LEGEND OF THE BIG FOUR: THE RETURN OF PITCH BLACK
CHAPTER 1: One Whose Gold Hair Does Beguile
July 16, 1296 AD, 3:34 PM.
Even a year later, Rapunzel still couldn't believe her luck.
She was a princess. She had real parents who really loved her for who she was. She was free from the woman who had pretended to be her mother while really only keeping her so she could use Rapunzel's hair.
And best of all, she was going to be married in a few weeks.
Rapunzel couldn't wait for August 9th. Eugene Fitzherbert, her fiancé, couldn't wait either. They had wanted to be married straightaway, as soon as Eugene had met her parents and they had acquitted him of the charges of thievery. But alas, that was not to be. King Randulf and Queen Lucia had wished to get to know Eugene and their daughter better, and Rapunzel decided that the least she could do for her parents was to wait a year for the marriage.
That year was almost up.
Rapunzel was almost nineteen, and the marriage was set for a few days after her birthday, so that the marriage feast and the birthday banquet could happen at the same time.
She was standing on her bedroom balcony, looking down at the beautiful kingdom that she would rule someday. Corona had been a happy place before the lost princess had returned, but since she had come back, the ecstasy almost never ended. Many times a day, Rapunzel would stroll through the village, bringing joy to the children and the townspeople, cheering up the sad and grieving, and settling small quarrels among the sellers and customers in the marketplace.
Today was the day that Rapunzel would be fitted for her wedding gown. She smiled as she saw it in her mind's eye. It was white, of course, studded with pearls and with gold trimming around the neckline, the hem, and the edges of the sleeves. Gold trimming, gold, like her hair…
Rapunzel stopped smiling. Her face became overcome with sadness as she remembered her seventy-foot-long hair that had helped her so much. How it healed, made one young of age. How it had glowed in the deep, dark water as she and Eugene, known to her then as Flynn, were drowning….Then she had used it to heal a cut on Flynn's hand. Oh, the look on his face when he saw that the cut had disappeared…
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear footsteps creep up behind her. "Boo!" said a male voice, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up on her toes.
"Eugene! Stop it!" She laughed, but without any feeling.
"Whew! Even without all that hair, you are one heavy princess," said Eugene, putting her back on the ground. Rapunzel looked at him, not in the mood to joke around.
He caught sight of her hurt face. "Sorry, blondie," he apologized, then did a mental facepalm as she put her head down on the balcony rail. "Sorry, Rapunzel. Hey, is it okay if I call you Punzie? Wow, that's kinda weird, we've been together all this time and I've never asked you that. Punzie, I know I'm technically not supposed to see you in your wedding gown before the wedding (bad luck and all) but I was wondering, could I see you in it after the fitting anyway, because I think I need to know what to expect on our wedding day, because I don't want to get up there and see you walk down that aisle and then have a heart attack becau—"
"Give your mouth a rest, Eugene! Please!" Rapunzel blurted out, lifting up her head suddenly and spinning to face him. Eugene looked rather shocked at this outburst, then indignant. He was just about to give her a piece of his mind when his fiancée's lower lip began to tremble and her eyes watered.
"Aw, Punzie, what happened to the sweet-natured, happy princess at breakfast this morning? Did Pascal actually win at hide and seek this time?" His eyes widened. "It's the wedding, isn't it? You're too nervous to go through with it, aren't you? Stress too much for you? You want to call it off, wait a couple more years or so? Or—" he lowered his voice to a whisper, "—there's someone else, isn't there?"
Rapunzel spun around again and placed two fingers none-too-gently on his lips. Her face, which a moment ago had been filled with sadness, was now masked with irritation. Eugene looked down at her fingers on his mouth, then looked into those angry eyes that clearly said something very bad is going to happen in a few minutes if you don't shut up. "Too many jokes?" he asked in a small voice.
Rapunzel closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and turned back to the railing. "Okay, first of all, it is not okay to call me Punzie. Unless I'm in a really good mood. Second of all—" she slumped to the ground and flopped her arms over the balcony "—if you must know what my problem is—"
She hesitated. She had never told anybody this, except Pascal, her chameleon. She had been afraid that if she told this to an actual human, they would judge her and call her self-centered. Pascal was her forever friend and wouldn't do that, which was why she had told him.
She decided to just jump right in. After all, this guy was her future husband. He wouldn't be so quick to judge, right? "I miss my hair. I'm trying not to sound petty or shallow, but I miss my hair. There, I said it."
Eugene sat down beside her. "You don't sound petty or shallow, Rapunzel," he replied softly. "I understand. You grew up with that hair. You could swing on it, heal people with it, make others look younger than they actually were—heck, that stuff was a weapon of mass destruction, and I should know!" he laughed, recalling when he and Rapunzel had first met.
Rapunzel looked up and shot a smile at him, then it vanished. "I just wish there was something I could do to get it back," she whispered.
"Come on, Punzie. Let's get some life back into you." Eugene stretched and got back up. "We've got a lot of things to do today."
"The fitting's not until later in the evening. I'm just going to sit and think awhile. And don't call me Punzie," Rapunzel answered.
"Thinking is dangerous pastime. Too dangerous for a damsel like you. Let's go for a walk in the village. Come on."
"Too bad. I'm not moving from this spot."
Eugene thought for a minute. Then a sneaky grin appeared on his face. "Oh, I know what'll get you to move from that spot."
"Oh yeah, what's that?" Rapunzel said.
Then it dawned on her. She looked at him sharply. "No. Don't you dare."
Too late. Eugene had already begun The Smolder. Then he began to make kissing noises at her.
"Eugene! I said NO!" she screamed with mirth. She scrambled from her spot, running into her room, searching for a place she could get away from him, all while giggling helplessly. Darn it! If only she had long blond hair instead of short brown hair. Then she could swing up to the ceiling and stay there.
Eugene was too quick for her. She shrieked as his arms wrapped around her slender frame and lifted her straight off the ground. "All right! All right! You win!" she shouted, just as King Randulf and Queen Lucia entered the room.
Eugene saw them first. Not wanting to look undignified in front of royalty, he dropped Rapunzel. Not expecting to be dropped so quickly, she slipped on her purple dress and fell to the floor. Eugene swiftly picked her up and dusted her off, while she smoothed her hair and her dress. Then they booth stood to attention, Eugene's hands clasped behind his back and Rapunzel's hands folded in front.
Rapunzel smiled brightly at her parents. "Hello, Mom! Hello, Dad! How are you this afternoon?"
Eugene gave a sheepish grin.
Lucia and Randulf didn't know what to think. Then Lucia, choosing to overlook the incident, beamed at her daughter. "We have some nice news for you, dear. Come and walk with us, and we will tell you all about it. You too, Flynn!"
Eugene cleared his throat; he was always nervous when talking to people of high class, afraid of offending them. "Um, ahem, er, er, it's Eugene, ahem, your Majesty."
Lucia laughed. "Terribly sorry, Eugene. My goodness, you would think that I would have learned your name by now, wouldn't you?"
They walked down to go to afternoon tea in the dining hall. Once they were seated and eating queen cakes and sipping raspberry tea, Randulf began, "It appears that we shall have some Scottish guests at your wedding, Rapunzel."
"Excuse me, Dad, but what are Scottish guests?"
Eugene groaned inwardly. Rapunzel still had a lot to learn about the real world. And she wasn't exactly afraid to let that be known.
"Scotland is another country, my dear, much like you have been learning about in lessons with your mother. They also have a king, a great man by the name of Fergus DunBroch. He was a childhood playmate of mine; my father would take me to Scotland when he had to conduct business, and I met Fergus in the forest one day. We became the best of friends.
"He also has a wife, Elinor, and a daughter about your age, Merida. Merida has three brothers, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris, and they will all be attending your wedding. We invited rather on the spot, I'm afraid. We really hoped you wouldn't mind…"
"Of course not, Dad! Maybe we can be friends, like you and Fergus are!" Rapunzel replied excitedly. "When are they coming?"
"They will arrive on August 2nd, one week before your wedding, and during that time we must get the castle ready to receive them," Lucia answered. "We must be gracious to them at all times; Scotland is our most powerful ally, and we wouldn't want to offend them."
††
7:53 PM.
Mother Gothel heard everything.
Having used her witch's knowledge to create a potion that would change her into an animal, she had transformed into a pigeon and perched on the tiles above Rapunzel's room, and heard Rapunzel's wish: that she had her glorious, magical hair back again. Then she had flown to the other side of the palace, when the dining hall was, and heard that the DunBrochs would be arriving in a little more than three weeks.
She also heard the date of the wedding.
Now back at her cave, she smiled evilly as a plan formed in her malevolent mind. Perhaps there was a way to grant her own wish of revenge and the wish of Rapunzel. But if Rapunzel wanted her hair back, it would come at a price.
Gothel had heard not so long ago about a Resurrection Draught—not a potion that would raise one from the dead, but one that would restore things to their former selves.
However, the only vial that had actually been proven to be existent was in the possession of one Madam Mim—the most powerful witch in the world. And of course she had to live in Scotland, of course she had to live a few hundred miles away. That would only make Gothel's journey to get the potion harder, and she doubted she was strong enough to use magic to get there.
Well, maybe she could use her magic to get most of the way there, across the sea at the very least, and as she finished the journey she could formulate a plan to trick Mim into giving her the draught. Because Gothel knew Mim was rather daft, but not daft enough to just hand it over.
Gothel's mind wandered back to the effects of the potion. What a single drop could do! Her eyes lit up at the thought that the draught could restore her youth. Then she could trick Rapunzel into drinking it and getting her hair back. Then…Gothel paused in her thinking as an idea came to her. Why kill Rapunzel? The Resurrection Draught would not last evermore, not on Gothel at least. Rapunzel would have her hair back, the hair that could ever restore Gothel's youth. She could use Rapunzel's hair to keep her young forever, or until Rapunzel died.
Gothel made a new vow that night.
Flynn Rider would die. Sparing him was out of the question. But Rapunzel would be Gothel's slave for the rest of her life.
