As she sang, her hair indeed began to glow. While she was singing, Flynn began looking around.
"Eugene, over here. If we move these rocks here, we should be able to get out." Flynn gasped out as the air pocket was filled with water.
Flynn and Eugene began moving the rocks blocking their escape as quickly as they could. Soon, the hole was big enough that the water level began to go down in the tunnel. When the water level had receded enough to breathe a bit, the girls began moving the rocks as well.
"Ouch!" Flynn exclaimed.
"What? What happened? Are you ok?" Eugene asked.
"Yeah, just have a nasty cut on my hand. Let's keep going, we're almost out of here."
Flynn turned back to moving rocks, Eugene following. It wasn't long before they had managed to move enough of the rocks to get out of the tunnel they had been blocked in. Flynn, as usual, led the way out.
"Come on, we need to find a safe place to start a fire, we need to dry off and get some food. Let's split up. Eugene, you and Blondie head out to find some firewood. Princess, you and I will go find some food."
Splitting up, they each set out to complete their tasks. Soon they had gathered enough firewood for a small fire and Flynn had managed to catch a couple fish and small animals for dinner. Once the campfire was roaring and dinner had been eaten. Rapunzel decided it was time to tell the group the rest of her secret.
"Flynn, come over here. I need to show you all something. Hold out your hand." Rapunzel ordered. Once he had come close enough and sat near her, Rapunzel grabbed his injured hand and began wrapping her hair around it. "Guys, my hair doesn't just glow."
"Okay…Wait, what?" Flynn asked. "Why are you being so cryptic? And why are you wrapping your hair around my hand? Ow." Flynn winced as the hair was wrapped a bit too tightly.
"Sorry," Rapunzel said quietly. "Just don't freak out. Any of you."
Flynn stared at her with wide eyes. Eugene and Arabelle were silent as they too watched with wide eyes. Quietly, almost whispering, Rapunzel began to sing again.
"Flower, gleam and glow.
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse.
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt.
Change the Fates' design.
Save what has been lost.
Bring back what once was mine.
What once was mine."
As Rapunzel sang, her hair began to glow around Flynn's hand. When she had finished singing, the glow faded away. Rapunzel slowly unwrapped her hair from his hand, reminding them all not to freak out again, as Pascal sat on the riverbank nodding his head and watching to see their reactions. Once the hand was completely unwrapped, Rapunzel spoke.
"See? His hand is healed."
Flynn was noticeably freaked.
"Please don't freak out," Rapunzel repeated.
"What? I'm not freaking out. I'm just really interested in your hair and the magical qualities it possesses. How long has it been doing that exactly?" Flynn was rambling.
"Um. Forever, I guess." Rapunzel responded. "Mother said when I was a baby people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves." As she spoke, she moved her hair, revealing a short length of brown hair, usually hidden by the long blond strands. "But once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power. A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why Mother never let me... That's why I never left."
"You never left that tower." Eugene completed her statement, looking at Rapunzel questioningly. "And you're still gonna go back?" he asked.
"No!" Rapunzel snapped. "Yes." Rapunzel sighed and put her hands over her face "It's complicated."
Pascal rubbed against Rapunzel's ankle in an attempt to soothe her. After a few moments, Rapunzel sighed again and looked up.
"So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?" she asked him.
"Oh, ah. Yeah well. I will spare you the sob story details." Eugene looked at her sheepishly. "It's a little depressing actually."
Rapunzel scooted over to him, rested her chin on her hands and looked at him expectantly.
"Well, it all began with a story Flynn used to read to me when we were little. It was called The Tales of Flynnigan Rider. He was a swashbuckling rogue, the richest man alive."
"Not bad with the ladies, Not that he'd ever brag about it," Flynn jumped in laughing.
"Wait. Was he a thief too?" Rapunzel asked.
"Well, uh, no. He wasn't." Eugene answered. "He had enough money to do anything he wanted to do. Go anywhere he wanted to go."
"Where does the thievery come in then?" asked Rapunzel, looking confused.
"Well, for a kid with nothing, I, um, I don't know." Eugene muttered as if he hadn't heard the question and glanced at Flynn.
Flynn, feeling somewhat sorry for Eugene, took over telling the story again.
"It seemed like the better option. So, I became Flynn Rider and the Fitzherbert twins just kind of, I don't know, disappeared."
Rapunzel nodded. "I guess I understand now. Thanks for telling me."
"You can't tell anyone about this, Blondie. It would ruin my reputation." Flynn was quick to add.
"Oh, yeah and we wouldn't want that now, would we?" Rapunzel replied sarcastically.
"Of course not. A fake reputation is all a man has after all." Eugene added.
Rapunzel chuckled, looking at Eugene with a look of almost hero worship. Eugene glanced at her but quickly looked away, blushing, before standing up.
"Well, uh, well," Eugene stammered. "I - I should…"
"We should go get some more firewood, don't you think, Eugene?" Flynn asked. "And you, Princess, you should stay here."
"Wait, why do you keep calling her princess? She doesn't act like one." Rapunzel commented, looking at Flynn.
"That's because I am a princess, Rapunzel. My twin sister was kidnapped when I was a baby. I feel like I'm invisible most of the time. Everyone talks about the 'lost' princess, I feel like I'm the invisible princess." Arabelle replied, before Flynn could answer.
"Fine, you two should just stay and talk then," Flynn snapped. "Eugene and I will head out for firewood now. STAY PUT, Princess!" Giving her one last order, Flynn turned and left the clearing, Eugene following close behind.
"So, you really are a princess, Arabelle?" Rapunzel asked.
"Yeah, but I only use the title when out on an official outing or a big state dinner," replied Arabelle.
"So you really are just like normal people, huh?"
"Definitely. I prefer climbing trees to dressing up in a fancy gown."
"That makes sense, I guess. But isn't it fun to dress up too?"
"Well, maybe a little fun, but mostly boring. I get kind of tired of being virtually invisible at all those things. Maybe if I run into a guard now that my disguise is gone, I will finally get noticed." Arabelle glanced around. "I wonder what's taking them so long to find firewood. I think I should go look. You stay here by the fire. I will be back soon. They can't have gone far."
"Ok, be careful. You never know what or who is hiding out there in the dark."
Turning, Arabelle left the clearing, heading in the same direction the boys had gone a few minutes earlier.
"Well, I thought they would never leave," Mother Gothel announced as she strolled into the clearing.