☀️ tangled the series oneshots ☀️

☀️ surrender ☀️

i had to write this before once a handmaiden is released, because this is kind of just speculation lmao

The streets of Corona were bustling with life, but Cassandra stayed hidden in the shadows. She walked at a fast pace, the long, flowing cloak that she wore to hide her identity moving slightly with the breeze.

She looked around at the kingdom she had grown up in. The familiar places in the palace square now seemed like a distant memory. Uncle Monty's Sweet Shoppe, the stands that citizens had set up to sell various products, even the house she and her father had lived - they all reminded her of a better time, a feeling of joy that she could barely recall.

Cassandra forced herself to stop dwelling on the past and keep walking. After all, dwelling on the past is what got her into this mess in the first place. Finally remembering her early childhood was the tipping point of her rage against Rapunzel. It was time for Cassandra to stop blaming her former best friend for events that neither of them could control and neither of them could change.

As Cassandra approached the castle, she knew there was no way she would make it inside without being stopped by the guards, but she wasn't bothered by that. For once, she didn't have ill intentions.

Stan and Pete were on duty at the palace gates today. Stan and Pete, who Cassandra had known since she was a little girl, who had taken care of her whenever her father was too busy to, who were basically older brothers to her.

"Stop!" Stan demanded as Cassandra stopped in front of the palace gates. He and Pete used their halberds to block her from entering. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Cassandra lifted her hood and stared at their shocked faces. A million different emotions flash across Stan and Pete's faces as Cassandra held out her harms and said, "I've come to turn myself in."

After a moment of hesitation, Pete yelled for other nearby guards to come over. Multiple guards - at least five or six, Cassandra couldn't quite tell - had their hands on her by now, trying to restrain her despite her not fighting back.

A crowd had formed around them. People were watching, curious as to what all the commotion was about. Cassandra was able to see through the guards for a moment and made eye contact with someone she knew. Varian and his father were standing in the crowd, Varian's face turning pale when he saw that it was Cassandra who was being restrained.

Cassandra shot the boy a small smile before being dragged away. Varian had done a lot for her. His pleading with her was a huge part of why she decided to come back, even if Cassandra refused to show it at the time. She needed Varian to know that he had done something to help her, since this could be the last time they ever saw each other.

The guards led Cassandra through the halls of the castle. The people she had once worked with all had their eyes on her, they clearly didn't expect to see her again so soon - or, more accurately, they didn't expect to see her so resigned. The piercing, disappointed glare that Old Lady Crowley was giving her would have been a mere annoyance to Cassandra in the past, but now it felt like a heavy burden on her shoulders. She had let everyone down.

They finally reached the dungeon, and a guard angrily shoved Cassandra into a cell. "The King and Queen will deal with you later." He growled as he locked the cell and headed back upstairs.

Cassandra didn't do anything to pass the time. She didn't shout for help or try to find a way to escape. She simply sat down in the corner of her cell, looking around at the cracked, mouldy walls and shivering from sitting on the cold floor.

Her attention was drawn to a mirror hanging on the wall. It dawned on her that this was the same cell that Rapunzel had locked her and Eugene in to try and force them to get along. She smiled a bit at the memory. Behind all the narcissism, the snarky comments and his dark past, Eugene wasn't all that bad. Cassandra regretted not being nicer to him, and now she'd never get the chance to.

She was only alone in her cell for a few hours, but it felt like a lifetime. By the time someone finally showed up, Cassandra was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice their presence at first.

"Cassandra?"

Cassandra looked up and locked eyes with Rapunzel. She wasn't alone either. Eugene stood by her side, an arm around Rapunzel's waist, wearing Cassandra's father's uniform - had she cost her father his job? Lance stood next to them, and Varian clung onto him, looking afraid. All four of them stood on the other side of the bars, so close yet so far.

"What are you guys doing here...?" Cassandra asked. "Shouldn't you just leave me to die?"

"Die?" Rapunzel repeated. "Cass... you're not going to die."

"I put the kingdom in danger many times." Cassandra reminded her. "I put you guys in danger! Rapunzel, Eugene, I tried to kill you! And Varian, I kidnapped you and held you hostage! They're going to execute me. It's what I deserve."

Eugene frowned. "Cassandra, we're not going to let you be executed."

"Why don't you of all people want me gone?" Cassandra asked. "I was terrible to you, and for the most ridiculous reasons!"

"That was the past." Eugene answered. "Sure, you weren't good to me at all... but I want to help you. Even though you hated me, you were so loyal to the kingdom and Rapunzel, and for you to throw that all away is really out of character."

"Yeah, you deserve a second chance!" Lance chimed in. "Besides, even without us helping, you probably wouldn't be executed anyway. I don't think the King and Queen would do that to you, and your father certainly wouldn't let them."

"Exactly!" Varian had stopped cowering now that he knew Cassandra wouldn't lash out. "I knew there was still some good in you! We can all see it!"

"So... I'm just going to be let off with punishment?" Cassandra knew that wouldn't be fair. They couldn't just ignore all of the crimes she'd committed.

"Well, no." Rapunzel answered. "But we'll figure all that out later. What matters now is that you're back."

Rapunzel unlocked the cell door and stepped inside, engulfing Cassandra in a hug. Cassandra hesitated for a moment from the shock of suddenly being hugged after not having human contact for so long. "Welcome home, Cass."

Tears welled up in Cassandra's eyes as Eugene, Lance and Varian all joined the hug. She felt safe in her friends' embrace. For the first time in over a year, Cassandra was happy.