Hiiiiiiiiiii. Omgosh even I am surprised that I was able to write another chapter so soon. But I just feel like I really want to write the upcoming chapters. It's freaking 5 AM here, I'll just leave it at that. I'm going to thank you so much for your follows and favorites and whatever you do to support this story because it all really warms my heart, and also thanks for being patient with me. Finals in January are going to kill me, soon.

Enjoy!

Rapunzel had a lot of time to think in the few hours they spent flying. She recalled what she saw in her memories, her memories of a past life in Corona. She had parents, and her parents thought she was dead. They thought her dead for who knows how many years. Rapunzel had lost track of the years she'd been trapped in the tower, but she knew for a fact that the king and the queen were still alive. There was no other reason why they would still be celebrating the lantern festival every year. They were alive, and they remembered her.

But Flynn... no, Eugene. He was something else. Rapunzel had no idea whether he'd be alive or not. From what she could recall, he was a thief. A pretty sloppy one at that, if her past self had managed to catch him red-handed and blackmail him. Life of a thief would be hard, and dangerous; judging by the men he introduced her to in her memories, he wasn't one to get along with nice company, it seemed (even though those thugs were actually nice on the inside). And who knows what he'd dedicated himself to after her death... He was more likely to be dead, she thought sadly. Either dead or far, far away from Corona. Something bugged her when she thought of him. She knew, for a fact, that she had been in love with him, or almost in love, a very long time ago. She didn't seem to experience those kinds of feelings for him anymore, but she knew it was because she had forgotten about him. And what bothered her was that she felt like she had betrayed him, by forgetting and falling in love with another. Yes, that was it. She felt like a traitor to Eugene.

If she had preserved her memories, would she still love him? Would she have gotten out of the tower and try to find him, disregarding the warning of the Sun? Or would she have stayed and gotten over him, with time? Or, moreover...

If she had remembered that she loved Eugene, would she still have fallen in love with Jack?

All of this ran through her mind while she was riding on Jack's back. Jack noticed her change of attitude, because she had been screaming with joy minutes ago, and was now silent. "Is everything okay, Punz?" he asked. Rapunzel snapped out of her thoughts when she heard his voice, and saw his blue eyes glancing back at her, a small smile playing on his lips. She remembered that he didn't know about Eugene.

And she also felt like a traitor to Jack because of it. She felt like she had lied to him, even though she had said nothing at all.

She had to tell him. He had to know. He had a right to know. With an effort, she smiled back at him and nodded. "Yeah!" then cleared her throat, and, hesitatingly, asked "Um... Jack, can we... can we perhaps... stop by Corona?"

He was surprised for a second, until he remembered that she was, in fact, the princess of the land, and her parents were still living there. Of course she would want to stop. He nodded and yelled at Hiccup across the air. Hiccup was surprised, too, and Jack was reminded that he and Merida didn't know anything about Rapunzel's (or his) memories yet. Everything had happened so fast they couldn't even find a moment to tell them about it. "We'll explain when we get there!" Jack said, simply. That would be better than yelling such a story while flying.

"Merida?" Hiccup glanced back at the redhead, who was still holding on to his waist. "Do you mind stopping by?"

Merida shook her head no. Looking at Rapunzel, she noticed that something was going on with her, and she probably had a reason to want to stop there other than remembering her beloved lantern festival. Besides, she had been away from home for so long, a couple more days wouldn't matter much. Or so she thought.

And so, they took a detour through Corona. Toothless and Jack were fast, and Corona wasn't all that far from Berk, either, so they were able to reach it in a couple of days of flight (resting overnight, of course). They landed in the same forest as they did last time, and Hiccup and Merida sat on the ground while Toothless went fishing at the shore of the lake. "So" Merida said, looking at Jack and Rapunzel alternately. "What's this about?"

Rapunzel looked at Jack, and he looked back at her. They could say so many things with a simple look, Merida thought while observing them. She envied their connection and she wished she could make hers with Hiccup be as natural as theirs was. But she had no idea how. Hiccup's thoughts at the moment were very similar, but he didn't think it through, because he was trying to assume that Merida would soon disappear from his life. She would become a princess, and he would go back to Berk to fulfill his duty as the chief's son, and their paths would never cross again, and he better get used to that idea, no matter how much his heart broke when thinking of it.

Jack was the first on telling them about the Guardians' visit and what he'd seen when he pressed his fingers to the little box containing his teeth. When he was finished, he looked at Rapunzel again, as if asking her whether he should tell her part of the story as well. Rapunzel gulped and, with a deep breath in, she began telling her part herself. Yet again, she didn't say anything about Eugene. She wanted Jack to be the first to know, and she wasn't even sure whether she wanted to share it with anyone else. Somehow, those feelings felt so private. Even more intimate than her own death.

Merida and Hiccup were very surprised, of course, to hear that she was no less than the deceased princess. Merida, however, noticed how uneasy Rapunzel felt with talking about it; she assumed it must be because of the death part, but something about her expression said there was something else. Even though she was intrigued, she didn't ask, and simply got up to wrap her friend in a hug. She didn't feel the need to comfort Jack, since he seemed fine. His memories did touch him just as deeply, but he had accepted them and grown past them. Rapunzel hadn't.

"Well, so now you know" Rapunzel sighed, running her fingers through a strand of her blond hair. "I asked for us to come because... because I want to see my parents."

"Do ye wannae retake yer position?" Merida asked, that idea having just occurred to her. "As a princess, Ah mean."

"Oh" the blonde hadn't considered it, because, well, because that wasn't even an option. She shook her head, her hair slightly flowing side to side along with it. "No. I can't."

"Why not?" Hiccup inquired. "I mean, you are the rightful princess after all. I'm sure your parents would be... well, they would be thrilled, and the people too, but they would gladly accept you."

"That's not the problem" Rapunzel sighed in frustration. "Don't you see? I can't do that, because I won't die. They'd have a princess, a queen that doesn't age or change the slightest bit with time" only then Merida and Hiccup realized what that would mean. "Everyone would grow suspicious, and no one would trust me. Eventually, I'd be accused of sorcery and thrown out of the kingdom, if not executed. Because I'm pretty sure that, even though I and Jack don't age, our bodies don't regenerate either, and we can get hurt and die just like everyone else" with surprise, she found her eyes had teared up while she was talking. It was so devastating, that her past life was right at the reach of her hand, yet she couldn't seize it. "I... I can't. I can't go back and lead a normal life, however normal a princess' life is, because I'm not normal anymore."

None of the others dared to touch her, to disturb her devastation. Merida and Hiccup couldn't wrap their minds about how painful it must be, to have a family, a kingdom, a life, and not being able to seize them or reach for them at all. Jack's head was overwhelmed with thoughts. He was thinking about his own family and how he'd been alive many years before Rapunzel had even been born; maybe it had been so easy for him to accept his memories partially because he was certain that his family wouldn't be alive after all this time. But if they were, wouldn't he want to go back to them? To his parents, to his sister, and live as much as a normal life as he could with them, until they left this world?

Yes, yes he would.

None of that had crossed his mind before that moment. He wanted to put his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders and comfort her, but she wasn't looking at any of them, and he didn't want to disturb her; he himself felt disturbed, because he couldn't understand the pain she was feeling, and there was very few things he couldn't understand when it came to her. Pascal was already in her left shoulder, snuggling against her neck in an attempt to give her comfort. He couldn't understand why she was sad, of course, but he sensed she was, and that was enough for him to try to make her feel better. As for Rapunzel herself, she didn't know what else to say. She felt the pain in her chest, but she didn't want to make herself a victim. She didn't want the others to pity her, she hated seeing pity in the eyes of others when looking at her. She wanted to overcome it by herself, with their support, but she didn't know if they'd understand. She hesitantly looked at her friends, who were all staring at her with conflicting expressions.

"Hey, Rapunzel" Hiccup was the first in talking, a bit hesitantly, but softly. "Um... it's fine. We understand. You don't have to talk to us about it anymore if you don't want to. You... you want us to go with you? To see your parents, I mean."

Rapunzel's heart melted, and the smile came to her lips naturally. Hiccup was such a sweet guy, and sometimes he knew what to say better than Jack did. He understood Rapunzel's feelings, not as deeply as Jack, but in a different way, and same happened the other way round. Their relationship was more of a tacit one, they understood each other without really having to talk about it.

"Thank you, Hic" she said warmly. "But no. I'd rather go alone."

"But when do you intend to go?" Jack asked. Rapunzel gave it a few seconds of thought.

"I think it's best to go at night" she finally said. "My parents will be alone in their room, and it's best to talk to them that way, without anyone else interfering" she swallowed, still unsure about what she was going to do. Was it really a good idea to tell her parents she was alive...? "I don't know how I will enter the castle, though."

"I could fly you to their balcony, if it helps" Jack suggested, in an attempt to be helpful. Rapunzel thanked him with a smile and accepted his offer, which relieved him. He'd noticed her acting differently since they arrived, and not a good kind of different. To put it simply, he was worried. Was there something she wasn't telling him?

Definitely, there was. But when Rapunzel accepted his offer to fly her over to the castle, she already had decided that it would be a good time to talk to him privately about Eugene and the whole deal that had been consuming her thoughts, apart from her parents, that is.

They spent the few hours left until night doing absolutely nothing of importance. What was there to do, anyway?

Hiccup managed to catch a few fish, with Toothless' help, for dinner, while Merida lit a campfire. When the fire was lit, he took out his notebook, which he'd fetched at home (yep, it was the same he bought at Corona. Surprising how durable notebooks are). He trusted he'd have time to draw some sketches, something he missed doing, and it looked like this was the perfect moment. He started drawing Toothless while the dragon ate his huge meal, but soon left the drawing halfway through and started another. He drew a quick sketch of the city of Corona as it appeared across the lake, adding a few details, but left it unfinished too. He wasn't even putting any thought into the drawings. He sighed. He was aware of what exactly he wanted to draw, and it was bothering him. With another sigh, he gave in and started sketching Merida's face.

As for Merida, she busied herself in doing her best to braid Rapunzel's hair. The blonde had asked her to, since she was going to go in the city and her hair would probably get in her way. Merida probably wasn't the adequate to do the job, though, because she never really took any care of her hair other than washing it whenever needed, and never paid attention to her mother's instructions about the matter. She knew how to braid, sure, but she was clumsy at it, and even more so with such a huge amount of hair. Rapunzel knew this was a bother to her friend, and so, she apologized.

"I'm sorry, Meri. I would do it myself, but my hair is so long I can't do it properly."

"Well, Ah cannae do it properly either" Merida huffed, but shrugged her shoulders. "But, if ye don't mind it lookin' a wee bit weird, Ah think Ah can manage."

"I don't mind" Rapunzel smiled, and sat on the ground after spreading out the whole length of her hair.

The red-headed princess' hands weren't skilled, but they slowly worked their way through the golden locks and managed to begin to gather them into a sloppy braid.

Jack had been sitting near the lake, mindlessly freezing the water and playing around with the ice, but soon got bored and came to watch Merida's work. He teased her about it, of course, but was dismissed with a scowl. Merida wasn't in the mood for arguing, and besides, this time, Jack was right. Her attempt at a braid was a downright mess. She groaned in frustration and Jack chuckled. "Hey" he said. "If you want, I can help."

Both girls looked at him in astonishment for the offer. He laughed at their faces. "Why is it so weird?" he began undoing Merida's sloppy attempt, and waited for her to begin again. "I don't know how much of a help I'll be, but I watched those little girls back when they braided it for the first time. So..."

The two princesses smiled in amusement, and the braiding began again. Rapunzel giggled whenever they let their confusion show through frustrated statements, and even though they were probably making another mess out of it, they had fun while teasing each other and "correcting" each other's supposed mistakes. Pascal looked amused too, but he rolled his big eyes when noticing how clumsy they actually were.

Hours passed this way. Hiccup had sketched Merida's face with tons of different expressions already. He would have to make sure Merida never opened that thing, he thought to himself, feeling his cheeks getting warm. As he closed the notebook and saved it in the inside pocket of his fur vest, he noticed how the others were finished with the braiding and went to have a look at the result. When he looked at their attempt of a braid, he snorted, immediately covering his mouth with his hand. He received sarcastic looks from both Jack and Merida, and he smiled apologetically, but the braid did look funny. Rapunzel got up and twirled a little to check it out.

"It doesn't look exactly like we wanted it to" Jack admitted, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. The blonde giggled and shook her head.

"It's fine! It's just what I wanted" she reassured them. The braid reached just at the height of her ankles, and that was all she really needed, for her hair not to drag around.

They sat around the bonfire for a while, while the night was setting in and Merida and Hiccup ate the fish the latter had caught. Rapunzel was starting to get nervous as the sky got darker and filled with stars. Finally, she decided it was time, and, leaving Pascal sleeping near the fire, she got up and looked at Jack, who understood and did the same. Merida and Hiccup looked at them with a trace of anxiety in their eyes. Rapunzel smiled nervously and told them not to worry before she and Jack walked off into the city.

"Do ye think Punzie will really be alrecht?" Merida fidgeted nervously. Hiccup stared at the flames, without really knowing how to respond.

"Should we fly all the way there, or...?" Jack asked while they walked through the bridge. Rapunzel's eyes were thoughtful, but her facial expression was filled with uneasiness. The boy contained a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He was starting to be seriously worried.

"Let's walk for a while, see if we can find a discreet place to fly over the castle" she finally answered. "We don't want anyone to notice us." Jack nodded to that, and both of them silently started walking through the city. The streets were darkened and almost empty, and the silence seemed to surround them, oppresively. Rapunzel swallowed, her heart pounding. She'd never been uncomfortable with a silence shared with Jack before. She knew it was time. She knew she had to tell him. So why wouldn't the words come out?

"Jack?" she said, feeling her throat dry. His blue eyes glanced at her in curiosity and concern.

"Yeah?"

"I..." Rapunzel swallowed again. She couldn't say why, but she was terrified. "I have to tell you something."

He didn't say anything, but he kept looking at her with inquiring eyes. "I hid it from you" she continued. "And I'm sorry. Oh, I'm so sorry" her voice was sad, and Jack was starting to get a bit scared. "But I couldn't bring myself to tell you."

"Well... what is it?"

Rapunzel paused for a second, and then, began talking. "In my memories, I saw a man. His name was Flynn... I mean, Eugene" first, she told him how he was a thief who'd broken into her castle and tried to steal her tiara, but she had caught him and blackmailed him into making a promise. "I would give my tiara to him if he took me around my kingdom. I wanted to see the land and the people, because I had never gotten out of the city before. And while we traveled together... it seems that I fell in love with him."

Jack felt his heart sink. So that was what had been bugging her so much. But were those memories getting in the way of what she felt for him? The thought scared him more. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, in a weak voice.

"I... I wanted to put my feelings in order" she held her hair away from her face with her hands uneasily. "Oh, I don't know, Jack" she buried her face into her hands, sighing deeply. "I wanted to tell you, I really did, but... his memory just felt so... intimate. It still does. And I'm so confused" Rapunzel looked into his eyes. Jack didn't know how to define her expression. It was a mixture of sadness, worry and anxiety. He was sure his own expression looked very much alike. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm down. It wasn't that big of a deal, he told himself. Rapunzel had led another life, just as he had. She simply happened to fall in love meanwhile. She'd forgotten about it, but now that she remembered...

"Punz" he said. He called her by that nickname. It just rolled out of his tongue. His eyes looked into hers, filled with a sort of darkness, of deep and pure sadness that Rapunzel didn't even know how to define. It physically hurt to see him like that. "You don't love me anymore?"

Her expression changed to a horrified one. "Jack!"

"Is that it?" he insisted. "Now that you remember him... have you stopped?"

"No, Jack" her voice was firm. "I haven't stopped. I don't think I ever will."

A wave of relief washed the darkness away from his blue eyes. "But I..." Rapunzel went on. "I don't know how to explain it. To put it simply, I feel like I'm betraying both of you."

"What?" he was baffled. "How so?"

"I feel like I betrayed Eugene, because I forgot him and everything we possibly had. And I feel like I betrayed you, because I didn't tell you about him. And now, I don't even know how to feel" she hugged herself with her arms, feeling almost desperate. "I don't know if he's alive, Jack, but... but what if he is? What will I do then?"

Jack didn't know what to tell her. He knew for a fact she still loved him, but he didn't know how she felt towards that Eugene. What if he was alive? That was a good question. If he was alive and Rapunzel wanted to talk to him... "I don't know, Punz" he said, sincerely. "I honestly don't know, and I'm sorry you have to go through this, and I'm sorry I can't help you."

She shook her head, indicating it didn't matter, but Jack went on talking. "Punz, I... listen, I was just surprised. I don't care if you used to love another" and he realized that he really didn't. It was her life, and whatever happened before he came into her life, he had no right to influence over it at all. His initial feelings were simply childish jealousy and fear. "You're confused. Eugene, your parents... I can't imagine what it's like. But I'm here for you and I want to support you through it. I wish you'd told me sooner."

Rapunzel sighed in relief. He finally understood. She was so happy he could finally see that accepting and growing past her past wasn't easy for her. "Thank you, Jack" she murmured, stepping forward to wrap him into a hug. "And I'm sorry. I love you" he hugged her back and nuzzled his face in the curve of her shoulder.

"I know. I'm sorry, too."

When they pulled back, they kept walking, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable or oppresive anymore. However, Rapunzel was still nervous. More like terrified. Even though she'd dealed with part of what troubled her, she still hadn't decided about the most troublesome part. They'd have to sneak into a castle. Even though no one could see Jack, she could be seen. And she wasn't even sure what she was going to do once they were inside. She didn't think it was a good idea to let her parents know she was alive. As much as it broke her heart, she thought they'd probably want her back to rule the kingdom and lead the life she'd left behind. She couldn't do that. But she still wanted so badly to cure their grief, to let them know the daughter they mourned was alive... She bit her lower lip, still indecisive.

Finally, they set foot near the walls that surrounded the castle grounds. Jack looked up to them and scratched the back of his head.

"What are we going to do once we get inside?"

"I don't know" Rapunzel responded. Honestly, she didn't know if she even wanted to get inside. Regardless, she was determined to give it a try.

"Guess we'll have to improvise, then" Jack's side smirk lifted her spirits. "I'm gonna go have a quick look around, okay? You stay here" the blonde nodded. She watched him fly off to find the easiest way to break into the castle and disappear from her sight.

She sighed, her head feeling like it was spinning. Was she doing the right thing? Well, surely breaking into a castle during the night wasn't right, but she was doing it for a good reason. At least, that's what she was hoping for. She was scared, really. The fight with Pitch hadn't made her fearless, even though the incarnation of fear was gone. She was afraid of meeting her parents, because she was sure she wouldn't know what to tell them. Breaking into their bedroom with a "Hi mom and dad! Surprise, I'm alive!" didn't sound like the best of plans.

She couldn't think of that anymore, because Jack came back at that moment. "Any luck?" she asked him, his smile making her hopeful.

"I think I found a way" his smile and voice were mischievous, as if all they were doing right then was playing a very huge prank. "On the highest floor, there's some huge balconies with big crystal doors that enter right into the bedrooms. So, it doesn't matter if the guards are watching over the corridors, because we can break in directly from there."

Rapunzel's heart beat very fast while Jack carried her up to the balconies. She could see the guards down there, in the castle doors, and there were probably many others inside. Jack made sure to avoid all windows that could betray them, and fortunately the guards at the front doors never looked up. They were flying past one of the balconies, and Rapunzel looked inside the bedroom through the transparent doors. She was surprised to see what looked like a child's bedroom. "Jack!" she urgently whispered. "Jack, stop! Let's go in there!"

He turned back and landed in the indicated balcony. Rapunzel tried to open the doors, but of course, they were locked from the inside. Jack cleared his throat and lightly pushed her aside. He positioned his face at the height of the door's lock and simply blew inside it. When he moved the handle down, the door opened with a slight crack. He motioned at it with a proud, cocky expression. Rapunzel opened her eyes wide in surprise, before understanding he'd frozen the lock. Of course. It was very easy to break a frozen lock. Rapunzel smiled at his full-of-himself expression and carefully stepped inside the bedroom, followed by Jack. The only light coming in was the moon through the windows.

The room was, definitely, a child's. A young one at that, judging by the amount of toys and stuffed animals. "Someone sure likes bears a lot" Jack whispered, noticing how the teddy bears highly outnumbered any other tipe of animal. Rapunzel shushed him while examining the drawings over a small sized table. They were the typical childish drawings, but they made her smile. She noticed a closet and a small boudoir with a pretty mirror on the other side of the room. The child was probably a girl, she decided. And her heart skipped a beat when she realized that it was possible that she was standing in her own bedroom.

When she turned to tell Jack about her thought, she noticed the bed. It was right beside the crystal doors, against the wall, and therefore in one of the darkest parts of the room. That was why they hadn't noticed it at first. Upon closer inspection, Rapunzel realized there was a bulge in the covers. Someone was sleeping in it. She held her breath.

"Jack" she called in the lowest whisper she could manage. The boy approached her in curiosity, and he took a sharp breath in when he noticed the bed. They both stood like that for a moment, staring at the bed, without realizing how creepy that actually was. A small top of a brown-haired head snuck out of the covers, resting on the pillow. Rapunzel finally gathered her courage and reached her hand for the covers. Jack was only able to watch without moving a single muscle how she, very carefully, retired the covers away from the child's face. A shred of moonlight shone over the sleeping child so they could see her face clearly.

There she was. Sleeping soundly, unaware of the shock she'd just caused, the little girl snuggled against the pillow. Rapunzel found herself frozen in place, again. That small child, that girl... she was so pretty, and yet, she...

"She looks like you" Jack muttered, staring at the child as well. The girl shared some of Rapunzel's features. Her same rounded cheeks, her same snub nose. Her mane of hair was spread through the bed, and even when it was brown, it was straight like Rapunzel's. She was different from her, but still so similar. Rapunzel couldn't help the tears that burned in the back of her eyes. "I have a sister" she could barely manage to say, in a low and broken voice. She covered her mouth with her hands. She was unbelievably happy, and at the same time, unbelievably sad. The little child was just what she needed to know. Swallowing, he turned her face and walked back outside, followed by the dazzled and worried Jack.

"Punz" he called once they were outside and locked back the door (the best they could with the broken lock), his hand lightly touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"No" she breathed in deeply. "But I'll be" she smiled, a strange smile between happiness and devastation. "I have to see my parents now."

Jack nodded. They'd have plenty of time to talk about it later, if Rapunzel wanted to. Instead of carrying her on her back, he picked her up in his arms and carried her that way to the balcony right next to the one they'd just been in. "This is it" Jack left her on the ground and opened the lock of the windows for her again. Before she went inside, he gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll be waiting for you here."

The girl smiled at him faintly and gave a small nod before stepping in the room. As expected, the king and queen were asleep as well. They slept in a huge canopy bed, parallel to the balcony doors. There wasn't much other furniture in the room. Rapunzel's feet were silent as she walked up to the side of the bed. She was holding her breath while she looked at her parents' sleeping faces. She couldn't believe she was finally seeing them. They still weren't what you'd call old. Maybe in their late forties or early fifties. And still, a few years before, they had another daughter. Rapunzel felt the tears inside her eyes again. She knew what she had to do, but she still was reluctant. Oh, how she would love to pretend that she could be with her parents and her new sister, and enjoy their love and care for the rest of her days. But that couldn't be, she shook her head to brush the thought away. That couldn't be, and she had to accept it. She would learn how to accept it.

She looked down at her parents with tender eyes. Her mother's face seemed tired, and somehow sad. Her father's looked weary, as if he was carrying a heavy weight in her back. They didn't sleep peacefully, like her sister did. Rapunzel took a deep breath.

"Mom. Dad" she spoke, in a soft voice. Her mother moved uneasily, furrowing her eyebrows. "Mom?" Rapunzel repeated, and this time, the woman opened her eyes.

"Rapunzel" was the first thing she said when she woke up and quickly sat on the bed. When she saw the girl standing by, she was dazzled at first, and then her eyes started filling with tears. "She recognized me" Rapunzel realized, and she felt a desperate need to cry with her, and to run to her arms and hug her. Instead, she took a step back. Her mother held her arms out to her, tears streaming down her face.

"No... don't go" she whimpered. "Even if this is a dream... please, don't go. My daughter... You look so different... my dear Rapunzel..."

When hearing her mother's voice, her father also woke up from his slumber. Upon seeing the standing blonde and recognizing her face, his eyes expressed all the emotions at once: confusion, happiness, fear and sadness. Rapunzel felt a huge knot in her throat. Her eyes burned with the desire to cry, to jump in the bed and enjoy the warm embrace of her parents, the parents that had mourned her for so long. But that couldn't be... That couldn't be.

"Mom. Dad" her voice broke a little, and she put her effort into estabilizing it, into talking as if she was perfectly fine. She smiled at them. It was a genuine smile. She was wonderfully happy to see them, even though she was also painfully sad. "Please don't get up. I... This is a dream. I've come to see you in your dreams" she improvised, using her mother's previous words. It was painful to have to lie to them, but she had no other option. She saw the desolation in their eyes. "I'm so sorry" she began, and she couldn't control the tears that traveled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for escaping. I'm sorry for having worried you. I'm sorry for being so reckless. I'm so sorry for making you suffer so much" she started sobbing, but she smiled at them through the tears. "I... I saw the lantern festival. It was beautiful" her mother started crying, and her father put an arm around his shoulders, close to doing the same. "Really. I loved it so much, you can't even imagine" she continued, feeling her heart pounding in her ears as it broke. "I saw my sister, too. She's so pretty. She looks so wonderful... I'm sure she'll be a great queen."

"Rapunzel" her mother cried. Rapunzel's smile almost broke down, but she forced herself to keep it. She had to show them she was happy. She couldn't have them suffering for her any longer.

"P-please don't cry" she wiped off her tears with her hands and kept smiling at them, gathering all the warmth and the love of her heart. "Don't cry for me anymore. I'm happy. I'm truly happy, mom and dad."

"My dear daughter" her father's voice broke into a slight sob.

"Please... please don't suffer because of me" she begged, entwining her hands together. She felt more tears rush down her face, but she struggled to keep smiling. "I don't want you to suffer. I want you to be happy, and live happily, and to love my sister and make her into the great queen she's going to be. Please, mom. Please, dad" she looked at each of them alternatively. "Please... be happy for me."

Her father wiped her mother's tears away as she slowly stopped crying. "Oh, Rapunzel..." her mother mumbled, unable to avert her eyes from her daughter. She saw her so often in her dreams... yet, she'd never seen her like this, with this long braid of blond hair, and she never talked to her in her dreams, either. This one must be different, then. But her tears felt so real... Something very similar happened to her father. He'd tortured himself thinking that, if he'd paid better attention to Rapunzel, he could have avoided her escaping. He could have done so much more for her... But there she was, telling them to move on and live happily. "Rapunzel..." the man said, breathing in deeply. He shed a single tear, but he smiled. "Thank you, my sweet, sweet daughter. Thank you... for bringing us peace."

"We love you, Rapunzel" her mother assured her. "We always have. And we always will..."

"I love you too" Rapunzel whimpered, but her smile still remained on her face, and it still was as genuine as it could be. "I love you too... Don't worry about me. I'm happy, I promise. But you have to promise me to be happy as well" she felt satisfied when she saw them nod in agreement. "I love you, mom and dad. Be happy with my sister. I wish you all the best."

And, with that, she started singing her healing song.

Her parents didn't understand, but her hair was glowing, and beautiful strands of golden sand started flowing from its light. She sang slowly and sweetly, as if it was a lullaby. When the sand touched the king and the queen, their eyes closed and they fell back into a deep sleep. Rapunzel made sure to sing the best she could, disregarding her throat, sore from crying, because she wanted to give her parents the nicest dreams. When the song was finished, the golden sand slowly vanished after taking a few shapes, the shapes of what her parents were dreaming, and the light of her hair disappeared.

Rapunzel got out of the room, closing the door behind her, as if she was in a dream. She was still smiling when Jack turned to see her. But he could see way past her face.

He rushed to wrap her in his arms, and Rapunzel buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm fine, Jack" she assured, and she cried her eyes out.

P.S: I know, I'm giving a lot of attention to Jackunzel. Mericcup's moment simply hasn't come just yet. But I promise you guys a ton of upcoming Mericcup, as much as I can manage! The upcoming chapters are gonna be for them, after all. That's all I'm saying!