Alrighty I'm currently obsessed with tangled again, and I wrote this little one shot. I can turn it into a short story if anyone's interested, I may or may not have also written about Eugene also experiencing a gothel related nightmare.
Rapunzel, let down your haaaaaiiiir!" Gothel called out, "Rapunzel? I'm not getting any younger down here!"
"Coming mother!" Rapunzel rushed to the window, wrapping her hair around the hook and throwing the rest of it to Gothel. Gothel took the hair, and created a loop for her foot. Once secured, Rapunzel began pulling her up the tower.
"Hi, welcome home mother." Rapunzel greeted her, pulling the rest of her hair through the window.
"Oh Rapunzel, how you manage to do that without fail, it looks absolutely exhausting darling." Gothel entered the tower, removing her cloak.
"Oh its nothing." Rapunzel replied, catching her breath.
"Then I don't know why it takes so long!" Gothel laughed, "Oh darling I'm just teasing." She walked passed Rapunzel and began examining herself in the mirror.
"Alright...so mother," Rapunzel followed Gothel to the mirror, "As you know, tomorrow is a very big day-"
"Rapunzel, look in that mirror. I see a strong, confident, beautiful young lady. Oh look, you're here too!" Once again, Gothel threw her head back, laughing.
"I'm just teasing, stop taking everything so seriously!" She continued examining herself in the mirror.
"Okay, so mother as I was saying, tomorrow is-" Once again, Rapunzel was interrupted.
"Rapunzel, mother is feeling a bit run down. Would you sing for me dear? Then we'll talk."
"Oh, of course mother!" Rapunzel rushed off to set up the chair and stool they used.
Pushing Gothel into the chair and thrusting her hairbrush into her hands, Rapunzel sped through the healing incatation she had been reciting ever since she learned how to talk.
"Flowergleamandglowletyourpowershinemaketheclockreversebringbackwhatoncewasmine"
"Wait, wait!"
Rapunzel continued to rush through the song.
"Healwhathasbeenhurtchangethefatesdesignbringbackwhatoncewasmine"
"Rapunzel!"
"So mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow is a big day and you didn't respond. So I'm just gonna tell you, its my birthday! Tada!" Rapunzel announced, excitedly.
"No no no, can't be, I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year." Gothel jested.
"That's the funny thing about birthdays, they're kind of an annual thing!" Rapunzel sighed, sitting back on the stool. "Mother, I'm turning 18, and I wanted to ask...what I really want for this birthday...actually what I've wanted for quite a few birthdays now..." She began fumbling over her words, the nerves returning.
"Rapunzel please, stop with the mumbling." Gothel scolded, "You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah-blah-blah. Its very annoying! I'm just teasing, you're adorable. I love you so much, darling."
Rapunzel looked to the floor, feeling defeated. Then, she met eyes with Pascal, and just decided to spit it out.
"I want to see the floating lights!" Rapunzel finally exclaimed.
"What?" Gothel was unsure what Rapunzel was referring to.
"Well I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights." Rapunzel opened the curtains on the mantle, revealing her newest painting.
"Oh, you mean the stars." Gothel nonchalantly replied, continuing to pack her basket.
"That's the thing," Rapunzel used her hair to open a window, allowing the light to show her star chart. "I've charted stars, and they're always constant. But these? They appear every year on my birthday, mother. Only on my birthday. And I can't help but feel like they're...they're meant for me. I need to see them, mother. And not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are."
"Gothel scoffed, " You want to go outside? Why Rapunzel..."
Gothel began closing all the windows and curtains.
"Look at you as fragile as a flower. Still a little sapling, just a a sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower...that's right. To keep you safe and sound." Gothel continued blocking all light out.
"Guess I always knew this day was coming, knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest." Gothel continued, walking towards the stairs.
Rapunzel looked to the floor, when suddenly something felt really wrong. The wind turned cold, and she heard the sound of metal. Turning around, she saw her mother, holding a pair of shackles. She started backing towards the window. Gothel grabbed the end of Rapunzel's hair, pulling her closer.
"Rapunzel really, stop fighting me!" In one swift yank, Gothel managed to get Rapunzel on the floor and force her wrists into the shackles.
"I should have known you would have tried a stunt like this, thinking you could be free. Well, it is clear to me that this tower isn't enough to keep you away. I should have done this from the start." Gothel walked around the tower, preparing anything she may need in their next home.
Then, Rapunzel heard her name.
"Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!" It was Eugene!
"Well, darling, it seems we have a visitor." Gothel picked up a dagger off the side table, "Why don't we let him see you?"
Gothel threw Rapunzel's hair down the tower, and waited out of sight. Eugene took the end of her hair, and began climbing.
"Rapunzel, I thought I'd never see you again!" Eugene's relief was replaced by shock, once he saw Rapunzel chained to the wall. Through her gag, she tried to scream at him. Gothel suddenly appeared from the shadows, piercing him through the side with the dagger. Before he hit the ground, Gothel caught Eugene's shoulder.
"Don't worry dear, our secret will die with him!" Gothel told Rapunzel, before pushing Eugene out of the window.
And then she woke up.
Breathing heavy, Rapunzel looked around, registering her surroundings. She wasn't in the tower. She was in the castle, in her room. It had been six months since Rapunzel, with the help of Eugene, had been returned to her parents.
Sighing, Rapunzel ran her hands through her hair. She was free. Gothel could no longer hurt her, and she got her happily ever after. That didn't stop the nightmares, though. Almost every night, Rapunzel experienced some sort of nightmare. They changed, but every time they felt so real. Sometimes she was back in the tower, watching Gothel kill Eugene over and over again, and she couldn't save him. Other times, the Stabbington Brothers are successful in capturing her, and they've teamed up with Gothel to take her prisoner. Sometimes, it starts off as a dream in the castle, when Gothel appears. She's even had nightmares where the guards didn't believe their story, and Rapunzel was thrown in the castle dungeon as she watched Eugene's execution. These nightmares frustrated Rapunzel. She's living life after happily ever after, and she should be grateful for that. She was a princess. The kingdom didn't need a princess who was constantly anxious, wondering whether Gothel would somehow return to kidnap her. They needed a leader. She certainly couldn't plague her parents with these nightmares, she only met them six months ago. Then there's Eugene...he's been adjusting to life as an ex-thief, and the boyfriend of the princess, the lost princess. Besides, he probably has his own trauma from literally dying. So, she decided to keep the nightmares to herself. Laying back down, Rapunzel was afraid to fall back asleep, in case she may see Gothel once again. Rapunzel's routine turned into waking up from a nightmare in the dead of night, and then staying up until the sun rose. Going to sleep then would be pointless, because not long after, Cassandra would be coming to wake the princess anyway. Still, Rapunzel forced herself to go through her day as if everything was fine. No matter how tired she felt, Rapunzel pushed through the day. She was a princess, and still had royal duties to attend to. Six months of limited sleep can take a toll on someone, though. Paranoia set in, and Rapunzel found herself pushing down the fear that something would happen. She became cautious of her surroundings, preparing herself in case Gothel popped up from anywhere in the castle. Rapunzel regularly found herself carrying around her trusted frying pan.
Rounding a corner, she noticed footsteps behind her. Gripping the handle on her frying pan, she began preparing herself. If someone grabbed her, she needed to be able to swing the frying pan full force. The footsteps were right behind her, and without hesitation Rapunzel spun herself around and swung the frying pan above her head.
"Easy Rapunzel! Are you okay?" She recognized Eugene's voice. Lowering the frying pan, she began playing the situation off.
"Oh sorry! Guess I'm just a bit jumpy today." Rapunzel tried laughing the situation off.
Eugene studied her face. He noticed that Rapunzel looked like she hadn't been sleeping. She also seemed a bit jittery. This wasn't Rapunzel.
"Rapunzel, something is going on. Do you want to talk about it?" Eugene took her hand.
"What? No, Eugene I'm fine. This is the happily every after part, right? I'm a princess. Everything is absolutely perfect!" Rapunzel couldn't stop herself from snapping, pulling her hand away from Eugene. She looked at him, and saw the concern in his expression.
"Rapunzel, you're not fine. You are afraid every time you round a corner, you always have the frying pan with you, and I can tell you haven't been sleeping very well. What is going on?" Eugene begged Rapunzel to tell him what was wrong.
"Okay, fine. Can we go to my room first?" Rapunzel held her hand out. Eugene grabbed it, and they headed towards her room.
Eugene walked with Rapunzel over to the window, and they sat on the sill.
"Alright, Rapunzel. What's going on?"
"So much of my life has changed in the last six months. I found out my 'mother' kidnapped me and used me for 18 years, realized I was the lost princess, and fell in love with a thief. Its...its been a lot to take in. Eugene the day that we escaped Gothel, it...it traumatized me. The way she...It was terrifying how quick she flipped from treating me like her daughter, to bounding me in chains, threatening to imprison me for the rest of my life. And then I watched her stab you, and I couldn't stop it. Within minutes of each other, I watched my m-I mean, Gothel, fall out of a window, and you take your last breath. I felt so lost. But now I'm here, and I should be grateful, but instead I spend the days trying not to think about what would happen if she returned. Gothel is with me, everyday. I don't know how to make it stop, Eugene. Even though I've been freed from that tower, and I'm home, she still has this hold on me, that I can't shake." Rapunzel sighed, and stared out the window.
Eugene placed a hand on her shoulder, "Rapunzel no one expected you to get over 18 years of trauma in a single night. I don't know everything that happened to you in that tower, but I don't think I'd wish it on my worst enemy. Gothel kidnapped and manipulated you. Its okay if you need to talk about it sometimes."
"I'm just...Eugene I begin to feel like I'm not the princess Corona deserves. Look at me, a wild flower child who had never met another person until you climbed the tower. I don't even wear shoes! I don't know the proper way to greet other royalty, or how to properly address my subjects. Worst of all, the nightmares. They're nonstop. Every night since I left the tower, I see her. She's there, haunting me. Whether she's working with the Stabbingtons, throwing you out of the tower, or showing up in the castle. She's always there. Maybe she was right. Maybe I'm not meant for the outside world." Rapunzel pulled her knees to her chest, trying to keep herself together.
"Woah, Rapunzel, is that why you've been so tired? Why didn't you tell anyone? You have so many people here who care about you. Cass, your parents, me, and almost everyone else that is in this castle. Heck, even old lady Crowley would be willing to listen to your story." Eugene wiped away tear that had fallen down Rapunzel's face.
"I just...I felt like I should have been stronger. My parents are the king and queen, they have so many royal duties, Cass is my lady-in-waiting, I couldn't burden her with listening to me. And you, you have your own trauma from that night. Eugene, you were the one that died that day. Not me. You sacrificed your life for mine. How could I expect you to put that below my problems?"
"Rapunzel look, I know we've only known each other for six months but I care about you. If you need to talk about what happened that night, that's okay. I understand the damage that was done that day. We both experienced the worst fear either of us have probably ever felt. I'll always listen to you if you need it. Even if you don't feel comfortable coming to me, I guarantee your parents will want to know everything that happened. Whatever you need is the priority here."
"I just...I just don't understand why I keep having the nightmares. It was so long ago, that I shouldn't be feeling this way, anymore." Rapunzel looked at Eugene, who was staring at his lap.
"You're not the only one. I still have nightmares about it, too. Some nights I don't escape from prison, other nights I don't reach the tower in time. The worst, though, are the ones where you're never freed from your hair, and the last thing I see is you dragged out of the tower." Eugene confessed. "I see her, too, Rapunzel. I just have to remember that she's gone, and you're not in danger anymore. That doesn't mean that our experience in that tower didn't do some damage to us both, especially you. You were stuck in there for eighteen years. If something is bothering you, don't ever feel like you have to shove it off. You've got all of us in this castle who are willing to listen."
"It's not that easy, Eugene." Rapunzel found herself staring out the window. Eugene grabbed both of her hands.
"I know it isn't. And not everyone is going to understand, but I promise you can always come to me, or your parents about this. We love you, Rapunzel. That's not going to change." Rapunzel looked back at him with a small smile.
Just then, the doors opened.
"Raps, I've been looking all over for...you. Nice going Fitzherbjerk, distracting the Princess from her duties." Cass was clearly annoyed.
Eugene opened his mouth to respond, but Rapunzel reacted before he could.
"Cass, it's alright. I needed to talk, and Eugene was there. Don't blame him." Rapunzel explained.
"Alright, well its time for dinner, your parents are waiting for you."
"I'll be right there." Rapunzel replied.
Once Cass left, Rapunzel turned towards Eugene.
"Guess we better head down there, then."
"After you, princess."