Tangled After The Series - There's No Such Thing As 'The End'

Chapter 19: I won't say I'm in love

     Varian had led Shadow outside the Snuggly Duckling and tacked him up. He was just about to pull himself up onto his back when a voice called out to him, "Varian, wait!" He turned away from Shadow and saw Cassandra running towards him. She stopped a few steps away from him. Truth be told, she hadn't had much of an idea what she was going to say when she chased after Varian. She had only told the others to meet up with the members of their teams and relay the plan to them. She told them that she was going to wait for Kiera and Catalina then grabbed her cloak from a hook by the door and raced out of it. "I...uh," Cassandra looked down at the ground, "What you did just now," she looked back up into his light blue eyes, "Thank you."

     Varian shrugged, "I would never have been able to do what you did just now half as well as you did."

     "I thought that they would say no," Cassandra said softly, "I thought that they would've refused. I never expected them to listen to me,"

     "You don't think that they would put their confidence in you," he gave a self-deprecating laugh, "I'm still waiting for the day I make another huge mistake and they turn away from me," he nodded his head at the Snuggly Duckling.

     "I'm sure that won't happen," Cassandra said, Varian raised his eyebrows sceptically, "You're very smart Varian and I know that your doubting if your new solution will work but I'm certain it will."

     Varian walked towards Cassandra and took her hands, "We can't let our former-selves shape our future selves. If you ponder too much on what faults you could make, you won't take the opportunities to do good. Make everyone else anticipate what positive things you will do." He turned her chin with his hand to face the Snuggly Duckling, "And you can start right now."

     Cassandra twisted her head back to him. "You should add poet to that resumé of yours," they laughed, "It's already pretty remarkable: royal engineer, master alchemist, Corona saver,"

     "Failed Corona destroyer,"

     Cassandra lightly hit his arm, "You're not alone there. Still, better to be a failed one than a successful one,"

     "True," Varian said then looked into the woods in the direction of Corona Castle, "So let's make sure that they don't succeed." A gust of wind blew his winter cloak around Cassandra, she laughed and push the corner away from her face. He let go of her hands – with great difficulty – and grabbed Shadow's reins. "Our past is in sight, but we'll fight towards the light," Varian called back to Cassandra. Then he rode off towards Old Corona.

     The whole ride there, Varian couldn't get Cassandra out of his head, even more so than usual. Back at the Snuggly Duckling, Cassandra stared down the track that Varian had taken and sat on a tree stump at the side of the road.

Varian: "I know I've made things a mess,
                 And you've probably had your doubts in me.
                 Probably, but nevertheless,
                 I'm going to prove you can trust me."

Both: "Just this once, let me come through for you,
              The way that I really want to."

     Cassandra had walked down the road towards where she had told Kiera and Catalina to look out and stopped on a bridge, watching the water run past. Varian entered his lab and threw his winter hood on the floor. He carried on singing to himself while he prepared balls of the substance that Cassandra had requested.

Both: "Let me make you proud,
              Let me show you the best in me,
              Let me give you a reason to believe that I can stand tall.
              And when it's over,
              And life's more than we dreamt it'd be,
              Maybe then I will find the courage to tell you everything somehow."