Chapter 11-Recourse
"You godless child," cried the sorceress. "What am I hearing from you? I thought I had removed you from the whole world, but you have deceived me nonetheless…"
….The king's son ascended, but instead of finding his dearest Rapunzel, he found the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks. "Aha", she cried mockingly, "you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest. The cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you. You will never see her again."
-"Rapunzel," Brothers Grimm
Despite Rapunzel's promise to leave her mother, before she realized it more than a month had slipped by and she still hadn't left. She knew that Eugene wasn't happy about it, but he was kind enough not to say anything. His patience in her had the opposite effect on her than a person would think though. You would think that it would give her relief and she'd be grateful, but she wasn't. She felt guilty about it, and she wanted more than anything to just go with him.
But she couldn't. She was too worried for him, and she feared that if she did leave, somehow Mother would find out and hurt him. Mother was scary when she was mad about something, and she could easily imagine her hitting Eugene. She couldn't bear to see him hurt. Conversely, she was concerned about Mother too, almost as much as Eugene. She depended on Rapunzel so much, and she wondered if she could even take care of herself if she left. Eugene was her husband, but Mother was….her mother. She was torn, and she was confused about what to do or when to leave.
On top of her worries about Eugene and Mother, she just didn't feel well-emotionally or physically. For the past two mornings she kept feeling nauseous, and she didn't know why. Her courses hadn't come yet too, and she didn't understand that either.
She frowned to herself, just thinking about it. This wasn't normal for her at all. She couldn't remember it being this late…well, ever.
What was wrong with her? For not the first time, she thought that her body felt completely foreign to her- like somebody had switched it on her when she wasn't looking. She didn't know what to do, and she wished that she could talk to someone about it, but she knew her mother would just tell her to stop being a baby and deal with it herself. Or say something else rude like it. She knew Eugene would be sympathetic, but what did he know about this?
Nothing, that's what. He was a man, and this was clearly a woman problem. As much as she loved him, she wasn't sure if she'd want to anyway. It seemed…much too embarrassing to her, so she wouldn't.
She'd just have to deal with it herself.
XxXxXxXx
The next day, Eugene came like he usually did, looking fairly jovial even though he confessed that he was completely at an impasse in his search for the lost princess. She didn't feel the same at all, but she did her best to act chipper. It wasn't his fault that she felt sick the past three mornings (including today), and so there was no reason to be crabby. They chatted back and forth for a while until they both grew hungry. At that point, Rapunzel did what she often did, and made them something to eat. Since it was cold, she decided on soup- the soup she made the first time she'd cooked something for them.
When it was ready, she served it and Eugene ate it eagerly with a big smile on his face. She couldn't help smiling back. She just loved seeing him happy. Cooking for him was so rewarding because he always liked what she made and appreciated it. As they ate, they talked about all sorts of things, but her stomach didn't feel quite right. She wondered, for not the first time, if she was getting sick. She fiddled with her soup more than usual, and she ate significantly less than she usually did.
But he didn't seem to notice at all. Eugene set his spoon down, and smiled at her again. "That was wonderful, Rapunzel," he said. "Thank you."
She smiled back and was about to tell how glad she was that he liked it when a wave of nausea washed over her. She jumped up, and bolted to a bucket and thankfully she made it on time. She hated this so much, but then she felt Eugene's hand on her back and it made her feel slightly better. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Don't be," he said softly in her ear. "I'm just sorry you're sick." He brushed her bangs away from her eyes. "Did you eat something bad? Do you think you're getting ill?"
His concern was so sweet, and it meant so much to her. Mother would just tell her to buck up, while she felt Eugene was one step away from sending her to bed. But she wasn't sure if she was sick or not. "I don't know…"
He frowned. "Maybe I should take you to a doctor."
A doctor? She had no interest in being poked and prodded. "No," she protested. "I'll be fine. I don't want you to have to do that." His frown deepened, and then she remembered her missed courses. That definitely concerned her as well. "But maybe you could find me a medicine book?"
He sighed, and she knew he was decidedly not pleased. He most likely thought the best thing to do was to go see a doctor, but she did not want to. "I could," he said. "And I will. But if you can't find something that seems to fit, I will take you to a doctor."
She knew better than to argue with him when he talked like that. After all, he just wanted her to feel better. Besides, the last thing she wanted to do was get into another argument with him. "Okay, Eugene," she said softly.
He nodded at her. "Okay," he said, but he still looked unhappy. "I think I'm going to go do that and come back as soon as I can."
"I don't want you to feel like you have to do that," she said. She didn't want him to have to do something special on her behalf.
He let out his breath in a whoosh. "I know you don't," he said. "But I'm not going to lie, I'm worried about you."
She knew that. She felt a little concerned about herself too. But it was one thing for her to be worried. It was a whole different matter when Eugene was. "You shouldn't be," she said. "I'm sure I'm fine. It's probably…just a little cold or something." She decided not to mention that she couldn't even remember the last cold she'd had.
He shook his head. "It's not just that though, Rapunzel" he said. He met her eyes seriously. "You haven't been yourself for…." He sighed again, and there was a little sadness in it. "…months now. Since we got married."
She didn't even know how to respond to that. The implication she heard was that she wasn't happy because she married him. He couldn't go on thinking that was true. How could he even think it was true? "Eugene, marrying you was probably the best decision I ever made in my life."
His expression softened and a hint of relief appeared in his eyes. She wondered at it. How long had he thought that about her? "Same," he said. "But I want to see you happy."
"I am," she insisted. Most of the time, anyway. "I'm just….having a bad day."
He muttered something to himself, but she couldn't quite make it out. But it sounded snarky to her, and she wondered what he was thinking. Then he glanced at the clock. "Maybe I should get going…."
Her chest ached at the thought of him leaving. The tower felt so lonely and stifling without him here. "What?" she croaked. "But you just got here…." She cringed a little. She sounded so whiny.
He met her eyes. "I'm only going now because if I do, I can get your book and come back tomorrow."
That was perfectly logical. But she didn't like it. "Oh," she said, still deflated. "Well, if that's what you think is best…."
He laughed slightly, like what she said amused him. She didn't understand it. Of course, she didn't always understand him anyway. "It is," he said. He walked toward the window, and she followed him, not wanting him to leave. She almost reached out to him, but her hand dropped limply to her side.
He must have felt that because he took her in his arms and kissed her. "Now, you rest when I'm gone, all right?" he said, looking at her seriously.
She nodded. "Yes," she whispered.
He left soon after that, and she watched him go with a sigh. Tomorrow had never seemed further away to her.
XxXxXxXxXx
Rapunzel tried to do what Eugene asked, but it was very hard to rest when Mother came home and kept asking her to do things. She didn't feel like she could say no, and when she finally went to bed, she instantly fell into a deep slumber. She didn't even hear Mother call her the first time the next morning, and she nearly got a scolding when breakfast wasn't ready the instant Mother wanted it.
But Mother finally left, and she found herself in front of her bucket…again. She sighed, and slumped against the wall, burying her face in her knees. She was so tired of this and she was growing worried. She was actually starting to think that maybe Eugene was right about her too. Feeling this sick every morning couldn't be normal.
She did her best to clean up before he came, but all she could do was to sit listlessly in her chair, feeling on the verge of tears. What if something really was wrong with her?
Before she could work herself into a panic, she heard Eugene call and she let her hair down for him. Eagerly she waited for him to come up, hoping he had the book. Maybe she could find out what was happening in there.
He did. After greeting her, he handed her a heavy book. "Here," he said. "Your medicine book."
She glanced at it. A Simple Guide to Medicine. She snorted. Simple, her foot. The book looked like five hundred pages long. "Thanks." She opened it up to the index first, looking for missed courses. She found a few page numbers and put them in her memory. Then she looked under nausea. One of the page numbers was the same as missed courses. Well, she might as well start there, she thought, since those were her main symptoms. She turned to page 89, bracing herself for what she might find.
Pregnancy.
The word seemed to scream at her. Mother hadn't told her much about that, but she knew the word meant a woman was going to have a baby. A baby! Panic rose up in her throat and threatened to choke her. But she told herself to be calm, and just read what it had to say. She skimmed down to the symptoms section.
One of the first signs of pregnancy is missed courses….Another is nausea and vomiting, especially in the morning… This begins generally at about the sixth week….
Rapunzel felt as if she was reading about her own life over the past few days. She didn't even need to read anymore. She knew then, deep inside, that this was the truth. There were no doubts at all in her mind, because nothing else would make so much sense.
She was. She was pregnant.
Fear filled her, and she tried to breathe normally, but all she could make out was short little gasps.
"Rapunzel," she heard Eugene say, but he sounded far, far away.
She glanced up at him. He was looking at her, with clear worry in his eyes. "Did you find something?"
Her face immediately heated up. In her stupor, she'd almost forgotten that he was here. "Um…" She had no idea what to do. She should tell him of course, but what if he was mad or unhappy with her? What if he didn't want any children? Things had been so good between them since the fight, and now maybe she'd ruin everything. Her throat closed up, as thousands of horrible what-if scenarios filled her mind. "It's….ah…" she stammered, attempting to speak.
She started to shut the book, trying not to hyperventilate, but he was too fast for her. Almost instantaneously, he was next to her and stuck his finger where she was reading. He took the book from her and read the same part that she had. She watched him as he did, his eyes widening. His huge eyes didn't cause her to feel any better. Once he finished, he looked at her for what seemed like an eternity. Her heart pounded in anxiety when he opened his mouth to speak. She knew that his response would make her feel better or worse, and either way their relationship would change again. "You're sure about this, aren't you?" he said finally.
"Yes," she whispered, trying to control her emotion.
"How long do you think?"
She hesitated, counting backward in her head. "I don't know, maybe six?" She felt her eyes start to sting, and her gaze dropped to the floor. He didn't sound very excited.
But then she felt his arms around her. "It's going to be okay," he said softly.
"But what about-….." she began. What about my mother?!
"It'll be fine," he repeated firmly. "I'll come for you tomorrow, and we'll go. All right?"
She knew that the time had come for her to go with him at last. It was her only option really, because her mother couldn't know about this. "Okay," she said.
"Good." He smiled at her, a big smile that went all the way to his eyes, and it was then that she realized that he was happy about this. He had to be. She hadn't seen him smile like that since they got married. So he must want a baby. Maybe not this soon, but he had. He just never told her. Shouldn't he have told her that?
She didn't say any of that aloud though. "You're….glad?" she asked softly. Knowing that he was glad took a ten pound weight off of her. But there still was about twenty pounds left.
He looked surprised. "Of course, Rapunzel," he assured her. "I'm so happy about it. Aren't you?"
She wasn't sure. Oh, she knew she wanted to have children someday, but that was the point. Someday. Not when she was still in the tower and her mother could potentially find out- could potentially hurt him.
"Let me ask you it this way. If you took your mother out of this," he said, practically reading her mind. "Would you be happy?"
She did like children, she thought. She loved those girls who'd braided her hair. So how could she not like her own? "Yes," she said immediately, then she bit her lip. "But I'd still be scared."
He took her back into his arms, and he stroked her hair. "I know, sweetheart. I'm scared too. But we'll figure it out together." He drew away from her to look into her eyes. "And you are going to be a great mother."
His confidence in her made her want to cry. He was always so kind to her…. "I love you, Eugene." It was sort of a non-sequitor, but she still needed to say it. His reaction was more than she could have hoped, and he wasn't upset by the news.
"I love you too," he said.
Something dawned on her then, something she hadn't thought of before- something that explained his response. "That's it, isn't it?" she mused. "This baby came from our love for each other." It was then that she felt the first stirrings of maternal love for it. She looked up at him, and she could tell by the soft expression on his face that he was already there, and he loved it too. He'd probably been there for about ten minutes, and he'd been waiting for her to reach the same place.
"Exactly," he said. "And you have a new little person growing inside you. And I can't wait to meet her."
She raised an eyebrow. He couldn't possibly know what it was yet! "Her?"
"Yeah," he said, smiling. "It's a girl, Rapunzel."
"And how do you know?" she asked.
"I just do," he said in a matter of fact way. "And she'll be perfect, like you."
She blushed at the compliment. "But don't you want a boy?"she said. "Don't all men want a boy?"
He laughed. "We need more girls like you in the world," he said. "I'd much rather have a girl like you than a boy like me."
She tried to smile, but her stomach was already churning again with anxiety. Eugene was happy, which was a huge relief to her. But what if her mother found out? It probably wouldn't matter to her that she was married, she'd still consider her behavior atrocious and licentious. The thought grieved her heart.
"What's wrong, Rapunzel?" he said to her softly.
"I'm so afraid," she whispered.
He cupped her face with his hands, and met her eyes. "What are you afraid of?"
"My mother finding about the….the baby," she answered. As she said it, she wished she could stop being scared. She felt like she should be happy about this. She wanted to be happy about this.
"She won't," he assured her. "How could she?"
"I don't know…" She wasn't completely sure how, but she thought somehow her mother could find out.
"Besides, we're leaving tomorrow, and everything will be fine." He gave her a smile. "I promise you."
She sincerely hoped that he was right.
XxXxXxXx
Shortly thereafter, Eugene left after kissing her and telling her once again how happy he was. He left Rapunzel to stare at the wall for a few seconds until she decided that she should pack up her things before Mother came back. So she went upstairs into her room, and tried to find something that she could use to pack. But she found nothing. She decided to check in Mother's room to see if she had anything. She looked around her closet, but all she saw was dresses and those obviously wouldn't work. She tried her nightstand next, opening the drawer. What she found sent shivers down her spine.
A knife.
She reached out to touch it, and when she did, she pulled back, feeling like her hand was burned. But she had to do something. In her mind, she could picture Mother using it…maybe on Eugene?
Another wave of nausea washed over her, but this time for an entirely different reason. All she could see now was Eugene bleeding, Eugene hurt, Eugene lying limply on the floor of the tower…
She couldn't bear the thought of it. Impulsively she grabbed the knife, and thrust it deep into one of her pockets. She couldn't leave it there, she just couldn't.
In a daze she wandered back up into her room, trying to figure out what else she could do. She finally decided to use one of her pillow cases, and began to stuff in her dresses, her other clothes, her art things, her three books, the necklace Eugene had given her…
But she wasn't completely engaged in what she was doing. When she went down to have a little something to tide her over to dinner, she brought down Ivanhoe to read.
Yet because her brain was still thinking about what she'd found, she did something she ordinarily wouldn't have:
She forgot to take her book upstairs with her.
XxXxXxXx
Mother came soon shortly after that, and Rapunzel did her best to pretend that everything was normal. She also made the best meal that she'd made in a while, and Mother seemed pleased by that. Yet she still excused herself as soon as she could, and went upstairs to her room.
She sat on her bed, and Emmy came and jumped up next to her. She stroked her absentmindedly, but her thoughts were far, far away.
She was thinking about Eugene.
She was thinking about the baby.
She put her hand on her stomach, trying to imagine herself in seven months. She couldn't do it. When she considered it, she could only picture herself fat, not knowing at all what pregnant women looked like, and she couldn't stand the thought of that.
Would Eugene even find her pretty then?
She sighed to herself. Was that a horribly selfish thought? Shouldn't she care more about the baby than her appearance?
Maybe Eugene was wrong. Maybe she'd be an absolutely horrible mother, a selfish one who didn't care at all for her child. She immediately knew that was not true though, because she did care about the baby already. How could she not? She- since Eugene seemed absolutely sure it was a girl- was a part of her. She could no more dislike the baby than she could any other part of her. Besides, she reminded herself, Eugene was happy. Very happy.
She knew that he wanted it to be like her, but she honestly wouldn't mind if she resembled him more, or had his brown eyes instead of her green. She loved his eyes. Actually, right now she didn't care if it was a boy or a girl either. What mattered was that it was healthy- and they were both together, somewhere Mother couldn't hurt any of them.
The thought had barely crossed her mind, when she heard Mother yell for her. "Rapunzel!"
She cringed. She did not sound happy, so she quickly went downstairs. Mother's face was red with fury, though Rapunzel had no idea why. She hadn't done anything wrong that she could think of, and she'd cleaned up all her messes. She'd even made a perfectly fine meal too. "Rapunzel!" she yelled, even though she was about two feet away. "Come here!"
She walked over, her heart pounding. "Yes, Mother?" she said with a calmness that she did not feel.
Mother flashed a book in her face, and from her brief glance at it, it was the book Eugene had given her. Instantly, the color drained out of her face.
"What is the meaning of this book, Rapunzel?" she said.
Rapunzel wasn't one to lie, but it was the only thing she could think of to do. "I haven't seen that book before in my life."
Mother grew even angrier at that, if such a thing were possible, and her eyes narrowed. "Oh really?" she spat. "Then why is your name written in it?" She turned to the first page and started to read in a mocking voice. "To my dear Rapunzel, may all your dreams come true. With all my love, Eugene." She slammed the book shut and glared at her. "Who is this Eugene, Rapunzel?"
Rapunzel grew more and more anxious as her mother talked, but now fear that her mother would hit her or something coursed through her. She took two big steps back. "He's…." she hesitated. She felt sick with fear. "He's…just…." Finally she decided she had to lie again. God knew what would happen to her-or him- if she didn't. "He's just…. no one, Mother," she said.
Mother stared at her, then she laughed callously. "Oh, Rapunzel," she said condescendingly. "You never were good at lying." Her face turned stern and she walked over to the fireplace, holding the book over the fire. Instantly, Rapunzel's fear increased because she had a feeling she knew what her mother was thinking. And that was confirmed by the next words out of her mouth. "Tell me who this Eugene is, or your book gets it."
The mere thought of her book being burned made her feel awful. "Mother, please," she pleaded. "Just put the book down…"
"Tell me!" she barked.
"He's just…he's just a friend!" she blurted, making it up on the spot. She couldn't tell Mother that Eugene was her husband, or that she was pregnant. She'd never understand. "He came to the tower one day and we talked. He comes sometimes to see me. That's all!"
Mother's hand moved away briefly, but then her eyes narrowed again and she thrust it into the fire. "No!" Rapunzel cried instantly, falling to her knees.
"You're lying to me again, Rapunzel!" Mother said coldly. "Let me know if you ever want to tell me the truth." She walked away, shaking her head as she went.
But Rapunzel didn't see. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she buried her face in her hands. Although she knew the book was just a book, and a book was just a thing, she felt the loss of it acutely. It reminded her not just of Eugene but also of the day he'd told her he loved her. Sobs raked her body, but she didn't know how long she'd been crying until Mother shook her.
"Stop that infernal crying, Rapunzel!" she snarled. "How many times have I told you that tears never solve anything?"
Suddenly something in Rapunzel just broke. She was so sick of Mother's condescending remarks. "I can't help it," she snapped. "I love Eugene, and you just burned a gift from him!" She turned around and headed for the stairs.
"And just where are you going?" Mother demanded.
"I'm going up to my room," she informed her. "So I won't disturb you further with my 'infernal crying!" Then she ran upstairs without saying anything else.
XxXxXxXx
In her room, Rapunzel let herself cry again. She couldn't believe that Mother had burned her book. She curled up into a ball and sobbed. Emmy nuzzled her hair, but it didn't help her. Not even Pascal could comfort her, but he kept gesturing toward her pocket. Eventually she realized that she still had her ring there. She pulled it out and held it in her hand. It comforted her more than she could say to know that tomorrow her life wouldn't be like this.
Tomorrow she'd be free.
Wouldn't she?
She didn't know. Her feeling that something bad could happen hadn't diminished at all, especially now that Mother knew about Eugene. And how could she manage to get away from Mother now?
Hot tears ran down her cheeks again. She knew something like this would happen; she knew it. She probably should have left with Eugene the minute she realized that she was pregnant.
Why was she so stupid sometimes? She wished she could somehow tell him that Mother found out, but that was impossible.
She saw Mother standing in the doorway. "Are you still crying, Rapunzel?" she said rudely. "You are such a baby!"
Mother's words didn't stop her tears, and she felt anger rise up. She was so sick of Mother's unkind comments. "At least I can take care of myself!" she snapped, shoving her ring back inside her pocket. "Unlike some people I know."
Mother's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Words came tumbling out of her and she couldn't stop them, the result of years and years of frustration. "I mean that you never can do anything yourself! You can't even make your food, or clean up after yourself without me doing all the work! And I'm so-…."
"That's enough, Rapunzel!" Mother said icily. "You can't talk to me like that."
And Mother still treated her like she was eight. If she was old enough to get married, wasn't she old enough to move if she wanted to? "And you can't talk to me like I'm two!" she shot back. "I'm an adult! You know what? I'm leaving! I'm going to be with Eugene, and you can't stop me!"
Mother glared at her. "Is that a threat, Rapunzel?"
"No," she said. "It's not. But you can't take it however you want. You usually do." She noticed that Mother seemed to be holding something behind her back, but she decided to ignore it. She started to walk down the stairs, grabbing her bag with her. But before she could, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.
And everything faded to black.
XxXxXxXx
Meanwhile Eugene walked home, blithely unaware of what was happening in the tower, whistling cheerfully. He couldn't help but smile at the news he'd received today.
They were going to have a baby!
Well, he amended, more accurately Rapunzel was having a baby, but it was really both of them. He couldn't stop smiling about it, and his smile increased when he opened the door to his house. The next time he'd come back here, he'd have Rapunzel with him. Finally. Finally they'd be together.
Yet when he looked around the house, he sighed a little. It really was nothing fancy at all, and Rapunzel deserved the nicest house. But he reminded himself that what truly mattered was that they were both here. Besides, she'd probably want to paint all over, and she'd make it pretty. That was just how she was, and he loved that about her.
He hoped their little girl would be the same way. He had told Rapunzel that he knew it was a girl, and he really believed it. He wasn't sure if she knew how completely thrilled he was about this though, or how much he truly wanted it. He wasn't even sure that he could express in words how glad he was. A baby! She was a new little person to hold and love, and the best part was that she would be theirs- his and Rapunzel's.
He only wished that Rapunzel had been as thrilled as he was. Yet maybe she'd be happy about the baby once she got away from her mother and had time to think about it. He felt certain that would be the case. Rapunzel was such a sweet person and she had been so good with those girls when they braided her hair. She'd liked them, he knew it. She liked everyone. So how could she not like her own child?
She'd be glad when she'd been here a few days, and he'd tell her again how happy he was.
When the baby came, they'd be even happier.
They'd be a family.
XxXxXxXx
The next morning, Eugene woke up with a smile still on his face. Even hours later, he wasn't any less excited about Rapunzel's news about the baby, and he felt like singing. Yet his joy started to diminish as he went through his morning routines. He was starting to think that all wasn't right, and he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. His sense was that Rapunzel was in trouble, and he was the only one who could help her. He frowned. He thought that he'd give her more time this morning to get ready to leave, but he felt like he had to go to her now. So he swiftly left his house, and headed for the tower as fast as he could.
But he still felt like it had taken him much too long, even though in reality it was probably the quickest he'd ever gotten there. He immediately called for her. "Rapunzel?"
There was no answer, only a heavy silence.
He tried again. "Rapunzel, let down your hair!"
Suddenly her hair came soaring down, and he quickly climbed it. But when he finally reached the top, it was not Rapunzel he saw. Instead of her, he saw a- well, he guessed she could be considered pretty, but he didn't see it- woman standing in front of him. He supposed this was her mother, though he couldn't see that either. And Rapunzel was nowhere to be found. He immediately wanted to climb back down, or burst through her and find Rapunzel. Where was she?
But instead he smiled. It never hurt to be nice, right? "Oh, hello," he said pleasantly. "I'm looking for Rapunzel. You must be her mother. It's nice to meet you."
Her only response was to narrow her eyes. "You must be Eugene," she spat.
Charming. How had a rude woman like this raised someone like Rapunzel? "I am," he said, putting his hand in her face. "I'm also the husband. And I'm looking for my wife." He gave her a fake smile. "You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?"
"I'm afraid I can't help you," she said flatly. "Rapunzel's dead."
His heart literally stopped for a moment and he stared at her in shock, unconsciously stepping backward. A mistake, as it turned out, but he was too upset. Rapunzel….dead? How could that have happened? "No…she's not," he said, finally able to speak. "I don't believe you."
She scowled. Then she walked fast toward him, her eyes full of anger. "I meant…," she said slowly. "She's dead to you!" Abruptly she placed both of her hands on his chest and shoved, causing him to lose his balance. He tried to stand upright, but it was too late. He'd stood close to the window, and with the sudden force, he began to tumble right out of it. Down he fell, and he attempted to grab on to…something, but there was nothing. Nothing but air and then the sudden, horrible thud as his body hit the ground. He figured that death was imminent- and now he wouldn't be able to save Rapunzel, save his sweet wife from her horrible mother. And what would happen to their baby now? He felt like he'd completely failed her. I'm sorry, Rapunzel….
Pain was everywhere, but he managed to stay somewhat alert. Then his face and head somehow hit a rock, and he lost the fight to remain conscious.
I'm sorry, Rapunzel….
AN: Not sure why this chapter took so long, but there you go :) I hope you liked it.
Finn Hudson: glad you like it :)
Sunny: your reviews are just like you, rays of sunshine to brighten my day. Thank you! And I liked it when he talked to the little girls too. He is. Sometimes I wonder if I make him TOO sweet, but I like sweet things, so there you go. haha. Is this what you thought would happen?
Awesome anime: I'm glad you like it. Yes to the first, as you can see :)
Patpat: i thought it was cute too :) here's some more angst
CessLizz: thanks!
ktg: as you can read, yes :)
Emma's Angel: she did. It wasn't pretty, was it?
misti87: thanks for the suggestion!
whiterainbows: thanks! i'm glad it seemed realistic to you :)
JayLaw: thank you! that's really nice :) I loved the part with the girls too.
Umbreon: no, they don't :) he's very different now that he knows her!
