Author's Note: I am so sorry everyone! It's been a mess lately. I got a bad grade, and had my computer access limited, and I'm doing the best I can, but I really am sorry. On the up side… I decided to put a new person in this…Okay, now read!

The man who left to get the guards appeared in the doorway.

"See? Right here," the man smirked, pointing to Bill and Mabel. "There's his girlfriend as a bonus."

"What? I'm not his girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"Forget that," the pianist said. "C'mon!" he stamped on the ground, opening a passageway, and the three ran quickly.

"They'll follow us!" Mabel prophesized in terror.

"Nah, the dumb tourists are too stupid to take off their armor, and the sure won't fit in here with it," the pianist reassured her. They ran into a cavern, and Bill smiled. "You know, kid, I never caught your name," he told the pianist.

"Stan," the man gruffly said. "Now shut up."

"Well, that's nice," Bill smirked.

"I said can it, Blondie," Stan snapped.

Meanwhile, a drunken man was back at the tavern, singing, and milling about.

"I got'er'ream! I got'er'ream!" he sang, and then spotted Gothel, lurking outside. "Oh! Oh, man! Someone get me a glass, because I just found a tall drink of water!"

"While I appreciate the flattery, I need some information, if you please," Gothel smiled.

"Oh, sure! Anything to help a lovely lady like yourself!" the man smiled, looking at the cut of Gothel's dress.

"Well, if you would be ever so kind as to escort me to the exit of the passageway?" she fluttered her lashes.

"Sure! Why not? I'm Preston, by the by, milady."

"Fantastic. Call me GG," Gothel smiled.

"Anything you say!"

Bill was waiting for Stan to tell them where to go when Mabel began talking.

"So, Bill, where are you from?"

"Nowhere in particular. The deepest pits of hell, if you believe the Evil King, and his Demon Queen," he smiled.

"Um… I don't," Mabel said.

"Listen, Shooting Star, I don't talk about my story much. I am, however, becoming interested in yours."

"What do you want to know?"

"Um… the hair?"

"Nope!"

"The psycho mom?"

"Hey," Mabel objected weakly.

"Right. I don't actually know what to say about your pig… Ok, here's a question. Why didn't you do this a really long time ago?"

"I…"

"Hey! Who are these idiots?" Stan called. Bill glanced over.

"Oh, just two conns that I out-conned this morning. They don't like me much," he said.

"No, the horse," Stan said, smirking.

"DQR's beast. Also not my biggest fan," Bill shrugged. "We should leave now…"

Stan began climbing the mountain, and Mabel pulled Bill through a bush under ground into a hidden tunnel.

That tunnel instantly began flooding with water.

"Oh, c'mon," Bill complained. He dove under the water to look for an exit, but he could see nothing. "It's pitch black, and we're trapped… Sorry, Shooting… I mean, I'm sorry Mabel. Things didn't go as planned… I'm sorry…"

"Are we going to die?" she asked.

"Everyone dies," Bill replied softly. "I always said I'd go out in mid-heist… you know what? My name isn't actually Cipher. It's Sloan. I'm from the outskirts of the kingdom, and I was born in poverty. I'm no king of anything. My name is William Sloan, and yet, I'm still the most powerful conn in the kingdom. Or, I guess, was would be more accurate…"

The water was up to their necks now.

"Well, I've got magical hair that glows when I sing, so…" Mabel smiled bitterly.

"What?"

"I… I… oh my god… Flower gleam and glow, let you're power shine!"

Suddenly, the cave was lit up by light as bright as the moon, and the stones were revealed. Bill… or really, William… raised his eyebrows, but quickly got to work getting them out of there. He slashed his hand against some rubble, but they soon got out.

"Holy shit," William said. Now he let the shock take him. "You have glowing hair."

"Yep!"

"Your hair. Glows."

"Uh-huh!"

"Why does your hair glow?!"

Mabel smiled. "You ain't seen nothing yet."

She began wrapping her hair around his sliced hand.

"Don't… um, don't wrap your hair… don't do… that…" he spoke awkwardly, and she ignored him. "Well, this is weird. That's coming from me…"

"Sorry… um, can you please not flip out though?"

"Shooting Star, I would say I'm as flipped out as it gets, but I have a feeling that I'll be proven wrong shortly. Are you about to imbue my blood with your radioactive hair or something?"

"No… I don't think that's how it works…" she looked at him and sang softly. "Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine… heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine… what once was mine…"

Her hair glowed like moonlight, and William felt the strangest feeling of wellbeing. When she unwrapped his hand, not only was the cut healed, but also so were all his other scars.

"Oh. Um, I'm not freaking out… this is great, actually. Thanks," he smiled.

"Any time," she smiled, blushing.

"How long…?"

"Always. Since forever," she grinned. "Mama says that I need to be protected, keep it a secret, or people will take me away… That's why I never..."

"It's not right," William said after a pause. "She may have had the best intentions, and she may not have, but it's not okay to keep you locked up. I'm pretty much without morals, and I wouldn't do that."

"Thanks."

The pair was leaning closer to each other, and for a moment, their lips brushed. It was gentle, and soft, and sweet.

Why do these moments never last?