Chapter 24

Rapunzel and Eugene escape through the tunnels beneath the castle.

Stone bricks form an arched ceiling above them, composing the walls along the narrow pathway forward. Puddles of murky water splash at their feet. Pipes and valves run along the decaying walls, behind piles of rubble and dirt. Everything is encased in shadows. The air is freezing, and it holds a pungent smell of sewage water.

Eugene follows her as she attempts to recall which direction she had come from on her way down here. Their only guiding light is the lantern she holds out in front of herself as they navigate through the winding tunnels of darkness.

With the underlying anxiety behind what they are doing, they don't speak as they walk.

Rapunzel wants to say so much. Her mind is lost as she realizes she has no idea how. Aside from the scuffle at the hanging, they haven't truly spoken since that morning she'd left him at the hideout.

But she came back. She wanted to apologize, to tell him she'd come with him. She wanted to run to him, to wrap her arms around him, to kiss him they way they had done the night before. She wanted to tell him she didn't mean it, and that he was right all along.

Yet somehow, after everything that's happened since then, she doesn't know where to begin.

Eugene can't see her face as he walks behind her, but he notices her hesitance and the way her pace slows down.

"Rapunzel? What's wrong?" he asks from over her shoulder, his voice echoing within the silence.

She stops fully then. Slowly, Rapunzel turns to face him.

As she peers into those concerned brown eyes staring back at her, all she feels is love - a deep longing that aches and burns at the mere thought of being without him again.

She'd been so worried for him. She'd thought for sure Eugene was going to die back there, and it would all have been over. Seeing him beaten and weak broke her heart in a way that she'd never wish upon anyone.

After it all, Rapunzel swears she is never going to leave him again.

"When we get out of here… I'm going with you," she says.

Though his voice is soft and tired, Eugene beams at the sound of those words. "You are?" His smile fades as he recalls everything she had told him during their argument. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life."

"But… what about the marriage?" he asks. "And your father?"

She steps toward him, "I don't care about the marriage, and it doesn't matter what my father thinks. I—I don't care where we go, I just…" Her fingertips reach for his own, "All I want is you."

Eugene grins down at her as their hands connect between them. Hearing those words from her is like a dream come true.

"I'm sorry, Eugene," she continues. "I should have just left with you from the start. Then none of this would've ever happened." Her voice cracks at the end of her sentence, her face crumpling as she unintentionally becomes upset again.

"Hey…" Eugene places his hands on either side of her arms, dipping his head down in front of hers to get her to look up at him, but she doesn't.

"This is all my fault," Rapunzel weeps, wiping her cheeks with her hand.

"Hey. This is not your fault," Eugene strokes a strand of hair away from her eyes. "I shouldn't have asked so much of you so soon."

"I came back for you," she says, "And then… I don't—I don't know what happened."

Eugene presses his lips together as he recalls his encounter with the Stabbington's. He has a pretty good idea of what happened to her, and it makes him fume with rage all over again. He hadn't known she'd actually come back for him though.

"I'll explain later," he tells her. "Right now, let's just focus on finding a way out of here."

She nods, sniffling. "Okay."

Finally, they come across a familiar dead end with an iron ladder leading upwards. As they climb to the top, they find themselves poking their heads through a wooden hatch that leads back into the castle.

Rapunzel recognizes the room they emerge into to be a storage cellar nestled within the basement, filled with clustered wooden crates and barrels. She recognizes it from her childhood, though she can't say she ever noticed the hatch that blends so well into the wooden floor.

It's dark and silent, but they climb up one after the other with caution.

Now, all they have to do is find a way outside.

After that, Rapunzel isn't certain. They decide their best bet is to find Lance and the ship he and Eugene had meant to sail on – the one Lance had managed to pirate with help from a band of thugs, before Eugene's capture, of course.

Lance had managed to get away during the hanging. At least, that's what Eugene assumes, knowing him as well as he does. Most of the bandits had fled before they were able to get caught.

They hope to find him at the dock if he hasn't left already. They don't have much time left to find out.

Rapunzel silently follows Eugene through the castle, until at one point she halts in her tracks upon remembering, "Wait… I have to talk to Cass."

As they tiptoe through the various rooms and corridors, they manage to make their way unseen to Cassandra's quarters. The fact that they both have experience sneaking around here makes it surprisingly easy.

Rapunzel knocks softly on Cass' door.

Thankfully, there aren't any guards outside her room. It's clear Rapunzel is the only one out of the two of them that they felt needed to be locked up and guarded.

The princess fears she might not even be in there, until the door clicks softly in front of her, and it slowly swings open.

Cassandra leans out into the hallway cautiously. Then she opens the door fully once she recognizes Rapunzel, her hand still gripping the doorhandle.

She hadn't been sleeping. Her lights are still on behind her, and she's wearing her blue handmaiden's gown with her hair loose.

The perplexed expression on Cassandra's face upon finding the two of them standing at her door in the middle of the night makes Rapunzel wince, because she can feel Cass telling her that she should be in her room right now, and he should be in prison. Or dead, in fact. With those exact words. She expects Cass to start lecturing her about it any second now.

At first, Cassandra looks like she is about to murder Rapunzel for that reason specifically, before remembering that a guard could show up here any moment now and murder all of them.

So instead, Cassandra sighs loudly and rolls her eyes, cursing ever becoming best friends with the most stubborn, reckless person in the entire world. She isn't even going to ask.

"Get in here now. Both of you." She pulls Eugene and Rapunzel into her bedroom with an unamused tone of voice.

Once Cassandra closes the door behind them, she doesn't say anything more. Instead, she turns pointedly to face Rapunzel with her arms crossed across her chest.

She's wearing the same disapproving look that Rapunzel knows Cass has given her before, and the silence that follows is deafening somehow.

Rapunzel slowly walks toward her, feeling awful. "Cass…"

Though she knows Cass refuses to show it, Rapunzel recognizes the glint of hurt in the other girl's eyes as she stares silently back at her. It comes with knowing each other for their entire lives.

Despite it all, Rapunzel doesn't need to explain what's going on here. Cassandra already knows.

"I'm sorry to drag you into all this," Rapunzel grabs Cassandra's hands, "And I can't thank you enough for everything that you did back there. But I can't stay here any longer." Rapunzel peers over her shoulder at Eugene standing behind her. She sighs softly before stating with confidence, "I'm leaving Corona. And I don't know when or if I'll ever be back."

Cassandra glances between them for a few moments, her face almost expressionless. "Both of you?"

"Yes," says Rapunzel, before excitement reaches her voice. She takes a step closer, "You can come with us."

"What?" Cass blinks, "I... I can't."

"Cassandra—"

"Rapunzel. Don't." Cass tells her sternly, dropping Rapunzel's hands and stepping away. She pinches the bridge of her own nose. After a while, she lowers her arm, exhaling at length. "I'm so close to becoming a royal guard. I've been training for it my entire life. Raps… running away is your dream. It's not mine."

"I know," Rapunzel murmurs, "I just don't wanna hurt you."

Cassandra feels her heart flicker with warmth at that. Somehow, she had seen this coming, at one point or another. It was only a matter of days, after everything that's happened.

The last time the three of them had been together, they'd been fighting for their lives amidst the chaos of Flynn Rider's failed execution. Being together again after all that, when none of them are supposed to be here, there's a mutual understanding between them that makes Cass unable to stay mad at them.

They both know it wouldn't be entirely healthy for Rapunzel to continue to stay, and Cass knows she wouldn't be able to stop her even if she tried. The princess is known to never do what she's told. Cass had always hated that about her. In another way, she loves her for it.

So, Cass doesn't try, because not trying will make all of this so much easier for both of them.

"Look… you said you owed me a favour. Well, do this one for me," Cass grins somberly, though it is genuine. Her voice softens as she says, "Go. Don't worry about me, okay?"

Despite everything, she isn't bitter. This is what Rapunzel has always wanted, and all Cassandra can ask is for the other girl to be happy, even if it means goodbye. Having to finally say it after years of anticipation pains her to no end.

Rapunzel stares up at her with tears welling in her eyes, before she pulls the other girl into a tight embrace.

Cass squeezes her eyes shut and latches onto her just as desperately.

All those years growing up together, teasing each other, causing trouble, and pulling pranks around the castle – despite the tears and the occasional fighting, Rapunzel could have never asked for a better friend to call her sister.

Cass feels it too, and Rapunzel knows it without either of them having to say it.

After a while, Cassandra pulls away.

She brushes past the princess, stopping in front of Eugene.

There's a brief awkwardness between the two of them, having hardly spoken during all this time. The day Cassandra had threatened him in that tavern seems so far away now.

Nevertheless, she saved his life. Eugene couldn't be more grateful for that.

Cassandra isn't sure what happened between him and Rapunzel since she had left them, but clearly he means a lot to the princess, and that's enough for her.

Cass feels her own eyes begin to glisten, but she blinks it back and swallows her emotions down, just like she always has done. "You take care of her for me out there." It isn't a request, but a demand.

It makes Eugene smile that she feels the need to even tell him that. He nods at her regardless, "I will."

Rapunzel and Eugene don't speak as they flee through the woods in the dead of night.

By some miracle, no guard or wandering villager catches them on their way out of the castle and through the dead village. So, they run without looking back until they're certain they are far enough away from the kingdom to be considered somewhat safe.

The princess peers warily around herself more often than she needs to. She expects her father to somehow find them out here and bring them both right back to that horrible dungeon. But he doesn't, and she almost doesn't believe it.

Instead, all she sees are the silhouettes of leaning trees in every direction and a thick fog that doesn't allow them to see how far they've come, or how much further is left. An owl hoots eerily overhead and the leaves are rustling above them from the wind.

The dock is a couple hours from here, hidden on the shore around the outside of the mainland. Eugene knows where it is, but the mist that obstructs their view leaves him questioning his own navigating skills that he had once been so sure about.

Everything about this feels surreal. They don't know what they're doing or how they had managed this, or where they are going to end up after this is all over. It's thrilling and terrifying and exciting all at once.

The entire time, they are left with the feeling that somebody is watching and trailing close behind them, and neither have been able to settle their nerves since they'd left the prison.

Eugene holds the glowing lantern in front of himself as they walk quickly, far from relaxed.

He peers over his shoulder at Rapunzel, finding her a few paces behind and struggling to keep up. She hugs her cloak around herself from the chill.

He slows to wrap his arm around her shoulders, guiding her until she is instead walking in front of him because seeing her makes him feel better.

Eventually, the shore appears in the distance.

As they walk through the edge of the trees, a huge shadow on the water emerges from within the fog.

They recognize it as the hull of an enormous ship, with white sails towering high in the sky and extending far above the trees. It's parked stationary along the small dock that Eugene recognizes instantly, secluded away from everything else just as he remembers.

There are people lingering on the sand outside the vessel, gathered around a small flickering campfire with a plume of smoke rising toward the night sky. The bandits' soft chatter reaches their ears as Rapunzel and Eugene walk closer.

Seeing it all and their familiar faces – ones that aren't trying to kill them - feels like finding a beacon in the black sky.

"So, you made it out after all."

Rapunzel and Eugene peer upward toward the gravelly voice coming from aboard the ship.

Lance is up on the deck, casually leaning against the railing with his arm resting over it, his other fist planted on his hip.

"We got a little sidetracked," Eugene tells him with a smirk.

Lance only gives them a nod and a knowing grin, finding no need to ask for an elaboration. He knew Eugene would make it out of there. He always does.

"You're just lucky I waited," Lance jokes as he saunters along the deck, peering down at them. "And just in time to set sail."

Eugene wanders up to the wooden ramp that acts as a bridge between the ship and the dock. Rapunzel follows closely behind him. "I don't suppose we have room for one more?" he asks.

Lance chuckles, beaming down at Rapunzel at the bottom of the incline. "Well, I was wondering when I would see you again."

"Likewise," she smiles. After everything, she must say it's good to see him again.

"Hell knows we could use a hand like yours around here. But hey, any friend of Flynn's is always a friend of ours," says Lance welcomingly.

As they stand just steps away from freedom, Eugene notices Rapunzel taking a steady breath next to him. Her eyes are shimmering with hope, but there's an underlying fear behind them as she tells herself - this is it. The moment she's been waiting for her entire life.

Eugene smiles at her reassuringly in an attempt to ease her mind. He bows theatrically and extends his arm out to her, "After you," he says, flashing her a charming grin.

Rapunzel places her palm atop his as he helps her step onto the ramp. Eugene follows behind her as she walks to the top.

"Welcome aboard… Milady," Lance tells her once she steps onto the deck.

Rapunzel's stomach bubbles with excitement as she peers around the ship. She gapes at the magnificent white canvas sails that loom overhead, connected by dozens of ropes that cross overhead and tie to the masts.

There's a large grate in the centre of the floor that leads to the lower decks. Two sets of staircases lead up to the helm on either side. There's a door with a small window beneath the quarterdeck leading to the Captain's Quarter's. Clusters of cargo are stacked along the masts and half walls that make up the railing.

Rapunzel remembers stepping aboard a vessel like this when she was younger, having to travel to neighbouring kingdoms with her father. Though, this one isn't filled with royal guards and decorated with Corona's emblem on every post and sail.

Rather, this one is completely different. It feels different, knowing that its destination lies in a world unknown rather than a mere neighbouring kingdom. And instead of her father, she is stepping aboard it with the one person she thinks she'd be okay spending the rest of her life with.

The rest of the crew pack up the camp and climb aboard soon after.

Men dart across the main deck as they shout orders to one another. They lower the sails and raise the anchor as Eugene guides Rapunzel up to the quarterdeck by the helm.

The ship drifts away from the dock as the sun rises. A blend of pink, orange and yellow sky paints the horizon as the morning light cascades over the sand.

The pair stare out at the endless blue ocean while they slowly sail into open water. The soft waves are sparkling as the sunlight reflects off the ripples, and seagulls have begun to caw high in the sky.

"So, Blondie… You ready to see the world?" Eugene smirks from beside the princess, his hands on his hips triumphantly.

She remembers the night they'd spent taking shelter in a rocky cave, talking of sailing the world together as the rain fell. That night, it had been nothing more than a dream. It seems so long ago. Never did she think that one day it would all become true.

Rapunzel inhales deeply, breathing in the scent of saltwater and fresh morning air.

She closes her eyes as a gentle breeze crashes against her skin. When she opens them again, she is content.

Everything in her life has led up to this moment right here, and it is even more enchanting than she ever imagined. No dream or fantasy she has previously conjured in her sleep could ever overpower this feeling of sincere euphoria.

Rapunzel nearly jumps with giddiness as she finds herself grinning widely from ear to ear, "I can't wait."

For the first time in her entire life, she is free.

A/N: Expect an epilogue soon!