11

                                    

                                          
"Stay focus, Varian!"
                          
"But Dad, it's already three in the afternoon and I haven't left this room. Not even once," ranted Varian.
                          
"You're going to be more stuck in your room the moment you've been crowned king. Stop with your childish whining. A Prince should not act that way. You're 25, Varian. Twenty-five. Now stop acting like a kid," said Quirin.
                          
 "Yes, Dad."
                          
"Good. Now be ready, your new tutor would be arriving this afternoon," said Quirin with a very strict tone.
                          
Varian sighed, "yes, Dad."
                          
"I'm glad we got that cleared up," said Quirin and left the room.
                          
Varian sighed and stared at the window of his room. He guess that he's back to his original schedule. He always feel like he's being strangled by all of this expectations and rules around him. Sure, he was born a royal but that doesn't mean this is something that he likes. He would rather have himself locked down on his lab, experimenting things.
                          
He's going to be King the moment this month ends, but he's not even sure if this is the thing that he really wants. Sure, he's glad and happy to help everyone but being King is more than that. He's going to be everyone's beacon of hope. He can't keep up with that.
                          
He sat up straight when he heard a knock on the door. Maybe it was the new tutor — the one who is tasked to teach him about the duties of a king.
                          
"Come in," he stated and he heard the door creaked open, a person holding a tray of food entered.
                          
Surprisingly, it wasn't a tutor nor a castle staff. It was Cassandra. Varian's eyes widened at the sight of the woman. This is not how he expected his day would be.
                          
"Cassi—Cassandra, how did you get here?" He asked.
                          
Cassandra raised an eyebrow and placed the tray of food in the table in front of him. "I opened the door," she answered simply.
                          
Varian's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. What kind of question is that, Varian? Of course the girl would answer you sarcastically. Stop making yourself a dummy in front of her!
                          
"I-uh, I mean, what are you doing in here?" He asked.
                          
"I saw that you haven't left your room yet and I saw one of the castle staff coming to give you food. I might as well take it and bring them here, thought I could go check up on you," she said.
                          
Truthfully, Cassandra did not mean to go here. She was actually forced by no other than Jamie with Rapunzel's help. The two are teaming up against her. She swore vengeance on the two of them once she got back.
                          
--
                          
"Cassandra, come on, give this to Varian!" Rapunzel pleaded and pushed the tray of food on her lady-in-waiting's hand.
                          
"No way," said Cassandra. "I don't want to bother him."
                          
"You won't be bothering him," said Jamie. "That man had been locked up on his room for like the whole day. He needs some time out and you're the perfect girl for that."
                          
"Shouldn't you be the one going there since the both of you are best friends?" Cassandra asked.
                          
"Yes, we're best friends but just like what I've said, you're the perfect girl for that role. You're the fianceé, aren't you?" She said with a teasing tone.
                          
"Come on, Cass. You wouldn't want him to starve, do you?" asked Rapunzel.
                          
"But there are many staff to give him food!" Cassandra whined.
                          
"Stop acting like a kid and do your job as his fianceé," said Jamie. "Stop ruining my ship," whispered Jamie but it was too low for anyone to hear.
                          
Cassandra took the tray from Rapunzel's hand. "Fine! I'm going to get back at the two of you for this," she glared at them and left.
                          
"Should we be worried about her threat?" Jamie asked with a frown.
                          
"With the glare she gave us, I guess that we should," answered Rapunzel.
                          
--
                          
"Are you worried?" He asked.
                          
Cassandra shrugged. "You could say that." She took a chair and sat next to him. "What have you been doing lately? You've been locked inside this room since morning."
                          
Varian sighed. "I have a lot of things to do. All the new lessons are tight up and placed on my shoulders. After all, I'm going to be Crowned King at the end of the months." He turned to her. "I'm actually more worried about you."
                          
Cassandra's eyes furrowed. "Worried about me? Why?"
                          
"You're going to be Crowned Queen, too. You'll have much more things to do. But the lessons will start next week," said Varian.
                          
Cassandra's face lost it's color as she felt a sinking feeling on her stomach. She? A Queen? But this is not her place. Rapunzel should be the one sitting next to him and not her — why does that thought madr her feel uneasy?
                          
She flinced when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Varian was trying to calm her down. She didn't even realized that she was spacing out.
                          
"Cassandra, are you okay?" He asked, a worried look on his face.
                          
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she breathed. "Is it just me or you stopped calling me Cassie?"
                          
Varian's hand left her shoulder as the man turned his head to the side. "Rapunzel told me that you don't like being called by that."
                          
Cassandra chuckled. "That is true, but it actually depends on the person who is calling me by that name."
                          
Varian turned to her. "Is it okay if I call you that? You haven't broke my hand when I first called you that before — Rapunzel told me that you did that to a man before when he called you Cassie."
                          
Cassandra crossed her arms. "Just what kind of stories about me did Rapunzel told you? Anyway, it's okay for you to call me that. You're my friend, Varian."
                          
"Thank you, Cassie."
                          
Cassandra stood up. "You're welcome." She chuckled and went to open the door.
                          
"Cassie?"
                          
She stopped and turned to him. "Yes?"
                          
"Thank you for visiting me here. You're the best." He smiled.
                          
Cassandra reciprocated his smile. "Anytime." She left the room.
                          
Varian turned to his window and smiled. Looks like this day isn't as bad as he thought it would be.
                          
--
Spoiler:
A storm is coming...
                          
So what do you think of this chapter? Share your thoughts!