Rapunzel awoke as she fell through the air. She didn't fall long, though, soon she landed on smooth stone. Sitting up sideways, she rubbed her now bruised hip and looked around. She had no idea where she was, but she didn't think it was a very good place to be. The unnatural angles and shapes of the stairs and bridges were too uncanny for here to be any place good. She stood up awkwardly, gained her balance and looked around. How did she get here? Is this what happened to Jack and Merida, too? If it was, then that meant they must have been here somewhere! She tried looking for them, stretching on her tiptoes, but it was very dark and difficult to see. She gnawed on her finger in thought. Suddenly, though, a warm glow began to shine nearby.
She turned towards it. A bodiless light, glowing golden white flickered, drifting slowly towards the ground. She watched in awe, approaching it slowly, her green eyes wide with wonder. More emerged in the darkness, all around her, lighting up the space and filling everything with warmth. She poked one and it emitted a faint sigh. She giggled and prodded it again. Another sigh. Just before each light would hit the ground, they would snuff out like a swiftly dying flame. More kept appearing around her, each one a different color. She was surrounded in warmth and light and rainbows, and Rapunzel loved it.
Lifting her arms high, she began to dance to a soundless song in her head, humming it as she bounced around the floor, her hair a swirling trail around her. Suddenly, the lights all vanished. She was plunged into total blackness. She gasped and jumped back as one of the lights abruptly appeared directly in front of her at eye level. She regarded it cautiously, circling it and observing its gentle flicker. Gently raising her right hand to touch it, she stared in astonishment and confusion. Her fingers made contact and brushed it. It felt… cool. It swiftly began to grow larger and brighter, almost blinding her. She had to shut her eyes to avoid burning them. Her arm in contact with the light began to feel weighted. When the light faded back to the size of a wisp, she looked back, only to find a thick metal cuff around her wrist.
She gasped and pulled at her hand. It didn't work. A chain of pure light bound her to the orb; although, at a closer look, she saw the chain emitted a smoky darkness all around it. Unaware of her surroundings as she was distracted by the cuff, she did not notice the clank of the second one closing around her left wrist until it was too late. She turned with a short gasp to see it, only to find a woman with black, wavy hair in a crimson gown and a dark grey cloak peering at her past a dagger in her hand. "Oh Rapunzel, didn't I tell you? Mother knows best." The dame's eyes widened in fear and she tried to scramble away from her, only managing to escape a few inches, due to the shortness of the chains. They pulled her to the ground, pinning her on her back.
"Let me go!" she huffed furiously. The woman, Gothel, grinned and lowered the blade.
"Oh, Rapunzel, now why would I want to do that?" she chuckled.
Hiccup finally reached the ground floor of the abyss. As soon as Jack's groans had reverberated loudly up to him, he had rushed as well as he could with his prosthetic leg to the Guardian. He then saw Merida on her knees and through her mane of hair he could barely see Jack, but noticed she had him in a snug embrace. While catching his breath, he smiled. After a moment of rest, he approached them and rested on one knee in front of them. Merida saw him over Jack's shoulder. "Is he okay?" he mouthed silently, pointing to the teen held in her arms. She nodded softly and slowly pulled away from him. Jack sighed and looked up, spotting Hiccup.
"Did either of you… did you see any of that?" he asked sheepishly. Hiccup shook his head quickly.
"I saw part of it. Where that girl promised to help you, and when…" her voice trailed off. Jack nodded in understanding while taking a deep breath. He stood up and picked his staff up from the stairs.
"We need to find Rapunzel," Jack pressed in a no-nonsense tone. Merida nodded and stood in front of him, then offered a hopeful glance at Hiccup. He dipped his head once in response and they walked. It didn't take long, as her hair left a noticeable trail. Merida started running first, with Jack and Hiccup in tow. Hiccup had gotten surprisingly used to his false leg, which was obviously with his running. He wasn't, however very good at stopping with it, which became evident when he crashed into Jack as he stood still. Merida looked terrified beside them. The guys ceased their struggle when the saw what she had noticed.
"Oh God," Hiccup whispered. Rapunzel lay bent backwards on the floor with her feet tucked under her. Chains pinned her to the stone ground and a dark haired woman in a maroon dress sat hunched over her, holding a gleaming dagger inches from her face. Rapunzel heaved with a sob and closed her eyes, turning her head away. Gothel only pushed her head back and forced her eyes open. She rested the tip of the dagger on the girl's eyebrow.
"Oh, please Rapunzel, stop being so dramatic! Otherwise I may have to cut out your tongue, too. You wouldn't want that." Rapunzel's eyes widened and she shook her head in panic. "That's what I thought. Now if you just relax we can get this over with. You won't need these; you'll be safe in the tower with me anyways." Suddenly, Hiccup understood what Mother Gothel meant.
"No!" he cried out, coming to his senses. He rushed out at the woman and kicked her in the face with his metal foot. She shouted and fell back with pain, dissipating into sand and slinking into the crevices in the rock. Rapunzel's chains faded away, too. "Rapunzel? Rapunzel," Hiccup repeated, trying to get through to her in her state of shock. He pulled her up into his arms and held her close to his ear to see if she was breathing. She was. He let out a sigh of relief.
"Hic, let me try something," Jack suggested softly. Hiccup backed away and allowed Jack some room. The tallest point of his staff, the peak of the crook, tapped Rapunzel on her nose gently. It turned red from the cold and she squinted at him. He grinned and almost did it again, but her hand pushed the staff from her face and she slowly pulled herself to a sitting position.
"It's official; I never want to see her again," she said finally. Merida laughed lightly and offered her hand to help Punz up. Gladly, she took it. Finally, the four had all reunited, and there'd only been two living nightmares. Maybe now they could plan an escape.