Stars Above - A Cassunzel Fanfic

Chapter 33: Tu Es Ma Lumiere (The Final Showdown Part 3)

As promised, here's the third part! 10,000 words later *internal sighing*. Because I made you all wait so long, I did extra art for this chapter! Hope it was worth the wait! Please enjoy!
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Cassandra awoke with a start, breathing roughly. She felt a soft hand place itself on her back. "Woah, hey, Cass, breathe."

"Eugene?" Cass asked weakly as she wheezed.

"Yeah, it's me," Eugene responded. When Cass's eyes finally unblurred, she looked around at her surroundings. She saw the familiar faces of her friends.... Varian, Lance, the girls... and other familiar faces that she thought she would never see again; all staring at her. She realized that she was in the Ugly Duckling.... back in Corona.

Cassandra was incredibly confused. Looking at Eugene, she asked him: "How did we get here? Last time I checked we were many, many miles away."

Eugene and her friends shared a worried glance before looking back at her. "You've been out for days, Cass."

Cassandra's eyes widened. "Days?! How?"

"You collapsed after your little... exertion."

Cassandra was about to say something else but she stopped short, realizing something as she asked seriously: "Where's Zhan Tiri?"

Again, her friends shared a worried glance before Eugene sighed and pointed at the window. As Cassandra slowly got to her feet and made her way towards the window, Cassandra's breath caught in her throat as she stared in horror. Corona was destroyed. Completely. The buildings were broken into pieces, once on fire, as the smoke rose into the sky. It was surrounded by black rocks, shadows and... gold rocks?

"Wait," Cassandra said, turning to Eugene. "She has the sunstone?" They all looked away guilty. Cassandra's eyes turned angry. "You let her get the sunstone?!"

"It wasn't like we could stop her," Eugene responded. "With you out of commission, we had nothing to protect ourselves from. Besides, we were too busy trying to reach you."

"Screw me, you should've gone after the stone! Not only does she have the moonstone but now she has the blackstone and the sunstone!"

Eugene glared his tired eyes at her. "You made it nearly impossible," He seethed. "The area was so destroyed we were barely able to get out of there due to your little 'tantrum'."

"It wasn't a-"

"Silence!" A voice cut through the small space. Everyone went quiet as the king emerged, glaring death at Cassandra. Cassandra gulped.

By the look in his eyes as he stalked towards her, she could tell that they all already knew... Cassandra had never been a fan of the king. He was pushy, judgy, arrogant and a liar. But Rapunzel was still his daughter and the pain he must be in... On instinct, she put her head towards the floor and bowed slightly. She spent nearly her whole life fearing the king. Everyone did. When faced with grief, he never took it very well. He was a large man with lots and lots of power. "S-Sir, I-"

"Quiet!" The king barked. Cassandra immediately looked towards the floor. "I allow you into my kingdom, after knowing that your mother was the one to take my daughter away from me, I give you a job in the castle, I let you stay with Rapunzel even after you disobeyed direct orders and I let you live even after you take over my kingdom and attack my daughter! And this is how you repay me? You convince my daughter to leave with you then bring a crazed demon into my walls again!"

As Cassandra kept her eyes directed towards the floor, Eugene stepped in front of her. "Sir, if I may, this wasn't-"

"Silence Fitzherbert!" He shouted as he glared at the young man. "You know, I expected better from you when I made you captain of my guard. But helping a fugitive?"