THE ROAD (ALSO) TAKEN
Eugene hurried – like never before in his life, not even when running for his life from the royal guard.
Rapunzel was in danger. That was all he knew. It was all that mattered to him. Was she still in that tower? Was she even still alive? He didn't know – but it was as good a starting point as any.
He jumped off Maximus, who slowed down to a sudden halt at the bottom of the tower, and shouted upwards at the top of his lungs:
"Rapunzel!"
The only answer was silence.
"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"
Nothing.
It was time for plan B – climbing the tower the old-fashioned way. But just as he – worried, scared, and failing to think clearly – slid his hands into the pits between the stones, he heard a sound from above. He jumped back – and a long strand of golden hair rolled down from Rapunzel's window at the top of the tower, almost reaching the ground – its end falling straight into his hands.
Could this be a trap?
The hair lost its power and turned brown when cut, he remembered. So it wasn't cut. Dead or alive, Rapunzel was up there.
So he climbed – as fast as he could, not letting his quickened breath and pulse distract him. There was no time to even worry about falling down.
"Rapunzel! I was worried I'd never see you again!" he exclaimed, panting heavily, as he pushed himself through the window. But what he saw inside was... not what he expected.
The poor girl was chained to the opposite wall and gagged. She thrust her head forward, making some desperate unintelligible sounds. But everything was all right now, Eugene thought. Help was on its w–
Ow!
A feeling of intense stinging pain on his right side overwhelmed him, making him collapse on the floor, almost blacking out. It was only then that he realized... it was a trap after all.
"Now look what you have done, Rapunzel," he heard Gothel's voice from behind, not even seeing her – he was too preoccupied with his wound, struggling to even stay conscious. "Oh, don't worry, dear," Gothel continued, stepping over the helpless man. "Our secret will die with him. And as for us... We are going where no one will ever find you again."
Gothel, however, was not the only person Eugene failed to notice.
Farther in the bushes, safe from Maximus' eyes and nose, stood two calm, impartial observers. Both had ginger hair, a formal posture with stern faces, and costumes that looked out of place in the kingdom of Corona. A gentleman in a brownish-red suit, and a lady in a short jacket, ankle-long skirt and high-heeled shoes; underneath, both wore white shirts with ties.
They followed Eugene with their eyes as he climbed the tower, until he entered the window and disappeared inside. Then they turned to each other.
"A peculiar turn of events," said the gentleman.
"But completely expected," said the lady.
"She always gets captured again..."
"...And he always comes back."
The gentleman tossed a coin into the air and caught it, holding it with two fingers between the two of them – so they each saw one of the faces.
"Heads."
"I see tails."
"Of course, it's only..."
"...A matter of perspective."
"Both major outcomes are happening."
"Have happened. Will happen."
"But which one is more optimal?"
"That's up to them to decide."
"Rapunzel, really! Stop fighting me!"
Gothel, her face fuming with anger, pulled the girl's chain with force. Rapunzel fell onto her back – and the gag fell off.
"No! I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!"
She caught her breath. Resisting was pointless, at least for now – and she understood that. And Eugene was still lying there – barely, but still alive. And every second she wasted mattered; wouldn't she have to at least try to save him?
"But," Rapunzel added, "if you let me save him, I will go with you."
"No! No, Rapunzel!" Eugene whimpered, attempting to crawl towards her on the floor.
"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him and you and I will be together, forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want."
Words from their earlier encounter suddenly flashed in Eugene's blurred mind...
And when I promise something, I never ever break that promise.
"Just... let me... heal him," said Rapunzel, giving her adopted mother – if she could even be called that – an almost begging look.
Gothel frowned with disgust, then silently reached behind Rapunzel's back, taking the handcuffs off. With a slow, triumphant walk, she approached Eugene, pushing him against a column, and wrapped the chain around him, locking the cuffs on him.
"In case you get any ideas about following us."
"Eugene!" Rapunzel rushed to him. He was coughing, holding his side; barely even able to lift his head and look her in the eyes.
"I'm so sorry! Everything is going to be okay, though."
"No, Rapunzel." He tried to push her away... but he was already feeling too weak for that.
"I promise. You have to trust me. Come on. Just breathe."
"I can't let you do this," said Eugene.
"And I can't let you die."
"But if you do, then you will die."
How does this even make any sense? thought Rapunzel, but now was not the time to wonder. The last seconds of Eugene's life were slipping away, fast.
"Hey. It's going to be all right."
I know what I'm doing, her eyes said. Her panicked expression went away, and confidence returned to her face. She finally decided how to handle this. It was a risky plan, no doubt; but under the time constraints, she couldn't think of anything better.
Eugene, reluctantly, stopped protesting. His arm rose, but almost immediately fell back on the floor. The last bits of strength left him, and all he could do now was look at Rapunzel, as he wrapped her hair around his torso, chanting her healing song.
Flower, gleam and glow,
Let your power shine,
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine...
As Rapunzel's hair lit up, Eugene made an attempt to lift his arm again. His hand was holding something – she didn't see what – but she intercepted it mid-air, shaking her head and giving him a disapproving look. As Eugene loosened his grip, Rapunzel – still looking into his eyes anxiously – felt with her hand the object he held in his, and her face brightened while she continued to sing.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fate's design,
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once... was... mine.
Eugene opened his eyes wide, gasping for breath. Unwinding her hair, Rapunzel climbed a little back and looked at his stomach. The wound from Gothel's knife vanished entirely, as if it never existed; not even a single bloodstain remained on his skin or his shirt. He cast a thankful look at Rapunzel, smiling. She took a breath of relief and passionately hugged Eugene, who returned the favor.
"Now, now," said Gothel, taking a step towards the two. "If we're done with this touchy-feely melodrama, I believe someone here has a promise to keep."
"I will, mother." Rapunzel stood up, keeping her arms behind her back. "I'm ready to follow you."
But just as she said that, she made one swift cutting motion behind her back. She brought her hands, revealing what she was holding: a shard of the broken glass – and her hair, which she had just cut off with said shard, and which was now rapidly losing its golden hue and turning brown, patch by patch.
"What have you done?" Gothel screamed with horror. She ran to the pile of hair on the floor behind Eugene in an attempt to catch it before it changed its color entirely, but in vain. The last golden bit turned brown just as she stretched her hands towards it.
The magic of the flower was gone – irrevocably. All that was left was a lump of extremely long, but now useless hair.
"What. Have. You. Done?!"
"I'm ready to fulfill my promise, mother," Rapunzel said calmly, straightening her posture. "I said I would forever stay with you – I said nothing about the condition of my hair. But of course, if you truly are a caring mother who does everything for my sake, then you would love and accept me for who I am... rather than how useful I am to keep around. Isn't that right?"
Gothel growled. Pulling out her knife, she swung it over Eugene, who was still tied up, preparing to finish her job... but Rapunzel pulled at her end of the dead hair, which she was still holding, making it wrap around Gothel's ankles and trip her over. The knife fell out of her hand, landing on the floor with a metal clang sound.
Rapunzel reached for the knife and tossed it out of the window.
"Go away!" Gothel barked. "You... you ruined my life! You took everything away from me! Just... go away, both of you! I never want to see you again!"
"But I promised, mother," said Rapunzel. "I promised I'll stay with you forever. I'll be with you until you draw your last breath. And you know that I never, ever, break my promises."
The expression on Gothel's face changed from anger to horror – mixed with hatred. As Rapunzel approached her, she got back on her feet and stepped back, as if afraid to let her come too closely.
"No! No! Get away from me!" the old woman pleaded. "I free you from that promise! Go wherever you want, go... go back to the king and queen if you want, just never show your face in this tower again!"
Rapunzel stepped away. "You said it... 'mother'. Now, let's go, Eugene," she said, crouching in front of him and unlocking his handcuffs. "Our new life awaits... as do my real parents. And for you... a rich reward for finding the lost princess."
"What do we do with her, though?" asked Eugene, stretching his freed arms and rubbing his numbed wrists.
Rapunzel looked at Gothel. The woman had crawled to a corner, sobbing and anxiously studying her face in another, unbroken mirror, as if already looking for signs of aging.
"Shall we turn her over to the authorities?" asked Eugene. "Let's see... kidnapping the princess, multiple assault, attempted murder..."
"Eugene. Look at her."
Rapunzel sighed.
"I think leaving her alone with her mortality is punishment enough. Here, where no other human being will ever want to approach her again."
"If you insist," said Eugene, looking doubtful and suspicious. "Well, if there's nothing keeping us up here, we might as well – wait, how do we get down?" he asked, looking out of the window.
Rapunzel smiled and pointed at the pile of hair.
"Oh! Of course." He slapped his head with a clumsy grin. "At least it will do us one last favor. Won't you miss it, though?"
Rapunzel shook her head sadly.
"I just regret knowing how many more people I could have healed over my life... and never could. All because someone as selfish as her had to keep this gift for herself." She sighed and tapped on Eugene's shoulder, saying quietly, "Let's go."
Eugene, who had finished tying the end of Rapunzel's former hair to the column by the window, stepped aside, freeing the passage for her. "After you, your highness," he said with an almost comical bow.
From the shadows, the two outsiders watched as the young couple slipped down the hair and hopped onto Maximus' back.
"All is well that ends well," said the lady.
"Though not all that is well ends well," said the gentleman.
"Sadly, some other timelines..."
"...Are predetermined beyond hope."
"Should they know?"
"Better not. After all, in this world..."
"...They can finally be happy."
"Indeed, because here they are not..."
"...Related."
"I was going to say 'stained with blood'."
"Works too."
A gust of wind flowed by, and the strange near-twins vanished just as suddenly and quietly as they appeared, never noticed by anyone, not even woodland animals. Certainly not by Maximus; the horse whinnied happily and galloped off, carrying Eugene and Rapunzel far away from this forgotten tower – towards the sunset, towards the capital city where they belonged, and towards their well-deserved "happily ever after".
The End.