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It all happened too quickly. Things escalated and they both were on the peak of their powers. Both new. Both dangerous and deadly. But she didn’t realise how dangerous it all was. And how close to death they all were.
The explosion!
The great explosion that almost blew up the whole tower and everyone on it. It was so surreal. The Moonstone and the Sundrop were so powerful. Almost unbelievable. And she held the power of one of them. Almost out of control. She started this rampage in the first place. It was all on her. Rapunzel was forced to answer the attacks. But since when was the Sundrop so powerful? How the hell was there the fourth incantation? And why was it the most powerful spell of all?
It was unfair. She had the winning chance right before her. But no, Rapunzel had to win, as usual. She had to be better at everything. Even with these powerful, almost godly fights.
Rapunzel sent massive and huge power waves that threw her down, flying. She didn’t even realise and suddenly she was falling straight down. Her tower was so tall that she would most likely die if she fell from there. There was no time to think at all. One more second falling and she would be dead.
She reacted just in time. She had control over the rocks. Creating massive black rock as the landing area, she had to catch herself to not die. And in the split of the second she landed. But it wasn’t a pleasant landing. She crushed the hard solid rock at high speed. And in the bad position as well. She was surprised she was still alive. She heard some snap in her body when crashing. Falling directly on her face.
It was indeed a surprise. Suddenly all her life ran in front of her. She sensed she broke something, most likely her bones, who knows where. It all hurt so much. She tried to stand up, but found out she actually can’t. She just raised her head to look up there, if there wasn’t any further danger.
She was pissed. Mixed feelings all around. This could actually be her end, if she hasn’t caught herself. Her former friend could actually kill her. Just like that!
But then, again, it was her who stated this all. Cassandra tried to provoke Rapunzel to fight, to have an equivalent opponent and some good fight. She wanted to fight her so badly.
Ever since she took the stone, she felt like she didn't have to be the second one. The one who didn’t have control over anything, not even her life. It was all Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Rapunzel… but when she said something? Nobody listened. Nobody cared. She was supposed to be her protector, she felt so betrayed seeing how she treated her.
‘You are my best friend’ Sure, but what about the part when I have some responsibility for your choices? I AM YOUR PROTECTOR AND YOU CONSTANTLY GET YOURSELF INTO TROUBLE! You never care about my warnings, look how it ended up!
The tree - you had it under control?! How DID YOU HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL??? I was there! I got hurt, but it didn’t matter because I saved you! You wanted to save everyone, but you’d also stay there to die? No way! I had to be responsible… and you threw all the blame on me!!
Because I was suspicious about Adira? I was right, she couldn’t be trusted. Why did you have to blindly trust strangers? And not someone who actually realised all the risks, who tried to protect you, to save you, I’d even die for you. And you still see me just as a burden. Someone who is just overreacting. Someone who shouldn’t be trusted.
You actually deserved all of this…
To see that you’re not always right. To know that you hurt people around you. That you don’t actually listen but want to be heard. It’s not always about you. You had to learn that lesson, the bad way, otherwise you wouldn’t take it seriously.
And then…
…
It was a new day. Sun was shining in the sky, right above her. She didn’t even know how much time had passed before she… She passed out? Was it the exhaustion from that fight or was her body actually damaged for real?
She turned on the side, panting in the process. She was injured. And there was nobody to help her.
Nothing left…
She couldn’t stand up, she tried it but she got a horrible headache. Cass was worried, what if there was no way to heal up there? Would she just d-
No!
There had to be something she could do.
She had to check herself, find her injuries and see what actually happened after that fall.
She got unconscious shortly after she fell. Rapunzel’s gang probably left afterwards. Not taking to notice if she was even alive or not. Once her ‘friends’, now they saw her so low that they wouldn’t even care if she died.
…to lose
Good that she got rid of them back then…
It was like a huge storm. But it was inside her. Cassandra was so angry, so frustrated, that she wanted to explode. Others kept doing their reckless and irresponsible decisions and actions, while she tried to keep them safe. But after House of Yesterday’s Tomorrow, it all changed.
She found out the secret of her past. It broke her. The way it was all thrown on her, how it happened. She’s never cried, but this fact changed it. And her pain changed into anger, directed right onto Rapunzel. Maybe it was used as a weapon, but she didn’t care. Rapunzel was the one who was to blame. Of course they made it seem innocent and of course she had to be the bad one. Cassandra was always taken as someone who couldn’t be trusted. Now she knew why.
It was because her mother was the most hated person in the whole kingdom. They probably knew this all along. Her fath- Captain, maybe even the King. That’s why she couldn’t be in the guard. That’s why she felt so bad just having the privilege to be there with them. She’s never belonged there.
And Rapunzel - Rapunzel was always the main star to shine. Cassandra was abandoned by her own mother just for her. Because of her. She was the brightest star, and stars like that cannot be overshined. She, on the other hand, was born to be someone less than her, and nothing would change that.
But she didn’t want to reconcile only with that.
She WANTED to be her equal. She had the right. There wasn’t any written rule that said Rapunzel had to have everything she wanted, everything she was destined to become.
Cassandra wanted her own destiny. And if losing someone like her was the price, she was prepared to pay it. Her whole life she’s been in the shadows. Now it was in Rapunzel’s shadow. Of course they’d get on the end of the journey, to get what they wanted. But she could change that, shift it for her own predestined path.
She wondered how the hell she realised this only now? When a random ghost actually told her what nobody could before - the truth. How didn’t she do anything before? Was she scared? Or too weak or afraid to lose her friends who didn’t care about her at all? It was time to change that. And she wouldn’t hesitate.
…
As they got to the end of the journey, there were just more warning signs, the whole group almost died again, they split, and Adira finally admitted that she didn’t know how dangerous it might be to take the stone. If she wasn’t so filled with rage, she would even be afraid of what was actually going on - Rapunzel could probably die there. There were too many leads, too many assumptions and warnings. And they were all blind. It wasn’t even worth trying to talk them out of it, she knew they wouldn’t listen.
She had to play along to get there, to the stone first. Afterwards nothing else would matter. It would be her destiny, she would finally have power to decide on her own, to make her own choices. Maybe even save her reckless ‘friend’ in the process.
And when it all happened, the storm inside her was raging out.
Through the power of the Moonstone.
The Ghost girl was right, it was all meant to be hers.
It was getting close to sunset. She still couldn’t move and was just lying there in pain, the blood already dried on her face. She didn’t even want to see her body under armor. Maybe the armor was the last thing to hold it together. Maybe she was indeed slowly dying up there.
The Moonstone - that was another mystery. Something happened to it during the clash. It cracked. She rather didn’t use its powers since then, only when she saved her miserable life during the fall. It could be dangerous as well.
Maybe the biggest danger was for her to not get into infirmary. She needed some medical help, but… who would even care about her life? She was the enemy. They would leave her to die rather than taking her back to heal. Even if it was a life-threatening condition, she had no idea. She had no way to get back there, and even if she did, they wouldn’t heal her. It wasn’t an option.
She had to help herself. And she was so weak.
‘Just wait’
…
She fell into a deep sleep. As if there wasn’t even a way to get back. Maybe she was dreaming, she didn’t know. Maybe it was fighting with death. She remembered what was her drive; she was a fighter. She didn’t want to give up. And there was at least someone, one soul that was on her side.
Where was the ghost girl anyways?
Her only company. She left them all, but she stayed. Or more precisely, she reappeared.
The ghost from the cursed house. She never saw her again after she left the house. But then, after she took the stone, she was back.
Her guide, her advicor, her only other voice inside the emptiness she was in. Her friends, of course, left her, she was watching them leave on the balloon. And just like that, they were gone. And there was just her. And Owl. And later, her familiar ghost.
With the magical item on her chest and great rocks she was able to control the first time, she knew nothing was impossible anymore. There was magic all around. She just couldn’t sense it before. But now, when she was magical herself thanks to the stone, more possibilities had opened.
She had a theory that the Ghost girl was the spirit of the Moonstone, to guide and help her with understanding this power. Even though she was really helpful with explaining how Moonstone worked, she was never able to explain to Cassandra how these powers could be controlled ideally. Just like the first time. The rocks weren’t listening to her calls anymore. It was all so complicated, the understanding and the connection between her and the stone had some kind of barrier she couldn’t get through.
There was one way to break it down though. The rage. Moonstone reacted to anger, rage and all strong negative emotions, and Cass was full of them. It was some kind of help, but it was never enough. Those feelings couldn’t be controlled on command, and Cass wanted to control her power.
There was a way. Little ghost gave her another great piece of advice. The Great Tree. Incantations. Of course. If Rapunzel was able to control her powers through healing incantation, there had to be also some spell for her Moonstone.
She spent months traveling back there. It was the halfway of the journey they traveled together. But now, it was a quiet journey. With tons of struggles.
She tried again and again to summon the rocks. It was all useless. As if she was a completely different person from the one who could easily create a huge bridge before, who could send Adira flying and who could actually use power to her advantage. She was pathetic. Not even being able to move a damn rock.
She had to get that incantation, to be able to be again powerful and in control of her own destiny. She had the drive to achieve her goal. And there were also other things that were growing inside her, not just the lust for power. Hate.
Seeing the Ghost Girl was something she got used to, but also her talks made her realise things. How bad she felt before. How miserable and toxic her so-called friends were towards her. How she couldn’t be anything more than they allowed her to be. A servant. Lady in waiting. Waiting for her time to shine, without any reward. She tried so hard to get up there, to reach her dreams. Could she be even happy there?
It wasn’t her home; it was her prison. Something that kept her from being free. To have her own choice. To be who she wanted to be. It couldn’t be achieved there, no matter what others said.
She broke free once she took the stone. A good riddance.
But…
She just arrived at the Great Tree. It was all destroyed, as the day they left… nothing stayed there. Even the spell chamber, or whatever cursed place it was, there were just ruins everywhere. But some leads stayed. Torn papers with useless things. A broken wall with the symbols she couldn’t read.
Her ghost advicor tried to explain to her how the spell worked - without it, she wouldn’t be able to hold the full power again. She had to search everything. It was her only possibility. She needed that spell. But there was nothing. No incantation, no any other scrolls.
Ghost Girl then said something crucial. The Demanitus scroll. It had the needed incantation! And she knew exactly where to look for it.
Again walking. Now back home.
It took her another few months to get there, but she was on an important mission. She mustn’t fail. She had to gain that power, gain her freedom and become who she always was destined to become. A strong person without any limits, without any obstacles on her way. To become herself. Or what the ghost said.
It made some sense. At first, she couldn’t believe what Ghost Girl was telling her. She was just a normal person before. Becoming someone so powerful was surreal, and yet, here she was, standing. After hearing all the encouraging words and advice, she actually started to believe them. It was her destiny. She couldn’t fail. It was all true.
The incantation should’ve been her rebirth, everything her blueberry Ghost promised her. And when she finally gained it through hard work with intimidation and some kidnapping, she felt it. It was THAT powerful as the Ghost described.
But then… Why would Rapunzel have some other incantation too? And so powerful?
It was supposed to be only her. She was to become the most powerful. Finally being able to overpower Rapunzel… and yet, she lost. Again.
It didn’t make sense… Why would there be another incantation? Why didn’t Ghost Girl mention this to her? Or maybe she didn’t know as well?
And then the downfall. A literal one. She went too far with this power. Reached the limit and got against the odds. And she lost, and fell down like a failure. And once she hit the ground-
It felt just like a dream when you’re falling and waking up before you hit the floor. The same thing happened to Cassandra. It was a nightmare. But as she abruptly woke up at the time of the impact, she felt the pain once again.
No, she wasn’t dead yet. Lucky her.
She was still there, lying on that ledge of her tower. She felt something different. Maybe she was actually healing or something. She had no idea how long she'd been lying there… It could be hours, maybe even days.
It was almost evening when she woke up. She was in pain, but could move more than before. She moved to lay on her back, so she would see the stars appearing in the sky. It was too peaceful. There wasn’t any voice inside her head.
Ghost Girl was gone. She didn’t know if it was a good thing or not. She actually had no idea who it was. For someone guiding the Moonstone she knew too little but at the same time too much. Sometimes even being poisonous. She didn’t stop even when Cass wanted to rest. She was her drive to move forward. And yet, it was sometimes annoying, not giving any privacy when Cass wanted or needed it. She could appear any time. She could see Cassandra weak, or even doubting. She didn’t allow her to become weak, she wanted her to be strong, as she deserved. But where was she now? When she needed some help?
She was all alone.
There wasn’t any time to waste anymore, she had to fight it. Fight that pain. And try to get up.
After that slight rest, she moved back on her side, then lying on her stomach. That was the best position to get up, mostly when someone was injured. She slowly placed her arm under her body and tried to lift herself up a bit. It was a struggle; she was panting a lot. Suddenly her whole body felt heavier. But she wouldn’t give up now. It was time to get up. So, she slowly started. Putting the other hand under her to make the stability, and then slowly lifting her chest, her head, till she reached the point to move her legs to support the stability. Then she slowly lifted up more, getting into the position of kneeling from which it was easy to stand up even while being weak.
What even happened to her to lose so much strength? Was it only the impact of the fall’s fault or was it also the power wave that sent her flying? Was she so weak because the Moonstone was damaged? What if the stone was actually the only thing keeping her alive?
She knew too little. It was all so overwhelming. But she couldn’t stay out there any longer. She had to stand up. Carefully, but still not greatly balanced. At least she didn’t fall right afterwards. She had to be cautious also to not fall down from the rock that was holding her there. She slowly and weakly walked back to her tower.
There was an obstacle. She had to make the opening. No matter what, she had to use the Moonstone again. It was still damaged and doing weird sparks. She was actually afraid if it would even work to use its powers. And if yes, would there be any consequences?
Now, when she was so weak, she realised something. That this wasn’t the way. All the damage, all that pain… just to be better? To feel stronger? It had a huge impact. Her powers, and Rapunzel’s, were too powerful. No more godly fights like this, even if she was about to regain her strength. Too big danger and risk. She had other options. No need to destroy another tower.
Hers was pretty damaged. Not to the point it’d fall, but still, pretty much. The top of the tower, where the explosion happened, wasn't even there. She would be probably able to rebuild it and repair, but everything needed time. First step was to get inside.
With one hand, she supported herself leaning on the outer black rock wall of the tower, with the other one she summoned the power. To create an opening. Carefully this time. Since Moonstone wasn’t completely safe now.
It worked.
Great, at least Moonstone still works. Now to get to the top. Slowly, since my head still hurts. How the hell did I survive this fall?
Her head was spinning. She had to make stops while walking and leaning to rocks and walls near her to not fall down. She had to find stairs. Not enough strength to make some quick rock lift, it’d be unsafe for her now. Minimum usage of her powers since the Moonstone’s damage. Rather not risking the possible consequences.
She found the stairs. They were damaged as well, but she’d be able to climb them better than without having them. When she tried to move up on them, she fell down on her knees. She was so weak. Climbing became easier when she was moving up on both her feet and hands. And sometimes knees.
What was even up there if her goal was to get up?
She had no idea actually. She didn’t have any plan beyond reaching her goal and having power. That was her goal, right? To get the incantation and have the control over black rocks. She also lost her weakness when she definitely tore apart all the remaining ties to her friends. But then of course, she had to prove herself something. That she’s better than Rapunzel… stronger. This is how her fate laughed directly at her. Now even climbing stairs became a struggle.
Well, it wasn’t completely her fault. Ghost Girl actually encouraged her to this fight. Maybe to showcase what kind of power Moonstone really had. Or help her with becoming independent and lose her weakness… and yes, she was even weaker than before. Because of Rapunzel. And her damn 4th spell.
She would need to really talk to the Ghost Girl when she sees her again… This was a disaster. Nothing gained from this fight.
She had to rest for a moment. She was halfway through her goal - the top. Or the remaining of it. Stairs were really damaged the more she went up. She had to climb even more. And that drained her. Maybe it was time for another nap.
She was a failure. No matter that she had the strongest spell of the Moonstone, Sundrop HAD to be stronger. Rapunzel had to- No. She didn’t have to prove herself. Rapunzel was there only because of Varian. Not because of her. Or maybe-
Stop! She is your enemy now.
“You need to destroy her before she destroys you.” She heard something like an echo in her head. Her memory. What Ghosty said to her. Maybe it was true, Sundrop had the power to destroy the Moonstone. Or at least her. The Moonstone cracked. And the Sundrop probably stayed untouched. Rapunzel probably didn’t even feel some aftermath from the fight. Sundrop was indeed a danger to her.
Rapunzel was probably the only person who could indeed destroy her. She almost did. That couldn’t happen again.
But not using the spell again… that way I can’t win… I need some other plan.
She was thinking a lot lately about what will be her next move. What did she actually want? Was it the drive to be better than Rapunzel? To win? To destroy her? She didn’t know… she was so confused about her future now.
One step at time.
She woke up from her short nap. Not even knowing if it was short or not. Although, she felt a little better. Maybe she’d be able to climb the last steep part where the stairs ended.
She saw the top of the tower from her low position. She started to slowly climb again. Carefully and determined. Her body hurt less; she was slowly healing indeed. Yet, she had no idea when she’d be fit again. To be able to do anything meaningful.
Why was there death silence? She still remembered who was talking to her most of the time. She didn’t even know if she missed her blue Ghost companion or not. It was more peaceful. She could think more freely without constantly listening to her advice… she needed some rest at some points of her journey, and yet, she wasn’t allowed to. Maybe the ghost was really gone. Maybe after that spell…
She didn’t notice what happened to others during the fight, not even her ally who only she could see. She just heard some weird laugh, but then got distracted by power flowing through her. She was even sure that her eyes were glowing during that spell.
Climbing the last part was the hardest. She saw the clear sky while reaching the last part of her tower. And there was… crescent Moon.
What? I- I thought…
It was full Moon!
She remembered and suddenly realised how long she’s been out.
Oh my- I was unconscious for more than a week? What the hell?
It was definitely the full Moon when I built the tower, when I had the spell. I was unconscious for that long! Damn, no more powerful spells after this, I guess. My fighting skills and rocks would be enough for the next time…
The last part of climbing seemed never-ending. She was panting a lot during the process and struggling to get up.
And then… She finally reached the top!
Or more like the remains of it… so much damage.
Her Moonstone was still crackling up and she was concerned. How would she fix this?
It was an exhausting ‘trip’, and suddenly, she saw something strange. Some kind of purple glow, that formed into a circular shape.
Wasn’t she dreaming again? Was she unconscious all the time, just imagining climbing up? No, she wouldn’t want to do that again.
…it seemed more like some kind of magical portal. Maybe quite similar to that one she saw back when Rapunzel was kidnapped and mind controlled by that weird witch. Just not circular this time. And it soon became too glowy, almost… blinding. She had to cover her eyes and protect them from dangerous light that appeared out of nowhere.
She had an uncomfortable feeling. It was all creepy. What kind of twisted things were happening in her tower?
The shape of the portal now formed a circle. And all of sudden - there formed a figure, from that glow.
It was her companion. But she wasn't a ghost anymore.
She didn’t feel safe up there, to be honest. This was creepy indeed; her Blueberry Girl was now purple. And alive? Was she alive before? Who the hell was she? Wasn’t she a Moonstone’s spirit? But spirits can’t be physical… or?
She started to speak, relieved, but actually looking evil: “Finally, the clash of the sun and the moon has released me from my prison.”
Okay, that was definitely scary to Cass.
What prison? What the- Am I safe here? I thought I knew this girl, but it seems I have no idea who this is. Why do I have such a bad feeling inside me? Something tells me I should be running, but the other part of me is too prying to find out what’s happening right now.
“It’s good to be back,” her Enchanted Girl smiled with an evil grin at her.
What the actual hell?
*dramatic music plays*