Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic

Chapter 29: Destruction of the Light

It was mid-day when Rapunzel heard screams of terror coming from outside. Rapunzel, worried, peered outside the window and gasped. Buildings were on fire and people were panicking and running, arms flailing and adrenaline pumping. She quickly sprinted around and ran to Nova's room. She took a sigh of relief in realizing that the baby was okay. After she picked her up and took a couple minutes to try and calm her, Rapunzel suddenly became increasingly aware of the heat coming from outside of Nova's room. She placed a hand on the door and quickly pulled it away. The door was burning hot and there was smoke coming through the small crack at the bottom.

Now stuck in a two-story building, in a small room with no way out, Rapunzel pressed herself as far away from the door as she could. She held Nova to her chest and lowered herself to her knees as she leaned against the wall; coughing the whole time. The room was filling up with smoke quickly. Too quickly. It wouldn't be long before the flames reached them or they died from smoke inhalation. Nova was crying, still pressed closely to Rapunzel's chest. Panicked, Rapunzel leveled her voice and gently bounced the baby. "Shh, shh.. Nova, it's alright, it's okay. It's going to be okay." In truth, she didn't know if she believed that. Cass had gone out to the market nearly two hours ago before all this even started. Was she okay? Rapunzel had no idea. What was even happening? What if...

Rapunzel quickly shook her head. No, Cassandra was perfectly fine. And she was going to save them. She always did. Rapunzel was doing everything in her power to stay calm for Nova's sake. But in reality, she was terrified. She didn't know if her wife was okay and she was currently trapped in a small room while the rest of the house burned and festered. As minutes ticked by, the more suffocating smoke entered the room and the closer the flames got to them.

Having been trained what to do in this scenario, Rapunzel grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the water next to Nova's bed. She then gently placed it on Nova's nose and mouth. It would help protect her from the smoke. As for Rapunzel, well, there wasn't another rag but she didn't care about herself. All she cared for was her infant baby's safety.

Rapunzel covered her mouth into her sleeve, coughing and choking all the way. She suddenly started to feel dizzy as she got them both even closer to the ground. Rapunzel was running out of air as she did everything she could to stay conscious and keep pressing the rag to her daughter's face. "...Please.." Rapunzel wheezed. "...Cass, help.." Rapunzel's voice was barely above a whisper. Rapunzel suddenly fell onto her side, the baby still tightly clutched to her chest. "...C-Cass..." Rapunzel whispered one final time. Before everything went black, Rapunzel could barely make-out a familiar shadow smirking above her...

Rapunzel woke with a start as she shot up, breathing roughly. Hyperventilating, she suddenly felt two comforting hands on her shoulders. "Rapunzel! Breathe, come on, breathe..." Cassandra shushed as she rubbed circles on her back until Rapunzel's breathing eventually evened out.

"C-Cass...?" Rapunzel wheezed.

"Yeah, it's me." Cass confirmed quietly. Something about her tone of voice worried Rapunzel. "Here," Cassandra said softly as she pressed cool water to Rapunzel's lips. She drank greedily before trying to speak again.

"C-Cass, what..." Rapunzel, who's eyes finally unblurred, saw her wife sitting in front of her but she looked... different. No, not different... normal. Her once teal hair was reverted back to her raven locks and her once teal eyes were reverted back to her beautiful hazel hues. "....happened?" Cassandra suddenly looked away, a pained, guilty, sorrow-filled expression on her face. Rapunzel knew that expression... Something was wrong. Really wrong. Suddenly realizing something, Rapunzel treaded carefully. "...Cass, where's Nova?" Cass didn't respond. To her horror, Cassandra's expression darkened and she continued to avoid eye contact. Becoming panicked, Rapunzel gripped both of Cassandra's shoulders tightly. "Cassandra, where is-"