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Mother Knows Best

Chapter 2: And Now They Were Two

Summary:

An unconventional friendship, some stories are shared and clouds start to form on the horizon.

Notes:

Beta: Cyn, all rawr

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

It was a beautiful early morning. Arianna could literally feel the drowsiness of the night lift from her spirit with every sip of coffee and bite of food. Beyond the city, the ocean lit the horizon with glittering sparkles and white sails. The faint bells of the returning fishing boats filled the lower wharfs, dragging the fishwives and foremen from their meals, signaling the start of the workday. Arianna had only minor administrative tasks today as queen, and with the exception of lunch with the heads of the carpenter guild her day looked surprisingly breezy which meant she could indulge in a long breakfast, maybe followed by a stroll-

“I HATE YOU!” 

Rapunzel, dressed in a short exercise dress ran past, panting in a sad-looking slog after a positively glowing Cassandra. Arianna blinked. 

“Keep up, Raps, basic fitness is important if you’re ever going to protect yourself.” 

“Then why do I need YOU?” The princess suffered between heaving, astmatic wheezes.

“Please, I’m not even going to justify that with an answer. If you’re doing well enough to talk, you can absolutely run. A few more laps should do it.” Cassandra wasn’t even breathing hard as she slowed down to let the princess catch up.

“I can’t feel my legs!”

“Sure you can, they are the part of you that is hurting the most right now. Just keep your breathing even, remember to exhale.”

Both young women ran past, Cassandra took notice of the queen and waved before turning back to Rapunzel. “Don’t forget we’re dashing up the slope, we really need to strengthen your calves.” 

“I HATE you sooooo much!” 

Her daughter’s voice, a pitiful, rattling whine, disappeared behind the left castle wing towards the garden hills and barracks. Arianna’s lady-in-waiting arrived with her eggs and scones without paying the spectacle any heed. The woman huffed as she looked over the placement of the cutlery, pretending her best to ignore the now daily debacle of the princess’s most recent curriculum and the queen’s obvious amusement.

Arianna took a bite of her spiced eggs and passed both children a fond, motherly thought. The food was delicious.

***

 

For the fifth time this month, Cassandra wondered if she hadn’t accidentally killed the long lost heir to the Coronian crown out of sheer athletic enthusiasm.

The extravagant marble tub of the royal bath stood less than five meters away, filled with steaming hot water that promised complete and utter relaxation. Covered with suds and smelling faintly of citrus, it looked like paradise. Princess Rapunzel der Sonne however, laid sunken in a graceless heap on the floor, seemingly unmoving atop the rich, purple rug embroidered with a sun.

“I really don’t like you right now.” 

Her voice was barely audible as she flopped around face-up, her warm, brown hair streaked and matted by sweat. It clung to her dress in all the unflattering places as she drew a deep, laboured breath to sooth her aching body.

“I’ll live.” Cassandra stood stoically by her feet, one arm resting comfortable on her sword hilt while she brushed her own damp hair back. “Just like I did yesterday, and the day before when you mentioned similar sentiments.” 

“I should never have hired you.”

“You didn’t, the Queen did. You’re merely a victim to the whims of higher authority.”

“So we agree that you’re the villain! I highly doubt this higher authority told you to torture me daily at the crack of dawn.” Rapunzel grimaced at her from the floor with all the grace of a sunbathing seal. 

“That part would be my design, indeed. It’s good for you. No matter how many guards you have, your first and last line of defence will always be yourself.” 

The princess pushed herself up to a half-sitting position with great labour, rolling her shoulders while she glared at Cassandra sourly. “It’s easy for you to say. How do you look better while sweating and exercising?” She gestured in her general direction, annoyed.

“Excuse me?” Cassandra laughed, missing the slight tint of red that started to colour the princess’s ears.

“It’s just really embarrassing how you get to see me flop around like a fish on land every day while you’re right there, looking all unbothered and… and swell.” Rapunzel pouted, her ear tips now completely red. She seemed to have wanted to say something else. “And my mother laughed at me.”

“I’m sure the Queen was just looking after you.”

“Ugh. Yeah. I gathered. That’s what you all do. Look after me.” The princess’s mood seemed to sour at that. “As if I’m a precious pet.”

The younger girl didn’t elaborate further. She suddenly got up and stomped over to one of the wooden cabinets, fatigue seemingly gone and grabbed a towel. Cassandra stood wordless as the princess plied her soggy clothes off one after one, not really bothering to get behind the dressing screens. Cassandra looked away but caught a vision of bare, sun-kissed skin as the princess marched up to the bath and stepped in with as much dignity as she cared to muster. When she looked up again, Rapunzel was in the bath, hair soaked and combed back with crystalline water up to her chest. Their eyes met.

Cassandra swallowed and turned around. If there was one thing she had learned the hard way it would certainly be that being raised in a tower had taught Rapunzel nothing about modesty. 

“I’ll go-” She started.

“Stay.” Rapunzel muttered into the water as she began to wash. “After all, you’re here to look after me.”

“Raps?”

“Cass, it’s fine. I’ll be quick so you can have your turn. Then let’s go start our day.”

Rapunzel let out a small sigh and began to hum as the room was filled with the sound of sloshing water. This time it was Cassandra’s who felt her face burn red.

***

 

“They seem to be doing well.”

The captain stepped back from the balustrade into the study, taking the cup of coffee offered to him. Beneath in the inner courtyard, Rapunzel was defending herself against Cassandra’s steady attacks with a practice sword. Barefoot and without a shred of fear, she flailed a wooden staff like a child on a mission, boisterous and fierce. Her dark-haired counterpart kept an even pace, carefully adjusting the pressure and power of her blows. A quick three step attack forced the princess back as she lifted her staff to deflect. Both girls seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Fast friends, already joined by the hip if I’m to believe.” Arianna walked over with her own cup, handing him several folders with the royal crest. 

“I would admonish Cassandra for this… distraction, but I went through her security rotations yesterday. She’s made some excellent suggestions to the guard posts and some exterior structural changes to the princess’s windows. She was taught well.” The captain continued with hesitant satisfaction. “She seems to be doing her job well, among other things.” 

Arianna shot him a look. “Come now Gustav, both girls could do with a few more friends. Being queen will be lonely enough without us actively dissuading Rapunzel to make connections. She started out late and there’s little we can do to help that. The other youths of the nobility spook her with their prestige and manners, and the seminar classes for young women would make her run for the hills. Cassie’s never exactly been a social butterfly either. Frederic has no opinion on the matter, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

The captain nodded slowly. “I’ve always felt helpless to help her in that regard.”

“Children are cruel and castle children are no different. Too many knew you were unmarried and had no child when she came to us, and me taking her in as a ward? We knew people would talk.” Arianna agreed regretfully but her voice betrayed no such feelings. “It was always going to be unconventional and we’re lucky she was born strong spirited. Signe and Ingvarr did her good, I believe, to have her judged for her character and abilities rather than circumstances that were always beyond her control.”

“So we let them be.”

“Rapunzel is safe, and we’ve kept Cassie from running off to the high seas a little longer. She’ll still go eventually, probably, but maybe we can inspire a modicum of nostalgia to bring her home for future holidays. Yes, we let them be.” 

The captain quietened at his queen’s words and let them stew, he rarely disagreed. He took a sip of his hot drink and opened the files on an adjacent desk. His face fell into one of stern consternation.“It seems like we will be receiving visitors.”

“A minor trade summit, mainly between Corona and Ingvarr. Nesdernia will act as moderator and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest sent envoys too considering most spice exports use these same routes between all seven kingdoms. We’ll need to strengthen security over a few weeks.” Arianna explained while gesturing to her desk where a heap of paperwork lay unattended. “The king thinks Ingvarr needs to contribute more to the patrols on the High Coast. Right now, Corona supplies the majority of the ships to keep these seas clean from pirates while their own fleet voyages to the east. The High Coast is their most important trade route, just as it is ours, fair should be fair.” 

The captain stroked the side of his cheek, going over the numbers in the document. “Hmm, so I assume we will be receiving military personnel, likely an admiral or two. A few of their southern jarls are sure to show.” 

“The embassies are putting together a guest list as we speak. I will make sure you have copies by noon tomorrow.” More paperwork was handed out, and it was followed by a missive signed by the king. “The Ingvarri have also suggested a show of martial sports as a gesture of competition and goodwill. Frederic has already given permission.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “To show off you mean.”

“I’m going to suggest a modified curriculum of the Brave Challenge. That should rouse the local interest as well.” The queen made a vague gesture of mild disinterest, treating the whole concept as a passing game. “Let’s give them a show. If a few bouts of aggression gets us more ships in the water, I’m all for it.”

“Your orders, your will, my lady.” The captain sighed, feeling it redundant to point out that having scores of armed foreign military in their city seemed a security risk.

Arianna shook her head apologetically at his discontentment while handing him another file, this one with golden edges and a far more expensive looking seal.

“What’s this?”

The queen relaxed a bit. She took a seat by her desk again, her dress billowing around her. “Seems like one of the younger Ingvarri princesses are accompanying them. I know this name, she was in the same year as Cassie. It seems like the girl has come of age to voyage and is sailing south with her crew. They will accompany the fleet to Corona and will set out towards new lands from here.” She shrugged in a very uncharacteristic manner. ”I replied to Queen Signe and welcomed her. Seems harmless enough.”

Outside, Rapunzel landed her first solid blow and both girls cheered.

***

 

During her six years spent in Ingvarr, Cassandra had failed to realize just how boring life at an actual royal court can be. As the ward of a queen, she had been called to the somber halls of the Court of Iron at feasts and holidays when her fellow swordlings were sent home, but those had been short stays filled with music, drink and other pleasant things, often at the behest of her sword-sisters who called the castle home. Those stays had not exposed her to the tedious tasks of staff and soldiers rising and going by their work, or the amount of meetings and bureaucracy it took to keep a country running.

Swordlings had mostly been housed at the traditional training camps surrounding the cities, where they were least likely to cause trouble and far away from taverns with their drink. In the morning, they rose to the sheen of spears and in the eve they fell asleep to the dull sounds of metal. Cassandra knew the sound of grindstone like the beat of her own heart. It had been a simple but purposeful life, dedicated to the improvement of her own skills under the strict tutelage of warmasters who had turned generations of Ingvarri youth to seafaring warriors. Back in Corona, she had come to miss the quiet of winter’s first snow and the company of her sisters.

Like now, as she stood behind Rapunzel’s slightly hunched back as they both were slowly bored to tears by the princess’s second tutor. Trade economics was an important subject to any country, but for Corona’s it was its lifeblood. Every year, thousands of ships harbored or anchored here as a part of its route and the shipyard was renowned upon the seas. Knowing this, Rapunzel was as per usual trying her very, very hardest. She could see it in the tension of the younger girl’s shoulders and the pensive, almost angry frown upon her otherwise open face. It was just too bad that the tutor had the voice and engagement of a turtle on its back.

After almost two insufferable hours, the lesson was finally finished and Rapunzel was left to self-study. The princess sagged the moment the turtle man left the library.

“That was horrible.” She commented and browsed through her finicky, hurried notes.

Cassandra stifled a yawn in agreement. “I think I could do without looking at charts for a while.” 

“I don’t think I have that luxury.” 

“There’s always another day.” She offered non-committedly and knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment Rapunzel turned around and her face was scrunched in hopelessness.

“You all say that. ‘Rapunzel it’s fine, tomorrow is a new day!’ Well, guess what Cass, one day there won’t be. One day we’ll all wake up and I’ll be queen and still unable to understand the... opportunity costs of our wheat exports or whatever. I’ll be terrible. People will say they wish I'd stayed in the tower.” And she pinched her brows and looked so unhappy at her own conclusion it compelled the other girl to action.

“Hey.” Cassandra sat down beside the younger girl, first awkwardly with her sword in the way. She nudged the younger girl to meet her eyes, Cassandra’s storm to Rapunzel’s summer, trying to inject confidence into her next line of words. “You will not be terrible.”

“You don’t know that.” Rapunzel looked miserable, possibly even more so than after her philosophy lessons. 

“But I do know that you will keep trying to be good at whatever you choose to pursue. I’ve been watching you for months, Raps. You try so hard at queening, as if your father wasn't healthy and your mother wasn't brilliant, and you keep getting better even if you yourself can’t see it. All the people I know who turned out to be terrible are those who at some point stopped trying to improve.” Cassandra continued, she put her hand on top of Rapunzel’s and squeezed in reassurance.

“Really?”

“Yeah, think about it. I knew a girl like that in Ingvarr. She was made Spear Honoured of her year and just assumed one day that she was good enough with the weapon and stopped trying. Took less than two months for someone to catch up and lay her flat. She never really recovered from the humiliation and was bitter until she left camp.”

“That does sound like a silly thing to do.” 

“Now unless I’m mistaken Raps, you’re going to be queen , not Head of Political Economics or some other fancy state title. You’ll have advisors who are better at this than you are, and they’ll provide the knowledge you need to form a decision. You don’t need to be the best at it, or understand all of it, that’s just not reasonable considering all the fields you’ll have to cover.”

Rapunzel seemed to ponder her words for the longest time, until her face regained some colour and the small twinkle was back to her mouth. She turned her hand in Cassandra’s and weaved their fingers together. 

“You’re wise, Cass.” She smiled beautifully, and for a few seconds she looked older than her years. “Maybe I’ll have you advise me in the future.”

“Very funny.” 

“Who says I’m joking?” Rapunzel giggled and slid herself slightly closer. She placed their hands atop the warm wood of the desk and propped her other hand under her chin. Any closer than this and her slightly tousled chocolate hair would be on her shoulder. The late morning cast her in shadows of oak and dust, her purple dress alight with dapples of light. The sight and proximity made Cassandra’s chest ache. “Tell me something more about your time in Ingvarr. I need a break.”

“What would you like to hear?” 

“Anything. How many weapons can you use? How did you spend your free time? Were you Honoured and in that case in what?” Rapunzel narrowed her eyes and plucked lips like a curious cat, or goose. “Did you go on any dates?”

“Five weapons. There was very little free time, we either slept, trained, ate or studied with the exception of holidays. Yes, I achieved the Honoured status, and my whole year was in waves about it.” She declined to explain further, then scoffed at the other’s obvious attempt at busybodying. “And Ingvarri don’t date, they have sparring partners.”

Rapunzel blinked, surprised. “Really? Must be hard if you like someone.”

“Not really.” Cassandra replied in good humor. “Fraternization was frowned upon, especially between the male or female camps. Training however, was allowed and well, there are different kinds of sparring I guess.”

Rapunzel’s face and the following shove was well worth it. The princess looked like she wanted to ask more but was dissuaded when a maid arrived with tea. They talked for some length, taking the full, red tea and crunchy cakes til the princess had to go back to her books. Cassandra had fetched a book of her own, an illustrated book on maritime discovery with maps, to keep her company.

“You never told me what you were Honoured for.” Rapunzel spoke up after they had been studying for a while.

“I didn’t.” Cassandra answered and just went on reading. “And that is a secret I shall keep.” 

***

 

The last light of the evening shimmered through the tall, white drapes of the princess chambers as the girl danced her way across the floor, earlier moods forgotten and as happy as one could be. Cassandra was trying very hard to not laugh while looking mortified at the same time as the princess again, without much care began to pull off her clothes to change, completely ignoring the existence of the folding screens. Faith, the lady-in-waiting, shot her a knowing, exasperated look before shoving Rapunzel’s evening wear into Cassandra’s hands and briskly left, no doubt saving the cleaning for tomorrow.

“I hit you during staff practice today.” Rapunzel grinned so wide the tips of her mouth seemed to touch her ears, her previous moods forgotten. She was still struggling out of her dress with one arm stuck in the collar. “I totally did.”

“You hit me.” Cassandra conceded, rolling her eyes.   

Rapunzel let out a triumphant whoop and tore out of the troublesome garment, reaching for the lighter gown set out for her. Cassandra thanked all the gods she was wearing a light shift underneath as the princess skipped over the room towards her in glee. She hadn’t meant to see the shape of a willowy waist and way too much skin through the thin, white linen, but damn if it didn’t make the evening more interesting.

She swallowed and took a deep, focusing breath.

“Why do you do that?” The princess asked. 

“What?”

“Sometimes you look at me and then start to breathe all funny.” Rapunzel’s expression changed to one of slyness. “Did I steal your breath away?”

Cassandra shot her a stern glare and decided not to take the bait. Rapunzel, despite all her sweet, endless energy, could truly be a senseless, challenging brat at times.

“You’re good at stealing pastries, and patience, if this gloating carries on.” She replied, trying to sound serious but failing in the face of the princess’s playful glee. 

“Aw, Cass. Did I say it wrong? I read the line in this book.” The princess held up a cheap looking volume with a cherry pink binder titled ‘ Silent Heart of The Lonely Dame’ with some nondescript cheesy front art of a woman staring longingly at the moon. “Do you know it?”

Cassandra suddenly felt a very bad urge to sneeze, or giggle, what came out was both. She had no idea the castle kept a collection of trashy romance novels straight out of a corner shop. “Didn’t take you for the type, Raps.” She laughed. 

“You just have no taste, let's agree to disagree then. You do swords and I do books. I found a whole section of these in the library and brought them along. They teach you a lot of things about human relationships, and the descriptions in them are always neat.” Raps scoffed and pointed to the two dozen volumes she had at some point poached to her room. “These are all from the children’s section.”

Cassandra paused, looking nonplussed at the cover with a half-dressed woman. “Children’s section?”

“Yeah, there was a whole shelf marked ‘Adult’, I just assumed the rest were for children. It makes sense for kids to learn how to relate to others right?’ Rapunzel chirped excitedly while running her hand over the back of the binders as if they were great treasures.

The door creaked open, interrupting a slightly distraught Cassandra from informing the princess of her ill-fated misconception. Faith rolled a cart in with some fruit and dessert. It also contained Cassandra’s dinner which was neatly stacked into the lower compartment and she realized she was very hungry. The irregular meal times that came with this job were definitely its biggest downside, especially during dinner when the royal family dined together and her position was by the door. She wished Arianna would stop giving her apologetic looks during such occasions. She had not asked to sit dinner with the queen since she was nine.

Rapunzel sensing her mood kindly sent her lady-in-waiting away and pulled the cart to her bed where they usually ate. It was now a familiar habit for them to share this last meal of the day, the princess with her decorated plate of sweets and Cassandra with whatever was prepared for the castle staff. It was a stark reminder of their different positions, but overshadowed by the gentle pleasure to see each other eat as messily and greedily as they wished, with no one else to see them as they were. 

Cassandra ate neatly, with a soldier’s efficiency drilled from strict taskmasters, every bite of the day’s stew was strategic and savoured with the right amount of bread and sauce while she kept her hands clean. Rapunzel on the other hand had a tendency to pick things up with quick, precise fingers. In her room and away from the stern, disapproving looks over governesses and parents, the princess defaulted to the way she had taught herself to eat during her long years of confinement, using utensils as tools rather than necessities. Cassandra never had the heart to correct her because of the way younger girl would release a long metaphorical breath and simply relax during their meal. 

It was a curious scene, of seeing the enforced princess decorum fall away to leave only the person of a young woman behind, a girl who until her freedom had never needed to be anyone except herself. It was beautiful in the effortless way a flower finally decides to bloom. 

After that, Cassandra would do her rounds of the princess chambers before the night, and the nightguard would replace her presence outside the doors. Today however, they had much to discuss about the news of the trade summit and visitors from far away lands, and so they kept good company and talked into the night.

 

***

Notes:

I'll have you guys know that I never intended MKB to be a multipart. It was intended as part of Here, The River Divides but is now taking up all my writing time. I was going to leave you guys with Cass and Raps sitting in the princess chambers like I did in chapter one, leaving the rest of what happens to your imagination. Some serious brainstorming and my beta being a conniving slapmaster later, here we are. So this is actually where the story begins.

Notes: I always thought it was so weird that Rapunzel was just good at -everything- after being locked up for eighteen years of her life. Like yea, I guess she would be good at baking and playing guitar and painting, but staff-combat? Hmm. So yea, this chain of thoughts ended with me adding some quirks to her personality, better that than making her say, semi-mute. You tell me if you spent all your life in one room with minimal social exposure if you would care about undressing in front of others. *laugh* I see your sweatpants, people!

Also, exposing Raps to real smut would be so hilarious. *gasp* I can just see Cassandra chasing after whoever did it with drawn sword screaming murder while at the same time secretly wondering if the princess was into it.