Cassandra's Betrayal Rewritten

Your Destiny

"I know you're not feeling well, but I have one other thing to show you. This time, it's from before you were even born. Are you up to it?"

Cassandra nodded, wiping away her tears, even as they kept pouring down her face.

The landscape changed once more, to reveal a castle covered by the black rocks.

"Welcome to the Dark Kingdom. Let's go in, shall we?"

The two walked right through the castle gates. A man with a beard and crown stood in front of another person, concealed by a cape. They removed their hood, revealing Gothel once more.

"Why exactly are we here? I don't need another reminder of what happened with Rapunzel and Gothel."

"Just watch Cassandra, it's important."

Mother Gothel spoke to the man, with some urgency in her voice.in her hands, she held a bundle of blankets.

"She is your child Edmund!"

"I don't want to hear it!"

"She is your heir!"

"She is no heir of mine. I have a son already, and he will be king one day, not your daughter!"

"But you are her father! You can't leave her- you can't leave me!"

"Gothel, I cannot let this get out to my people! If they find out I betrayed their queen... I don't know what they will do. I hereby banish you from here, and your daughter too! Now go, no one is meant to be here, they can't be hurt by the moonstone!"

"She will be queen one day, Edmund! She is a rightful heir and some day I will take my revenge!"

Gothel stormed out the palace gates, with the baby's hair swishing in the wind. The blankets fell off the child's head, showing short curly brown locks.

"That's me, isn't it?'

"Yes Cassandra. Were you listening? You are the rightful heir of the Dark Kingdom."

"Me? Heir to a kingdom? But, that means..."

"That means your father is the king of the Dark Kingdom. And now you know who your parents were."

"But, why did you show me all this?"

Their surroundings resumed to an empty forest.

"I needed you to see what has happened to you. I wanted to show you the things that make your destiny."

"My destiny?"

"Yes. Your destiny is wield the Moonstone, to become the queen of the Dark Kingdom. Then, and only then, can you also take the power of the Sundrop, to become an ultimate force. You were born to do it."

"But what about Rapunzel? Isn't she technically the Sundrop? I can't take that from her!"

"That is true, but remember what she did to you. Your mother left you to be with her. Your adoptive father ignored you for eighteen years simply to find her. She was always in the spotlight, while you stayed in the shadows. Your achievements were overlooked for hers. She didn't listen to you ever, and never let your opinion be the right one. She is selfish! And, how can you forget that she left you, to die!"

"But-"

"No Cassandra! She was always meant to be your enemy! It's in your destiny! Only one will survive in the end, with the dead falling to the other's hand. Do you want the dead one to be you?"

"No, of course not! But isn't there another way?!"

"No. It's in your destiny! Destroy Rapunzel, and you will get all you ever wanted. You will be the one in the spotlight, no more waiting in the wings! But, don't, and watch as she betrays you even more than she has already."

"I-I-"

"I'll let you think about it. Continue on your journey from here to the Dark Kingdom. Your fate awaits you there."

With that, the ghost disappeared. Another doorway emerged, with the door cracking open for Cassandra. She could see the outside forest again, not the shell house. It was raining, and in the corner of her eyes, she viewed the travel caravan that she had once been in with Rapunzel.

She exited the door, and began to walk over to the caravan, ready to forget her encounter and to talk to Rapunzel. But something stopped her. Her mind told her to not continue. She stared at the van, seeing Rapunzel through a window. Her original plan vanished from her mind, and she turned the other way, completely ignoring Rapunzel's Group leaving the van to approach the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow. She couldn't give a care if Varian was still there, because she knew the princess would find a way out somehow.

As she walked, the only thing she could think of were the ghost girl's warnings.

"Only one will survive in the end, with the dead falling to the other's hand." She repeated to herself.

"To the Dark Kingdom I guess. My destiny awaits."