.
"How are we going to find the princess?" someone asked. The Captain responded grimly. "We're not. King's orders. She'll ruin the plan. We're gonna have to defeat Cassandra ourselves." The soldiers clearly didn't like that idea, but didn't dare to protest. Varian's heart sank. The plan pretty much eliminated his chances to get out of this alive.
Strangely, it wasn't even the thought of dying that scared him. Sure, he was terrified, but...
Varian suddenly realized that all he had really wanted was to get the chance to speak with Rapunzel one more time. To say I'm sorry.
He swallowed and blinked back tears. He could only hope that somehow, Rapunzel knew.
***
Rapunzel was staring off into the distance, still pondering over the warning Pete had given her. She put her head in her hands. Why did it feel like she was standing at the edge of a cliff, staring into the deep, dark abyss of the unknown?
Suddenly Rapunzel smiled (though it was more of a grimace, she hadn't really been able to smile after Cass's betrayal). She stood up and walked over to the rest of the group. "Guys, I think I know the answer."
***
The mesmerizing landscape was scarred by a jagged ravine. When approached from Corona, it had one way in and two ways out. Had. A recent landslide had blocked one of them. But of course the captain was unaware of this. They had to go through the ravine to get to Cass's hideout. The Captain turned around to address the soldiers. "This is a narrow passage. We have to be on our guard. Everyone, keep an eye out for anything unusual." Then they continued, slowly. They made it all the way to the road junction before the problems started.
All of a sudden, black rocks sprouted up behind them. A cold, shrill laughter echoed through the ravine. The captain reacted fast. He grabbed Varian's bag, and took the blue sphere. He lifted it up, preparing to throw. Varian tried to scream "No! Don't!" but his throat was so dry that the rasping sound that came out wasn't even heard by the guards next to him. And no one paid attention to him anyway.
The sphere exploded a few feet behind them, creating a thick blue fog that completely covered the way back. The toxic fumes started to spread in their direction, so the soldiers hastily rushed forward. They took the left road. They didn't get far.
There, in the middle of the road, stood Cassandra, grinning maliciously. She spoke in a cheerful tone: "Well, I was wondering when you'd come to pay me a visit, dad. I'm honoured."
The captain exclaimed: "Quick! The other way!" But as soon as he looked to the right passage, he saw the barricade created by the landslide. They were trapped.
Cassandra continued, grinning widely. "However, I must admit I'm surprised that so many of you are oblivious enough to believe you stand a chance against ME!"
Shouting the last word, Cassandra raised her hands, building up power to create a massive wave of black rocks. But she never got to unleash it.
A familiar voice called out from above. "Not so fast, Cassandra!"
Cassandra looked up, distracted and annoyed. On the edge of the cliff stood Rapunzel, her hair untied and flowing down the precipice. She had her eyes closed and her hair started to glow brightly. Just as Cassandra recomposed herself and prepared to strike, Rapunzel lifted both her hands into the air, and made a slicing motion downward. New black rocks appeared, now breaking straight through the barrier. They formed a path for the troop, and a wall between them and Cassandra.
Varian didn't hesitate. The new wall wasn't enough to stop Cassandra from attacking them for long, they still had no chance to escape in time. He gathered all his strength and jerked his hands backwards, causing the perplexed guard holding the other end of the chain to let go. Varian immediately took off, running (or rather, stumbling) towards the newly forming wall. He reached it just in time to throw himself over it before the rocks suddenly straightened up and hid him from view. As he jumped, he caught a glimpse of Rapunzel's stunned face as she noticed him for the first time. Then he closed his eyes.
Varian crossed his arms and locked the thumbs of his chained hands together, creating the shape of a flying bird.
The sign from his dream.
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