CHAPTER UPDATE! This took a little over a month to post, sorry ^^'. But school is out and so I'll have lots of time to write from now until the end of vacation. I promised a big chapter, so I hope I followed through on that. Enjoy!


The following day, in the class he shared with Merida, Hiccup took his seat. Merida hadn't shown up near his and Toothless' landing spot again. He thought it'd become a thing for her to stand by and wait for his arrival. Nor had Hiccup seen her in the halls. Was she absent again? He thought back to that meeting and the family business she'd mentioned before. Was that the issue? He resolved to sit and wait. At some point, Rapunzel entered with Flynn and she greeted him, but he was set on Merida's arrival. Finally, the door swung open and the red-haired girl entered, quickly heading over to her desk. The bell rang just as she plopped her belongings onto the desktop.

"Made it just in time." Hiccup sat up in his seat.

"Yeah…" She plopped in her seat, sounding a bit out of breath.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow curiously, "You sound tired. Where were you this time?"

"Um… Hiccup… remember that business I had to deal with last night?" Merida twisted around to face him in her seat.

"Uh-huh..?"

"It was a lot more serious than I thought. Mum didn't even want me to come to class today."

"Jeez… what happened?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Well, th-" Merida began, but was interrupted.

"Merida! I'd rather not be looking at the back of your head. Class has started." The professor spoke. A couple of students chuckled, commenting on her mass of red curls. Merida gave Hiccup one last glance before facing forward and scooting her chair forward. She ignored her classmates and spoke,

"Sorry, Professor Hobson."

The teacher nodded before, returning to the lesson. Hiccup exhaled, sitting back in his seat. He'd have to get his answer later.

Rapunzel and Flynn left Professor Hobson's classroom at the end of the period and entered the halls.

"Seriously, Punzie, has she ever thought of a haircut or at least a perm?" Flynn raised his hands. Rapunzel gave him a look.

"Maybe she likes it that way, Flynn."

"Why?"

"Ask her." The corners of her lips turned up and Rapunzel nodded her head behind the two. Flynn looked back and saw Merida with Hiccup making their way out of the room.

"I'll pass. Seems a little touchy and, uh, have you not seen her waltzing around with a bow and arrow before?" Flynn replied. Rapunzel shrugged, shaking her head. Her boyfriend raised an eyebrow and then his eyes widened when he felt a hit to his back. The Stabbington brothers, a couple of his friends, appeared beside him.

"Hey, Rider. Sloppy Joes today." One spoke up.

"Bad day to be wearing white, huh, pretty boy?" The other jabbed at his V-neck t-shirt.

"Ah, and that's where jackets come in." He reached for the school jacket stuffed into his bag, but it wasn't there. "Wha… where'd it-" Flynn gazed up to find a Stabbington brother holding up the jacket.

He chuckled, "Very funny. Now, hand it over." The brother only grinned and tossed it to the other.

"Up for a game of catch?" The one with his jacket asked. Flynn rolled his eyes as they ran off.

"Really, guys? What, are we five, again?" He called and turned to Rapunzel.

"I'll catch up to you later; I gotta get that jacket back. It cost $25." Flynn told her before running off. Rapunzel nodded in understanding. From there, she made her way through the halls on her own. The girl arrived at her locker and as she put in the combination, she heard a bit of a conversation going on nearby.

"Great, dad says Moscow's rained out tonight." A dark-haired girl spoke. Rapunzel's eyes widened and her hand froze. The boy beside her frowned,

"Aw, man, that sucks, Mavis. I know how much you wanted to go."

The girl sighed, "Well, there's always Stockholm." She began to smile.

"Yeah- wait, where is that?" The boy asked as the two departed. Rapunzel's bottom lip quivered and she turned to watch them as they walked away. Had the rain from yesterday made its way to Moscow? She finished putting in the lock and retrieved her books before closing the door shut lightly.

Rapunzel continued on when she heard her name being called. "Rapunzel!" She turned around to see Jack catching up to her. He was smiling. "You ready for Russia again?" Jack then frowned when he saw her face. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"It's rained out, Jack." She answered.

"What? You mean, Russia?" Jack asked in return. Rapunzel nodded, solemnly. "How do you know?"

"I heard a girl talk about it just now…" Rapunzel said.

Jack sighed, "Man… so, what do we do now?"

"I don't know… should we go to Sweden?" Rapunzel remembered that the girl had mentioned Stockholm.

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Sweden? Why?" The blonde girl shrugged. Jack looked away, thinking for a moment. Then he stopped walking, "Hold on, Rapunzel." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped walking, too. "I've got an idea. We'll go exploring. In the forest by your tower. That could still be fun, right?"

Rapunzel's eyes began to light up, "Yeah… and we won't have to worry about mother getting home before us since its close by."

"Exactly!" Jack gestured with staff.

"Alright, let's do it!" Rapunzel grinned; the final bell rang in the halls and students began pushing past her and Jack. "Oh, we better get to the cafeteria." She commented. Jack nodded and started walking again. "Mind if I walk with you?" She asked.

Of course he didn't. "No, sure." He smiled widely and she returned the gesture, and moved a bit closer to his side. "Hey, where's Flynn, by the way?" Jack asked.

"Oh, his friends were messing with him again and ran off with his jacket."

"Some friends…" The winter spirit snorted.

"Yeah, I know… I never really got why he hangs around with them…" Rapunzel spoke, thoughtfully.

"Hm… well, it depends, who are these friends of his?" Jack asked.

"The Stabbington brothers." Rapunzel enunciated on the "Stabbington" part.

"Whoa… the Stabbington brothers?! What's he doing hanging around with those guys?" He furrowed his brows.

"See? I mean, Flynn always says he's got a reputation to keep in check." Rapunzel replied.

"Well, there should be more to a guy than his reputation." Jack said.

"Hm…" Rapunzel sounded, nodding. The two approached the lunchroom and entered. Hiccup waved from his spot at his and Jack's table. Jack and Rapunzel waved back.

"You wanna sit with us today, Rapunzel? There's a spot open for you." Jack swung his staff over his shoulder.

"I'd love to, Jack, but-" She was cut off by Flynn, who entered the lunchroom with his jacket returned to him.

"Punzie! Sorry, I took so long, but… I got my jacket back." He held up the school jacket proudly. Jack looked up at him, unimpressed while Rapunzel smiled.

"Great, don't let those brothers push you around, Flynn."

"Push me around? No way, Rapunzel. We're just playing around." He assured her and then looked to Jack. "Hey, Frost."

"Hi." He uttered, managing a small smile. Flynn then turned to Rapunzel.

"Well, come on, I'll buy you lunch." He said, starting to guide her toward their table. Jack frowned again.

"Ok… Bye, Jack. See you tonight." She winked at him and he grinned, his spirits lifting. He winked back and she smiled once more before facing forward. The boy then turned on his heel and made his way over to Hiccup.

"I saw that, Jack." He casually spoke up. Jack cocked an eyebrow as he sat down. "You still sore about Flynn?"

"Oh, that. Hiccup, I didn't like that guy from the moment I saw him."

"I could tell." He nodded, lips curling up.

"But you know what? I thought about what you and Merida said yesterday. And you were right. So, I'm okay with being just friends with Rapunzel, for now." Jack said.

"There you go. Take things one step at a time." Hiccup nodded his head in approval. "Just like with me and Merida."

"Yeah, just like you and Merida… if showing her your pet dragon and letting her ride on it is one step at a time, then sure."

Hiccup just scowled at him.

Midway through lunch, Hiccup saw Merida leave the cafeteria, not sparing him a glance. After class, she'd explained to him what had happened when he'd left Castle DunBroch. Slight tensions between the clans once more that needed to be put to rest before things got out of hand. He wondered now, what was going on. "What's she in a rush for?" Jack turned slightly in his chair.

"I don't know… she's been having a lot of family business going on lately." Hiccup watched her go.

"Hm… That could mess with you two's project schedule…"

"It already did. Last night, I had to leave early because of it." Hiccup said.

"You think you should go after her, then?" Jack pointed at the cafeteria doors with his thumb.

"What for?"

"In case there's anything you two need to clear up before tonight." Jack replied.

"I guess, you've got a point… but I have no idea where she went." Hiccup had begun to stand up, but then paused. Jack admitted that was true. But then, Merida re-entered the cafeteria, gazing around before her eyes landed on Hiccup. She charged forward to his table.

"Welcome back, princess." Jack greeted.

"It's nice to see you again, too." She spoke with a hint of sarcasm. "Hiccup, there's something important I've got to tell you."

"Oh? Like what, Merida?" He sat back down.

"You can't come to my home, tonight."

"What? Why?" He sat up straighter in his seat, a look of concern on his face.

"There's too much going on between the lords and my parents." She replied.

Hiccup frowned, "Oh…" Was all he could think of to say. Jack watched on, noticing how this situation was beginning to play out as his Rapunzel's just before. Hiccup knit his eyebrows together, now deep in thought. And then he looked up.

"Wait a minute, Merida. Just because I can't come by your house, doesn't mean we can't have dragon training. We'll find somewhere else to go."

Merida's eyes lit up. "That's true, Hiccup. Where do we go, then?"

"I don't know yet, but… meet me by the castle and we'll figure it out then." Hiccup replied.

"Ok." Merida smiled, nodding. Hiccup smiled back and Jack did so as well. "Alright, well, I'll see you then, Hiccup." She then turned on her heel with a wave of her hand to the boys and walked off. Hiccup turned to Jack.

"Nice save." Jack complimented the boy. Hiccup merely bobbed his head.

That evening, Jack made his way over to Rapunzel's tower, feeling pretty excited. He noticed her mother departing the secret clearing; Jack had arrived just on time. He landed on her windowsill and called, "Rapunzel!"

She emerged from the kitchen, carrying her frying pan again and bag. "Jack, hey!" He climbed into the tower and took a couple of steps inside.

"You ready to go, Rapunzel?"

She nodded, "Yeah; I've got my frying pan and Flynn's let me borrow his satchel, so I packed snacks." Rapunzel opened it up to reveal a batch of cookies. Jack grinned.

"Great." He then noticed Pascal scampering up onto Rapunzel's shoulder. "How about you, Pascal? " He asked. The chameleon bobbed his head and chirped.

"Ok, then, let's go." He headed back to the window. Rapunzel and Pascal shared a look of excitement before joining him. Jack jumped out of the tower and by the time the other two had arrived at the window, he was on the ground. "Come on." He gestured down. Rapunzel nodded and wrapped her hair around a hook protruding from the tower; Pascal wrapped a strand of her hair around his waist to keep from falling. She tip-toed forward, took a deep breath and then jumped.

Jack watched as Rapunzel plummeted to the ground, her long hair whipping about in the wind. Just before she hit the ground, Rapunzel halted herself. "W-whoa…" She looked up at Jack sheepishly, dangling around just above the grass. Rapunzel carefully let her feet touch the ground, letting go of her hair. Pascal untied the hair-made belt, a bit dizzy and she kept him in place. Rapunzel tugged at her hair and it came off of the hook falling to the earth. She quickly side-stepped before the huge pile could land on top of her. Jack raised his eyebrows, watching with amazement.

"Okay…" She panted slightly, tucking back a wave of her hair. "Where to?"

"Well, first, we need to get out of this rock pit." Jack answered.

"Right… If we go through that cave and past the curtain of plants, we'll be let out into the forest." Rapunzel pointed in its direction. Jack followed her finger-point and nodded. The two made their way out.

A little ways past the cave was a small clearing and from there, the darkening sky was clear in sight. Rapunzel noticed there was a full moon out. "The moon looks so big tonight." She spoke.

"Yeah?" Jack leaned over to her, gazing up.

"I wonder why…" Rapunzel said.

"Hm…" Jack nodded, giving the moon, or rather, the moon in it, a questioning look. Suddenly, the two heard a rustling noise in the bushes.

Merida waited by the same awning as before, her bow and arrows slung over her back. She'd managed to slip away from the castle and now couldn't wait for Hiccup to arrive. At some point, the boy and his dragon appeared above the trees. Merida ran out as the two landed by the forest. "Hiccup." She spoke, she came to a stop.

"Hey." He began to slip off of Toothless' back.

"Wait, don't move!" She held up her hands and Hiccup, frowning slid back onto the saddle. "I'm coming up, too." She spoke.

"Uh… Merida, wait… why?" Hiccup asked, though he did scoot forward to give her room. Merida wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Let's find someplace far from here today, Hiccup." She spoke firmly.

"Why?" He asked again.

Merida sighed, "It's too tense in there. I just want to get away from it for a while."

"Don't they need you there?"

"No." Merida said mechanically. Hiccup looked at her over his shoulder but then bent down to Toothless.

"Alright, bud. Fly us out of here." Toothless nodded and began to set off.

The two flew through the air. Merida was pretty silent. "Did something happen?" Hiccup finally asked. He turned to his friend. Merida looked down.

"It's just like I told you, Hiccup. Family business. It's only been a day and I'm already sick of it."

"Oh…"

"I wanted to help… like last night… but Dad said I should stay out of it…. That it doesn't concern me." Merida responded.

"Huh… well, then don't worry about it right now."

"That's what I'm trying to do." Merida groaned.

"So, then sit back and enjoy the ride. I'll pick some place for us to land and the only thing you'll need to worry about is teaching Toothless to heel." Hiccup answered.

Sometime later, Hiccup stopped Toothless and the three hovered just above the treetops of the forest. "Down there, Toothless." He pointed near a small clearing. Toothless dove down rather quickly, rustling the leaves of the trees as they landed. Merida hopped off and Hiccup followed suit. Her hair was flyaway and she shook it out of her face. Hiccup looked to her, "You wanna tie that back?"

"I like it just how it is." She replied, blowing a curl out of her eyes. Hiccup chuckled as they group began to walk forward.

"Alright." He then noticed the bow and arrows she carried. "Um… I don't think you'll be needing that-" He began before hearing a rustling noise in the bushes. Merida stiffened, pulling out an arrow and positioning it in her bow. And then they caught sight of Jack and Rapunzel a couple feet away from them. Rapunzel held up her frying pan, looking a bit shaken. And then she realized it was Hiccup and Merida. "Jack?" Hiccup uttered. Merida lowered her bow.

"Hiccup?" Jack said. Rapunzel frowned in confusion and looked to Jack; her smirked slightly at her and she gave him a defensive look. But she lowered her frying pan. "Hey, buddy. What are you doing out here?" He began to walk forward and Rapunzel followed.

"Just looking for a place to teach Merida how to train dragons." Hiccup responded. "You?"

"Me and Rapunzel were just doing a little exploring."

"I'm sorry, but did you just say dragons?" Rapunzel came up and asked. Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Oh, that's right." He scratched at the back of his head nervously. "U-uh… Rapunzel… I, uh, I happen to…"

Merida interrupted, "Hiccup has a pet dragon." She gestured to Toothless who moved further into the clearing. Rapunzel gasped and so did Pascal on her shoulder

"Don't worry, Rapunzel, he's tame." Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. Toothless gazed at Rapunzel calmly. The girl calmly relaxed.

"Dragons… they're real?" She looked at each of the teens around her. They all nodded. She was dumbfounded for a moment, but then gazed up at Toothless. Slowly, she came up. "Can I… can I pet him?"

"Sure. But you have to be gentle." Hiccup agreed. Rapunzel bobbed her and very carefully placed a hand on Toothless' forehead.

"Ah, his skin's so smooth." She marveled, moving her hand a bit. "It's a boy, right?" Hiccup nodded. "What's his name?"

"Toothless."

"Toothless…?" She muttered before the dragon opened his mouth some. "No teeth? Oh, I see." Toothless then began to nudge slightly at her satchel. "Hm?" He sniffed at the air. Rapunzel held her satchel away. "No, no, boy."

"What do you have in there?" Merida asked.

"Cookies." She answered.

"Oh… Toothless, are you hungry." Hiccup placed a hand on him. Toothless turned to him, a needy look on his face. "Alright… Rapunzel, do you mind if we all settle down for a snack."

"Uh… sure. Is that okay with you, Jack?" He shrugged.

"Yeah." Rapunzel turned back to Hiccup and nodded.

The group of four settled down in the clearing. "It's getting dark. We ought to make a fire for some light." Merida spoke up and gathered some sticks.

"I'll help." Rapunzel piped up and joined her. Jack and Hiccup stayed behind with Toothless. Merida noticed Pascal and said,

"What's that on your shoulder?"

"Pascal. He's a chameleon." She explained.

"Why do you have a chameleon?"

"He's my friend." Rapunzel responded. Merida raised an eyebrow, but did not ask any more about it. Pascal seemed to be an equivalent to Angus as he was with Merida. The two began gathering sticks for the fire. "So… Hiccup said you were about to train that dragon?"

"Aye. Where Hiccup lives, they train and ride dragons." Merida said. "So, I wanted to learn."

"Ride dragons? Like a horse?" Rapunzel gawked.

"Yes, well, kind of." Merida responded before bending down again to pick up a stick.

"Wow… That's really cool…" Rapunzel gathered the last few sticks they needed. They returned to the clearing.

Hiccup and Jack sat on the grass with Toothless, chatting. Rapunzel raised an eyebrow and Merida asked, "What are you lads talking about?"

"Huh? Nothing." Hiccup cleared his throat noisily. "Nothing." Jack nodded scratching at his head and glancing at the ground. Merida and Rapunzel shared a look before setting down the sticks before them. Rapunzel gathered two spare sticks and began to rub them together.

"Let's see if I can get a spark." She said. But Toothless opened his mouth and a shot of fire blasted out and onto the pile of wood. Rapunzel jumped slightly and gazed at the crackling campfire with wide eyes. "Or you can do that." She pointed at it. Jack chuckled alongside Merida while Hiccup just smiled. Rapunzel patted Toothless before sitting down on the grass beside Jack. She pulled off Flynn's satchel and opened it, revealing the cookies.

Merida's eyes lit up and Toothless' did as well. His retractable teeth shot out as he dove for the satchel. "Hey!" Rapunzel shook her head, closing it for a moment. Toothless frowned. "We all share." She said, before opening it again. Rapunzel began to hand pass around snacks to the others and they gladly accepted them. She held out two for Toothless and he tentatively grabbed them with his teeth. "He has retractable teeth, Hiccup?" Rapunzel turned to him.

"Yeah. I'm not quite sure why, but it's a good trait to have." Hiccup answered. Rapunzel agreed.

"I wouldn't mind having teeth like that."

Jack snickered, "You with retractable teeth, Rapunzel? Now that'd be a sight to see." Rapunzel rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove. Merida smiled slightly before turning to Hiccup,

"So, are we still having dragon training, tonight?"

"Mm… I don't know it's getting really late…" Hiccup trailed off when suddenly Toothless went bounding off. Rapunzel tumbled over onto Jack and he helped her back upright. The four all gaped before Hiccup stood to his feet. "Toothless?!" Trying to move so fast, he stumbled a little on his prosthetic leg.

"Hiccup!" Merida stood as well, but he managed to stay balanced.

"Wait, where'd Pascal go?" Rapunzel looked around. "He… he was just with me! Right before Toothless ran off."

"Maybe he disappeared and Toothless gave chase." Jack theorized. Hiccup was already bounding off and Merida followed. "Come on." He gestured for her to follow and ran after the first two.

Hiccup lost track of where Toothless had gone. He looked from left to right and Merida bumped into him. "Where did he go?" She asked.

"I… I don't know… Toothless!" He called. There was a slight noise coming from up ahead and he rushed forward. And then the ground disappeared in front of him.

"Hiccup!" Merida screamed and came forward looking over the edge of what they'd been on- a cliff.

"I'm alright! I'm alright, Merida!" He shouted, dangling from a jagged tree branch. Merida sighed in relief, but frowned.

"You can't hang on forever! Oh… where… where are the others?" She moved about in a circle, grabbing at her hair nervously.

"Gah!" Hiccup groaned. She looked over the edge again worriedly. "Scratch! Just a scratch!" He assured her.

"I'm going to get help." Merida whirled around to find that Jack and Rapunzel were quickly approaching.

"Where's Hiccup?" Jack looked around. Merida gestured downward.

"What?" He cried and ran forward to find Hiccup hanging onto the tree branch for dear life. He gasped. "Don't worry, Hiccup. We're gonna get you down from there." He said.

Hiccup nodded. Rapunzel appeared over the edge. "Hold on, I've got an idea." She began to gather her hair. Hiccup watched questioningly. The other two caught on though, and began gathering her hair as well to speed up the process. Rapunzel then lowered a lock of her hair down to Hiccup. "Grab on." She called. He tried to reach up and hold on to the branch with his other hand- but it'd been scratched and the pressure caused him to yelp. He let go of the branch and almost fell.

"Hiccup!" The three shouted but he managed to grab her hair and they all exhaled before slowly lifting him up. When he reached the edge of the cliff he climbed up, out of breath and rolled onto his back. Hiccup slowly sat up.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Jack asked kneeling down beside him. Merida latched onto his arm, worried.

"I'm fine." He told Jack before turning to Merida. "Really." Merida nodded, but was still a little shaken. Toothless arrived on the scene with Pascal dangling from his mouth in defeat.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel cried and ran up. "Toothless, drop him." She said. Toothless opened his mouth and Pascal landed into her hands. "Good boy." She patted his muzzle and then addressed the chameleon. "Why did you run off, Pascal?" He held up a small bushel of forest berries held to his tail. "Oh, for new paint! Thank you." She took it from him and placed it in her hoodie pocket. "Just don't run off again without telling me, okay? Otherwise you could cause a lot of trouble." Pascal nodded solemnly.

Hiccup stood to his feet and made his way over to Toothless. "Toothless… what got into you, buddy?" He asked, a bit out of breath.

"My chameleon, Pascal went off to get me berries for paint and Toothless chased him." She explained. "I already gave him a talking to." She added. The others began to settle down.

"Good. Then let's back to the clearing." Jack spoke, leaning on his staff.

Hiccup, Toothless and Merida arrived by the fire first and sat down. As his hands touched the grass, he flinched, "Ah!"

Merida leaned over, "What is it?"

"It's just that scratch from earlier." He held it his hand out for her to see. Merida inhaled lightly.

"Hiccup, that's no mere scratch. It's a pretty deep cut! It needs to be treated." Merida spoke. Jack and Rapunzel walked up to the campfire, hearing their conversation. Jack looked to Rapunzel and nodded toward the others. Rapunzel fumbled with a strand of her hair nervously, but bobbed her head after a moment. She came forward. "Um, guys…? I think I can help."

The four teens, Pascal and Toothless set themselves onto the grass; Rapunzel carefully wrapped her hair around Hiccup's hand. He looked at Merida in confusion and she gave a shrug. He looked to Jack and he gestured for Hiccup to look back to his hand.

"Okay." Rapunzel withdrew her hands and placed them in her lap. "Now, before I do this, I have to ask you not to… um… you know, freak out."

"Why would we freak out?" Merida asked.

"Yeah, why would we-" Hiccup began, a little concerned.

"You'll see." Jack said, a knowing smile on his lips. Rapunzel took a deep breath, closing her eyes, before opening her mouth to sing,

"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…"

As she sang, her hair began to glow just as Jack had seen before. Only up close, it was much more bright. Merida's eyes widened and a slight smile of amazement crossed her face. Toothless had a sideways grin on his face, eyes big with wonder. Hiccup gazed around, eyeing the glowing locks that surrounded the group. Soon the hair on his hand began to glow as well and he felt a tingling sensation there. He looked to Jack who didn't at all look surprised, the corners of his lips turned up. Hiccup even glanced at Pascal, who just bobbed his head calmly. When the song ended, Rapunzel's hair returned to its normal state and she opened her eyes.

Rapunzel looked to Merida and Hiccup. "Unwrap the hair, Hiccup." Merida said and he did so tentatively. Rapunzel bit her lip while Jack waited to see his friend's reaction. The hair fell away and he gawked when he saw his hand. The cut was completely gone- even the slightest trace of it had disappeared. Merida gasped and Hiccup opened his mouth to yelp but Rapunzel held up her hands. "Please don't freak out, you guys!" Merida blinked her eyes blankly while Hiccup swallowed down a scream.

"H-how… how did you do that?" Merida asked.

"I… I was born with magical hair that glows when I sing. And heals old age…. And sickness… and injuries." She winced.

"That's so…" Hiccup started.

"Amazing! Rapunzel, this amazing! You've… you've gotta tell people about this!" Merida exclaimed.

"No! It has to be kept secret." Rapunzel spoke worriedly.

"Why? You could make the old young again… treat people's wounds… cure cancer, even!" Merida cried.

"Well, think about what would happen if everyone found out there was a way to stay young and healthy forever. Imagine what would happen to Rapunzel." Jack spoke up.

Merida calmed down, letting his words sink in. "Oh…"

"Is that why your hair is so long?" Hiccup spoke up. Rapunzel nodded.

"If I cut it, it'll lose its power and turn brown." She showed the same short lock of hair that Jack had seen. The two understood.

"And how is it that Jack already seems to know this?" Hiccup asked.

"The first time I came by her tower, I saw her use it with her mom." Jack said.

"Tower?" Merida raised an eyebrow.

"Mother told me when I was a baby, people tried to cut my hair, to use it for themselves." She played with her hair. "A gift like this has to be protected. So… she raised me in a tower where no one could easily find me." Rapunzel explained.

"Well, that's the wrong way to go about it." Merida frowned.

"But, mother allowed me to at least go to school. And so far, you guys are the only ones who know about my secret." She said. Their eyes widened for a moment, but then it started to make sense. Their school was an interesting one; a place for kids that the dean noticed had something special in them. Rapunzel's hair wasn't the big surprise when she'd arrived on her first day.

Merida still found something iffy about Rapunzel's mother, as did Hiccup. But the two said nothing more on that matter. "You two promise not to tell anyone about this, right?" She asked.

Hiccup and Merida looked to each other before turning back to Rapunzel nodding. She looked reassured and looked to Jack who smiled at her. She sighed in relief and smoothed back her hair before announcing, "Why don't we finish up these cookies and then head home. It's getting late." They all agreed and began to eat, starting up a new conversation.

Hiccup and Merida waved goodbye as they hopped back onto Toothless' back. "See you, Jack. Rapunzel." The called in slight unison.

"Yeah, see you." Jack waved and Rapunzel called,

"Bye. It was nice meeting you, Toothless."

The dragon grinned toothlessly before getting ready to take off. Jack and Rapunzel watched as Toothless flapped his wings, reaching into the sky and flying off. Rapunzel watched in awe and Jack with a grin before turning to Rapunzel, "Let's go home."

She approved and gathered her hair before he lifted her up like before, heading toward the tower.

Rapunzel stepped into the tower which was still vacant. Mother had not gotten home yet. "That was quite the adventure we had, today."

"Yup. It was fun." Jack agreed. "Well, I mean, not including the part where one of us almost died." He cringed slightly, raising his eyebrows and eyes glancing sideways.

"Right, right." She pushed her hair back. "It was all pretty exciting, though. Like, trained dragons you can ride? Who knew, right?"

"I did." Jack spoke up in a smart-alecky way. Rapunzel gave him a look. "Alright. But don't tell anyone about Toothless, okay? Hiccup's final presentation for that animation project is going to be all about dragons. Like your hair, Hiccup hasn't told anyone at school about them."

"Oh… okay. I won't." She said before hearing a voice from down below.

"Rapunzel- Oh, you're already there! Let down your hair, my flower!" Mother Gothel sang. Jack frowned slightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rapunzel." He said before jumping off the window sill. She nodded and watched him off.

"Okay, mother!" She shouted and hung her hair on the rod above her for the second time that day.

Her mother and she had eaten dinner and soon, Rapunzel was in her bedroom preparing for bed. Just before she was about to pull off her hoodie, she remembered the berries in its pocket. "Hm…" She looked to the large canvas in the corner of the room. "I'll think I'll use those berries you brought me, Pascal." Rapunzel pulled them out and grabbed the rest of her paint set.

She knelt down before the canvas and began crushing the berries into an empty bowl until they'd become perfect to paint with. And then she set to work, bringing the rest of her paint supplies over. Carefully, with a paint brush, she started out a head with brown hair and another with a mop of red right beside the images of her and Jack.


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