Rapunzel drifted, rather than walked, dismally toward her room, lost in thought. She felt the kind of unknowing numbness you feel after a loss, and then it hits you hard a few hours later. She reached her room, and didn't bother to close her door.

Pascal's half-done coat sat on the table where she'd left it. She didn't have anything else to do, so she picked up her needle and thread and began to work. The rhythm and steadiness of the needle soothed her anguish, if only partially, and her thoughts wandered.

She was actually marrying that guy. He was definitely handsome, that wasn't her problem with him. That would be the fact that she believed in marriage for love, not politics, but then again, here she was being forced into an arranged marriage. She didn't blame her father, she blamed Windelheim, but that didn't make it easier to accept her fate.

She tried to think about other, cheerier things, but what would happen barely a week from now loomed over her like an inclement cloud.

She glanced up at the clock. An hour had passed. The coat was almost finished.

Rapunzel sighed.

"I need to get out of here," she muttered to herself. Pascal jumped on her shoulder.

"I'll go talk to Mom about this. She'll know what to do."

Having Pascal in his familiar place was comforting, but she still didn't go much faster than a shuffle, taking her time to look at tapestries that she'd seen a million times before, hoping that if she didn't have to talk about it with her mother, she might wake up from a bad dream. She almost pinched herself, but decided ignorance is bliss.

She was so lost in thought she actually ran into a wall; unfortunately, the very person she'd been looking to avoid happened to be next to that wall.

"Hey," said Jack.

Rapunzel wrinkled her nose at him and tried to brush past him.

"Hey," a little louder.

She kept walking.

"HEY, PRINCESS RAPUNZEL!" She turned around, not inclined to have a yelling prince follow her around the palace. "Yes?"

He smirked. "Nice butt."

Rapunzel didn't even glance back at him, a blush fighting for control of her face. She hardened her features.

She was walking so fast, she didn't notice she was going the wrong direction.