Chapter 25

They would be staying at North's palace while all the preparations were made. The other three monarchs had gone back to their kingdoms with promises of returning once everything was ready.

Rapunzel and her friends were each given a room to stay in and some spare clothes. It was night time now, and Rapunzel sat on the bench in front of her window. She was toying with her hair, twirling it around her finger as she looked up at the sky. So much had happened. She'd revealed who she was, she'd found a new and extremely rare power, and she'd gotten the help she needed to finally stop the monster who had taken her family away.

Each puzzle piece seemed to be falling into place perfectly. And yet she still felt like something was missing. She sat and stared at the night sky for hours trying to figure out what that something was, but it was like trying to see clearly through a dense fog.

She sighed, finally getting up and laying down on her bed. It had been a long time since she'd slept on a bed like this one, not that there was anything wrong with her bed back at her cabin, it simply was just a different feeling. But with that feeling came questions and tough choices that she would have to make, so she ignored it all and closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her.

...

"So what I suggest is that we surround both islands. The citizens and Pitch are all on what we will call point A and the island connected to it will be point B," Rapunzel pointed at the island on the map, looking up to make sure everyone was paying attention. "We place North's army on point B, where there's a vastly large clearing on the southeast side. Bunny will come in from the southwest while Tooth will come in from the northeast. They will be hiding behind the treeline where they will wait for the signal to attack. While that is going on, Sandy will come in from the northwest and help evacuate the island, just to make sure the safety of the people is guaranteed. After everyone is safely on the boats, he too will engage in the attack."

Rapunzel finished talking and stared at the surrounding monarchs who were all looking at the map where she had doodled the plan. "Any questions?"

"While I have no doubt that luck is on our side, what will we do about your snow-controlling cousin?" asked Bunnymund.

Rapunzel looked back down at the map. "Jack and I already talked about that, he will take care of Elsa and make sure that she doesn't harm anyone and that no harm comes to her."

"And what about Gothel? Or the monster himself?"

"Gothel is always by Pitch's side, so we know that wherever he is, so is she. Merida said she'd handle her, while I will handle Pitch."

"Whoa, wait up. Are you sure you want to go up against him by yourself?" North finally spoke.

Rapunzel nodded, "At the end of the day this is a fight against the man who killed my family, if there is anyone who should take up the responsibility of taking out Pitch, it's me."

The monarchs all exchanged looks, but said nothing.

"Anymore questions?"

"Yes, one more. How will you draw the monster out of his fortress and into the clearing?" Bunny asked again.

"Easy, we use me as bait to lure him there."

"And how will he know you're even there?"

Rapunzel thought for a moment. A signal, she had to come up with a signal that Pitch would understand. But what could that be? She, unaware that she was doing it, began to pace back and forth. Her hand went up to her chest, feeling the small bump of the scar that marked her skin under the fabric of her clothes. Then the idea struck her.

"We give him a signal," Rapunzel said, answering Bunny's question.

"What kind of signal?" North asked, noticing the way Rapunzel's eyes suddenly lit up.

"A signal he won't be able to miss."

The four all gave Rapunzel a puzzled look. She sighed and then began explaining her idea. "When I was born, my parents released a bunch of lanterns into the sky. It soon became a tradition and they began to do it for all of my birthdays."

She turned to look at Tooth, "You said Pitch was watching my family for months before he attacked. That means he was there when they released the lanterns on my birthday a few months before the invasion, right?"

Tooth nodded, "It's highly possible, although none of my spies have reported seeing any lanterns light up since I sent them there, which means Pitch wasn't too keen on keeping the tradition."

Rapunzel nodded excitedly, "Exactly, which means that if I were to light up a few lanterns there is no way he would miss it. He would know then and there that it is me."

The three king's faces lit up once they knew what she was talking about. They all then began to quickly continue planning on when and where Rapunzel would light the lanterns. They ended up spending most of the day inside the meeting room, discussing the plan from start to finish, sometimes changing one detail or the other, tweaking it until they thought it to be utterly perfect.

...

After the meeting was done Rapunzel made her way to her room. She opened the door and screamed when she saw someone standing in the middle of the room, their figure illuminated only by a candle that stood on the bedside table, their back to the door. Whoever the person was let out a scream too , freezing the ground as they whirled around to see Rapunzel at the door.

"Jack? What the hell?"

"Sorry, I just- I just wanted to talk," Jack said, leaning on the bed post, his hand on his chest as he tried to calm down his heart. "That was quite a scream," he laughed breathlessly.

"You're one to talk," Rapunzel walked into the room and closed the door. She arched an eyebrow at Jack as she leaned against the door and he sat on her bed.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Jack hesitated at first, but then spoke, "Are you sure you want me handling your cousin? I mean, from what I hear she's a pretty powerful...witch? I'm barely getting a handle on my own powers, Punz, what if I can't keep her from harming the others, or what if I accidentally hurt her?"

Rapunzel stopped leaning on the door and walked over to sit next to Jack, who was looking down at his hands.

"Hey, you'll be fine," Rapunzel reassured him, "Elsa may be more experienced with her powers, but you're quick learner, and not only that, but you're incredibly smart. I have no doubt you'll be able to keep everyone safe from her, and also not harm her in the process."

Jack was still looking at his hands so Rapunzel placed one hand over his, using the other to lift his head. "Look at me, Jackson," at the sound of his full name Jack's eyes widened a little bit and locked with Rapunzel's. "You are stronger than you seem, braver than you believe, and smarter than you think you are. You can do this," She said with so much confidence that Jack actually believed her.

"You have a lot of faith in me for someone who's barely known me for a few months."

"I got to know you quite well in those months, so I don't doubt my faith in you," Rapunzel smiled.

They were quiet after that, and soon became aware of how close they were. The dim light of the burning candle cast shadows all around the room, while at the same time the reflection of the small flame seemed to dance in Rapunzel's eyes, and once again Jack was left speechless by her beauty both inside and out.

Jack had never been one with much self control, that is until he met Rapunzel. Ever since he fell for her all of his efforts had gone into keeping himself from doing something stupid and ruining the friendship they had. But now...in this moment...Jack was done trying to control himself.

Without thinking on it at all, he leaned in and closed the space between them. Rapunzel gasped, her eyes widening in shock, but Jack didn't pull away. His hands cupped her face, and Rapunzel's eyes fluttered shut as she leaned into the kiss. Her hands ran through his hair, while Jack's traveled down to wrap around her waist. They became a mess of tangled limbs as they scooted to lay down on the center of the bed

At this moment the feeling of surprise at the fact that the other reciprocated the feeling was pushed aside, both now content to finally hold each other the way they had daydreamed of doing for so long.

Rapunzel knew that soon she'd be facing the man who had ruined her childhood, and Jack knew he'd finally meet the monster who took his sister. But that night, neither cared. As they lay on the bed, closer than they'd ever been before, all thoughts of the upcoming war were pushed away as a new and overwhelming feeling took over. A feeling that they both welcomed with open arms.

...

Elsa had been moved from her cell to a small seat next to Pitch's throne. She'd been decorated in a pretty black dress, black heels, and a nice black collar around her neck that was chained to the back of his throne. They sat on there whenever he wasn't busy planning new ways to ruin people. It always sickened her to hear him talk about all of his new ideas, and she hated how he always got a crazed look in his eyes.

There was no real reason for him to have her there, except for the fact that he knew it was torture for her to hear him talk about how he would slowly destroy her own sister's kingdom. So he kept her by his side, whether it be day or night, she was right there next to him, chained to either a wall or pillar like a dog. Though to be fair that's exactly how she felt.

So just like the many times before, she sat at his feet on the fancy marble floors, resisting the urge to push Pitch's hand away as it played with her hair. He taunted her, got into her head, showed her disturbing images with his nightmare sand, and called her rude names, but no matter what she never broke the perfect posture she was holding, not even to wipe away the tears that slid down her cheek.

I'll just leave this chapter here and show myself out. Until next time :)