Hi guys, here's the next chapter.
I'm sorry that it took me so long. I hope you enjoy it anyway :)
Chapter 4: Paint The Night With Stars
"You get easily bored when you're locked up in a tower for that long time. But when I was little, Moth- Gothel lived with me in the tower and she would play games with me or tell me stories and once in a week she would sit down on the armchair and motion me to sit down in front of her on the stool and then she would brush my hair and sing, well, you know the song-"
"What song?"
"The Healing Incantation: Flower gleam and glow, let your your power shine..." Rapunzel trailed off.
"Oh that one," Eugene nodded.
"Yes. And when I grew older, I did other activities to entertain myself like painting, knitting or doing puzzles. I also had three books that I read over and over again. I learned how to play chess and how to play the guitar-"
"You can play the guitar?" Eugene asked, surprised.
Rapunzel nodded:" Yeah. It's fun."
Eugene looked around her room: "But you don't have one here."
"No. My guitar is in the tower."
"You could ask your parents for a new one," Eugene suggested.
Rapunzel shook her head:" No. I don't want to ask them. They already gave me the paint," she pointed at some pots in the corner of her room.
"And? That doesn't mean that you can't have a guitar", Eugene replied, confused.
"But they already gave me the paint as a gift," Rapunzel repeated," and I don't want them to think of me as greedy."
Eugene had to stifle a laugh. "You're the last person I would expect to be greedy. And I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind giving you a guitar as a gift."
"But that would be way too much", Rapunzel objected.
"It's your birthday."
Remembering that it was already past midnight, Rapunzel disagreed: "Not anymore."
"Well, then see it as gifts for the birthdays they missed."
"But they don't have to-"
"It's not because they have to, but because they want to," Eugene cut her off.
"Huh?"
"They want you to be happy -"
"But that doesn't mean they have to give me so much," Rapunzel interrupted.
Eugene ignored her comment and continued: "And they want you to feel like you're at home."
"Oh"
He went on explaining: "That is why they would give you everything you want, especially if it is something you had in the tower. They don't want to take your earlier life away from you. They just want to be part of your life now. So it's alright if you're asking for something; you're not just a guest here. You're their daughter."
"Oh, I understand. But-"
"Please, no more buts!"Eugene sighed in desperation.
"But I don't want a new guitar. I liked my old one."
"Even better! They don't need to buy you a new one-"
"But-"
"What have I told you about 'buts'?"
"No more 'buts'?" Rapunzel said questioningly.
"Exactly. I'm sure there won't be a problem with riding to the tower and bringing your guitar back."
"Not?"
"Of course not. You need to stop worrying"
"If you think so," Rapunzel mumbled.
"I do," Eugene replied.
"Alright. Now, where was I?" Rapunzel asked, suddenly aware that she had been distracted," Oh, what I was doing the whole time, right? I also did pottery or papier-mâché, well, everything that had to do something with art; Oh and I did a bit ballet; but the longer my hair was the harder it was to practice properly," Rapunzel said, remembering when she tangled herself in her hair while practicing.
"But every activity I had to do on my own, when Mo- Gothel wasn't in the mood to play together with me. Sometimes I felt really lonely and wished to have a friend. But M-Gothel had also told me many stories about how cruel and mean people were and everything coming from the dangerous world outside my tower was bad," Rapunzel sighed sadly.
Eugene took her hand and squeezed it soothingly. Rapunzel smiled.
Then she continued:" And never something from the outside reached me until I met Pascal."
"What about the lanterns?" Eugene interrupted.
"They were just visual reaching me," Rapunzel said," Pascal was the first to reach me in person. That was another best day- but not the best day ever," she quickly added, after seeing Eugene opening his mouth again to interrupt her.
"The best day ever was of course when I met you," Rapunzel smiled.
Eugene smiled back.
"So, what was meeting Pascal for the first time like? When I met him he stuck his tongue into my ear. I hope your meeting was more pleasant,"Eugene said, eyeing the chameleon that was sleeping on a pillow suspiciously.
"Well, it went a bit differently than your first encounter..."Rapunzel admitted.
