A fellow Cassarian shipper hosted a Cassarian Month in August 2023, and I decided to turn my entries for it into a month of different AUs! So here they are, along with short stories to go with the art!
Cassandra feels like the luckiest girl in the world. She has everything she has ever wanted! But, things weren't always this way...
When Cassandra was only a baby, her life was threatened by an evil sorceress called Zhan Tiri. The sorceress foretold that the young princess would prick her finger on a spindle and die before the sun set on her twenty-first birthday. In order to protect her, her parents sent her away to be hidden by the three good fairies somewhere in the Enchanted Forest. They were to keep her safe from Zhan Tiri until her twenty-first birthday had passed.
The fairies raised her well, calling her Moonstone. They didn't tell her who she truly was. It was safer for her this way. She soon forgot all about the threat and the life she came from.
Although her life with the fairies in the woods was a peaceful and pleasant one, she still longed for something more. She didn't know what it was, but she always felt that something was missing from her life.
Then one day, when she was strolling through the woods, she came across a young man. A very handsome young man, who called himself Varian. The two of them immediately hit it off, feeling as if they had known one another once upon a dream. They began secretly meeting with each other, and before long they fell in love.
On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Cassandra planned on telling the fairies about Varian. But before she got the chance, they informed her that she was a princess. A princess! They told her of the threat to her life, and how they were ordered to return her to the castle once she turned twenty-one. And to top it off, she has been betrothed to a prince since the day she was born. It isn't a matter she had a choice in, and she feared she would never see Varian again.
Unbeknownst to Cassandra, Varian was back at home telling his father of the beautiful woman named Moonstone that he had fallen in love with. But his father adamantly reminded him that he is a prince, and that he was already betrothed to Princess Cassandra, who would be returning to her parents' castle in the morning. Varian was only a boy when he met Cassandra, and she was only a baby... He didn't even remember her, and he didn't want to marry her. He wanted to marry his amazing and sweet Moonstone.
Reluctantly, Cassandra was led to the castle by the three fairies. She was reunited with her parents, who were overjoyed to see their daughter once again, safe and sound. She even learned that she had a little sister, Rapunzel. She now had everything she had ever dreamed of having... except for Varian.
Later that evening, as Cassandra was preparing to meet the prince, a strange sort of spell came over her. Her eyes glowed green, and she followed a creepy voice through the hallways of the castle. Rapunzel took notice, and tried to stop her. But Cassandra was in a hypnotized state and wasn't aware of anything else around her.
As she entered a dark, dusty room, Cassandra was drawn to a spindle in the corner. She touched it, and it pricked her finger. Rapunzel screamed as she watched her sister fall to the floor, unconscious.
The king and queen followed the sounds of Rapunzel's screams, and were horrified by what they saw. They did everything they could possibly think of to awaken Cassandra, but nothing worked. It seemed their worst fear had come to pass... Zhan Tiri's prophecy had come true.
Except, it wasn't a prophecy. Zhan Tiri, herself, had put a curse on the Cassandra! It had been her plan all along. With the heir to the throne in a sleeplike state that she could never wake up from, the sorceress could take over the kingdom and rule it, herself! Her plan seemed to be falling into place perfectly. She easily apprehended the grieving parents, and sat on the throne as if it was her own.
Until Prince Varian arrived. He had heard what happened to the princess, and even though he had no intention of marrying her (he would find a way to break free of the betrothal and marry Moonstone), he wanted to see if there was a way he could help. He had to fight through Zhan Tiri to get to the princess, which turned out to be more difficult than he thought as the sorceress transformed into a gigantic, hideous, goat-headed creature. But he eventually slayed the beast, freeing the kingdom. But if only he could free Cassandra...
As he entered her chambers where she lied slumbering upon her bed, he found himself in total disbelief. Princess Cassandra was none other than Moonstone, the girl from the forest whom he fell in love with! He recalled something his mother once told him before she died: "True love's kiss will break any curse." Varian leaned over Cassandra, and planted a gentle kiss upon her lips. To his relief, the curse broke and she awakened. She was alive!
Now, Cassandra really does have everything she has ever wanted. An incredible life as a princess, loving parents, a supportive and caring sister, and an adoring fiancé. The kingdom is currently celebrating their official engagement, and as Varian and Cassandra sway together across the dancefloor it is as if they are the only two people in the room. They get lost in each other's eyes, dancing so gracefully that it feels like they are dancing among the clouds.
They went through a lot to be here, but it was all worth it. Even just for this one dance.
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