No words for this chapter. Tangled belongs to Disney, but Rachel belongs to my imagination.
I think that there's a time in every one's life when they realize that all they've ever worked for, all they've have cared about, all that they've sweated and cried for, all that they've ever dreamed about…is very much different than the current situation they find themselves in. That's what I felt when I saw Rapunzel. I think it's called a mid-life crisis. Something like that.
I looked at her sleeping form, slowly fading into the mist. I remember my heart being smashed with a hammer, rolled over by a chariot, lit on fire, and stomped on by a palace horse. Then, I felt my dead father spit, pour alcohol and throw a lit match on my shattered, broken heart. And that was the final straw.
I struggled to keep my gaze from returning to her, but I quickly took one look back. She was barely a shadow in the early morning mist. The heavy pain in my chest grew, almost too much to ignore. I looked forward into the mist, straining for a way out. The mist just encased me, held me prisoner, tortured me and kept me from seeing the ones I actually cared about. I put my hand on my brother's shoulder and stopped, panting from the tearing inside my heart. To do what Bridget says and get revenge, or save Rapunzel? He patted my hand and waited for me to catch my breath. I continued walking after five minutes.
Bridget was waiting for us at the campsite.
"Where have you been?" She screamed at us. She stood with her fists on her hips and her feet apart. She shoots daggers at us with her deadly glare.
I shrugged. "Nature was calling. We have to pee far away so we don't attract animals. Just a head's up, if you need to go." My brother nodded along to my statement.
She narrowed her eyes, apparently not buying the story. I tensed up, ready for whatever she might throw at me. "Then I guess I'm to assume you were doing your business on Rapunzel! ALL NIGHT!" She quickly walked over and slapped my left cheek as hard as she could. It felt like a fly was trying to beat my cheek up.
I went along with it and pretended that she had hurt me badly. I crumpled to the ground and fell on my 'hurt' side, careful to not let her see she didn't harm me at all. I gave a few moans. I was trying to sucker her into trusting us.
"Hey! Listen, Bridget!" My brother stood in front of me. He jabbed a finger in Rapunzel's general direction. "This is how we work, okay? We study the person we want to kidnap so we can use a technique that targets their weakness. Rapunzel is small, but light, suggesting she's fast! We need to run her into a trap. But with that hair, she'll be slowed down and we can use a different one that is less time-consuming. Ya see?" He yelled. "Get it? Got it? Good!"
The silence began to choke us. I tried to cough as quietly as I could, to get rid of the thick silence.
As Bridget opened her mouth to retort, a manly scream pierced the morning air.
"No, no, no, put me down!" Flynn's voice rang out.
We scrambled to get a view of what was going on...
Excuse me.
Your highness! Hey, stop writing this down!
I was told to write down everything, sire.
Well, not this!
The King and Queen's orders, sire.
Anyway, is there something you need, Princess?
Eugene said he'd be down here…
Right here, Blondie. Uh, let's step out for a while.
Okay…
Continue.
Well, assuming that you have the testimony about what happened with the horse and shit, I'm just gonna move on.
So…we did nothing the entire day, cuz we were wanted at the time, but we did some festivities. Tradition.
But at night, when they release the lanterns, we were waiting…blah-blah-blah.
I think we have enough.
No. I want to tell you about when we tried to kidnap Rapunzel.
(silence)
Captain?
Go on.
Well, we were there and after we tied up Flynn and sent him on the boat, we went after Rapunzel. She was frightened, but when I saw her, I saw Rachel.
And I'll admit it, I've hated every moment of this. I never wanted to kidnap Rapunzel in the first place. I never wanted to harm her. Why would I? I might be mean, but I would not go that low.
I had seen too much violence in my life, and I wasn't just going to add to the growing list of victims. Victims who died because of my petty jealously, my nonexistent pride, my hope for a better world and my foolishness. I had no choice! If you had to pick between eating and sleeping, you would understand! But you never will! You posh prancing lunatics! You've never felt true pain! NEVER!
If I could change one thing about my life, it would be the moment Rachel died. I would have protected her instead of letting years of being silent get to me. But it did. If I couldn't save Rachel, then I wasn't going to let Rapunzel get hurt.
So, for the record…I suggest you write this part down…I never wanted to hurt Rapunzel! Ever! So screw whatever she said or what Flynn said or what Bridget said! I wasn't going to let Bridget just hurt her. Rapunzel didn't deserve it! I didn't know who she was, or what she wanted but I could tell that it wasn't going to be good. So…so…yeah! I purposely didn't capture Rapunzel and what does Bridget do? She hits me in the head…in the EXACT same spot where my father hit Rachel! It never ends…never…ends. And you know the last thing I did before I went unconscious! Huh? I looked at Rapunzel, whose hair was caught on a branch and I said the one word that gave me life. That gave me the will to carry one. The one thing in life that never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself.
Rachel.
Present day
The captain of the guards blinked away tears and gazed at the man whose head was in his hands, his shoulder shaking with silent sobs. Impossible! I can't feel sorry for this man! No, I can't! But I do…
Eugene walked back into the room and looked at the scene in front of him. He first laid eyes on the Stabbington Brother, who was sobbing in his hands. Satisfied that the Captain, as stupid as he was, had broken him, he turned to the Captain to congratulate him when he saw everyone else.
The Captain had a handkerchief up to his nose, the scribe was trying to keep drop of tears from flowing down his face onto the paper while the guards had streaks of tears running down their cheeks.
Eugene lightly touched the Captain's shoulder and the Captain jerked out of his trance. He took note of the time and sighed, "It's time."
Brute looked up and saw Eugene. He slowly stood straight up to his full 6 feet, 8 inches brawn.
Eugene stepped back surprised. This new man was so much different than the man who was sitting in the chair a few minutes ago; the torn broken man with no future, no hope, no love.
Eugene had once felt that. These men had made sure that was gone. They had practically raised him. They had fed him, helped him, and put his needs above their own. They made sure that Eugene would have a life of a king…and how did he repay them? By stealing their future, their hope and their chances at love, all in one day.
Eugene managed to choke out. "I'm sorry." The whisper was only sound in the room.
Everyone froze. Eugene, Prince Consort of Corona, had apologized to the man who almost killed him, stole his love and sent him to the prison with plans for death!
Brute glared down at him, but after a minute, his gaze softened. "Flynn…Eugene…whatever you go by now. I hope you realize that Rapunzel is the best thing in our lives. You keep her safe or so help me God, I will come and mess with you so much, you will wish you were dead!"
Eugene paused…yeah, he missed something.
"Let's go." The Captain said, as strongly as he could muster. He took the crook of Brute's arm and started pulling him towards the door.
In the damp, dank hallway, the only sound heard was the clanking of Brute's chains and the slow breathing of the crowd of men; they had been joined by Conli, James, Eric, Ferdinand, Phillip, Adam, and Eugene.
Soon, the faint noise of a cheering crowd was heard. The men looked over at Brute, to gauge his reaction. They passed through a door into another brightly lit hallway. Brute could see the sun shining.
Brute stood straighter with every second, his step became joyful and happy, until he was practically skipping. The guards just looked at each other and wondered who had drugged Brute.
The noise of the crowd grew louder and louder until that was the only sound you could hear.
A dark purple curtain separated the criminal from the outside world. Before the Captain could push aside the curtain, a man push it aside, opened his mouth, revealing his yellow teeth and shouted, "Oi! He's here!"
The cheering grew louder and louder.
The captain barged ahead, making a path for the convicted criminal. Brute smirked at the crowd when he walked by. But on the inside, he was a broken man, trying to find the other half of his heart. Brute had a natural born talent of lying and so he did; he lied to his father about where he had been last night, lied to Rachel when trying to convince her Mother's screams where the neighbor's chickens, lied to Bridget about our feelings about the job, and I had lied to myself, trying to tell myself that I was a good person, that I could triumph over myself and that I could actually achieved something in life. Look where lying got me.
He was marched in front of the royal box and forced to bow on one knee with his head down. The King and Queen looked on sternly, refusing to feel compassion for the man who had almost kidnapped their daughter. But Rapunzel, knowing the whole story, nodded and acknowledged his pain. But that foolish girl didn't know what it was like loosing everything.
They shoved him up the stairs and slipped the rope around his neck. The scribe slowly unfurled the papers that called for Brute's death and began reading out loud.
"This man, Brute J. Stabbington, has hereby been found guilty of-"
Brute didn't need to hear this again. He knew what he did in life. He knew the person he had stolen from, the people he had killed, the people he had conned. This didn't matter anymore. It would all be over anyway. Everything that hurt be taken away and given to someone else.
"-and is sentenced to death by the gallows!" The scribe said to the uproar of the crowd's cheers.
But the crowd didn't know that this man had actually saved Rapunzel, had deliberately not captured her and put his own life at risk to save her's. They didn't know shit. Only the people in that room and the Princess knew.
The hanging man took his place behind the lever and stretched his fingers. Brute bowed his head, knowing if he looked at Rapunzel, he would be plagued in Hell by the sad face. He only wanted to remember the happy times he had had. The hanging man placed his hands on the lever and started the countdown. "5! 4!" A large gasp sounded and Brute quickly looked up.
Rapunzel was standing in front of him with a sympathetic look on her face. She cupped Brute's jaw with one hand and brushed his cheek with the other. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, her nose brushing the top of his hairline. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I know you loved Rachel and that I look like her. But, I know if I were Rachel, I would be proud to call you my brother." I felt a tear splashed onto my forehead. It was strangely warm.
"Rapunzel!" The King and Queen called out. "Rapunzel!"
She ignored them and stared me straight in the eye. Her look passed on years of trust, love, hope and peace to me. I silently thanked her for it. But I couldn't pass on the years of terror, anger, lust, and fear to her: not to an innocent mind like hers. I nodded my thanks. "Thank you." I mumbled. And with that I felt my soul become lightened.
She slowly stood up, humming a little song. I only caught the words, Gleam, and Mine. She turned to the shocked crowd. "Mr. Stabbington had given me his final words. He said that he is sorry, but that's life." She stepped down the stairs and quickly made her way to the royal viewing box. The tear burned for a second, but faded out.
A moment passed before someone shouted out. "3!" The crowed joined in. "2! 1!" Bastards.
And as I felt my body go down amongst the cheers, down in my sorrow, down towards Hell, I felt Rachel, pulling me with white wings, pulling me up to her. To where I belonged.
El Fin!
Thank you guys who didn't give up on this story! I'm proud to say it's finished and I really hoped you guys enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and giving this story a chance.
I 3 u!
