Thief of my heart

The jig was up, she had been enlightened to his dastardly plan, steal the crown, get rich, set sail for a life full of debauchery with no consequences or guilt. She should have known better, he was a lone wolf, he had made it clear when they first met, he never wanted to get involved with her, it was just self-preservation him taking her out of the tower, saving his skin so he could carry on with his criminal schemes long after he had dumped her back here where she was destined to grow old miserably. She felt so foolish, the start of their time together had been rocky, sure, but they hardly knew each other then, perfect strangers, ironically, she supposed that they still were. And yet, she had given herself so openly, telling him her woes, healing his hand and trusting him with her most valued secret, when she looked into his eyes she felt warm inside and safe, like a blanket had been wrapped around her entire soul, she had laughed and cried with him, slept next to him and even danced with him, there was no doubt that she had feelings for him, intense feelings that lit her up like those beautiful lanterns they had seen the day before, the kiss they shared she thought was confirmation that he was feeling the same thing- how stupid and naive of her to believe this. Mother was right, she knew nothing about the world.

She lay now in her bed, a constant stream of salty tears sliding down her cheeks, every beat of her heart felt like it was cracking into shards of glass, the darkness of the tower matched her mood perfectly, she didn't ever want to see another sunrise if he wasn't there to see it with her. She clutched tightly in her hands the flag from their day trip the day before to the city, the smell of the freshly baked bread and flowers still clung to the fabric, like her own broken dreams clinging to the hope that she would wake up soon and this would all be a bad dream, he would be there with his smoulder- even that she missed! Mother was being particularly annoying, she could hear her humming in the kitchen whilst the smell of the hazelnut soup she was preparing filled the small abode, the smell was enough to make her sick, it was the reminder of her prison sentence, she was trapped here now, her opportunity was over and now she had to take her punishment. Soon upon arriving home she was made to take the flowers out of her beautiful plait, her long tresses falling loose around her feet instantly, she hated it, she'd love nothing more than to be rid of it, her hair was her shackles, keeping her chained here, keeping that monster of a mother young- it would never end. As the thought dawned on her, it just made her cry more, escape was futile, without him she would have nowhere else to go- she was truly alone.

She thought about him in his cell, wondering if he was okay, wondering if he was thinking about her- of course he probably wasn't but she dared hope, her mind was swirling with thoughts of him and memories of their adventure together, swirling like the paintings on her walls, going round and round in her head, clouding her thoughts. She pulled her flag out one last time before resigning herself to the dining room with that ghastly woman, no doubt the disgusting soup would be done soon and she didn't dare to not eat it with fake gratitude. She held the flag up above her head, taking in every single fibre, committing it to memory, it would have to stay hidden away after today, if mother ever found it then there would be severe consequences for such a deceit, and she didn't much fancy it, not being able to be with the man she loved was consequence she took in the deep purple and gold of the flag, a niggle formed in the back of her mind, the symbol looked familiar, and not just because she had been in the city yesterday, looking round at her room she couldn't help but notice it in the paintings on her walls- but how had she been painting it all these years when she had never left the tower until the other day? She checked her furniture, her clothes but the symbol was not to be seen there, she thought back to the moment she first found that tiara he had stolen from the palace, he had been unconscious in the chair and she wanted to see what life might be like had she been born differently- but had she been born differently? The crown fitted like a glove and it felt like an old friend, warm and familiar. She had just put this down to girlish fantasy, but now it dawned on her… the crown, the symbol, the hair, the tower- she was the lost princess!

Was she being ridiculous? It was as if the final piece of a jigsaw had snapped into place inside her brain, she remembers seeing the symbol on the mobile above her cot, she was just an infant, a kind-faced woman with long brown hair had stood over her cooing, her real mother, the queen, it was all true! How on earth had she ended up here then in this dark and depressing tower with this terrible woman who used her hair as her own personal Botox service… that was it, the hair! Mother Gothel must have known about its power, the singular dead brown strand at the back must have been where she'd tried to cut it, seeing it lose all magical abilities she had no choice but to steal the infant in her vain attempt to stay beautiful (no amount of magical hair has achieved this yet though). Heading through solemnly to the kitchen area, she was greeted with a grinning woman, 'ah, Rapunzel dear, your just in time for my hazelnut soup' she said in her sing-song tone, she was met with a grave face, 'I'm the lost Princess, aren't I?' she asked and mother's face dropped instantly.

Rapunzel wondered how her life had come to this point, the man she loved had been cruelly taken away from her, what she thought was her loving and caring mother had actually been a cruel kidnapper all along, her entire life as she knew it had been a lie, she should have been raised in a palace, with horses and nannies and beautiful silk gowns- instead she's been subjected to a dark, dingy tower with no way in or out, no shoes and shabby clothes. To top off the entire situation she was now sat handcuffed and bound on the floor whilst her kidnapped frantically tried to force her down a narrow set of stone steps via a hole in the floorboards, Mother Gothel kept muttering that 'things would be better this way' and that they could 'start afresh'- Rapunzel didn't want to start fresh- she wanted her life and her love. She decided right there in that moment that she would not give up, she would continue to try and escape and she would fight this woman with every bit of energy she had in her soul until finally she was free, she was not going to die holed up without the world and her real parents knowing what had become of her.

In all of the commotion and shuffling and struggling, his voice was almost lost, her sweet saviour asking to come up to her, her heart sang and thumped so loud in her chest she thought it would break right through her ribs and float down to him. Mother Gothel's head turned sharply towards the window, her eyes full of rage, that damn scoundrel had tried to foil her plans again and she wasn't going to let him get away with it. She kicked Rapunzel hard in the stomach to stop her trying to warn him, she grabbed handfuls of golden hair, wrapped it round the hook at the window and floated it down to the young man at the bottom, waiting for his love to welcome him with open arms. Hearing his grunts of effort as he climbed up, she pulled her cloak loose around her, waiting for him to appear, an ambush was the best form of attack, no messy fighting and she could get on with getting her meal ticket as far away as possible.

As Flynn reached the open brick window he jumped in energetically, desperate to see her beautiful face smiling at him, instead his stomach dropped in horror, his bright flower was wilted on the floor, an old woman who he recognised from the night before stood in front of him, snarling, it was only then that his brain registered he'd been stabbed, bright red warm blood pooling in his hands and his jacket. He fell to his knees in shock, he never thought he would die this way, he always pictured an imaginative death, going on in a blaze of glory after committing the heist of the decade- alas, she had softened him, his heart laid bare before her as the blood continuing to pour out all over the dingy floor. He vaguely heard her in the back of his mind arguing with the old woman, pleading and begging, he felt so foolish, he was unable to run to her aid, all he could do was lie here and bleed.

After reluctantly selling her soul to the enraged Mother Gothel, agreeing to never try to escape and to go wherever the woman wanted them to, she felt the shackles around her wrists loosen, the skin red and sore, but she didn't even feel it, she went rushing to her love's side, he lay on the floor like a broken toy, his shirt and the floor soaking with his life force, she stroked his cheek gently, soaking in his handsome face, she held on to him tightly, tears falling down her face as they professed their love for each other for the first and last time. Her heart was breaking as she leant down to kiss the dying man, she felt him gather her hair at the base of her neck, it was intimate and comforting, she leant closer to him- until she felt a draft, looking down at his hands she saw the large glass shard in his pale hands and the panic rushed into her. She put her hands to head, only to feel the short, choppy style she was now suiting, looking around her she saw the yards of her once luscious locks turning brown and dead- any hope she had of healing him had just died with her hair. 'Eugene' she whispered as he faded away in her arms, his sacrifice was his only heroic act he had ever committed, and it was for her- he had truly loved her, it wasn't all a lie.

She held onto him and allowed herself to cry, her whole body wracking with sobs, behind her a devastated Mother Gothel, clutching onto the dead hair had aged instantly to a old hag and fallen from the window landing in a pile of dust- she felt nothing for this woman, this devil who had taken everything from her, she was free now, but she didn't want to be. She looked up at his peaceful face, she'd soaked him with her tears, as she lay with him in her arms she sang her magical song, the damage was already done but it comforted her and she thought it would comfort his soul. As she shakily finished her song, tears still falling from her eyes onto him, she wondered what she would do, she knew she needed to go to her real parents, but all the palaces, horses and silk gowns in the world would never make her feel whole again.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a bright light, it startled her, it was blinding and golden and coming from him, she thought it was his soul leaving him, but it kept growing, taking the form of a sun and engulfed him completely, it's strands covering him from head to foot, dazed she looked on, worried that further danger may ensue her and her lover's body- she wasn't ready to leave him yet. To her astonishment the light seemed to be putting colour into his skin, could this really be happening? Her hair was gone, dead and brittle, but could it be possible that the magic still remained inside her- surely not. But as she saw his chest cavity moving once more she knew it must be true, as impossible as it was.

He carefully fluttered his eyes open, taking a deep breath, her heart was racing, she never thought she would look into those deep chocolate orbs again, butterflies flapped erratically in her stomach. 'Eugene?' she asked cautiously, in case he wasn't aware of himself, he smiled widely at her, confirming he was back to his old self, all morals gone she threw herself into his muscly arms, drinking him in and thanking God for this miracle. She shifted in his arms to look into his face, he pulled her to him, grinning like a cheshire cat, 'you know, I've always had a thing for brunettes' he joked, before kissing her deeply and passionately, fireworks sparking behind her eyelids, as they kissed deeper she thought to herself how he really was a no-good thief, because he had completely stolen her heart.

The End

I hope you have enjoyed :)