Rapunzel crept carefully out of the castle courtyard, her burlap bag - which only contained two dresses, her brush, the flag Eugene had given her on her 18th birthday, a candle, and a bed for Pascal - tossed over her shoulder and Pascal riding on the other. Favoring the ankle she'd wrenched climbing down from her second-story window barefoot, she tried to be quick and stealthy.
Oh, she wasn't going without a plan: She'd gone to her father's office and found the address of the small house Eugene was now living in on the outskirts of the town square. She was going to see him; if he wanted to accompany her, fine. If he didn't...well...she hadn't really considered that option.
"The one time I should wear shoes..." she grumbled quietly to Pascal, who clucked his tongue grumpily. He was not in favor of this whole thing. "Oh, c'mon, Pascal...it'll be fine."
As soon as she left the castle grounds, she rummaged in her burlap bag to retrieve a candle. Torches lit the walkway to the front entrance, so she lit her candle there. And then she was off, as quiet as a ghost.

It took an hour of walking to get to the ex-thief's house in the dark. By then, her ankle was swollen terribly and she was cold and tired. Late fall may not have been the best time to run away, but she wasn't about to turn back now. She probably should've gotten a cloak first, as well. But none of that mattered to her as she hurried to the wooden door, knocking on it quickly and anxiously. She prayed he would be home!
A clink came from inside, and the door creaked open enough for the man to peek out with one eye.
"It's me. Rapunzel," she whispered.
His eye widened, and he flung the door open, letting her in. "What on earth are you doing here?! You were supposed to..."
She shook her head. "I turned him down. He..." she sighed, taking a deep breath to explain the whole situation.
"Wait. Before you say anything else, what happened to your ankle? And-you're freezing!" Tsking his tongue in mild irritation, he scooped her up in his arms and immediately set her down in the bed, which was situated in a corner of the one-room house. "Sit right there while I check that out. I wouldn't be surprised if you sprained it. What the heck were you doing?"
She sighed, burying her face in her hands as she let Eugene poke and prod at her ankle, which was now twice its normal size and mottled in shades of purple and red. After she gathered her thoughts, she spilled the entire story out, watching Eugene's facial expressions turn from anger to pure fury.
"He did what to you, and-and-and your mother-"
"It doesn't matter now, I guess. Maybe they're right...but I came here to ask if you wanted to accompany me. I'm running away."
He dropped the strip of cloth he was using as a bandage. "You're what?"
"I can't do this, Eugene. I can't-"
"No, you can't run away," he shook his head, turning back to the bandage.
She grimaced as he tightly bound her injured ankle. "But...I-I can't be given away like I'm a prize to be won! I-"
"Running away won't help anything, Rapunzel. I know. I did it before...a lot. Running away from your problem never helps - they always catch up," he shook his head, a shadow crossing his face.
"I was only loved for my hair for the first eighteen years of my life," she said firmly, "I can't be married to someone simply because of my title. Eugene, I can't. I'm so scared." she whispered the last sentence and looked down into her lap.

He was silent for a few minutes. He was furious at her parents, and at that prince, and...at everyone in general. He took the thin blanket that had been tossed haphazardly on the bed, draping it around her shoulders. "I know."
"That's it? You know?" she wanted a definitive yes or no answer. She wanted to know if he was with her or against her. She...she wanted to know if anyone truly cared. Her heart ached.
Eugene slowly pulled up a chair, swiveling it backwards and straddling it after setting it beside the bed. "I don't know what to tell you," he started quietly, "I wish I did. I wish I could make everything okay for you. But...I can't. I'm not royalty. I...after I proposed to you without asking your parents, they warned me not to try anything again. Otherwise, I'd put that ring on your finger and you wouldn't be able to be sent off just for your title. You don't know how much I want that, Rapunzel, but I can't. I'm not good enough, anyway-"
"Yes, you are," she mumbled. "You're so much better than everyone I've met. You actually...you care about me. Right? No one else does, I guess."
His heart ached for the girl. "Your parents care about you. They're just following tradition."

She played with a loose thread on the blanket, fighting for her composure. "I know," she choked, "but...what if I don't want to follow tradition? I-I...maybe I'm the one that's wrong. They've done all this for me, and I-I ran away...I'm a terrible daughter, I don't-"
"Hey," he shook his head. "You're not a terrible daughter. You've got half of a brain, to be honest. I wouldn't want to follow that tradition, either."
"But I'll have to..." she trailed off and sighed, rubbing at her eyes and trying to stop the tears from coming once more.
"Hey," he cupped her cheeks in his hands. "We'll figure something out, I promise."
"I don't want to go back if I'm going to have to be...be married off to someone I don't even know, a-and to someone who doesn't care about me! I can't leave you-"
"Don't get hung up on me, though. I'm no great prize, like I said."
"You're better than Edward! You're better than the other two!" she cried. "How do you define 'prize'? You gave your life up for me! Edward slapped me because I wasn't giving him what he wanted! You're-you're staying up to talk to me instead of sending me on my way! You're-"
"Okay, okay," he made a smoothing motion with his hands. "But I don't want you getting in trouble over me."
"I don't care. Either you're going with me or you're not. I'm going though, Eugene, I truly am. I ran away before and it worked out, didn't it?"
He shook his head. "That was a completely different scenario, though, Rapunzel. Trust me, they'd find you. They searched eighteen years for you, don't you think they'd find you somehow?"

Rapunzel huffed. She hadn't considered that. "But..."
He stood up. "Before you came in, I had some tea steeping. Why don't I get you a cup, too? Warm you up."
Before she could answer, he left and returned with two cups, handing one to her. She sipped at it, watching him. He met her eyes, and they stared at one another, both wracking their minds for a solution.
"Why don't you talk to your parents tomorrow? Or...later today. Whatever. But anyway, tell them everything you told me. Tell them you already spent eighteen years of your life with someone due to your hair, you don't want to spend the rest of your life married to someone because of your title. Leave me out of it, or they'll just get bullheaded, I'm sure. Just tell them exactly how you feel and why you feel that way, okay? They should be cooled off tomorrow,"
"They won't listen, though," she shook her head. She knew they wouldn't!
"Oh, but you won't know until you try. Where's that optimistic girl I met two years ago?"
"Life happened," she grumbled. She didn't know exactly how much that tore Eugene up inside.
"I know," he cleared his throat. "Life sucks sometimes. But you've got to keep that chin of yours up, alright? I promise things will work out the way they're supposed to. If they don't in our favor...well..maybe that's how it's meant to be."
Her eyebrows furrowed, but she knew he was right. Ducking her head, she nodded. "Okay." Pascal cuddled up to her lap, clucking his tongue before burying himself under the blanket.
Eugene reached to pull her chin up, making her meet his eyes. Brushing a lock of hair out of her face, he gave her a teasing grin. "What'd I tell you about keeping your chin up, darling?"
She smiled tiredly. "Okay. Sorry."
Resisting the urge to kiss her, he took her empty teacup, dropping a kiss on her forehead instead. "I suppose I should get you home, huh?"

She sighed, nodding. "I'm sorry for bothering you this late,"
"It's fine. That's what I'm here for," he smiled, setting the cups down on his table. "You needed someone to talk to."
"And I greatly appreciated it," she set the blanket aside and stared at her bandaged ankle, which still ached. She gathered Pascal onto her shoulder and slid carefully from the bed, gasping when she put weight on her ankle.
Eugene was at her side in an instant. "C'mere. Lean on me," he offered, pulling her close to his side.
"Thanks," she nibbled her lip. "Is it broken?"
"No," he shook his head. "Not broken. Just a really bad twist or a sprain."
She nodded, hobbling slowly towards the door. When she tried to pick up her burlap bag, he shook his head. "Leave that - I'll bring it to you sometime tomorrow. Or you can get it, depending on your ankle."
"Okay," she nodded again, and he grabbed two thin metal things from the table and stuffed them into his pocket before shutting the door.

They were met with a light drizzle. "Spectacular," he grumbled.
"I'm sorry," she sounded almost tearful again. She never should've acted so rashly, and she never should've gotten him involved, too...
"It's okay," he shook his head.
"You don't have to accompany me. I'd make it back by myself," she offered.
"Buuut you're hurt. I don't mind anyway," he added, sliding his arm a little snugger around her.

They walked in relative quietness, Rapunzel limping slowly along. She was obviously troubled about something, but Eugene figured she'd open up sooner or later. Finally, she did. "I'm so scared of losing you."
That wasn't necessarily what he'd wanted to hear. He'd been trying to mask his emotions for her today, trying to make it easier for both of them, but...but it wasn't happening. "I don't want to lose you, either, but if it happens...we've both got to accept it. And I'll be darn happy for you if you find a prince to marry that you truly love."
"But why? If you lose me, and I lose you and I don't love you anymore..."
"Because that's what you do for people you love. If they're better off without you, you let them go. It's hard, but it's for the best."
Rapunzel heaved a sigh, but remained quiet for the majority of the trip home.
When she finally spoke, she was quiet and her voice a little hoarse. "I've never done anything for you, why do you even love me? I'm not pretty, I'm way too naive and spend too much time daydreaming, and I've-I've never really done anything for you."
He shook his head. "You've done so much for me. You made me see what was wrong with me. You convinced Eugene Fitzherbert to come back, for goodness' sake! You saved my life. Let's see...you accept me for the person I am, not for the person I was. You love me. That one thing alone is more than what a lot of people have ever bothered doing," he said. "And who says you're not pretty? You're dropdead gorgeous."
"No I'm not," she laughed quietly. "I'm far from it. But if you must know, Edward and his father both said so. And even my mother has suggested it before. And...Gothel, of course."
"Well, they're wrong." Just as he said it, she tripped, twisting her ankle again. Gasping in pain, she doubled over and hit her knees on the cobblestone of the town square before she could catch herself. "Ohh, geez Rapunzel! Are you okay?"
She nodded, but she was biting back tears. "I'm okay," she said shakily. "Skinned my knees. Twisted my ankle again." he grimaced, and before she could stand up, he had her in his arms.
"This is ridiculous. I'm carrying you to the castle."
"No, you're not!" she hissed. "Put me down!"
"The more you're off that ankle, the quicker it'll heal. Shh."

When they got to the castle, he set her down carefully and let her lean on the side of the castle while he...picked the lock.
"Where did you even learn how to scale walls?" he asked quietly, glancing up from his work.
"You," she whispered back, watching him with curiosity as he fiddled with the two thin metal sticks from earlier. There was a click, and he gently eased the door open.
"I'm never teaching you anything again, in that case. Now, go get some rest and do what I told you to, okay? Talk to your parents."
She nodded. "Thank you." she grabbed him into an impulsive hug, and he hardly wanted to let her go.
"You're welcome." he buried his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent in case it was the last time they'd see each other.
He watched her quietly as she hobbled off into the castle, and as soon as he was sure she was okay, he locked the door and sprinted back for his house before he could have any second thoughts about not helping her run away.