A/N: A short one for y'all today! Just a warning: the content is quite dark in this chapter.


Chapter 10


Dark clouds roll into the gray sky, rumbling with thunder. The sun hasn't yet gone down. The light is merely blocked out by the clouds, casting shadows over the trees of the forest and appearing as if it might rain any minute.

Rapunzel rides through the woods as fast as her horse can run.

Its hooves trot loudly against the dirt of the forest floor, and Rapunzel feels the cool wind blowing against her skin and her hair from the speed they are racing at.

Suddenly, she feels her horse jerk beneath her, the animal letting out a startling screech. Next thing she knows, Rapunzel is soaring off the saddle as the horse collapses beneath her.

Rapunzel grunts as she tumbles to the ground roughly, the dirt and the grass scraping painfully against her skin when she slows to a stop.

Rapunzel coughs, catching her breath as she lays there for a confused moment.

With no idea of what just happened, she lifts her head to peer behind her. Her horse is now lying on its side, squealing and panting for breath, making noises that Rapunzel has never heard from any animal and wishes she could never hear again.

"No!" Rapunzel bolts to her feet, despite the pain, stumbling towards the horse in a panic.

She falls to her knees in front of it, her eyes already welling up at the sight of the injured animal.

She notices the arrow immediately – protruding out of its heaving chest, impaling its heart. Blood drips out of the wound, painting its skin.

Rapunzel frantically whips her head around, searching for whoever or whatever had caused this. She doesn't see anyone, only trees in the endless forest. Who would do this? What is happening?

Rapunzel's hands cover her mouth, then hover over the horse's body, wanting to comfort it but afraid to hurt it any more.

The sudden fear that someone is watching her makes her panic, but all she can do is stare helpless at the sight before her, at a complete loss of what to do.

Its body is twitching, legs running as it lies on its side as if it's trying to stand but can't. The horse huffs, desperate for air, whinnying and crying out in pain.

Rapunzel gently rests her hand on its neck as its black, innocent eyes stare up at her, glistening.

Suddenly, everything goes quiet, and the animal becomes frozen. It stops struggling. The yelping and the panting comes to an abrupt halt. But its eyes are still staring up at her, lifeless now.

"No, no, no, no…" Rapunzel begins to sob, her heart breaking for the poor thing.

"Rapunzel!"

She is so lost in her own emotions that the faded voice behind her doesn't feel real.

Through the haze, she hears footsteps running toward her, but she's still staring at the horse and crying so hard that she can barely see through the tears.

A figure crouches down next to her in her peripheral vision, hands touching her gently as he says, "Rapunzel, hey… it's me."

Finally, she lifts her head, sniffling. She doesn't recognize the man now kneeling on the ground next to her, and it only makes her want to cry more. It takes her a few blank moments to realize that he is actually there next to her, talking to her, and not just a figment of her imagination. Somehow, none of it seems real.

"I don't know who you are," she says brokenly, never feeling so sad yet frustrated at the same time.

"I know, I know, I know. You don't remember me, but you will," he tells her, his hands holding her shoulders. "I'm going to help you. Trust me."

Rapunzel only stares at him, and for a moment, she believes him.

After days of wandering the woods alone – so lost and confused, all she'd wanted to hear is that everything is going to be okay. She wants to recognize this man. She wants to believe what he's telling her, but something about all of this is just leading her not to trust him.

Too many people have tried to get her to come with them, for whatever reason. First it was the thief, then the girl in the woods. Now this. All Rapunzel knows is that someone is after her, and she needs to get away.

She doesn't trust anybody.

Rapunzel shrugs his hands off her, looking around herself as if she is expecting to find someone else here, "No… no, I remember. I was looking for someone. He… he was supposed to find me." She struggles to decipher what her mind is telling her.

His name and his face is like a blurred shadow in her mind, faded and lost from view. But he'd been looking for her too - Rapunzel knows it, somehow.

All of this is like a nightmare – an endless dream where she is wandering around aimlessly, searching for something. But she has no idea what.

But this man here can't be the one she is looking for. This is different. This doesn't feel right at all.

A visible panic appears in his eyes at the realization that she is beginning to remember.

Rapunzel aims to stand up. She starts to push herself off the ground, before he grabs her hands again, pulling her back down.

"Rapunzel, you're not feeling well," he tells her, fighting to remain calm. "I think you hit your head. Come with me… I can help you."

Thunder rumbles from above, a flash of lightning flickering from within the gray clouds. Small raindrops are beginning to drip from the sky.

It isn't until now that Rapunzel notices the wooden bow strapped to his back, and the quiver of arrows protruding from behind his shoulder. The same arrow that had pierced her horse.

Her heart stops in her chest as realization hits her. No. He's lying to her. This isn't the man she is looking for.

"No," Rapunzel insists, raising her voice. She tries to push him away from her again, but her body feels weak. He isn't letting go of her. "Stop! Leave me alone!" She screams as loud as she can, the sound emitting from deep within her lungs.

He clamps a hand over her mouth, silencing her.

The next thing she knows, he has pushed her down in the dirt and she is laying on her back with him on top of her.

Rapunzel screams even louder, the bloodcurdling sound muffled against his palm.

She struggles against his hold, wanting nothing more than to get away but entirely aware that his strength is no match for hers. She begins to sob again when she realizes it, her screams turning into whimpers as her tears pour into his hand.

She tries to kick him, to punch him, to bite his hand, but nothing helps.

He pins down one of her arms beneath his knee. Rapunzel tries to move her arm, but the pressure and the weight of his body hurts too much. His hand remains pressed over her mouth as the other scrambles to pull out a syringe from his pocket.

It's filled with a bright, golden liquid that Rapunzel doesn't recognize, terrifying her.

Her tear-filled eyes widen as he says, "I didn't wanna have to do this, princess," before plunging the syringe into her arm.