Author's note:
Here is a sequel, for more hair fun, inspired by my 4-year-old daughter's reaction to the haircut and the never-ending discussion that followed. Enjoy!
Rated T for underlying dark and mature themes.
Disclaimer: This is fan fiction written just for fun. Tangled is property of Disney. I do not own Tangled. I do not work for Disney.
I sometimes questioned whether my decision to shred her hair, taking all her power away, was the right decision. Maybe I shouldn't have taken away Rapunzel's fountain of youth. Maybe I should have asked for her permission first... wait, this is starting to sound weird. Let me start over. This is a fun story, I promise.
I gave Rapunzel a haircut. I was unfamiliar with the latest hair trends, not to mention inexperienced with cutting hair— I know, it's the worst thing a guy can do, but I wasn't expecting to live to face the consequences of my decision. However, I did survive. The last drop of magic was used to revive me and afterward, the magic was gone. Regardless of whether I had the right to do it or not, just consider, for a moment, the endless lineup of people who would try to use Rapunzel for the magic. With that, I convinced myself that yes, cutting off all the magical hair was the best decision I had ever made.
Rapunzel was never angry at me for what I did in that defining moment— not even for the death of her adoptive mother. But, I didn't mean to kill her. How was I supposed to know the mother was a few hundred years old? Have you ever heard of anything so freaky?
Anyway, Rapunzel forgave me for all of it. She loves me. She married me.
Rapunzel still sometimes missed her hair. Always wanting to fix all her problems, I suggested to her that she carry a rope around and just imagine that she still has all her long hair. She did as I suggested for a while, and as more time passed, I started seeing less and less of the rope. I believed she was starting to forget about the long hair.
Bliss.
However, within a couple of short years, my worst fear came true. The Queen, Rapunzel's true mother, died from an illness and Rapunzel didn't have the magic to save her. The Queen was buried next to the King who had passed away a short time earlier. The image of Rapunzel laying on her mother's gravesite, crying, burned in my eyes. And what happened next was something I had never even considered. The magical flower regrew on the gravesite. The roots seeped into Rapunzel's hair as she lay there and the magic traveled from the flower to her hair, instantly turning the hair a golden blonde colour. At that moment, the hair was still its short length, but now, it was slowly growing again.
Everyone praised her lovely hair and in time, the hair was soon touching the ground. I preferred her short hair, but Rapunzel wasn't allowing me to cut it this time. I promised her I wouldn't. But we did agree to keep its magical properties a secret.
We became occasional midnight superheroes, healing someone in secret, but overall we led a fairly selfish lifestyle. Thoughts of Rapunzel being hunted if the secret ever got out, gave me nightmares. The world was dangerous for her. I was determined to protect her.
. . . . .
Kingdoms fell but dancing prevailed.
Every problem disappeared when I was wrapped in Rapunzel's hair, her lips kissing mine. Our castle eventually became an apartment. There was a balcony and it was fun to call out to her, "Rapunzel, let down your hair," and climb in through the window where she greeted me with a kiss.
As the decades went on, we blended into society as it changed. I, somehow, made it through the world war without firing a single gun. Hopefully, I'll never have to touch another one again— those things are terrifying. Rapunzel seemed entertained by target practice and she was, to no surprise, a very good shot.
My next job was much more fun— strutting the runways of the fashion world. Photography definitely gets my nose right. We lived the good life for a while. Rapunzel would often nag me for not wearing my motorcycle helmet. But I assured her, as long as she is with me, it doesn't matter if I smash my head open because she can just heal me. As we traveled around, I always carried a large backpack on my shoulders containing a good portion of the hair. Maybe this was the reason Rapunzel liked to keep me around and I was happy to be useful. For as long as the hair was manageable, no one thought it was too strange. We were known as the couple with the hair fetish. We had lots of friends.
Over the years, I went to various schools and more recently when our travelling days were slowing down with the increasing weight of the hair, I started acting more like my age. I was doing the morning commute to the office, where I sat in front of a computer, crunching numbers and knocking back cups of coffee.
. . . . .
Yes, we knew how to have fun.
But I will share one thing with you— something that I normally don't like to talk about. When enough time passes, everyone has their low moment. Unfortunately, my day arrived. An irrational fear came over me that Rapunzel was leaving me.
I had shackles ready as I approached her. She stared at me in disbelief...
Ok, you can stop judging me now. I just didn't trust anyone else to protect her. I know I made a mistake. Do I have to be punished for it my whole life?
Oh.
Really?
My whole life?
Well, trust me, I felt guilty.
Don't worry. To this day, I have never hurt her. I didn't get too far before backing away and collapsing on the floor and don't tell this to anyone, I actually cried. It was a single brief moment but I would never forgive myself. I decided I was no better than anyone else who would use her for her magic. I ran away as fast as I could, knowing very well what my fate would be. Rapunzel found me days later, on the ground in the forest, a withering old man, and she restored my youth with the healing song.
Looking up at her, I still felt a deep sadness within but managed to crack a hint of a smile, "I've said this many times before, Blondie, I can't live without you— literally."
We stared at each other for a moment.
"But seriously, Rapunzel, don't be afraid to leave me. I will accept it."
Her kiss took me by surprise, sending my eyes wide open.
"Eugene, If you ever think about leaving me again, I will tie *you* up and lock you away in our room. Understand?"
Well, I couldn't argue with that. I should start making it up to Rapunzel by giving her what she wants, right?
And she wanted me.
. . . . .
Fast forward a century.
I will tell you, all those vampire stories are a lie. Life did not get boring; life only became more interesting and more fun as time went on.
We only ever had one problem: The hair was becoming too heavy to go anywhere. Rapunzel insisted that she's not giving up. We would have to settle in one place. Hiding seemed to be the safest option. I worried about my ability to keep her safe. We found a perfect hideaway, deep in a forest, within a mountain crack, a waterfall circling all the way around. The center was a beautiful courtyard that was open to the sky. We moved in with our robot pets.
It was comfortable living here. The pile of hair was my favourite pillow. The waterfall was our power generator, our drinking water and our shower. What more could one need? I never got bored of watching Rapunzel washing her hair under the waterfall. Along the cliff walls were lots of trees and places to suspend the hair. The hair became our swing, our hammock, our jungle gym - you name it, we had it. The waterfall kept our home secretly hidden. One would need to use an umbrella to enter and exit the place.
In many ways, it was like Rapunzel was back in her tower. She would spend her days dancing around the room, playing music, writing music, cooking, clean— am I allowed to say that? Uh... reading, programming and painting. The programs she wrote aided her music and art. The art she created was a gorgeous blend of traditional and digital media. She painted anything and everything and I enjoyed being her subject whenever she asked. Rapunzel was always happy despite being trapped by the crushing weight of the hair that was now too heavy to carry anywhere. I would venture out if we ever needed anything. I felt guilty that I had a freedom that she didn't. Sometimes, I would be gone for days at a time. I brought her lots of books, gadgets, craft supplies, movies, and anything else she wanted. I would do odd jobs, here and there, if we needed the money. Actually, our best source of income often came from selling Rapunzel's art.
. . . . .
The decades ticked on.
The guilty feelings I had within, continued. I couldn't help feeling that we would have to end this soon, maybe Romeo and Juliet style, except with a pair of scissors. OK, I never read Romeo and Juliet, but you get the idea.
Speaking of scissors, I was lost in thought one evening while holding a pair. Rapunzel was already asleep for the night. A strand of hair was over her eye. I had the habit of moving the hair away from her face, but doing this, I inadvertently woke her up. She looked at me suspiciously after glancing at the scissors in my hand. Her expression quickly changed to terror.
"What are you doing?" she asked nervously.
"It's not what you think," I assured her.
She didn't believe me and jumped out of bed and started running away. She made a poor attempt at gathering all her hair and struggled to run with it. I tucked the scissors into my belt for safe keeping. Rapunzel ran into the courtyard and stumbled over the hair causing herself to fall to the ground.
She was on the ground, crying, and continued screaming at me. "No! No, get away from me."
I approached her cautiously. I really didn't like scaring her.
"Rapunzel, how many centuries will it take for you to trust me?" I said jokingly with a smile.
She started calming. I continued to approach her. "Trust me, ok?"
I sat down in front of her. She wasn't fighting me anymore. Rapunzel's problem is that she trusted me too much. Unlike when Rapunzel makes a promise, my promises are negotiable. I didn't tell her my plan because I knew she wouldn't let me do it. Getting her to blindly trust me was just easier. Truthfully, I wasn't certain the plan would work and I was prepared for the end. She looked at me with sad eyes but made no attempt to push me away.
I tried to lighten the mood and smiled at her, "don't worry, it will be OK."
Rapunzel became very still. She was giving me complete control. Very slowly, I pulled out the scissors. Even more slowly, I brought the scissors to her hair. I started to cut the hair. She wasn't stopping me, so I continued cutting. As the magic was weakening, we were turning old before each other's eyes. She was still as cute as ever. She continued to look at me with sad eyes. I continued cutting the hair. My own hair was turning whiter and whiter with each cut. I was unwavering and kept on cutting. Rapunzel didn't move. I was approaching the end...
But, as I came to last thin clump of hair, I did not cut it. I tossed it aside and it was flying in the wind high above us.
Then I whispered in her ear, "Rapunzel, you need to sing now."
With the remaining small piece of long hair swirling around us, Rapunzel sang the healing song. We were instantly transformed once again to our youthful state.
It worked.
My heart was pounding so hard, my chest hurt. I could see Rapunzel gasping for air. We sat there in front of each other for a while, not moving, trying to catch our breath. After a few minutes, I continued to sit in front of her and started braiding the remaining piece of long hair. Even with our robots helping me, it took a long time to braid it. I was sweating. When we were finally finished, I rolled up the hair like a rope, stuffed it into the backpack and we resumed our nomadic lifestyle. We weren't sleeping that night.
. . . . .
What year are we in again?
Rapunzel wanted to study science and so she enrolled at the local university. I thought it was a great idea. And she certainly took her studies seriously. I admired the architecture of the building and I would often hang around the hallways of the school. The place had large state-of-the-art labs with multi-story high ceilings.
One day, as I was roaming the university halls, someone caught my attention. There is no harm in admitting that this girl was stunning— it's a plain fact that anyone can see. She walked over to me to inform me that I'm staring. I wasn't going to even try to hide it. She knows she's beautiful and she likes the attention she gets for it. This was all familiar to me.
"Just because I like to stare at you, doesn't mean I intend disrespect or that I'm looking for something."
She wasn't appreciating my flat tone. She continued looking at me, her black eyes were hypnotic.
"I've seen you around here before," she told me, "your girlfriend is the one who lives in the lab. You know, she's getting pretty friendly with the professor. You'd better keep an eye on her."
I was certain she was lying. It was obvious what she really wanted. I mean, I'm irresistible to women. I have this problem all the time. I wasn't falling for her tricks and I certainly wasn't falling into the jealous trap again, either. I made the decision long ago that if Rapunzel wants to leave me then I will live with that, I mean... not live with that... but she can live without me.
"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind." The sarcasm in my voice was probably obvious. I could tell the girl wasn't used to rejection as I watched her walk away.
. . . . .
A few weeks later...
I was alone in our apartment one evening. Rapunzel was working late at the lab which was becoming typical. It was getting really late and she still wasn't home. I found myself worrying and I was having trouble focusing on other things. I told myself, "don't be a possessive freak." My mind wandered. Maybe teaching Rapunzel it's ok to break a promise sometimes was a bad idea, remembering that a marriage vow counts as a promise. I decided to just go to bed. It took a while to fall asleep but soon enough I was waking up the next morning with a hangover.
It was a weekend morning and Rapunzel still wasn't home. There was no phone call, no message, she didn't return my message. I looked in the mirror and saw the aging was already showing. The magic was weaker since we downsized the hair. I needed more frequent boosts to maintain my youthful charm.
I decided I would just casually take a stroll to the lab, ask Rapunzel if I can get her some breakfast since I'm getting some for myself anyway and it's on the way. I would be just helping her out. After all, she's been studying hard... all night. Maybe she lost track of time. This doesn't make me a creep, right? Ah, who was I kidding? I think I surpassed creep status a long time ago.
I arrived at the building and ventured through some of the labs. I heard voices coming from a back room and entered the room, slowly. I saw Rapunzel in tears. The professor was there too. I felt disoriented by the scene.
Rapunzel looked at me. "Eugene, I'm so sorry. I lost the magic."
Her braid was gone... but, we were not rapidly aging. It meant the magic still existed somewhere at the same intensity as we had before. But where?
As I stood there, I vaguely recall hearing the professor saying something to the effect of "get rid of him. I still have the magic and I'll share it with you if you come with me."
I would have given up any fight if Rapunzel planned this and really didn't want me anymore. This guy freed Rapunzel from the hair which she would have wanted. But, to my surprise, Rapunzel stood by me.
She firmly shouted, "no," toward the professor.
I barely remember the fight that ensued.
The next thing I knew, the professor was dead and my eyes were splashed with an unknown chemical, completely blinding me. I was holding on to a ledge and I felt myself slipping. I couldn't sense the ground.
"Rapunzel! I can't see anything. I need your help! My vision, it's gone — it's completely gone. I'm falling. I need you, Rapunzel."
I felt a small hand pull me up.
"Rapunzel?" I asked, staring blankly outward.
The girl leaned in and kissed me. It's hard to be mad at a kiss, but I wasn't fooled for one second. I pleaded with the girl. "If you know where Rapunzel is, please, take me to her. Please."
She took my hands and led the way. I knelt down beside the unconscious girl. I felt her face. It was definitely Rapunzel. I determined she would be fine if only I could get the magic back. I turned toward the sound of the mystery girl.
"Thank you— for saving my life."
"Actually, you were hanging off a ledge that is about three feet off the ground," she said, playfully mocking me. "But, I will help you reach that box up there. Inside, is a flower which holds the magic that you're looking for. I need your help to reach it. Give me a boost and I will get it down for you."
I had a bad feeling about this but I had no hope of reaching the box myself in my current state so I followed her lead. Just as we approached what I assumed to be the top, I felt her pushing me away and making a sudden move in the opposite direction. I hated that it was coming down to this. I pulled her back and raced ahead in the direction that I sensed she was moving. I was feeling around for a box and came across one that opened easily. I reached inside searching for the flower and to my surprise, I picked up two potted flowers. I was admittedly very clumsy without my sight and at that moment, I lost my balance and fell holding both flowers.
Luckily, one pot was safe. The other flower smashed against my head... but don't worry, my nose wasn't broken. The pot broke apart against my hair, instantly changing its colour to a golden blond as the magic trickled in. It became obvious that my hair contained the magic now. As the magic entranced me, my vision was healed and my youth was restored.
The girl jumped down in front of me, confirming my suspicion that she was the same girl who was stalking me earlier. She glared at me.
I tossed the remaining potted plant to her. "A flower for you, my lady."
"Really? Just like that? You're giving it to me," she said, looking skeptical. "Why not give it to your princess over there? When was the last time she got a flower from you?"
"I'll take care of Rapunzel. The magic in my hair can be used by both of us. I don't need the flower."
She paused. "I'm still trying to decide whether that is the most romantic or the most selfishly possessive thing I have ever heard." She continued, "but thank you for the generous gift and I'm sorry I tried to steal it from you earlier."
"Yeah, the flower has a tendency to bring out the worst in everyone."
She gave me a smile. "You know, you may not be trapped with your hair forever. This flower actually belongs to Rapunzel. The box was stolen from her by the professor. Rapunzel created the flowers. It was all her experiment so she will be able to extract the magic from your hair."
It should have been a relief to hear this, but instead, my heart was breaking into a million pieces. Why did Rapunzel feel the need to make *two* flowers?
"Just take the flower," I told the girl.
As the girl was walking away, she turned back to me, "I never did get your name."
"My name is Flynn Rider."
I watched the girl leave while wondering how often she uses her face to steal something. As soon as she was gone from my view, I dove to Rapunzel's side. I decided to carry Rapunzel home to wake her in a less chaotic environment.
Back at our home, I laid down beside Rapunzel so I could touch my newly blond, but still short, hair to her. I sang the healing song as I lay next to her.
She woke.
She sat up looking nervous and confused. "The magic... it's in your hair now?"
"Yeah, I know, fashion-wise this will be a huge problem. But on the bright side, it just started growing so we have lots of time."
"We?" she asked in nervous hesitation.
My eyes grew and I looked her right in the eye, "Rapunzel, I've said this many times before, I can't live without you. If you're not coming with me, I'll be shaving my head."
She jumped up and gave me a kiss. My eyes went wide— she still has that effect on me. She glanced up at my hair and put her fingers through it. As she was looking at my hair, she was giggling to herself and trying very hard to hide it.
"You know, Eugene, when I was working in the lab, I learned... uh, I... uh...nevermind. It's not important."
I studied her eyes carefully for a while. I came to my conclusions: It's ok; she can keep secrets from me. Rapunzel can have her way with me. She can punish me for a thousand years— I will enjoy every minute of it. Let my sentence begin! If she ever hurts me too bad, I will have my magic hair to heal myself.
. . . . .
A few months later...
My hair was a few inches longer now. The magic was weaker after being split, but Rapunzel insisted it can be cut down a few more times before the magic becomes too weak. I figured she knew what she was doing. She cut off all my hair leaving only a thin braid hidden behind my ear on one side. And she was right; there was still more than enough magic remaining for our purposes.
And I finally decided to wear that motorcycle helmet. One day, I found Rapunzel sitting on the bike, waiting for me, with no helmet. "Blondie, you rebel!"
I got on the bike behind her. "So Blondie, what's our next adventure?"
"I have a few ideas," she answered and with a mischievous smile on her face, she twisted the handle. I felt my braid fluttering in the wind as we accelerated.
We are still living happily ever after.
The story continues in Chapter 2!
Thank you for reading! I'd love to know your thoughts.
