First off, I apologize that it's so freaking short and a little crappy. It makes me want to hide a little, but I hope I'm forgiven. :)

So guess who had an incredibly slow night at work (I work in a deli, and I seriously waited on one person in two hours. Thank you, Michigan weather!) and got to write the next chapter incredibly fast? Robin did! :D Not to mention as soon as I got home, I was lucky enough to have "Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Edition" on WGTE Toledo to inspire me. And seriously, it inspires me. A lot. It sort of reminds me of the struggles I'm sure Flynn would go through in his transition from Flynn to Eugene. :)

I apologize for that horrible cliffie in the last chapter, but I couldn't help myself. xD What can I say? I love keeping you on your toes. ;)

Enjoy, my dears!

CHAPTER SONG: "Awake and Alive" by Skillet

Disclaimer: I just got the letter from Disney today. It says I don't own Tangled. And I cried. A lot.


Hangman's Noose

A "Tangled" fanfiction

by doodlegirll

...oOo...

What happened in the next fifteen seconds came as a complete blur.

Rapunzel stumbled into the courtyard, still holding tight to the satchel that held the evidence she would need to clear Eugene's name, and made a beeline for the gallows and Flynn.

Flynn, meanwhile, made a split second decision, and though he knew it would hurt, he made a single leap into the air, and quickly brought his legs up, jumping through his chained arms like a hoop, twisting them in front of him, grabbing at the noose. He had something to fight for now, his will to survive, to live, coming back all at once. He wasn't about to die here, not with Rapunzel watching.

However, Rapunzel's desperate cry startled the guard at the lever, and as he reeled back to see what was going on, he pulled the lever with him.

The trapdoor beneath Flynn disappeared, and he fell.

Rapunzel leapt onto the platform of the gallows, dropping the satchel.

"NO!" She screamed.

She ran over to where Flynn hung, desperately clawing at the noose around his neck. He had loosened it enough to the point where he could breathe, and it hadn't snapped his neck, but he had his entire weight on his upper arms as he kicked about for some sort of foothold, holding tight to the rope. One slip, one little fail of strength, and he was done for.

"Cut the rope!" Rapunzel cried at the guard. "Please!"

The guard, completely unsure of what to do, looked towards the King and Queen for answers, over the heads of the now restless crowd of the royal court. The King swung a hand towards his daughter.

"Do as she says!" He bellowed.

The guard gave a single nod and grabbed the hilt of his sword, bringing it out of the sheath. With a sweeping motion, he raised the glinting blade and severed the rope of the noose.

Flynn tumbled to the ground, hacking violently. Guards rushed over to him to help him, grabbing his arms and hauling him upward. He fell to his knees, still coughing, onto the boards of the platform, and Rapunzel hurried over to him.

"Eugene!" She said, reaching out and taking his face in her small hands, stroking back his hair as he fought for air, taking in greedy gulps as he tried to focus on her face. Rapunzel took hold of the noose, and as gently as she could, loosened it and slipped it over Flynn's head, tossing it aside disdainfully.

After a few moments, Flynn finally caught his breath, and he looked at the girl next to him.

"Rapunzel," he stated.

"Yes, Eugene, I'm here." She said. "I came back."

"But – " Flynn didn't have time to ask any questions, as three pairs of hands reached out and grabbed him once more, hauling him roughly to his feet, wrenching, pulling at his sore body. The guards yanked him away from Rapunzel, holding him tightly in place, and the Captain of the Guard pointed his sword at Flynn's throat, the sharp tip nearly poking at the tender skin.

"Alright, Rider, start explaining," he growled.

"Explain what?" Flynn said, still a little disoriented.

"I know you had something to do with this!" The Captain said. "The Princess disappears, then magically reappears just as you're about to hang, creates a diversion. You then do a little set of acrobatics and rid yourself of the noose, and give us the slip. I know your little game!"

"Stop!" Rapunzel said, stepping in front of Flynn. The Captain immediately lowered his sword. "Eugene didn't have anything to do with this! This is all my idea. Just like it was to break him out of prison!"

"Your Majesty, you – "

The Captain was cut off by the King and Queen quickly making their way up the stairs to where their daughter and Flynn Rider stood, followed closely by the short man that had presided in both of Flynn's trials.

"Release him at once!" The Queen ordered of the guards holding Flynn. They reluctantly relinquished their harsh grips on the thief, but they did not remove the shackles on his wrists, stepping back and bowing slightly at the royal majesties.

"Princess!" Shorty proclaimed. "What is the meaning of this?"

Rapunzel turned to look at him.

"Please, you have to listen to me!" She begged. "You can't hang him! He's not Flynn Rider!"

When she was met with confused looks from her parents, Shorty, and even the man in question himself, she quickly sprinted to where she had dropped the satchel. Her hair had begun to spill out of it, and she gathered it up in her arms.

"He's not Flynn Rider," she repeated. "Because Flynn Rider died."

"What are you talking about?" The Captain said. "Of course he's Flynn Rider!"

Rapunzel shook her head. "You don't understand!" She said. "You can't this man! His real name is Eugene Fitzherbert, not Flynn Rider." She held up the lengths of dead brown hair.

"As you all know, when my mother the Queen was still pregnant with me, she became very ill, and the entire kingdom searched for a flower that was said to have grown from a drop of sunlight and had healing abilities.

"Well, that flower's healing abilities were passed down from my mother to me though my long blonde hair. The woman who kidnapped me, Gothel, did so because she knew that my hair would keep her young, as the flower had, and prevent her from turning into dust. But if my hair was cut, it turned brown and lost its power. That's why it was so long, and that's why it's brown now."

"But what does this have to do with Flynn Rider?" Shorty demanded.

"See, that's the thing!" Rapunzel said. "When Eugene escaped prison the day after my eighteenth birthday, he did it because he knew I was in danger. He escaped and found me back at the tower where Gothel kept me hidden for eighteen years, and when he climbed the tower, Gothel stabbed him.

"I made a deal with Gothel that if she let me heal him, I would go with her willingly and stay with her forever. But when I was just about to sing the healing incantation, he cut my hair to make sure that Gothel couldn't use it anymore, and he died because I wasn't able to heal him"

"Then how is he here now?" The Captain said, gesturing towards the man in question with his sword. Rapunzel moved closer to Flynn, clutching at his arm.

"The last little bit of my magic came out in a tear." Rapunzel explained. "It fell on Eugene and healed him."

"This is preposterous!" The Captain said. "How can tears bring someone back to life?"

Rapunzel felt anger flush in her cheeks. Why wouldn't they listen to her? Surely there was enough proof to back up her story…

"He has the scar to prove it!" Rapunzel said. "Gothel stabbed him on the right side, just under the ribcage. Show them, Eugene!"

Flynn, still dumbstruck by the events unfolding in front him, quickly pulled up his shirt to expose his torso, and the Queen took in a quick breath of shock at the sight of the dark bruises that covered him. Rapunzel quickly pointed to the thin scar, carefully minding her fingers, not allowing herself to touch him in fear of hurting him further.

"See?" She said. "That's where he was stabbed!"

The short man turned to face a few of his colleagues that had come to join him on the platform, the King joining them.

The Queen, meanwhile, could not hear what was being said between the courtsmen and her husband, but she hoped that it was something to do with allowing Eugene to live. She looked at her daughter, who had taken Eugene's cuffed hands in her own tiny ones, holding them tightly, their fingers intertwined. Rapunzel and Eugene didn't say a word to each other, they simple stood there, lost in each other's eyes, each other's simple touch, and it broke the Queen's heart. She couldn't bear to imagine that Rapunzel's brave act had been in vain.

Finally, the courtsmen and the King turned back to face them. Shorty spoke.

"Princess, we have decided to take the evidence you have provided us with into consideration. A meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss what should be done with Ri- Mr. Fitzherbert from here."

"You mean," Rapunzel squeezed Flynn's hands. "That you're not going to hang him?"

The tall man behind Shorty stepped forward.

"For the time being," he warned. "Tomorrow's meeting will decide."

Relief washed over Rapunzel. Eugene was not going to die!

Not yet, at least.

"In the meantime, Mr. Fitzherbert is to be escorted back to his cell in the prison. You are free to visit him as you ple- "

The King cleared his throat, cutting off the tall man.

"If I may interject, I believe this man has seen enough of prison walls. I want him moved back into his room in the castle, with guards for supervision, of course." He said. "No matter tomorrow's decision, I believe he deserves a good meal, a hot bath, a comfortable rest, and proper medical attention for the injuries he has sustained." The King shot the Captain a glare, and the Captain looked away in shame.

The tall man nodded. "As you wish, Your Majesty." He said. He turned to the guards. "Please escort Mr. Fitzherbert to his room in the castle."

The guards gave him a nod, and began to steer Flynn away from the crowd and down the steps of the gallows, away from Rapunzel, who hung back, biting her lip, reluctant to let him out of her sight when she had come so far to save him. He shot her a grin over his shoulder, and she gave him a smile back, the promise that they would see each other later sealed.

She felt the Queen's gentle hands on her shoulders, and she turned to look at her.

"Go." She said. "We'll talk later. Go to him."

Rapunzel smiled and gave her mother a quick hug before she sprinted after the guards and Flynn. The Queen smiled and she felt her husband come up behind her, taking her hand in his own.

"Our daughter truly is extraordinary." He said. "Absolutely amazing."

"That she is." The Queen agreed. "That she is."

...oOo...

The level of relief that filled Flynn could only be described as something akin to the feeling of flying. He was utterly and profoundly happy to be alive, so happy in fact, he was almost at a complete loss of words.

Upon reaching his room, the Captain give Flynn a firm shove into the lush chambers, and he stumbled as his bare feet found traction against the cool marble floors.

"You got lucky today, Rider," he spat, the venom dripping from his voice like a snake.

Flynn gave him a grin. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm just a lucky guy."

"You wouldn't be so lucky if the Princess wasn't your little girlfriend." The Captain said.

Flynn cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh, you mean my girlfriend, the Princess, who happens to be standing right behind you?" He asked with a smirk.

The Captain gave him a confused look before turning to find that, indeed, Princess Rapunzel stood behind him. His face flushed red as he gave her a respectful bow.

"Princess," he said.

"Captain," Rapunzel said back. She crossed the room to where Flynn stood, and she frowned at the shackles that still adorned his wrists.

"Would you remove these, please?" She asked of the Captain, who quickly, yet reluctantly, made his way over to remove the cuffs. Flynn rubbed his chaffed wrists, rolling his aching shoulders. Maybe twisting them from behind him to in front of him while still cuffed hadn't been such a good idea, but in the end, a few aches and pains were worth it if he got to continue living, if only for another day.

As soon as the cuffs were removed, the Captain gave a final nod before he turned to his men, and they left the thief and his princess alone.

Within seconds, Rapunzel launched herself at Flynn, for a moment forgetting about his injuries. She buried her face in his vest, inhaling his scent, reveling in the fact that he was here, he was safe, and he was alive.

He wrapped her in his arms, lifting her off her feet for a moment as he held her as close as he possibly could without crushing her.

"Eugene…" Rapunzel whispered.

"Sh, don't talk." Flynn said, stroking her hair. "I'm here."

"I love you." Rapunzel said. "Eugene Fitzherbert, I love you. Please, please, please don't ever leave me alone."

He pulled away from her. Forget tomorrow. Forget that he wasn't necessarily a free man as of yet. Forget that he might still die with the coming dawn. Forget everything but this moment, this moment with this beautiful, amazing girl.

"Never." He whispered, and captured her lips with his.

Tomorrow could wait. At least they had today.


See? I so didn't pull a Pocahontas. :)

I feel like Flynn/Eugene's predicament, shall we say, is a bit more complicated than just Rapunzel showing up, waving some pretty solid enough evidence in the faces of the court and them setting him free. I feel like the evidence should be weighed and taken into consideration before our Flynn/Eugene is completely cleared and set free. His case is complicated as it is, and I feel like his pardoning (if it even happens, might I add) should be done just as his condemnation was. Make sense?