Jack rolled over onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling of his room, his eyes feeling fuzzy and thick. Yawning, Jack sat up and stretched his arms over his head before letting them fall limply down to his sides. With a tired grunt, Jack hauled himself out of bed and changed slowly. Once he was dressed, Jack trudged out into the main room of his house, rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up. Looking around, Jack found his mother, fully adorned in her cloak, setting down a steaming bowl of the breakfast she had made before moving towards the door with Emma at her side.
"Mother?" Jack yawned, prompting his mother to turn around. "Where are you guys going?"
Jack's mother smiled and walked up to Jack, kissing his cheek. "Good morning sleepy head," she chuckled. "Emma and I were just heading out for the day at the Festival. Remember, tonight is for the teenagers and young adults of the village so the day belongs to everyone else. Make sure you eat up and do your chores before you run off."
Jack smirked and kissed his mother's cheek in return and ruffled Emma's hair. He bid them goodbye and sat down to eat. Finishing his food quickly, Jack breezed through his chores before darting out the door and into the forest, his heart soaring at the prospect of the night ahead.
As Jack trotted across the village, he was startled to see Rapunzel's mother out and about in the crowd of people. He watched, standing across the village square, as Rapunzel's mother approached his mother and had a brief conversation. They smiled and parted ways after a moment, Emma and Jack's mother spotting him and coming towards him.
"What is she doing out? I didn't expect to see her here," Jack spoke up before his mother started talking.
Smiling, Jack's mother laughed shortly and shook her head. "Always so curious. Gothel is spending the day at the festival and then spending most of the night at her husband's grave. She said the noise from the teens in the village square when the dance keeps her up at night. Apparently she does this every year."
Jack grinned and couldn't help but think that it would be easier for Rapunzel to slip away tonight for the dance. Giving a quick little bounce, Jack said goodbye to his mother and sister again before racing off towards the woods to spend the day among the trees.
Jack moved from tree limb to tree limb, often just sitting and thinking about nothing in particular. He couldn't seem to focus on just one thought and found himself wandering in his mind more often than once. He honestly had no idea what to really do with himself for the entire day and was overjoyed and bouncy with excitement when the sky began to darken. Jack quickly swung himself out of the tree he was in and made his was hurriedly back towards the village. As he neared the village, Jack's heart began to pound with anticipation.
Jack trotted up towards Rapunzel's home, his heart fluttering in excitement as he reached up to knock on the door. He had made sure that he saw her mother leave the house before he came over to get Rapunzel. Now, he was standing at her door as Rapunzel flung open the door with a large smile on her face. Rapunzel was adorned in her most colorful dress; a pretty deep blue frock that made her short brown hair seemed darker than normal and made her green eyes sparkle.
"Hi, Jack," Rapunzel chimed breathlessly, closing the door behind her before looping her arm through Jack's. The two teens grinned at each other before Jack started to lead Rapunzel to the square. The sky was darkening, the last colorful splashes of the sunset thrown across the horizon as night began to fall. But when the two rounded the corner, they were greeted with a sight transgressing the sunset before them.
The square had been completely transformed into a place of beauty. The flower strands and baskets that hung all over the square were illuminated and highlighted by the lanterns gentle light. The lanterns were scattered all over the square, hanging from the structure in the center of the square and hanging from the beams surrounding the open space. There was a small group of young adults gathered at the center, playing their instruments as the teens from the village crowded the square, organizing themselves into lines for dancing a well known village dance.
Jack looked over to smile at Rapunzel when she suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him towards the square her green eyes alight. "Come on! Let's dance!" she said breathlessly, pulling Jack into position right before the dance began.
The tune was quick and lively, weaving through the cool night air and surrounding the teens of the village. Jack, who hardly danced, felt the sounds weaving through and around him as he moved in perfect tandem with Rapunzel, his senses honing in on her and the music that surrounded them. They had began in two lines that formed a circle, girls on the inside, boys on the outside, with Rapunzel and Jack standing across from one another. Now, however, the lines began to move in opposite directions, separating the two and pulling them towards other dance partners.
Jack was facing another girl from the village, Elizabeth, he remembered. She was nice and fairly pretty, but she was no Rapunzel. Jack strained to find Rapunzel's bob of brown locks in the circle, having a rather difficult time finding her. Soon, the lines began moving again, only this time in a different pattern than before. The circle broke and separated, pulling into two smaller circles that interwove at certain points and exchanged a few dancers from circle to circle. Throughout this whole movement, Jack continued searching for Rapunzel, desperate to find his partner.
In the background, the already fast-paced tune picked up to a quicker note, the teens moving with the sound and speeding up, twirling and jumping and laughing as they moved about. It took Jack a moment to realize that he was suddenly clinging to his new partner as they spun around and around as one pair out of many in the dance. Looking down, he found himself nose to nose with Rapunzel, her face flushed pink and her green eyes sparkling as she laughed joyously and continued dancing with Jack.
The music reached its final crescendo and the pair came to a halt, pressed together, their hands clasped, and their chests heaving for breath as they smiled warmly to one another. All the other teens in the square started cheering and clapping for the finale of the dance, breaking the reverie that Jack and Rapunzel had been in, leaving them to awkwardly release the others hand and step apart with nervous giggles and flushed cheeks.
As the fiddle from the band began to cue up another song, Jack and Rapunzel's hand found each other, their fingers intertwining almost naturally as they walked towards the edge of the square to catch their breath. When they arrived at the edge of the square, Rapunzel and Jack turned to face the dancers, each silently watching.
Their silence wasn't an uncomfortable or awkward one, it was one of pure understanding of their companion and the lack of needing words to be exchanged between them. Jack's heart fluttered erratically in his chest with every breath he took and his stomach felt as if it were full of butterflies. Rapunzel was experiencing the same sort of emotion as Jack, and both were at a loss to explain their feelings towards one another.
As another song was cued up, Rapunzel grinned over at Jack and grasped his hand, pulling him once more out into the center of the square to dance.
It was in the wee hours of the morning when the dancing finally stopped and the teens all began to wearily stumble home with flushed faces and lightened spirits; all except for two, that is.
Jack was leading a grinning Rapunzel to the edge of the darkened trees, their hands grasped tightly once again as they trotted along. Once they reached the edge of the woods, Jack boosted Rapunzel up into the lowest branches before scaling up the trunk after her. Together they climbed up the familiar boughs and settled down in their normal spot, watching the twinkling stars through the branches that had yet to become covered in leaf buds.
"The moon is so bright tonight," Rapunzel said quietly, her green orbs glistening in the pale light as she shifted her gaze from the heavens to Jack's face. Jack looked over at her as well, his face shining with happiness from their evening together.
"Thank you, for taking me to the dance, Jack. I'm glad I met you, because if I hadn't, I still wouldn't know what the world is really like. It's not all scary and dark and dangerous. There are good things in it too. Things and people, people like you."
Jack felt his face growing hot and knew that it was probably the same shade as one of the tomatoes his mother grew in their little garden. Reaching over to rest his hand on Rapunzel's, Jack said softly, "I'm glad I met you too, Rapunzel."
Jack found himself staring at Rapunzel's face, particularly her lips. They looked so soft, so inviting, and he couldn't help but wonder how they would fit against his if he were find himself pressing his lips against hers. She always seemed to bubbly and warm and just so right to Jack that he couldn't think of what his life was like before Rapunzel was a part of it. That thought seemed incredulous to Jack considering they had only known each other for a few days.
It was during this thought process that Jack found himself incredibly close to Rapunzel's face, her warm, sweet breath covering his face on her exhale and her mouth so achingly close to his. And Jack had just enough time to wonder if his breath smelled okay before he felt Rapunzel's lips close the remaining gap between them.
The kiss they shared was soft and delicate, like testing the water for the first time. And it took Jack's breath away; the only coherent thought he could form was that Rapunzel's lips did in fact fit perfectly with his as they kissed in the high branches of the oak they were in. Rapunzel's lips were soft and warm against his own mouth and he didn't really want to pull away, but they both gently unlocked their lips at the same moment to catch a breath.
Jack opened his eyes, which he hadn't actually remembered closing, and stared at Rapunzel in the silver moonlight. Sure he had thought she was beautiful before, but now, she was positively radiant. The silver of the moon reflected in her green irises and softened the edges of her brown hair, making her look like a goddess the way the light also played off of her pale skin. Rapunzel beamed at Jack and he found himself returning her grin.
Rapunzel then leaned her weight against Jack, tucking her head under his neck, the soft strands of her hair tickling him slightly. Jack wound his arm around her shoulders and held her firmly as they both looked out over the dark village bathed in moonlight.
As they sat there, they didn't speak at all, just enjoyed each other's presence and watched as the moon sank low on the horizon to be replaced by the sun. When the first splashes of pink and orange began to tinge the edges of the mountains the sun would soon rise over, Jack and Rapunzel began to make their way down the tree, still in a dreamy haze.
As they walked back to the village, Jack and Rapunzel strode hand in hand, swinging their conjoined hands in rhythm with their steps. Jack walked Rapunzel up towards her house, the two stopping a little ways before the door, facing each other and simply smiling. Jack reached up and tucked a loose bit of Rapunzel's brown hair behind her ear and left a delicate kiss on her cheek.
Rapunzel smiled up at Jack before quietly saying, "Thank you for taking me to the dance, Jack."
Jack opened his mouth to reply, but was abruptly cut off when the door to Rapunzel's house swung open harshly. The two teens looked over quickly, snapping out of their daze. Gothel stood in the doorway, her face twisted in fury and her hands shaking. She began to stomp down towards the two, eyes glittering with malice.
Jack pushed Rapunzel behind him and stared Gothel down.
"Rapunzel," Gothel said in a low, dangerous voice. "Rapunzel get inside the house this instant."
Rapunzel peered around Jack, tears in her green eyes. "Mother I'm sorry, please, let me explain. I-"
"Enough!" Gothel shrieked, making Rapunzel flinch and Jack's fury spike. "I told you to get inside! Now!"
"No!" Jack shouted firmly back at Gothel. "Leave her alone! She told you she could explain, so why won't you listen?" Jack knew that he really shouldn't be in this fight, but he felt the need to protect Rapunzel from her furious mother.
Gothel stalked up to Jack and brought her hand harshly across his face, sending him sideways and to the ground. Rapunzel cried out and rushed to Jack's side, kneeling down and gripping his shoulder as she gently touched his face. Jack's eyes were blurred with involuntary tears of pain as his cheek stung. Suddenly Rapunzel was yanked to her feet with a cry and dragged roughly away.
"Jack!" Rapunzel sobbed, fighting against her mother. "Jack!"
"Rapunzel!" Jack cried desperately, scrambling to his feet. "No!"
Jack reached the door to Rapunzel's house as Gothel slammed it shut, barring it quickly and shutting him out. Jack knew he couldn't break into their home, or he would be the one to be punished in the village. Stepping back on unsteady feet, Jack whispered in a broken voice, "No."
He had been stupid enough to become caught up in his time with Rapunzel that they had both forgotten about Gothel and her rule about Rapunzel never leaving her home. Shaking his head, Jack realized that there were tears spilling over his eyes. Jack, knowing that he was about to break down, turned and ran back into the forest. He didn't know where he was going he just knew that he was just running.
Gothel roughly threw Rapunzel onto her bed and started pacing furiously up and down the length of her room, positively livid. Rapunzel scrambled into a sitting position and pressed against the back of her bed, completely frightened by her mother.
"Mother, please!" Rapunzel begged, her eyes wet with tears. "Let me explain! I didn't mean to disobey you but I can't stay here forever! I'm eighteen years old and-"
"Enough!" Gothel screamed, making Rapunzel flinch. "You completely disobeyed me after I've told you for eighteen years to never leave this house! You are delicate and fragile and I will not lose you like I did your father!"
"But I'm not delicate! And it's not like I went alone! I had Jack with me! He cares about me and he looked out for me!" Rapunzel paused and looked at her hands. "I think he likes me, too."
Gothel scoffed, making Rapunzel look up. "He's the first boy you've met Rapunzel! And you're new to him, different, nothing special. Besides, why would he be impressed with you? You're inexperienced and desperate, there's no way he could fall for you. This is why I wanted you to stay inside, to stay away from boys like him!"
"You're wrong!" Rapunzel cried, desperately trying to ignore her mother. "He does like me! I know it!"
"No you don't! You're naïve and he's playing you Rapunzel!" Gothel shouted.
"Stop it!" Rapunzel screamed, burying her face in her pillow and breaking down. Sobs wracked at her body and she refused to respond to her mother anymore. Gothel eventually left Rapunzel alone, locking her into her room and going about her business in the house. After awhile, Rapunzel gained control over herself and started playing absent-mindedly with the little flower bracelet that Jack had given her. It all couldn't be a lie, could it? After all, he had kissed her, and been so gentle, and had taken her dancing. It all couldn't be pretend.
Rapunzel wiped at her eyes and decided that she had to find a way out to see Jack, to clear all of this up for herself. And she had to make sure her mother didn't stop her.
A/N: Okay, I am so, so, so, so sorry about how long this update took. I've been stressing out over this huge research paper for my honors literature class in school and for some reason it's easier to write fan fiction than it is to write an essay about a book that creeped me the hell out so yeah. Anyways. Here is this chapter. Thanks so much to my lovely beta reader and I hope you enjoy. I shall try to update before the end of this month. I love you all for sticking with me. R&R please!
~Hanako