Keep On: Cassandra's Tangled Journey

"Y- you're not Rapunzel!" Cassandra stammered.
The girl chuckled nervously. "That's right. I don't know any Rapunzel."

Cassandra struggled to find the next words to say as she was distracted by the sight of this girl. There was so much to look at. Her big sparkly purple eyes, her bright orange hair, her soft pink lips, her tanned skin - she was beautiful.

Cassandra felt a warm feeling in her chest. The same kind of feeling she usually got when she was around Rapunzel. Ever since the whole ordeal with the moonstone, Cassandra hadn't felt like this often. She couldn't help but smile. The girl smiled back.

"Are you okay?"
"I am now."
Oh shit. That was embarrassing. She didn't know anything about this girl. Luckily, the girl laughed it off. Cass breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled with her. After another awkward silence, Cass finally figured out what she needed to say.
"So, uh, what are you doing?"
"You fell and hit your head pretty hard. So I've come to help you."
Cassandra perked up.
"Oh no. No, no, no. Look sweetheart- darling- miss," come on Cassandra, get it together, "I appreciate that you're trying to be nice, but I do not need rescuing! I have been living on the road solo for five months now, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Oh, I'm not interested in rescuing you," the girl replied, holding out her hand, "I just thought I could lend a helping hand. Everyone needs help sometimes."

Again, Cassandra couldn't help but smile. That was exactly the kind of thing Rapunzel would say. Man, she really missed Rapunzel. Without saying a word, Cassandra lightly nodded and took the girl's hand.

The girl helped Cassandra out of the ditch, and onto Fidella's back. They made their way through the woods and up the mountain, getting to know little details about each other's lives. The girl mentioned that her father was the chief of a nearby town, and that he wasn't too keen on his daughter going off on dangerous adventures and meeting strange people, but that never stopped her from sneaking out every now and again. Cassandra also learnt that this girl was a keen animal lover, particularly cats and bunnies, as well as horses. Cass told her about what it was like growing up with the royal guards, and how she always felt like she was destined to be more than Princess Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting, but she barely ever took the time to truly find herself until now. She managed to avoid getting into discussion about her burnt hand, or Zhan Tiri, or the giant oval-shaped hole in her chest, or how she trapped her father in a maze, or how she kidnapped, drugged and imprisoned a 16-year-old, or how she destroyed Corona, or how she was dead for a few minutes until Rapunzel revived her with the power of the sundrop and moonstone- basically anything that she wasn't comfortable sharing with someone she just met.

After a couple of hours, they finally reached the top of the mountain.
"Here we are, Knavitt's Point," the girl said.
"Thank you," Cassandra replied, holding out her hand for the girl to shake, "so, so much, really.'
She shook her hand. "Are you glad I helped, not rescued, you now?"
"Yes." They both laughed. Cass smiled at the girl. "It was nice to meet you."
"You too. And hey, if you ever need anything, feel free to visit Jesstitchba." With that, she started walking away.

Cass called back to her. "Wait! I never got your name!"
The girl turned back. "Luna."
"I'm Cassie-ANDRA! Cassandra!" What was going on? Cassandra never usually got this flustered. Both women smiled at each other one last time as Luna walked off into the distance.

Cass and Fidella sat down by a tree. Owl flew down and perched on one of the branches. Cass suddenly felt very conflicted. She really liked Luna, but she still found herself getting triggered by any word that related to the moon. She knew it wouldn't last forever, like most of her grudges, but for now Cass needed to avoid those kinds of words. She knew it wasn't Luna's fault that she was named Luna, so it hopefully wouldn't really matter in the long run.

As Cassandra looked up at the Aurora Borealis, she thought more and more about where this journey could take her, beyond simply finding her destiny. Maybe she could find out the identity of her biological father. Even if she couldn't see him in her dream, he must be out there somewhere. Unless he died, but Cassandra had a sneaking suspicion that he could be a member of the brotherhood, recalling him saying that he needed to protect the moonstone.

But for now, another day had come to an end, and another day without a destiny. But whenever she felt lost, Cassandra would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and remember another thing Rapunzel had told her.

"I know you've been waiting your entire life, but believe me when I tell you that it wasn't all for nothing. You will need to wait a little bit more if you want to find your true place in the world. Be patient, Cassandra. Good things always come to those who wait."