Chapter 29

Rapunzel's hands were sweating as she stood in front of the large crowd of people. She was still dressed in her armor, having been too busy helping the wounded soldiers to bother changing out of it.

When the evacuated people were returned to the town, the ones who could help began to assist Rapunzel and the medics with the hurt soldiers, meanwhile others helped clean up the battlefield, and some mingled around, fetching anything that Rapunzel , and the people helping her, needed.

A woman not too much older than her was the first to stop and stare at her healing the wounded with her hair. Then a few others stopped, until finally a huge crowd stood in front of her, too big for her to ignore. She could see them all their confused faces slowly turning into ones of recognition.

"Is it really you, your Highness?" an older woman asked, stepping forwards.

Rapunzel didn't know if she could actually say the words out loud to them. She looked at all of the hopeful and familiar faces in front of her, all of them hoping that some part of what Corona used to be had survived in her, after years of what seemed like hell.

The old woman reached for her, and Rapunzel grabbed her hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, she smiled and nodded. The women's face brightened, and she kneeled in front of Rapunzel. The rest of the crowd followed her actions, and Rapunzel was left speechless at the sight of it.

"Welcome home, Princess."

...

Rapunzel was sitting in front of the window, staring out at the countless of houses and people she could see from her room, and just beyond that, the sea. It glittered under the rising sun, and Rapunzel longed to stand in front of it, to feel the ocean breeze and hear the sound of waves crashing.

But when she looked down at her people, and how they all seemed to be coming back to life now that Pitch was gone, she couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility and protectiveness over them. Pitch had turned their lives upside down, and turned their once happy kingdom into hell. She couldn't bear the thought of letting them go through that again, or of leaving home.

A knock on her door made her jump, and she turned to see North standing in the doorway. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it. He came and sat in front of her, with a look on his face that said he was waiting for her to say what she was thinking.

Rapunzel sighed, "What do I do?" she asked.

"About what?"

Rapunzel waved her arms around the room, "This!" she pointed towards the people who were wandering the streets, "Them."

She looked at him with desperate eyes, and he smiled kindly. "You do what you think is best. For them, for your kingdom, and for you."

Tears began to well up in her eyes. "But...what if I don't know what is best? What if I make things worse?"

North shook his head, "You had the courage to come back and fight for the place that was once your home. You fought for your people, for your family, friends, and for yourself. You did what no one else did. If there is anything I am completely certain of, it is that you can do this."

A tear slipped down her cheek, but Rapunzel didn't bother to wipe it away. "I just...I've been gone for so long, I don't know if I can return to being a princess again after years of being a runaway and a pirate."

North chuckled, "Rapunzel, no one is asking you to."

Rapunzel, who had been looking out the window, turned back to North, a question in her eyes.

"Whether you stay, or you go, is your choice. Don't let someone else try to make it for you."

Rapunzel nodded, and North stood up. "I better go and check on the preparations for our departure tomorrow," North said as he made his way to the door.

"Oh, and by the way, Jack's sister is awake now, she's been asking for you," and with that North disappeared down the hall.

Rapunzel got up, brushing off any dust from the simple purple dress she was wearing. She made her way over to the infirmary, pondering over North's words the entire way there.

...

Rapunzel was dressed in a pair of pants, boots, and simple white shirt again. Her hair was in a braid, and her sword was in it's sheath next to her hip. Usually, seeing her ship would make her smile, but not this time. Once the Golden Dagger docked on the port, Merida and Hiccup ran forward to greet their friends. Rapunzel stood back, watching the scene unfold before her. She was thrilled to see her friends again, but...the feeling that she was making a mistake by leaving wouldn't go away. It had been there ever since she'd decided to go.

"Punz!" Jim shouted, and the crew all ran to her, forming one big group hug.

They all talked about they'd missed each other, and began walking back towards the ship. Jim had made sure he'd brought extra supplies so they wouldn't have to restock. Rapunzel discreetly hung back, her steps becoming smaller and smaller, until she stopped walking all together. Merida, noticing the look on her friend's face, stopped and walked back to her.

"Ye aren't coming," she stated after some long seconds of silence. Rapunzel shook her head.

"I already left them once, I can't do it again," Rapunzel said, motioning to the people who were watching from the streets and windows. Merida wanted to argue, but knew that there was really no chance of changing Rapunzel's mind.

"What about the Dagger?" she asked.

Rapunzel smiled at her, "It's yours now, Mer."

Merida smiled back, tears forming in her eyes. "Ye're gonna be a great queen, just like you were a great captain."

Tears fell down Rapunzel's face, and she pulled Merida into a hug. "And you are going to be a great captain," she whispered, closing her eyes and holding her friend tightly as the tears kept falling. Merida hugged her back, burying her face into Rapunzel's shoulder. They'd been together for ten years, always looking out for each other. To say they were friends would've been an understatement, since by now they both knew they were sisters at heart.

After the hug ended Merida wiped away the tears she'd secretly shed. Rapunzel did the same, and then took off the sheath that contained her sword. "Here, take it."

Merida grabbed the sword and smiled. "I'll come visit, I promise."

"Oh, you'd better," Rapunzel warned jokingly.

Merida turned and walked back to the ship. Everyone was on board now, watching them. The crew all got sad faces once they saw Rapunzel stay on the dock, and they waved sadly. Hiccup stood by the railing along with Merida while the rest of the crew went back to their positions. He gave Rapunzel a smile and waved. Rapunzel did the same, standing at the edge of the dock, watching the Dagger sail away until it disappeared into the horizon.

...

Jack was sitting by Amelia's bed in the infirmary, spreading frost patterns on his clothes while she slept. He hadn't talked to Rapunzel since the day before yesterday, when she'd told him she was going to leave. Jack had wanted to go with her, but he wasn't going to leave Mia, and he wasn't going to bring her along with him to raise her in a life of piracy.

Amelia stirred and then opened her eyes. Jack gently helped her up, giving her a glass of water. When she'd been under the captivity of Pitch she'd been starved and constantly traumatized with horrible dreams. When they had finally found her ten days ago, Jack almost lost it when he saw how frail she looked, she almost looked as bad as Elsa.

"Hey, how do you feel?"

Mia gave him a weak smile, "Much better."

Jack smiled, and then saw Mia look past him at something. Jack turned and was surprised to see Rapunzel standing by the door.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I came to see you," Rapunzel said in a small voice.

"Why? You guys should've left like an hour ago."

Rapunzel walked a few steps forwards. "They did, I just didn't go with them."

Jack stood up, quiet as he processed her words. "Wait, so you're...?"

"I'm staying, Jack."

A smile slowly broke out on Jack's face and he rushed at her, taking her in his arms and spinning her around while Rapunzel laughed. He set her down and wasted no time in kissing her, hard. It lasted long enough to have both of them panting once he pulled away.

"I thought you would leave and I wouldn't ever see you," he breathed.

"I'm here," she said in a low voice so only he could hear, her green eyes looking up into his now fully blue ones, "and I'm not leaving."

...

-8 years later-

Rapunzel stood on the docks alone, her personal guards a few feet behind her. She waved excitedly at the row boat that was coming closer and closer. A very familiar head of read hair waved back, and Rapunzel couldn't stop smiling. She looked past the boat at the anchored ship behind it. The Golden Dagger was still as magnificent as the day she'd left it. She could see the crew also waving, and she smiled and gave them a small wave.

Once the rowboat reached the dock, Rapunzel's guards helped Merida and Hiccup out of it. The three friends then proceeded to form a group hug, all of them saying how much they'd missed each other. Rapunzel noticed the matching gold band both Hiccup and Merida were sporting, and she smiled but said nothing.

Merida was the first to notice Rapunzel's stomach. "Punz, ye've gotten fatter," she joked.

"Yeah, I did, but...not for the reasons you might think," Rapunzel said, placing a hand on her stomach. A puzzled look crossed over Merida's face before it dawned on her.

"You're pregnant!" Hiccup blurted out, and Rapunzel nodded.

More hugs happened, and then the three friends began making their way to the castle, where Jack was busy helping get the room they'd be staying in get ready.

"So what's it like being queen?" Hiccup asked.

"It's...interesting. What's it like being upgraded to quartermaster?"

Hiccup smiled, "It's...interesting, especially with the kind of captain we've got."

"Hey! Ah'm a great captain," Merida said, swatting at Hiccup's shoulder.

Rapunzel and her friends continued on their way. They talked and talked, catching up on what had happened in the last eight years until they reached the castle and met up with Jack, who was also excited to see them.

Whether they knew it or not, they'd come far on their journey. All of them started out as runaways. Rapunzel had run away from a ruined kingdom, Merida had run away from an arranged marriage, and Hiccup had run away from the responsibility of becoming chief.

They still had a lot of things to solve, and Merida and Hiccup both had demons that they'd confront in the near future, but for that moment no one was worried. They were happy, life was simple, and all that mattered was that they were together.


...That's it. It's done...oh my god. Someone asked about Hiccup and Merida's backstory, and while I didn't give a complete answer, I hope that passage about the runaways was a good hint as to what happened. Also if any of you are wondering what happened to Elsa, she was taken back to Arendelle where she was given the proper care she needed for what she went through. Also I know I didn't write the characters 100% like they were in their movies, but that's because with the things each one went through, it changed them in different ways and I chose have them be more complex than what they'd been written like in their movies.

Okay, so no I want to thank my good friend Wolfgirl619, she was a big help when it came to planning this story and was always there when I needed help. To those of you who chose to follow/favorite and review this story, thank you so much, it really meant a lot.

And well...that's it. Thanks for sticking with me through this journey, and I'll see you guys next time for my next story :)