A/N: If you have any qualms about reading anything horror but still want to read this, please just shoot me a message either here or on tumblr at Miranova23 at tumblr dot com. If you don't have a tumblr, either an anonymous ask there should work, or heck even try twitter at Miranova23! I'd rather do that than give everything away right up front with too many tags, unless someone asks.
I'm a chickenshit myself, so I understand being curious but worried you'll never sleep again. Even if you want just the whole synopsis in a few sentences I wouldn't mind giving that out instead, either.
I got this idea back over the summer, and since I never have anything remotely Fall-related for all the prompt things going on this time of year, I wrote up what I had at the time and stashed it away.
In a lot of ways, this is a departure from anything I usually write. If you're familiar with my style of writing, you'll probably get the most out of this. If not, well then I still trust you!
Torn
Rapunzel caught Eugene's wrist.
He dropped the glass. It shattered.
"Euge- wha?!" she gasped, horrified at what he almost did.
"No-" he whined, tears finally spilling over. His blurry vision tried to continue begging her eyes. His arm hanging in her grasp was too weak to fight her; the other chained and covered in his own blood. "Don't do this, please…!"
"Eugene, I have to," she cried back. "I promised."
"I... never agreed to this," he choked out, determined to argue to the death.
"It's okay, you don't have to-"
"No, I-"
"Eugene, just let me-"
"I can't let you!" He pitifully tried to shove her away again, but he was losing strength by the second.
"Come on now, you don't want to die here-"
"No, I don't care-"
Off to the side, Gothel groaned. "Either get on with it, or let the fool die as he so wishes."
"Rapunzel," he managed to direct her face with the hand still gripping her hair, desperate to make her understand. "YOU were my New Dream."
Startled, she froze, staring at him, her heart simultaneously swelling and breaking. 'You get to go find a new dream.' A NEW dream? But-! She cried back, "And you were mine."
He smiled so sadly. "So I can't let you die." He was beginning to get so cold, the pain was subsiding in favor of spreading numbness and simply feeling sleepy, though he knew it was more than that. But as long as she could be free, he would have succeeded. All he feared now was slipping away before he knew she was safe. "You have to… to…" Get away from her- please! Fight!
She could not even smile for him any longer. Holding both his wrists now, she lunged forward to kiss him, pinning his head back against the banister. I'm so sorry, Eugene...
He could not help the moan she pulled from him with that, though he winced, thinking he knew what she was doing. Still, desperate for her, her love, and whether he did die or she forced him to stay alive, he needed to savor these blissful few seconds of feeling her lips on his for the first time ever. Her first kiss. He needed it, more than the blood he was losing. Needed to feel wanted, by at least this one person, for at least this single moment, especially if it was his last on this Earth. And as he was losing feeling in his body, that was all becoming harder to concentrate on. Yet, ever her dutiful guide, he tilted his head to better interlock their lips, and his tongue barged in to get even a tiny taste of her, hoping the memory would follow him into eternity. When she pulled away, he tried to follow her, but-
He could not move his arms. This was not the numbness. As he hung there, gasping harder for air than ever before, he realized she had distracted him to tie his hands back, behind his head, around the bannister, with her hair. "Rapunzel!" he strained. You-! You tricked me!
She brushed his hair back again, cupping his cheek. "Everything's gonna be okay."
"Nooo…!" he whined more, helpless.
With one more apologetic look, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Flower, gleam and glow…"
Her hair began to light up. Eugene bit his lips, his pounding but light head attempting to run more scenarios and possibilities. His legs shifted uneasily, bracing instead now for the pain of the guilt about to hit him.
"Let your power shine…"
He lifted his head up but could never take his eyes off her. He was simply too impressed with and absolutely enthralled by the delicate air she sang with. Her voice was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, only now he wished she would just shut up.
"Make the clock reverse…"
Oh, how I wish we could…
"Bring back what once was mine…"
SHE was supposed to be mine! I wanted to be HERS! In that rowboat, they had been, for a moment, just that once at least…
"Heal what has been hurt…"
He doubted this magic would cure the heartache to follow for the rest of his life, which increasingly looked like it might indeed be decades rather than minutes.
"Change the Fates' design…"
At last the light reached his hands, and he sucked in a sudden deep breath as he felt the warmth spread from his wrists down his arms to his torso. The bright glow surrounded him, and he swore he had never felt love so real. But that was that. Rapunzel would never break her promise now.
As strength returned to his arms, he fought against the silken bonds, to no avail, as she even tightened her grip. He managed a deep, refreshing breath that did not hurt for once, but he grit his teeth with renewed rage. "Rapunzel," he whimpered, "Blondie, please…"
"Save what has been lost…"
What about our lost chances? Our lost future? Our lost love? What about your lost freedom?!
"Bring back what once was mine…"
He stared at her closed eyes, silently vowing to bring her back, from wherever that witch was about to take her. Even if it is the last thing I do, I will save you. For real.
"What once was mine." She opened her eyes.
"This is one promise I hope you won't keep," he whispered to her.
She pressed her lips together hard as she frowned. "I'm sorry," she sobbed back. "But thank you, for everything-" She yiped.
Gothel grabbed her arm and ripped her away. "Time to go, Flower."
"Her name is Rapunzel," Eugene seethed.
"Pteh," Gothel scoffed. "Goodbye, Mr. Rider."
Rapunzel and Eugene locked eyes for one more brief moment.
I love you… he silently mouthed to her, as he felt that purpose eclipse any other concern for his own life.
Pascal crawled to hide beside his leg, watching her as well.
She kept her eyes on them for as long as she could, til she was shoved down through the trap door.
Gothel loosed Rapunzel's hair from around his wrists, and whipped it away right through his fingers.
He scrambled to his feet, but still chained to the bannister with one shackle, he could not reach far enough. The chain pulled taut.
Gothel smirked at him.
He grimaced back, his voice full of venom. "I swear, wherever you take her, I will find you, and heaven help you when I do, you witch!"
Gothel had already nonchalantly disappeared down the trap door by the time he finished.
"YOU HEAR ME?!" I will find you, Blondie. I'm gonna find you, and I'm gonna save you…
...
...
.
.
...
...
A chill ran through Rapunzel, waking her with a violent start.
She lay curled up on her side, wrapped in her hair, but her clothes were gone. She could feel the ground was stone, but covered in dirt. She tried to open her eyes, but saw nothing. Wherever she was, it was pitch black. Her wrist felt bruised under the single shackle on it, but she did not know how long it had been there.
She was only aware of being too terrified and completely resigned to her next fate, whatever it was. She did not remember how she got here, and could hardly tell where 'here' was.
She tried hard to think, and reasoned that this was another place Gothel had found to stash her. As useless as it seemed, she tried to look around, tried to remember anything. All she could think of though, was how lightheaded and hungry she was. All she remembered was Gothel, tearing her away from Eugene.
She remembered he had been the only thing she could think of, for however long it had been.
She could sing to light her hair up, but singing or inadvertently healing Gothel yet again were the last things she wanted to do. She could not tell where her hair ended at the moment.
Suddenly, the horridly nightmarish but subtle sound, that replayed in her mind every so often, over and over, the sound of someone being stabbed - she thought she heard it for real this time.
She sat up and desperately looked around, pupils open as wide as could be to catch the slightest trace of anything.
Also on high alert, her ears pricked, this time definitely catching a thud, and boots... a tearing sound? and- Well, she told herself, I probably am just fooling myself, thinking anyone sounds like Eugene…
Those boots took a few more steps, then stopped.
With a heavy shove, there appeared the rectangular outline of the dimmest light in the darkness; a door. It began to open, but shot pain through her eyes, and so she still turned her face away. She struggled to push herself up off the floor, only barely covering her top half between her other arm and her hair, and even then, only for a trace of warmth and not because modesty occurred much to her anymore.
"Blondie?"
Had I nearly forgotten the sound of his voice?! A jolt shot through her, of impossible joy, relief, happiness, and pure love, all at the same time. With her eyes scrunched closed, she tilted her face toward the sound of his voice. "Eugene?" Slowly, she began opening her eyes.
Eugene stood in front of the door, fuzzy around the edges, in the faintest light. Behind him, the door had swung mostly closed again, letting in enough light to see somewhat, but not enough to hurt anymore. He wore the same outfit still, but without a mark on him.
She, being completely naked, and doing a haphazard job of covering herself between her arm and her hair, knew he could glimpse practically anything. However, he only looked at her face, in his own shock, before rushing to crouch over her.
His face fell in horror at the full sight of her. She was suddenly self conscious of each rib he could surely count, and how the joints of her arms stuck out. Even her cheeks did not feel as full. "Oh my…" his strangled voice cried for her all on its own. Finally he snapped to, and began unlatching his doublet as quickly as possible.
"Eug…?" What-
"Yeah, yeah, it's me, Blondie. I am gonna get you outta here. Where's your dress?"
"I… dunno…" she murmured, too weak to speak. "She took it…"
"Doesn't look like there's much upstairs."
She watched him whip his doublet off, then loosen his white shirt and whip that off as well. In the meager light spilling in from the open door, she could see his bare chest again, devoid of scars. She remembered how stunned she had been upon seeing him shirtless when they had to dry off from nearly drowning. And around the campfire, showing him her secret...
All these simple but conflicting thoughts muddled her starved mind. What she remembered of Eugene, what Gothel had threateningly warned, the state he had just found her in, and now he was undressing himself? She could still hear her in the back of her mind, scoffing at her naivete.
She absently reached for his chest anyway; it felt smooth and warm. No, Gothel was wrong about you. She was wrong about the whole world, but especially you!
His hand came upon hers, gripping her dearly, pressing her tender fingertips to himself, over his beating heart. His eyes locked on her face, despite the puffy pink rounds she had just uncovered. "Blondie," his voice broke as much as her heart already was. "Ma jolie?"
"What're you…" Her ears buzzed, as if she had just heard something shrill that left one ear ringing. At the same time, fuzzy darkness filtered into her vision, as her head spun, almost ready to pass out. I moved too fast and I'm… I need… Gothel's voice continually mocked her in her mind.
"Here," he grabbed the white shirt to hand to her.
That snapped her back, and suddenly everything sounded and looked as normal as before at least.
But as she still confusedly looked at him holding the shirt, he gathered one side of it, and shoved it over her head.
Finally she squeaked, startled, her hands futilely flying up. "What-"
With it down around her neck at least, he pulled her up by her shoulders to sit up better. "Put my shirt on, here." He continued moving her and the shirt about to get it situated. Her long now-dark hair fluffed out over the collar and fell down around her face. As soon as she was covered, and her hands popped out of the sleeves, his hands were on her face, smoothing her hair away and back behind her ears. "There's my pretty girl."
She faintly smiled. Being upright, sore and starving, but devoid of magic, her head felt so light she felt sick. "Euge- I…" Her eyes closed and she swayed where she sat. "Mm dizzy." But her smile grew, as she could imagine Gothel being furious that someone like Eugene even existed, to be so kind to her.
"It's okay, it's okay, I gotcha, just, here, lean back against the wall a second." He helped her gently. He grabbed his doublet, to put it back on himself.
His shirt on her was huge but so warm, still radiating his own residual warmth left in the fabric. It smelled like him, just like she remembered. She bunched it up to bury her nose in as he latched his doublet back up.
He reached for her again, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You don't have to worry about anything anymore."
She at last took a good look at his face. Her dashingly handsome and selfless hero, her light, her only hope that kept her alive this long; all sitting right there, loving her. She dove into his lap as her lip trembled. Oh, Eugene!
He caught her and pulled her into a hug right there on their knees. "You don't have to say anything," his teary voice strained to her. "But you're still my New Dream."
She dry-sobbed a single chuckle, overwhelmed but still exhausted. Pressed tight against his chest, she thought of when they had ended up like this at the end of that dance. What a long time and another life ago. She could not believe what they had gone through even since then, and now she never wanted him to let go ever again. "And you're mine…" At least, he was her new dream as much as she felt like a person who had the ability for any sort of desire.
He reached back and kissed her cheek.
The loving touch tingled, and, not helping her dizziness, her entire face flushed. She grinned as much as she could. His lips felt as soft as they had looked, as sweet as she still remembered.
"I tried to follow you right away, but you guys got lost too fast. I looked for you. Everywhere. I tried, Blondie, really, I did! I searched as hard as I could, all year!"
"All year?"
"Yes, it is almost your birthday again! Oh, my pretty girl, how I've missed you. But I don't think it's quite such a good idea to go back to Corona, no? Don't want to get me almost hanged again, heh... But I will take you anywhere, anywhere you want to go!"
She smiled, dazedly nodding. "Okay…"
His excitement waned. "But first I think you need water, and food. Here, hold on- hold around my neck." He moved his legs around beneath them, swooped his arm under her legs, and carefully stood. "Oh, wow Blondie, you've gotten so light!"
"Good?"
"No, not good. Can you even stand?"
She shook her head against his bare shoulder and the leather of his doublet, breathing him in deeply. Safe… So safe… finally!
"Alright, here we go." He carried her out of the dirt floor basement, up the stairs, and into the tiny one-room cottage above.
The light pierced her eyes and hurt again, as she yiped, covering and burying her face against him harder. The shrillness in her ears and headache sliced through her again.
He reached over to kiss her cheek again, soothing her. "Keep your eyes closed. We're heading outside, and it's really sunny, but you need fresh air. I've got Max, and Pascal. Poor thing's been helplessly worried about you."
She nodded, whimpering. Even being awake right now was taking too much energy. Oh, Pascal!
"Me, at least," he sighed, "I've been worried sick about you, but, I blame myself..."
"Nnn..." She shook her head, trying to protest. I did this...
"Going down, here we go." He set her on the ground again, right outside the front door, where she could lean back against the wall. Max whinnied for joy and trotted over. Eugene cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead before standing again. "You just wait here. I'm not going anywhere." At that, she both felt and heard him pull away to stand and walk away.
She roughly pulled at the bottom of his shirt she wore, to cover her waist, and luckily it was long enough on her that it did. Not that she was scared anymore; he seemed entirely only concerned about her exposure. But even a few minutes of him handing her back her humanity felt like it was bringing back her own sense of decency. She heard his footsteps in the dirt, the rustling through the saddle bag, then he was indeed back in mere seconds.
"Here," he unscrewed the cap and put the bottle in her hands, then guided her to bring the opening to her lips. "Here, drink, drink it all if you want, it's fine."
She recognized it as the water canteen they had found in Max's saddle bag when they had first met him. She quickly started guzzling it down.
His hands retreated to her dirt-caked knees. "There's a crystal clear stream not far from here; that would be helpful. I can get more water. In fact, wherever we go, we'll stop by there and refill. Maybe a little wash if you feel up to it?"
She finally put the half-empty bottle down for a breather, and nodded. Even with her eyes still closed, she could see red through her eyelids, and even that was too bright. But she could feel his hand fidgeting, and heard his breathing. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"I… I wanna go look around and see if there's anything we can take from here. If that's alright?"
She dropped her head, a few more simple thoughts piecing themselves together. "Where is she…" She immediately felt him tense.
"She's…" He gulped. "She's gone."
"Eugene, you…?" Somehow I already knew...
His tone became stern. "I told you, that if you healed me, that you would die. That she would kill anything that was you. And look at you here. I meant in spirit, but it looks like you were minutes away from literally starving to death, too. When was the last time you've eaten anything?"
Rapunzel shook her head. "I don't know… I think- I was healing myself?"
His breathing calmed down. "Well now you can just eat and drink like a normal person."
She nodded, conceding.
"Me having to let her live was never part of the deal. Never part of your promise. I'm only sorry it took me so long to find you."
She bit her lips, carefully asking this time, with her eyes squeezed shut tight. "Where?"
"Inside. So if you just sit tight here, maybe get your eyes used to the light again, slowly, I'll go back in and see if there's anything useful for us to take. Doubt she let you wander around the actual house anyway, right?"
"Right… I guess- I think..." she sighed. "Okay, go…"
He snatched her hand for a moment to kiss, then thumbed at her cheek. "I'll be right back."
As he said his quick goodbye, Pascal finally climbed up onto her lap.
"Oh, Pascal!" She recognized his tiny feet and chirps like an old friend. "Oh my gosh, I've missed you so much!" She scooped him up to bump foreheads.
"Heh," Eugene's smile was evident in his voice. "There ya go, you two catch up." He disappeared inside.
She smiled weakly, the water having refreshed her a little. Pascal perched back on her lap while she drank more. Then, covering her eyes with her hands, she slowly began testing opening her eyes. His white shirt on her was too bright, but her normal sun-kissed skin actually looked darker than usual, from laying in the dirt for, apparently, almost an entire year. Her hair trailing beside her caught her eye. It was a dark brown, the same brown like she had always seen in the mirror from that tiny piece at the back of her neck.
He… He really did it… Now what?
She stared at it, dumbfounded, and too numb to care. She could hear Gothel's I-told-you-so's repeating in her head, but she now knew Eugene had ONLY ever posed a threat to her hair; the only thing Gothel ever cared about. She understood why he had tried to cut it before: So that no one could ever use her again. Now, he had gone and done just that anyway, snipping just the tip off. However she could possibly feel about it, it was done.
And after all, look where her own decisions had gotten them. He probably does know better...
After a little while, hearing Eugene clunking around inside the whole time, she managed to get her eyes open to at least squint into the warm and bright sunlit surroundings. Pascal smiled up at her, his eyes filled with happy tears. Max stood guard above, likewise smiling at her. Before her, the scenery that sprawled out was the most beautiful thing she could ever remember seeing. "Beautiful…" she gasped.
"I was thinkin' the same thing."
She looked up, to see him standing next to her again, only he was staring down at her. He twirled a frying pan he had apparently found, and smirked adorably. But the light glinted in her eyes with the bright clear blue sky behind him. She turned away, blushing. He's so perfect...
He knelt down beside her yet again, and reached one finger to turn her chin back to look at him.
His face was absolutely glowing pure love, that soft smile she had dreamed of all this time. That she had spied around the campfire, and later in the rowboat. Her focus drifted to his lips.
"I found some bread that still looks good," he handed over.
She groaned in anticipation and immediately took a bite.
"Um, clothes-wise," he hesitantly rubbed the back of his neck, "It looks like there's only her clothes. And, I thought, well it's up to you, but do you want anything from her? 'Cause if not, I've got an idea, and then, I'll find you something somewhere as soon as we can."
She nodded, agreeing with him. After basking in his shirt here, the last thing she wanted was to mix with anything that smelled like her kidnapper. "What's your idea?" she asked with her mouth full. It did not taste as relieving as she expected, but she felt better knowing she was eating at least.
"I have a blanket, and then one of my belts? Whadaya think? Make a wraparound skirt? Then you can sit side-saddle on Max and I'll- uh," he averted his eyes, "I can hold you."
Her heart soared at the thought.
Grinning, he walked back over to her and hoisted her up again, as she happily wrapped her arms around his neck again. He spun her around in the air triumphantly, so picturesque. So close face to face again, he smirked at her charmingly, bringing out a wider smile from her.
Her eyes drifted to his lips, but before she knew it, they were standing beside Max already. He looked away to gently let her down to stand, but as soon as her feet touched the grass, she yiped again, and nearly jumped back into his arms.
"I know, I know, it's okay, Blondie." Once she finally got her footing, he still held her top half up, completely dependent on him to remain there upright, as she hung off of him.
Working as one, they managed to get the makeshift "wraparound" skirt setup like so. Then he lifted her into the saddle, and he climbed up to sit behind her, right up against her back, pulling her close. She settled back into him, contentedly relaxing into a ball of warm mushy love.
Max began walking, slowly, following that stream, along the edge of endless forest…
"Eugene," she breathed so quietly, smiling, then looked up and slightly back at him.
"Quoi?" Suddenly his eyes popped as she pulled on his collar to smash them into a kiss again. He settled into it quickly enough.
She took the initiative, proud to show how she remembered, tilting their noses aside each other. Her heart fluttered and butterflies in her stomach went haywire, at this intimate touch, setting all her nerves ablaze. To actually not only see him again, but to also feel, smell, and now even taste him again, she sighed in unbelievable bliss.
"Huh, I did not expect it to be so eazy," he chuckled.
While she was focused on the kiss, she missed what he said, thanks to the apparent headache ringing in her ears for another moment. And unlike most of what he had said, she had no idea what it had been. "What was that?" she giggled back.
"Nothing, Rapunzel," he smiled sweetly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You don't have to worry about anything ever again."
"Hm," she grinned. "Good."
"I know, Pascal," Eugene sighed, petting his head to comfort them both. Utterly depressed at another dead end, he stood outside the door of the pub they had just left. He was completely aware of the wrinkles becoming permanent in his brow and around his constant frown nowadays, but helpless to stop his own face once it had become controlled by his heart.
He had long since acquired better clothing for a long journey, rather than the short quick adventures he had found himself in as Flynn Rider. Officially going by Eugene again and a slightly new look had helped him avoid the law himself all this time. Plus, the farther he got from places like Corona, Equis, and Bardaros, while also giving Pincosta a wide berth and dodging a seedy "fortune-teller," the easier that had all become.
His jacket was thicker, more decidedly blue and darker, topped with a shoulder guard. Long black calvary-style gloves got him right back in woodsman mode. Swapped grey pants, black belts, and black boots were in the same old style. At his back was a sword he had acquired immediately, but had yet to use for anything more than underbrush.
His Bowie knife in his breast pocket, and Rapunzel's frying pan in Max's saddle bag, made him feel better prepared as they technically also counted as weapons. Although, there had been no sign of her or "the old lady" anywhere.
With another heavy sigh, he trudged over to plop down under a huge tree, and recline against the wide trunk.
Max followed from where he had been waiting off to the side, to meet him in the grassy shade. He wrapped his neck back alongside himself, blowing air out, ruffling his lips and whipping stray mane hairs away in his own personal frustration.
Pascal crawled down from Eugene's shoulder to his knee. He likewise curled in on himself, watching Eugene's face for any sign of an idea.
But Eugene was staring into space. "It's been six months. They could be anywhere…"
Pascal saw the sheen come over his eyes and caught the tremble in his voice. He squeaked to him, a desperate attempt at the sunshiney comfort they both craved but currently lacked.
"I know," Eugene sighed. "I know we can't give up… We'll find her."
A/N: Any respectable couple has answers to "Tell me something only the REAL YOU would know!" ...don't they? Hunny & I do! Especially since that time I took a double dose of oxycontin (after getting my wisdom teeth out) and thought if he ever left my sight, he would be "quackersnatched," if he hadn't been already… eue
But omg! A one shot with no happy ending?! That's not me at all! I write sins, not tragedies!
Well, I hope YOU have many ideas for what can happen from here. I loved the psycho-twist premise so much, that I had to at least get out what I had.
I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how this is going to begin. Where we go from there, is a choice I leave to you.
PLEASE TAKE
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