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 is a young alchemist who lives in the village of Old Corona. She does her best to use her inventions to assist the villagers, but more often than not her efforts fall short. She wishes there was more she could do to make a difference in her life.
One day, Princess Rapunzel of Corona visits Cassandra's lab. The actual princess! And she needs Cassandra's help! And as if that wasn't exciting enough, the princess brings along her bodyguard... A handsome young man named Varian. Cassandra may only be fourteen years old, but she feels an instant attraction to this Varian. She isn't sure if it's his kind smile, striking blue eyes, or the fact that he saves her life from one of her own inventions on the very day they meet... But whatever it is, her crush is evident.
Longing to impress Varian, Cassandra creates an invention that can turn simple sand into a gorgeous, shining purple stone. She names it Varianium, and she plans on revealing it at the Science Expo being held at the castle soon. This will surely impress him!
The day of the Expo arrives, and Cassandra could not be more excited. She seeks out Varian, and shows off her new machine to him. But he seems preoccupied with his duties.
"I'm sorry Cassandra, but I can't talk right now," he tells her, rushing past her. "I'm busy with chores for my father. He seems to think I'm a handmaid instead of a guard... I can't get distracted."
"Oh, okay..." Cassandra says disappointedly. "But I was hoping that maybe you would be my assistant when I present my invention. Couldn't you take just a few minutes out of your schedule to do it?"
"Assistant?" Varian groans. "Look, it's not that I don't want to do it. But I really need to finish my chores. My dad is the Captain of the Guard, and if I can get these things done in time he might just be impressed enough to move me up a rank!"
Varian tries to scrub some graffiti off the outside of the castle wall, but it proves to be more difficult than he thought. It seems like his duties are going to take him forever, until Cassandra uses an alchemical solution to take the graffiti right off with zero effort. Varian is amazed.
"So, you have a knack for this sort of thing..." An idea strikes him. "Listen, I'll be your assistant for five minutes —and only five minutes!— if you can help me finish all of my chores on time."
"Agreed!" Cassandra replies, a bit too eagerly. She chuckles embarrassedly, but immediately gets to work helping Varian. It takes a while, but not nearly as long as it would have without Cassandra's alchemy.
Finally, they finish all of the chores. Cassandra happily runs off to prepare her invention for the presentation at the Expo, and then regroups with Varian. "Are you ready?" She asks him. "A certain alchemist needs her assistant."
Varian sighs, and Cassandra's heart drops when she sees the expression on his face. "I'm really sorry Cassandra, but I can't. My father gave me the task of being the personal bodyguard to the master scientist, Dr. Alcott St. Croix. It's a really important job that I couldn't pass up."
Cassandra is disappointed, but she does her best not to show it. "It-it's okay, Varian. I'm sure I can find another assistant... in the next five minutes."
Varian feels really bad about going back on his deal with Cassandra like this, after all the help she gave him. But what could he do? If he does this job well, his dad might promote him! And that would be one step closer to achieving his dream of one day being Captain of the Guard, himself.
After Cassandra recruits Shorty to be her last-minute assistant, the time for her presentation has arrived. She shows her new invention to the crowd, watching Varian out of the corner of her eye as he stands guard next to Dr. St. Croix. She dumps the sand into her machine, turns it on, and is encouraged by the impressed gasps from the audience as she reveals the element she discovered.
"I call this new element... Varianium!" She announces.
Varian gasps. She named the element after me? Now he really feels bad about going back on their deal...
The audience claps and cheers. Everything seems to be going great, until Shorty falls asleep standing up. He falls backwards, and lands on a goat. Startled, the goat kicks the pub thug next to him. The pub thug accidently throws the knife he was holding, which sails directly at Dr. St. Croix. But thankfully, Varian manages to catch the knife by its hilt before it can plunge into the master scientist's nose.
Dr. St. Croix glares at Cassandra angrily. "I was almost inclined to give your device a mediocre assessment," he says. "However, considering your assistant nearly lanced my nasal cavity, I've no choice but to disqualify you!"
Cassandra slumps off despondently, and Varian cringes. Turning to the master scientist he says, "Sir, with all due respect, you can't disqualify her because of her assistant."
But Dr. St. Croix ignores him, and continues on judging the Expo. He gives the blue ribbon to the next person's presentation.
Taking a short break, Varian looks for Cassandra. He finds her sitting at the edge of the water fountain in the courtyard. She doesn't even look up as he sits down next to her.
"You should've won," he says.
"It doesn't matter," she says sadly. "The truth is, all I really wanted to do was impress you. I thought if I showed you what I was capable of, you might see something in me than just a clumsy little girl. Something special... But it was stupid."
"No it wasn't," Varian tells her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Cassandra, you did impress me! You're a great kid. You're smart, compassionate, unique. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise"
Cassandra knows he is just trying to make her feel better, but it still fills her heart with joy to hear these words from him. "Thanks, for saying that," she says, giving him a small smile.
But their moment is cut short when Cassandra sees Dr. St. Croix tampering with her machine. "No!" She shouts a warning, rushing to stop him. But he doesn't listen, and her machine begins flying around the courtyard. When it speeds right towards Dr. St. Croix and Cassandra at the same time, Varian chooses to save Cassandra instead of the master scientist. He knows that the scientist will likely have some terrible injuries, and that he himself will get in trouble for this, but it seems like the right thing to do.
After working together to stop Cassandra's machine, everyone gaze around them at the damage it caused. Why does destruction follow me wherever I go? Cassandra wonders. She finds the Varianium in the mess, and attaches it to a special sash she made for Varian like she originally planned. She begins cleaning up, but Varian appears and places the blue ribbon on her apron.
"I believe this was meant for you," he tells her.
Grinning proudly, Cassandra hands him the sash. "And, um, this was meant for you."
"Thanks," he says, putting on the sash. "Now come on, I'll help you clean up."
Cassandra stares at him, confused. "But, don't you have your guard duties?"
"I'll find a way to make it up to my dad," Varian tells her. "Besides, it's not every day you get an element named after you."
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