Rated T for implied character death and dark thoughts


The tower never saw the sun shine again.

It never saw the light again.

Because it never saw Rapunzel again.

They left it as it was when he died; for it to gather dust, to sit forever untouched through time, to stand as a testament to all that had happened there. It was a prison without a prisoner, and time would go on and on around it until all that it could trap was itself. It was a place cursed to remain in a time where brown hair and broken glass spread everywhere, reflecting shattered dreams and a magic that was now long gone.

Years and years into the future, if some unknowing soul were to pry open the shutters and peek inside; if they were to look upon that tower, they would see a scene from the distant past. Hair and glass would remain, untouched by birds or pests as the tower had been locked up tight. Shackles and chains with an eerily familiar brown stain on them would lay by the stairs, one end still secured to the bottom post. If one were to sweep away the dust, they would be able to see a similar stain upon the stone floors, and they would know that someone died here.

There would be a painting above the fireplace; of a dark blue sky with hundreds of little floating lights and a girl looking up at them. The walls were covered, in paintings that had once upon a time been beautiful and happy. But now all they served was a reminder of happier times past, of a life that grew and grew here, until this tower could not contain it any more. Everything in this tower remained untouched, even down to the clothes and bed upstairs. A basket of dried flowers would sit by the bedside, telling of a day long ago, of a girl with long hair.


This…was the place where he died. All for a girl he met quite literally only a day ago, and if he were to be honest about one thing in his life…he would say he didn't regret it. He would thank any God that listened every day for the rest of his life for giving him this chance to meet this one girl.

He gazed around, at this place where he died. It had been a happy, beautiful home. It had once been filled with light and the sound of a beautiful girl laughing and singing. This place had been a home.

Now, all he could see was a dark place; a prison, the place where he died. Everything seemed grayer now: even with the skylight being closed, he could tell that the paint on the walls had lost much of their color. Was this what death did to him? Would he see the darkness in everything he laid eyes upon, knowing that in time it would all decay and disappear? God, he really really hoped not.

He lightly rubbed his stomach, where a scar now replaced what had been his fatal wound, and averted his eyes to the floor.

He wished he hadn't.

The blood on the floor –his blood- was still spreading into the fine cracks of the stone, puddling where he laid. The blood remained on his shirt; he could feel it smeared on his palm. That was a lot of blood on the floor. No human being should survive losing that much blood…and he was all too human…

Then he gazed at all the brown hair and broken glass, remembering that it wasn't just his life that had forever changed today. For eighteen years, this tower held captive the most radiant, most beautiful –both inside and out- person he'd ever had the fortune to meet. This hair, this hair that had once shone like spun gold, had been the one thing tying her to this place, to this tower. Now that that hair was cut, there was nothing keeping her here. She was free.

This place did not deserve to keep any of the light that she gave it. This place did not deserve to have another being step foot in it, to have the chance to ensnare another prisoner. This place deserved to remain untouched, forever.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel spoke quietly, stepping up beside him. Slender fingers slid easily and naturally in between the gaps of his own and he held her hand tight; he'd never let her out of his sight again. With his other hand, he reached out and pushed the window shutters closed. It was funny how the fingers that so often deftly opened locks were now latching one shut, never to be opened again.

No, he would not see the rest of the world in blacks and greys, tainted by the knowledge of death. With this girl by his side, he would strive to see color again, he would be someone worthy to be by her side. All of that darkness, all of those happy memories shrouded in lies and deceit…they would stay here, they would not follow him beyond this tower. He would lock them away here in this place where he died.

As the shutter locked shut, there was just enough light for him to turn around and guide Rapunzel towards the exit through the floor. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on top of her pretty brown hair. "Come on," he smiled –a real smile-," Let's get out of here." And then he'd lock that door at the bottom of the tower too.

The tower never saw the sun shine again.

It never saw the light again.

Eugene Fitzherbert would…every day for the rest of his life.


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