Summary: Rapunzel only sleepwalks in her nightmares.


until the night is over


The memory of Gothel keeps Rapunzel awake at night.

The woman who raised her, the only person she ever knew, the one who loved her, and who Rapunzel loved back with all her heart. That woman is nothing but a recollection now, one of the many fragments of her past that Rapunzel has since buried away.

Rapunzel can't explain what she feels for Gothel. She hates what she did to her, but to say that she hates the woman entirely, that is something Rapunzel is not sure she'll ever be able to comprehend.

Yet still, the young girl finds herself dwelling on what once was. Somehow, she feels a sense of deep remorse – whether it is remorse for herself or Gothel, she isn't sure. Perhaps a bit of both. Despite it all, she wonders whether her old mother ever truly loved her.

When Rapunzel sleeps, she hears Gothel's screams – wailing desperately as her frail and cursed body falls to her demise.

She hears her saying that people are cruel, and she will do anything to protect her and that she loves her daughter more than anything in the entire world. The words haunt Rapunzel's mind as if Gothel were still telling them – as if she were still alive.

The woman's face looks different to her now. Something that was once so comforting is suddenly so empty, and devoid of whatever love it had once held. Rapunzel wonders if her eyes had always looked so cold.

Rapunzel finds herself in the tower again. The very same place she had spent countless nights inside, feeling trapped and crying herself to sleep. Despite it all, at one point in her life, it had been called home.

Rapunzel's muscles ache as she struggles against the same person she had once called her mother. The sound of chains rattling deafens her ears as her hands are forced behind her back and she can no longer steady herself on her feet.

Her head is heavy and her eyes sting from crying, but she pulls and pushes and crawls with every bit of strength she has left as a force attempts to drag her into the darkness. She can't see what is behind her, but Rapunzel knows who is there.

With the shackles, the creaking hinges of an old hatch opening, and Eugene's voice calling out to her from somewhere far away, there are so many sounds that Rapunzel can't seem to block from her clouded mind that only seem to get louder by the second.

Everything is a haze and the world around her is dark and spinning. Suddenly, Eugene is there too, and Rapunzel wants nothing more than to run to him. When she calls out his name, he can't hear her. He can't see her. He doesn't know she is there.

When she looks closer, all she sees is blood. It soaks his shirt, his hands – it trails along the floor in streaks that crawl like spiders. It curves and seeps into the outline of her dead brown hair that had fallen pathetically to the ground.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel calls out his name, over and over.

In a flash, he is gone.

All that's left in front of her now is the open window of her tower. The sight of it is too familiar, and it leaves an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach, for she has spent countless days stuck on the wrong side of it.

Suddenly, Rapunzel isn't being pulled back anymore. She is free, and she is alone.

She walks toward the window like a beacon drawing her closer. When she peers outside, everything is dark. She stares helplessly into the void until a faint yellow light appears, small and faded. There are dozens more in the distance, rising slowly into the black sky.

Rapunzel leans over the windowsill and reaches out with her hand, further and further until she is standing on the tips of her toes.

The lights seem to be calling out her name in distorted whispers. But she can't reach it. They are so close to her now.

She doesn't fear falling. All she would have to do is jump.

She stretches her fingertips as far as possible, reaching desperately. Then the voices mold into one that is all too familiar to her – one she sometimes wishes she had never heard.

"We are going where no one will ever find you again."

Suddenly, Rapunzel screams as she is pulled away from the window and back into the tower. "No, no, no, let me go!" she whimpers, pleading.

"Rapunzel."

She feels someone in front of her now, gripping her by the arms. Rapunzel grunts as she struggles against their hold, fighting to get away. "No… no!" she cries, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her head away.

"Hey, it's me," Eugene's calming voice fades into the noise.

But she doesn't stop. She pounds her fist against his chest again and again. Her strength does little against his own, which only makes her more frustrated.

He shakes her by the shoulders again. "Rapunzel!"

Finally, Rapunzel opens her eyes, gasping. She stops struggling, and the entire world around her seems to freeze.

The first thing she sees is Eugene. He is standing directly in front of her and staring into her hazy eyes with a concerned expression. His hair is wet to his face as scattered rain pelts onto them from above. It takes her a moment to realize that he is there in front of her, and not a figment of her imagination.

Suddenly, her voice is caught in her throat. Rapunzel peers around them in confusion, Eugene's hands still holding her arms intensely.

They are outside, standing on the balcony of Rapunzel's bedroom. It's the middle of the night, and she can hardly see a thing through the darkness and the pouring rain. Thunder rumbles from above, sending a chill down her spine. Suddenly she is freezing.

Rapunzel's eyes widen as realization hits her. She peers over her shoulder at the edge of the balcony behind her. Below it is nothing but darkness. Had she been standing there just now?

Eugene squints through the heavy storm as he waits for her to say something. Finding her leaning over the edge like that has left his body feeling rigid and his heart pounding. She would have fallen over the railing if he'd come a second later.

Rapunzel's breath quickens in a panic. She attempts to swallow it down, but her voice hitches as she speaks, "You… you were dead."

"Hey…" He pulls her into his arms before she can begin to sob. She has never looked so terrified. "I'm right here," he tells her.

Rapunzel presses her cheek against his chest. She shuts her eyes as she cries softly into his already soaked shirt.

Eugene rests his head atop hers, releasing a breath. He gently strokes her hair as lightning flashes around them. "It was only a dream."