A Cassarian Story
Varian always knew that he cared for Cassandra. But he didn't realize how much until she was gone.
Six long years after Cassandra leaves Corona, she finally returns. Varian is overjoyed, but she comes bearing terrible news. A stran...
"I've done it!" Varian shouts triumphantly. He rushes out of the meeting room, down the hallway, and into Hugo's room. "I finished tracing the map!"
Hugo bolts out of bed in shock. "Wha— Freckles? It's still the middle of the night!"
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"No it's not, it's just really early in the morning," Varian replies. "Besides, it's not like you were sleeping, anyway."
"And now I never will again," Hugo says, clutching his chest as he gets out of bed, puts his glasses on, and changes out of his pajamas.
After rousing Abhu and Cassandra, they all head to the meeting room. "All sixteen pages are complete!" Varian says, gesturing to the table where they are neatly spread across it in four even rows.
"So, it is like a puzzle," Cassandra says as they observe the pages closer.
"Yep, and I put them all together!" Varian replies proudly, pointing out that the pages are now glued to each other.
"What is it a puzzle of, though?" Abhu asks.
"I say it's a map," Varian says. "The location is, as of yet, unrecognizable. But, this page here—" He points to the page in the top, left corner. "—has the Dark Kingdom's emblem on it."
Abhu groans. "We're going back to the Dark Kingdom?"
"That is where this all began," Hugo says. "It only makes sense."
"But the Angst is still there..." Cassandra points out.
Varian notices a flicker of fear on her face. He instinctively moves forward to give her a reassuring hug, but she steps back slightly. Right, no displays of affection in front of the others... He thinks. He doesn't want to make her uncomfortable, but a part of him is still mildly disappointed. "I guess we'll have to be extra careful not to show fear," he says instead.
Hugo scans his eyes over the map. "This doesn't seem right, though. These lines here look like rivers, but... where in the Dark Kingdom would this be? I've traveled all over, and I've never seen rivers make a shape like that." He points to squiggly lines that form a sort of spiral towards the bottom of the map.
"I guess we'll have to figure it out when we get there," Varian replies. He glances at Cassandra again, who appears more calm outwardly than he can see that she actually is in her eyes.
"Alright... Let's pack up and head out," Cassandra says. He knows none of the others hear the catch in her voice. But he does.
When the others aren't looking, Varian touches Cassandra's shoulder lightly. "Hey, you okay?" He asks.
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