Rapunzel leaned against the cool stone wall, breathing heavily from dancing. The week-long wedding/lostprincessisreturned festival had reached its last day, and as the sun waned in the sky, Rapunzel looked around at the people that she loved. Her mother and Father, whom she felt like she had known forever, Eugene, who she knew she could not live without, and to her animal friends, Pascal and Maximus, who easily brought a smile to her face. She felt like the sun flower, glowing, surrounded by magic. She watched her kingdom dance, and as the first star appeared, she wished upon it. "I wish…" she whispered softly "for my kingdom to always live happily" she finished, closing her eyes and letting the wish fill her. Once again she smiled, it seemed as though she would never stop. She reached up to twirl her hair around her fingers and remembered its absence when her hand closed around air. She ran her fingers through her newly shortened locks, a small sigh escaping her. Rapunzel knew that it had saved her life, but a part of her wished for her golden hair back. She still had so many questions. Like why her tears had healed Eugene, and if they would be able to heal again. In that moment, Eugene came up behind her, leaning against the wall too. "Tired?" he asked, his voice full of tenderness. "Oh, just a little bit." She smiled up at him. He reached over to tuck a stray piece of hair out of her face "We have a surprise for you Princess" he laced his fingers through hers and tugged her away toward The Balcony. "A surprise?" she asked excitedly, walking faster. "Yes, and you're going to love it." He replied as they reached the top step. She saw her parents standing at the edge, and on a small table she saw lovely cream-colored lanterns. "Floating Lanterns?!" she exclaimed happily. Her parents and Eugene exchanged joyful smiles. "Here," said Eugene, handing her a large lantern embellished with the Sun that was the symbol of their kingdom, Corona. She stepped to the edge to join her parents, Eugene on her left, and a maid lit their lanterns. As she lifted it up to the starry sky, she spoke softly "To Corona, and to my people" With that, the lantern floated peacefully away, the first of thousands to join the sky that evening.
As the sun dawned, Rapunzel's eyes fluttered open. She smiled up at the ceiling, already covered in her paintings. Above her head she had depicted her tower from the woods. A bittersweet memory. A place where she had been imprisoned, but where she was also been set free. How could she hate a place that had given her Eugene? In this particular painting she was staring out her window, while Eugene was climbing up. She hummed the song that used to make her hair glow. Reaching a hand up toward her art, she imagined the long golden hair was within reach before she let her arm fall to rest back atop the sheets. Very odd sheets, she thought, picking them up to examine them. What she saw in her hand shocked her into silence. Glowing hair, flowing down to her waist. As the glow faded, it became plain golden. She closed her eyes and opened them again. Still golden. She sang a line from the song, and a warm glow spread from her roots to the tips. That was when she jumped up and ran toward her mirror. She stared into her reflection. Baffled. Unsure. Overjoyed. She glanced back over to the bed, where Eugene slept soundly. She just had to show him. She ran and jumped, landing beside him and causing him to bounce up. "Wha?" he said, still half-asleep. "Eugene!" she said, shaking his shoulders "Wake. Up." He sat upright, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?" he grumbled in a drowsy voice. "My hair. It's glowing. And blonde. And long again." He slumped heavily against her shoulder, and for a moment she thought he had passed out. Then he began to snore quietly. Rapunzel huffed in exasperation "Eugene!" He jerked awake, fully conscious this time, and looked at her. "Rapunzel! You…Your hair….It's blonde! And long!" She exhaled slowly. "Yes, I know." She said wryly. "What happened?" he exclaimed grabbing a handful of it, and examining it. "I…I don't know." She said quietly, excitement disappearing and an odd sense of worry forming in its place. "We have to tell your parents. They need to know." She nodded and they both got dressed for the day and made their way down to the dining hall. As they walked down the hall, she trailed her hand down the walls, covered in her paintings. Since she ran out of room in the tower, her hands had been itching for a paintbrush to hold. And after presenting a portrait of herself as a child to her parents, they had told her that the world was her canvas, and to paint wherever she wanted. She had happily gone to work, Pascal on her shoulder, and she recalled how she had been happy for a moment that she didn't have to keep her long hair out of the paint. As they approached the dining hall, Eugene stepped ahead to open the door, she wondered what her parents reaction would be. She didn't wonder long. The queen, who was always so carefully composed, dropped her glass, and water splashed onto the table and off the sides. The king, who had a strong exterior, simply stared. The maids jumped to clean up the spilled water, and the queen rushed to Rapunzel's side. "What happened?" she said worriedly, reaching a hand out towards Rapunzel's hair. "I'm not sure, but it even glows just like before." She sang a piece of the song, and her hair lit up. The queen gasped, and took a step back. Rapunzel suddenly remembered that her parents had never seen her with magic glowing hair before, and she stopped the song. The hair faded back, "It's alright, it only heals." said Rapunzel calmly. She looked down at her feet, and noticed that her hair already brushed against the floor. Her father joined her mother, "Are you feeling well my dear?" he asked her gently. She nodded vigorously "Better than ever!" she smiled widely. "But this time, I want to use my powers the right way."