DEDICATED TO TREE, WHO HAS BEEN KIND ENOUGH TO DEDICATE HER AMAZING VAMPARIAN ART TO ME (THE ONE DOWN BELOW). SHE IS ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST AMAZING FRIENDS I COULD'VE EVER ASKED FOR, AND I LOVE HER, AND I LOVE YOU TOO, FELLOW CASSARIAN SHIPPERS!

WARNING - SLIGHTLY EROTIC KISSING SCENE AND HEAVY ANGST

THERE ARE SOME DIALOGUES TAKEN FROM THE SHOW AND I HAVE UNDERLINED THEM.

Vamparian AU - This is an AU where the Sundrop (in the form of a flower) and the Moonstone (in the form of a stone) existed peacefully together, them being the sign of peace between Humans and Vampires. The Sundrop, representative of Humans, had healing qualities (thus used by Gothel to keep herself forever young), while the Moonstone, representative of Vampires, had destructive qualities. Although the leaders of both the sides were warned not to disturb this force, the King of Humans, King Frederick had taken the Sundrop as a desperate measure to save his wife, Queen Arianna's life, who was then pregnant with their daughter, later named as Rapunzel.

After that everything is just as it happened in the Tangled movie - Rapunzel having the magical healing golden hair, being kidnapped by Gothel, and meeting Eugene.

Let me specify that there is no connection between Cassandra and Gothel, and there is no Dark kingdom and no Brotherhood, and thus, Eugene is not the dark prince. All these things instead have been replaced by Vampires. Also, there is no Demanitus or Zhan Tiri, and Rapunzel doesn't know anything about the Moonstone.

The Moonstone's destructive quality here is not the rocks. Instead, it is a totally different thing about which you will learn pretty soon...

Varian (20) is heir to the guild of Vampires, led by his father Quirin, who has attacked the Kingdom of Corona, and Cassandra (28) is the closest confidante to Rapunzel (24). She, along with Rapunzel and her fiancee Eugene (30) have somehow escaped from the Castle and are out in the forest. Rapunzel has twisted her ankles and therefore, is having difficulty in walking. While Eugene supports her, Cassandra is in front of them, with a crossbow in her hand, guiding them, and looking out for any danger. Suddenly, the bushes move, and a young Vampire, with a streak of blue in his hair and blue eyes comes out...

Cassandra immediately raised her crossbow, and gritting her teeth, aimed it at him. He immediately stepped back, with his hands in the air, an awkward grin plastered on his face, trying to show her that he meant no harm.

"I... I am sorry, I didn't - mean to...." eyes darted nervously around, as if he was trying to avoid any type of eye-contact with the one who was standing in front of him.

Cassandra raised her eyebrows as she lowered the crossbow a bit. "Who are you, and what do you want?" She asked, narrowing her eyebrows a bit.

"I - I am Varian." Then suddenly, his eyes fell upon Rapunzel, who was leaning on Eugene for support. "Wait, what's with your leg? Are you ok?" He asked, eyes filled with concern.

"Well, I have twisted my ankle a bit..." Rapunzel replied

"I know how to heal a twisted ankle! Let me..." But before he could continue, he was cut off by Cassandra.

"Aren't vampires supposed to bite and drink blood? Why are you even helping us? Tell me, what are you plotting?" She asked irritably.

"Hey! I am not plotting anything! Let's just say that I am a bit different from them..."

"Oh, and how is it so?" She asked, raising her one eyebrow up in confusion and annoyance as she crossed her arms above her chest.

"Well, unlike the others, my mother was a human. So, I have inherited some human qualities and feelings from her. I also look a lot different from them, you can see that."

Yes, he looked different from the other vampires, Cassandra noted. Not only did he have bright blue eyes unlike other vampires, there was a a streak of blue in his hair. She wondered what it meant.

"Who is your mother?" Rapunzel chimed in, curiously.

"Well... I'd rather not talk about. But first tell me, who are you all? I told you lot about myself and I don't even know your names!"

"I am Rapunzel," said the ever optimistic princess enthusiastically , "This is Eugene," she said gesturing to her fiance, "And this is Cass!", and then to Cassandra.

"Wait, Rapunzel? As in the princess?" He froze.

"Uhh... yes? How did you know?" Rapunzel asked, confused.

"Let's say that it's a bit of a long story. Maybe we can talk about this in a place where it is safer, and after I have had healed your ankle." He said, a bit of unlikely bitterness in his voice.

"There is a cave nearby, and it's the safest place we can be at this point of time." Cassandra said, impatiently.

"Great, then! Follow us!" Rapunzel gestured to him.

They had arrived in the cave, and after comfortably sitting Rapunzel down, Eugene stood beside Cassandra, while Varian sat in front of her, and taking her leg in his hands, twisted it right to left, with sharp, yet gentle movements. Rapunzel gave out a small yelp, due to the sudden pain coursing through her leg, but soon it died down, and her leg was much better than before.

"There you go." He looked at her with a small and gentle smile.

"Wow, thanks a lot!" Rapunzel looked at him, smiling gratefully.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Cassandra asked, wide - eyed, clearly taken aback, and impressed and by the recent display.

"My mother taught me..." His voice dropped, tones of sadness visible in his voice.

Rapunzel looked at him sympathetically, "Oh, I am so sorry..."

"It's ok, I have learnt to live with that. But there is something really important that, you need to know and I have to tell you, Princess. Do you remember the story of how your father took the Sundrop in order to save you and your mother?"

" Yes, but that was a long way back. What does it have to do now?"

"Let's just say princess that you know only the half of the story. There were not one, but rather, two stones. One of which was the Sundrop, which your father used to save you and your mother's life, and the other was the Moonstone, which is generally known to bring destruction. The Sundrop and the Moonstone existed harmoniously together balancing good and evil on the both sides. However, after your father took away the Sundrop, the ancient forces of evil powers started building up in the Moonstone, and after slowly consuming all the good traits of our guild, now has spread it's evil effects within us. Since all this is happening because your father, 'The King of the humans' has unbalanced the harmony between us, you all are being attacked. However, me and my father have not been affected by it because my mother was a human, and there is a special force from Moonstone which protects us from it."

"Wait, is that special force a reason for your blue eyes and that streak?" Cassandra asked, curiously.

"Yes. But my father doesn't have anything like that in his hair or eyes. Instead, there is a mark, which appears on the hands all the vampires who are the descendants of the moon, when they swear to protect their Guild. It blocks all the negative forces, so that whenever there is a situation like this, the leader can take a rational decision in a calm phase of mind and stop that disaster. However, it's my because of my mother's power and sacrifice that I am not like them."

To say that Rapunzel was bewildered after hearing this was an understatement. She looked at him and opened her mouth to say something but was quickly cut off by him.

"Wait princess, there is a bit more to it. Not only is your father accused of stealing the Sundrop and unbalancing the force which has led to the mass murder of thousands of innocent people, he, in a fit of selfishness became a cause of death of his own sister, my mother." This time, there was rage in his eyes, and fire burning in his soul. "You don't know, Princess, how much we have suffered just because of your father's selfish pursuits."

At that, Cassandra dropped her crossbow, which created a loud noise in the deafening silence of the forest. Eugene looked at her in concern, while Cassandra's eyes shifted from the sobbing princess to the rage filled eyes of the Vampire.

"I... I... am so sorry... I never knew..." she said between her sobs.

"It's fine, it's not your fault, I get it." Was that a sneer? Cassandra was sure about it, however it seemed like Rapunzel didnt get it. She looked up at him and smiled softly, tears still visible in her eyes .

"So, the king had a sister and he never told us about it?" A confused Eugene asked.

"I guess it was because she got married to someone way out of her league." Cassandra said, thoughtfully.

"And why would she do that? I mean, marry a vampire?" Rapunzel asked.

Cassandra shrugged, but Varian promptly responded, "Love. She loved my dad."

"Oh Varian, I am so sorry." Rapunzel gave him a sympathetic look.   

"What actually bothers me is that how did your mother die and how was that King Frederick's fault?" Eugene looked at Varian.

Varian's eyes darkened for a moment that went unnoticed by everyone except for Cassandra. It almost sent shivers down her spine. "You see princess, my mother became the bridge between the humans and the vampires the day she chose my father to be her husband. Special powers were bestowed upon her, but it was too much for her mortal being to handle it. So the power of the Sundrop and the Moonstone together was needed to keep her health and the entire forces in check. But when your mother, Her Majesty became sick when she was pregnant with you, your father, despite knowing the consequences, took away the Sundrop to heal his wife. The first few years she was able to deal with the powers, but after my birth her health became worse and she was thus condemned to a slow and painful death. Your father, Princess, might be a great father, but not a great king."

"Whoa, that's one bit of a back story, Sunshine." Eugene said, his eyes widened, looking at Rapunzel, while she look down and sadly played with her fingers.

"I am so sorry, Varian, I never meant anything like that to happen.... I didn't even know that ----"

"That how much we have suffered because of your father? No princess, you wouldn't know our suffering." He retorted, and this infuriated Cassandra to no end. 

"Why don't you kill us, since you hate us so much?" Cassandra asked, a bit irritated, crossing her arms above her chest.

He looked at her and narrowed his eyes,"Not all problems are solved by killing people or taking away something they have truly loved."

"And how do you think this problem is supposed to be solved?"

"I don't know, but I have been told that the only way to reverse this curse is to make a sacrifice before the the sun rises."

"What kind of sacrifice?"

"That I don't know, but I am pretty much sure that the honour of my guild rests upon me, and I am willing to go to any extreme to uphold it."

Cassandra couldn't help but feel at tingling sense of familiarity in his voice... He sounded so much like her. Before she could respond, however, Varian spoke again,"But we don't have enough time. There is very little time left for the sun to rise, and soon the whole Corona as well as my Guild will fall into destruction. I need to talk to my father urgently. As far as I know, he is in the castle, and he must be knowing more. Please stay here and make sure that you are well hidden and not caught by any one of them." And he prepared to leave.

"Wait." Cassandra stopped him. "You won't be able to find the way to the castle all by yourself. Let me show you the way." And after a quick nod to Rapunzel and Eugene, she motioned him to follow her.

It was dark, but the incandescent light of the full moon illuminated their path. The sky was clear, but stars weren't visible. A day ago Cassandra had no idea that the whole of Corona would be danger, and that too because of the king she highly revered. Continuing her path, she started to ponder over how everything has changed so suddenly. She remembered how a few hours back there had been an emergency alarm suddenly ringing in the whole of Corona, declaring that 'unholy creatures' have attacked, and asking people to flee from their homes as far as they could. Though the guards were caught unawares, they managed to distract most of the vampires away from the castle, thus giving the occupants some time to run. Her father had taken the responsibility of the King and the Queen, making sure they reached to safety. Speaking of her father, she wondered where he would be right now. She silently prayed that he was safe, that nothing had happened to him. When the alarm sounded, Cassandra had immediately grabbed her crossbow, and without giving a second thought to herself or her father ran towards Rapunzel's room. Her main concern was the safety of her best friend and her fiancee. Of course she and Eugene would bicker with each other all the time, but deep inside she knew both of them deeply cared for each other. As Eugene would put it, 'Cassandra was like a sister to him, with a lot of annoying traits.' She never realised how much she wanted to throw a jibe at Eugene, until now. She smiled at those memories. But soon her trail of thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind her.

"Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if the king has not taken the Sundrop, Cassie?" Varian asked her.

Cassandra turned around to look at him, and rolling her eyes, said, "It's Cass, not Cassie." And then, with a smirk on her face, said, "You really hate the king, don't you?"

He rolled his eyes, "You won't understand. Your mother wasn't killed by the king."

Cassandra stilled, and averted her gaze.

Expecting a jibe and not sudden silence, Varian looked at her in shock to see her staring into the distance, eyes seeming lost. "Cassie, hey, are you ok?" He tried to speak to her in the softest voice possible.

"Yes." She turned back, with a stoic expression on her face, and started to go ahead when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. She turned to look at him, eyebrows narowwed, and an inquiring look on her face.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He said, a bit awkwardly, letting go of her hand. but soon he caught a serious tone and continued,"I just meant to make you understand how much I, my father and our Guild had to suffer, and is still suffering. I was not meaning it to come out like that."

"It's fine, it doesn't matter." She snapped, "We just need to reach to the castle and your father in time."

Varian sighed heavily. Although she was from the other side, and served the King he truly despised, he didn't want to see her upset. He tried again, this time more softly, "Listen, I don't know what you've been going through, but I guess that if you, maybe talk to me about it, I would try and help you to get you out of it."

Cassandra sighed. She didn't know why, but she felt that she should tell him about her worries and what she has been feeling... It seemed like he would understand her, and would be able help her cope with it. She never ever opened up to anyone just like that, let alone Rapunzel. Man, it had taken so much effort from Rapunzel's side to make Cass more of a friend than a lady - in - waiting. Cassandra shrugged at those happy memories, reminding herself of the condition all of them were in at this time.  She decided to listen to her instincts and open up to him. Looking down, she said, "You know, I am pretty scared, not just for the princess or the people of Corona, but for my dad. He is the Captain of guards, and has taken the responsibility of the safety of the King and the Queen. I am afraid that---"

"That for the sake of the King and the Queen, he might sacrifice his life." He completed her sentence, and looked at her, the moonlight accentuating her beautiful features and pale skin, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. She looked up at him, and that's where his heart melted. Stormy hazel - green eyes, in which there was rage before, now had quiet calmness and sadness, and he suddenly wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, stroke her hair and her back, feel her against himself---

"Yes. I am afraid." Pulling him out of his reverie, Cassandra said. "I dont know where he is, or what has happened to him, and the thought scares me every single moment..." Pausing for a while, she continued, "I don't know why I felt like I should open upto you or that you'll understand me, but---" She trailed off.

"But?" He asked her, feeling both excited and curious.

"But I am happy that I trusted myself." She gave him a soft smile and turned back, leaving Varian in a pleasant shock, and he smiled to himself, and started following her once again.

"You know, even I don't have a mother, and the Captain of the guards is not even my real father." Cassandra said, off handedly.

Her sudden confession shocked him. "What!?"

"I don't even remember my real parents." She said, tones of sadness visible in her voice. "But it's ok, you know, that fact doesn't even bother me. I am glad that I have a father, who loves me and cares for me, though he doesn't show it consistently."

He looked up at her, smile growing wide on his face every second, when he caught that last part,"Wait wait. You mean that you have dad problems too?" Noticing what he had just said, he suddenly retracked, "Not that I have dad problems--- I - I mean--- We get along well, pretty well--- uhh..."

Looking at him, Cassandra couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his behaviour, which she classified it being somewhere between adorable and a dork. As for Varian, he stilled, listening to her laugh for the first time, and he knew that he won't forget that anytime soon. And he was sure that this 'soon' will never come.

"Yeah, I do have dad problems." She said to him, after a little while. "I want to be a part of the guards too, but his standards for me are higher than they are for anyone else.  Her mirthful tone got lost, and she turned away from him, looking a bit dejected.

"Hey, it's ok." He said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You know, my dad too worries a lot about me. He feels that I am too young, naive and trusting for the world." And letting out a quite chuckle, he said, "Dads, am I right?"

Cassandra looked at him, and smiled warmly at him. For the first time she didn't mind someone touching her, or putting a hand on her shoulder, ever if that violated her most desired personal space. But before anything could happen, there was a good above Cassandra, and backing a few steps away from him, she looked up. "Owl!" And reaching her hand up for him, she said, "Where have you been? Is dad alright?"
Owl perched up on her finger, and as she brought her hand down he gave her a hoot, and and flapped his wings. Then suddenly he flew up, and hooted in the direction of the sea. And Cass knew that it was good news. She smiled at him in gratitude, and as he turned to fly away from her, she waved him goodbye.
This action did not go unnoticed by the observer standing beside, who was smiling, looking at the exchange. He didn't know what was happening with him, but he knew that it was something wonderful, since it felt so good.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Cassandra asked him, once again pulling him out of his daydream.

"Huh what? Nothing! Umm... you know, just wondering how is your dad..." and he gave her an awkward grin.

Cassandra rolled her eyes, playfully, and replied, "He's fine. The King and Queen have safely boarded the ship along with him. That means they will be travelling to Vardaros and will be staying there until this all ends." Sighing deeply, she continued, "Both the King and the Queen are very protective of their daughter. They would be so much disappointed to know that she is not there."

Varian let out a sarcastic laugh and said, "It's always about the princess, isn't it?"

"Hey, its not like that. You may not be knowing, but the princess has had her share of troubles too because of the magical Sundrop. It's healing power was transferred in her hair, which could be revoked by singing a special song. Because if this, she was kidnapped and locked up in a tower by a witch, who wanted to stay young forever, for 17 years. The King and The Queen spent 17 years searching for her, and sending out lanterns every year on her birthday, in the hope that one day she would return home. And she did return." Cassandra told him, in a quiet voice.

He looked away from her, pondering over what Cassandra had just told him. He still  hated the King, but after what Cassandra told, he couldn't help but feel pity for the Princess. Now, he wasn't even sure that the King ever had been a great father or not. Looking at her back again, he whispered a quite sorry and looked down. Cassandra smiled, and said, "Hey come on, we need to reach the castle soon. We have to find your father." And she turned to lead him the way.

"Yeah." He said and started to follow her.

*********************

The way to the Castle hadn't been too long, but to them it felt like ages. Cassandra had swiftly and sharply dodged the vampires to enter into the Castle, and Varian had followed her. They had just one tunnel to go through, and that was not a hard job for Cassandra who had spent most of her time training and running through the castle tunnels. She was thankful to her early training, because of which she could not only help herself get into the Castle through the tunnel, but also Varian. But the sudden voices and footsteps coming from around the corner caught her off guard, and she froze. Even before she knew it, she was pressed against the wall, and Varian reached down to her neck, and gently pressed his two fangs on her collarbone. At first, Cassandra thought that he was actually trying to bite and drink her blood, and tried to wriggle away from his grasp, but his had a strong grip on her, and she too stopped as soon as she realised that this was just an imitation and he was trying to save her. Moments after the vampires had passed by them, he looked up at her, and confused green eyes met the concerned blue eyes, and she could feel how his hands were resting on her waists, and how his body was pressed against her, and it felt too good. Too good to pull away.

As for Varian, he had partly feared that she would kill him outright for scaring her in order to save her, but he had no other choice. However, as he looked up at her, his inner conflicts faded, and all that he could see was her eyes, which were looking at him, and he was ready to drown in them. Before he knew what he was doing, he leaned down, and pressing his lips against hers, compassionately kissed her. It was a pleasant surprise for him when she responded back, slowly running her hands over his chest, resting it on his shoulders, and giving it a gentle squeeze. He smoothly pulled her towards himself, holding her closer, his hands gripping her waist firmly, yet gently. Moments later he pulled away from her, albeit unwillingly, due to the lack of air between them.

Cassandra looked away from him, and nervously biting her lips whispered, "We - we need to find your father soon. We don't have enough time." Putting her hand on his chest, she slowly pushed him back, and turning away from him, she went forward, without even casting a single glance at him.
She hadn't been expecting her stomach to do flip - flops when he had kissed her, and sensing a sudden surge of whole new sort of feelings in her, she felt confused. Although she knew what these feelings entailed, thanks to Rapunzel's incessant chatter about her love for Eugene, she felt quite sceptical about it, and needed some time to process it. Thus she decided not to speak about it and keep this all to herself, as she had always done.

Varian looked at her in shock, but quietly accompanied her, mentally cursing himself for the state they were in currently. She had finally started to open up to him, see him as a friend, and he ruined everything in a matter of seconds. Oh, how he wished to go back in time and change everything, wanting to see that soft smile on her face when she looked at him, and to hear that quiet laugh when he had unsuccessfully tried to cover up his 'troubled relation' with his dad. And now, sickening silence reigned in the atmosphere. Then a thought hit him. Didn't Cassandra kiss him back? Why didn't she pull away if she was offended? He badly wanted to talk to her about it, and soon realised that he could no longer keep quiet. Taking a deep breath in, he called out to her, "Cassie, we need to talk."

Cassandra stilled in fear, completely sensing what he wanted to talk about. Not daring to look at him she turned her head to other side as he came near her.

Varian didn't want to petrify her. Therefore, he decided to approach the issue as softly as possible. "Cassie, this doesn't look like something one should run away from."

Cassandra didn't speak. She knew that he was right, and she hated that fact. She badly wanted to tell him that she knew that this kiss was not just an adrenaline rush, and that there was something more to it, that it was something passionate. But unfortunately, she had never been been good in feelings. While she had a war going on between her head and heart, Varian spoke up.

Not receiving any reaction from her side, Varian decided that the best thing to do was to be honest and confess his love for her. He badly wanted her to know how much he loves her, and how much she means to him, and thus, without wasting another moment, he said, trying to sound braver than he was at the moment., "Cassie, I... I love you."

"What!?" She turned swiftly, looking at him with confusion written all over her face. She couldn't believe he just confessed, and this worsened her misery even more.

At that moment, Varian felt his mock brave demeanour ebbing away, but still, trying to hold to his words, he (tried) again, "I love you, Cassandra."

Cassandra was aghast. His sudden confession only made things worse for her. As much as wanted that to happen, she was too scared about her feelings to let him know anything. Deciding that the best thing she should do at the moment was to turn him away, she said, "Varian, it...it doesn't happen like that."

"What are you talking about?" He looked at her, heartbrokenly.

"Varian, you can't fall in love just like that! We... we recently met!" She looked at him again, a stoic expression on her face but thousands of negative emotions raging in her.

"But---" He tried again.

Cassandra shook her head, with determination, "No, Varian, It's not love, it's... it's just infatuation."  And turned away from him, so that the tears that were threatening to spill out would not be noticed by him. 

Sighing sadly and dejectedly, Varian started to follow her receding figure. Why wouldn't she believe him when he told her that he loved her? Why had she dismissed his love for her as an infatuation, and taking it seriously.  Was it because he was a vampire, and not a human? He recalled how she had earlier suggested that maybe the King had cut off ties with his sister because she had married a vampire instead of a human. Speaking of his mother, he started to remember the last few moments that he had spent with his mother by her bedside. Even in pain a small smile never left her face, and it always worked as a charm whenever Varian used to feel dejected. He remembered the time when she had told him how she felt an instant connection with his father the moment she had first seen him. And Varian knew that it was the same connection that he felt when he first saw Cassandra. He knew that she was his true love, but unfortunately, he couldn't do anything but accompany her with a sorrowful look.

********************

As Cassandra and Varian entered the throne room, they were greeted by the sight of a middle - aged man, pacing nervously in the middle of the room.
"My dad." Varian whispered to her, despite the air of awkwardness that had been prevailing between them.
"Dad!" Varian called out to him, coming forward, a nervous smile on his face.

"Varian! Where have you been? I was so worried about you!" His tone had hints of nervousness and tension in them.

"I am fine, dad. I want you to meet someone." Varian said, stepping away, revealing Cassandra to him.

Quirin expression changed from nervousness to an inquisitive look, as he looked at Cassandra. He then turned to his son for more explanation.

"This is Cassandra, dad, and she is the daughter of the Captain of guards. She is here to help us in ending the curse."

"And why should we trust her?" Quirin asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically while looking at her.

"Sir." Cassandra said, with notes of authority and respect in her voice, "Your Guild has attacked the Kingdom of Corona, and is bent upon destroying it by killing innocent people. You've no other option other than to trust me. We need to hurry up, there is not much time left for the sun to rise up."

"And how far are you ready to go to save the everyone?"

"I am ready to cross all the limits, Sir."

Quirin looked at Cassandra, surprised. "You are saying that you are willing to end the curse, at any cost?"

"Yes, Sir." Cassandra lifted up her head proudly.

Takimg a deep breath in, Quirin said,"Cassandra, this curse is not a joke. And since you think that you are ready, I'll tell you the only way to end the curse. And it is a sacrifice. Sacrifice of your life, and nothing else will save us, and if you are willing, then so be it."

Cassandra's eyes widened, while Varian's breath hitched. Sacrifice of a life? And that too of Cassandra's? No, he can't let that happen. He decided to speak up, "What do you mean, dad? There is no other option but to sacrifice a life? It - It can't be true. There might be other a.ternatives too, you know."

"No Varian. There is no other alternative. Don't you think that if there had been, we would not have tried?"

Not believing his ears, Varian's looked from the dejected face of his father to the expressionless face of Cassandra, who, all that time had been mentally debating with herself on what to do. Although she didn't want to die, there was no other option left. If she sacrificed her life for the Corona, she would atleast achieve glory among the people and pride in her father's heart. Sighing, Cassandra looked at Quirin, "I will do it."

"Cassandra, what on the earth you think you are doing?" Varian looked at her in shock.

"Varian, I am sure enough about what I am going to do."

"Cassie please, think again." Varian's voice could be classified as nothing but desperate.

"I have already made a decision, Varian." Her voice was cold, "And I don't want you to come after me thinking that you'll be able to change my mind." Cassandra snapped, and turned away from him.

Varian could no longer take it, and he stormed out of the room, not stopping until he reached a corner. He flopped down, his body trembling with his sobs, and slowly, his shaky hands reached for his pocket, from where he took out a small paper, on which was a messy sketch of a woman, smiling softly. It was all that he had of his mother, and breaking down, he put it close to his heart. Oh, how much he craved for her presence! It wasn't like Quirin wasn't a good father. He was. He loved Varian, yes, but he rarely showed it. But sometimes, Quirin would be a bit harsh with him, and not the gentle kind which Varian needed, at least at that point of time. If his mother had been here, she would've taken him in her arms, and with a comforting hand on his back, would be stroking his back, trying to provide him all the comfort, love and warmth which always had emanated from her. Varian tried to remember those how that would've been feeling, but sadly, such touch and sensations were long forgotten. And that's when Varian realised that he would not be able to cope with death of a woman he loved so much. He decided that he will not let his Cassie sacrifice her life for the kingdom and the guild, and he knew how he would be able to save her.

*****************

Outside the castle gates :

Cassandra stood in front of a guillotine, her head held high, while the executioner was standing behind her. Another set of instructions, and then it would be the end. Cassandra wasn't afraid, no, she was proud. The only thing that she regretted was not being able to tell Varian what she truly felt. Speaking of Varian, he was no where to be seen. Where was he? Her desperate eyes were craving for one last look, but life never guarantees the fact that all wishes should be fulfilled. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the executioner's command, but before another word could've been spoken, a painfully familiar voice rang out.

"Stop!"

Cassandra opened her eyes to find Varian looking at her, with determination on his face. Before she could react, he spoke again.

"She will not be executed!"

"Varian!" Cassandra said, looking at him, "I think I told you to leave me alone."

"No Cassie. I can't just sit here and watch you die. Maybe you don't love me, maybe you think that my love for you is just an infatuation, but that does not undermine my love for you in any way. I love you, Cassandra. And I want to prove to you that my love for you has no limits."

Cassandra thought that this was the only moment left for her to tell him the truth and that how much she loved him, but before she could say anything, He spoke up again.

"I, by the faith and power of moonstone, propose my life for you!"

Cassandra stunned, as the words hung in air between them.

The executioner turned her away, while Cassandra's stray gaze never leaving his determined one. She wasn't able to speak, and as she came into her senses, all that she could see was Varian bending down, positioning his head directly under the blade, and the executioner released the blade.

"NOOOO!!!" Cassandra fell down to her knees, as a painful realisation hit her.

She never told him that she loved him back, and she would have to live the rest of her life with that.