Chapter 5

The sharp sound of blade over stone reverberated off the walls of the smithy as Flynn worked. He had been sharpening this particular sword for over an hour and the combined heat from both the fire and the hard labor he was performing made his body slick with sweat and his breathing strained. Wiping the moisture from his forehead, Flynn placed the sword down and pulled his chair towards the window where he could rest for a moment. Pascal was snoozing in his usual spot - tucked under a few stray rags on a small wooden end table in front of the fire. Every once in a while, the faithful sidekick would leave Rapunzel to her studies and spend a few hours with Flynn, curled up in a little ball contentedly. As Flynn glanced over at him, he saw that the chameleon had turned a dark orange color, mimicking the flames that roared in the background.

Flynn stretched like a lazy barn cat, working his sore muscles loose before reaching into his satchel and pulling out a bright red apple and munching into it hungrily. He'd never realized how fulfilling an honest day's work could be until he'd started working for the King. It was hard, sometimes grueling work, but he felt a sense of pride and accomplishment when he received praise for a weapon he had made or repaired. The real irony of the situation was that most of the weapons he worked on belonged to the same captains of the military forces who had once hunted him down. Over time, Flynn had gained their trust - another debt he owed to the King. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, Flynn would never be able to finish listing all the things His Majesty had done for him after he had rescued Rapunzel.

As Flynn bit into the crisp skin of the apple and tasted the sweet juice on his tongue, he couldn't help but smile both inward and outwardly. He was no longer in shock like he'd been this morning when speaking to the King and Queen, but was now filled with an inexplicable joy and excitement at what lay ahead of him. He'd been dreaming of the possibility of a future with Rapunzel from the moment he'd realized he was in love with her, and now that dream could become a reality. His mind drifted to their conversation on the lake as they waited for the lanterns to appear in the black-night sky.

"I've been looking out a window for 18 years, dreaming of about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky… What if it's not everything that I dreamed it would be?" She had asked, her face timid and worried.

"It will be."

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

Flynn smiled, his eyes finding Rapunzel's. "Well, that the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream."

Flynn took another bite of apple and lazily put his feet up on top of his workbench. As far as he was concerned, he didn't ever need to dream another dream again as long as Rapunzel was a part of his life.

Pascal awoke then, sluggishly opening his eyes as he reverted back to his normal jade-green color. He made a small sound that Flynn still had not been able to come up with a name for. To him, it was somewhere between a purr and a growl, neither of which seemed fitting for describing chameleon noises. He'd never even known chameleons made any sounds before meeting this one. He made a half-hearted mental note to ask Rapunzel about it later.

"Well, I hope you're comfy." Flynn said to the little creature. "While you've been napping, I've been toiling away for three hours."

Pascal flipped a paw (or was it a claw?) at Flynn as if to say, "that's not so hard," before settling deeper into his bedding.

Flynn scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well… let's see you try it, frog…" He mumbled.

Pascal suddenly became very alert as his eyes grew wide and his head cocked to one side suspiciously. He zipped off his table and skittered towards the workbench, and Flynn instantly clapped his hands over his ears to block the lizard's tongue from a certain attack for calling him a frog. To his surprise though, Pascal ignored him and instead climbed up his leg and onto the workbench, putting his front paws/claws on the glass of the window. His head turned to look at a confused Flynn and he pointed outside with his tail. Flynn's eyes followed the line of direction and he quickly stood as he realized what Pascal was trying to show him.

Rapunzel was walking the palace grounds some hundred or so yards away from the smithy. He was sure it was her - he knew that cropped brown hair anywhere. What made his heart stop and his palms sweat however was the realization that she was not alone.

Rapunzel had only shown Darin a third of the castle and its grounds, and it was taking much longer than she'd expected. The prince had been relatively quiet, but he moved so slowly and lingered at each new destination she brought him to. It was beginning to drive Rapunzel crazy and she desperately wanted to burst into a dead run just to rid herself of the nerves and excess energy she could feel building up in her body. Darin seemed determined to make the tour last all afternoon, and if she was being honest with herself, Rapunzel could swear that he was doing it on purpose - almost as if he knew she would rather be someplace else. And she did - she wanted to be with Eugene. She needed to give him a heads up on this whole ordeal before he heard any misleading rumors she knew would start to go around, especially since the Prince had made no small entrance.

Shortly after his arrival, a large carriage crammed full of his belongings had shown up at the palace, along with a smaller carriage bearing extravagant gifts intended for Rapunzel. Beautiful dresses, rare jewels from his kingdom, the finest chocolates and sweets, and other incredibly flashy favors had all been given to her. Not wanting to be rude, especially in front of the crowd of people who had gathered to see the mountain of gifts, Rapunzel had accepted and sent them away to be unpacked inside. She'd never been very materialistic, having grown up with only one true wish that she was now living. She already had everything she needed - her parents, her freedom… and Eugene. All she really wanted now was for Darin to leave her be and go back where he came from.

Rapunzel and Darin were walking the gardens at the moment, which were filled with every kind of flower imaginable. Bushes of roses, lillies, daisies, and other types she didn't yet know the names of dotted the gardens with their vibrant colors. The aroma was intoxicating, but today she couldn't enjoy it the way she normally would. The gardens were very close to the smithy where Eugene worked, and while she couldn't be sure if he would be able to see her walking around with some other man, Rapunzel didn't want to take that risk. She tried to hurry Darin along, but it wasn't exactly going so well.

"You seem to have forgotten your shoes." Darin commented, glancing down at her bare feet with a disapproving smile and raised eyebrows.

Rapunzel's toes curled into the cool grass as she sheepishly met his eyes. "I don't normally wear them unless I absolutely have to."

"Why?" Darin asked.

"Well… I never had a real reason to, when I was - " Rapunzel stopped mid-word, biting her lip. She hadn't talked to anyone about her old life except for her parents and Eugene.

Darin nodded. "When you were in that tower." He said nonchalantly. "Yes, the story of your little adventure has spread pretty far since you've returned. We all know the basics: you were stolen as an infant, raised by a centuries-old hag who used you for your magic hair to keep herself young, were rescued by the thief, and brought home to your real family." He said this all as if he were discussing the weather and not as the life-changing event it had actually been. Rapunzel knew what he said was true, but the way he said it made her feel strange inside.

"What a lot of us don't know though, are the little details." Darin said, a gleam in his eyes. "Like, what was it like to be cut off from the whole world for eighteen years? Just how did that hair of yours keep that woman young for so long? And if it hadn't been cut, would you have been able to keep yourself young as well, and live forever the way Gothel intended to?"

Rapunzel stopped walking and had to blink a few times to clear the sudden moisture from her eyes. This was happening much too fast. She'd been spending these last three months trying to move past all that had happened to her, and now this prince who she barely even knew was bringing it all back to her memory. She turned away from Darin, clearing her throat gently.

"I um… I don't really want to talk about those things right now." Rapunzel said. "After all, we really don't know each other."

Darin stepped in front of her, a tad too close for her comfort. "That's how people get to know each other, Princess." Darin said, putting his large hand on her bare arm. His touch was like ice to her. "They ask each other questions. Sometimes, if you really want to get to know someone, you ask very personal questions. Things you don't tell just anyone." He said lowly. Rapunzel looked up at him and noticed for the first time how he towered over her little frame. His eyes had turned dark and hungry, and Rapunzel thought with a shiver just how much he looked like a wolf stalking its prey. She stepped back, not answering.

"That's all right." Darin said gently. "We have plenty of time to get to know each other. How about we start off with something simpler." He gestured to her head. "In the pictures and murals around the palace of you as a child, your hair was blonde. Why is it brown now?"

It wasn't exactly a simpler question to Rapunzel, but at least she didn't have to discuss with him the loneliness of living in a tower separated from the rest of the world. "When my hair was cut, it lost its magic. It'll stay brown and it won't grow back either."

Darin shook his head and hummed softly. "Pity."

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Darin started, gazing at her short locks with regret. "It's just a shame that all of that beautiful hair was hacked off the way it was." He said calmly.

Rapunzel felt hurt and touched her hair with soft fingers. "I like it better this way." She said softly. And she did - because Eugene had sacrificed himself to save her from Gothel, destroying the magic that would've kept her bonded to the witch forever.

Darin hummed another note of disagreement, shaking his head. "Still, that criminal could've left you with a few inches more, don't you think?"

Rapunzel's head snapped up, her hurt forgotten. "He's not a criminal anymore. He risked his life for me - surely you heard that part of the story?" She questioned.

Darin nodded. "Yes, but it's obvious why he did it. Even a cold-blooded murderer would've gotten a full pardon from the king, had one brought you back to Corona."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed and she felt fire rise in the pit of her stomach at his audacity. "Are you saying that you think the only reason he brought me home was so he could be pardoned?" She asked.

Darin looked surprised at her sudden change of tone. "Of course - why else would he do it?"

"Because I know Eugene!" Rapunzel shouted, poking him in the chest. "He's a wonderful, caring man, and you don't know anything about him!"

"I know he's been a runaway thief his entire life. I know that he should be in jail, at the very least." Darin said, crossing his arms. "But you act as if he's some sort of hero."

"He is to me!" Rapunzel said, anger coursing through her veins.

Darin chuckled, irritating Rapunzel even more. "I didn't realize the King and Queen were welcoming orphaned felons into their family now. Perhaps I should've worn rags and smeared my face with mud before I got here? Would that have been more appealing to you than my gifts?"

Rapunzel was incredulous as she stepped back. "You will not say one more word against Eugene while you are here. I know I can't do anything about the law saying you have the right to court me, but don't think that means I'll enjoy it." She said, her voice filled with venom. The words of hate tasted strange on her mouth, but she found it invigorating. "The tour is over." She finished, turning on her heel to leave.

"I'll win you over yet, Princess!" Darin called cheerfully after her as she headed back to the castle. "I still have twenty-nine days!"

As Rapunzel seethed and mumbled under her breath, she felt the first streaks of tears run down her cheeks and burst into a run as soon as he was nothing more than a dark blur far behind her.