Well. It's been a really, really, REALLY long time since I've spoken with all of you, but I hope you're all still with me. (: This is a short chapter, and I think I'm only submitting one more after it - a happy one to counter this somewhat sad one. Reviews are nice ...
Rapunzel had only heard the word once, and until now, she didn't understand what it meant. It wasn't until right now, as she stood on the rocky bank watching Flynn sail away with the glistening crown held tightly in his hand, that she discovered how each and every syllable could cause such unbelievable pain. She recalled on that moment when she first heard the word – from her Mother. It didn't click in her brain until just this instant how awful that particular word could make someone feel.
And what was that word? – betrayal. It was incredible how much it all made sense now; how much seemed to fit together, and yet, he promised. How could he leave her here? How could he sail off into the night with that wrecked crown and just leave her all by her lonesome to a couple of thugs? He had been her loyal protector through their entire journey together and all of the sudden it was gone. Gone in the blink of an eye.
A mixture of undeniable sadness, anger and perhaps even guilt threatened to show themselves through fat tears. And she had no idea what she was going to do as the largest men she had ever laid eyes on swarmed in on her. Their fists alone were probably bigger than her entire body. The pain that consumed her was so great that it immobilized her, completely rooting her to the spot. At last, with all the strength and adrenaline she could muster, Rapunzel ran, moaning in helplessness and screaming because there was really nothing else to do.
No one could have prepared her for this level of agony, and if they ever tried, she wouldn't have believed it were possible. It was almost as though a wrecking ball had hit her in the gut and removed both the air from her lungs and the words from her mouth. She couldn't breathe and she had absolutely nothing to say.
It wasn't until she was somehow, miraculously, back into her Mother's arms, safe and secure that she uttered the words, "You were right, Mother." Mother Gothel comforted her and stroked her disheveled hair and assured her everything was alright, but it wasn't. Nothing was alright. Rapunzel's Mother had no idea what she was going through – no one could. But, because she didn't know what to say, or how to explain, she just cried and retreated willingly to the only home and safe-house she ever knew. Her tower was waiting for her, welcoming her even though she had betrayed it, along with her oh-so-forgiving Mother. She would go home and forget everything. All of the new things she discovered, all the people she met, all the EVERYTHING she encountered on her brief excursion would all have to be locked away in her memories. Including Eugene – Flynn. All gone.
Why did Mother Gothel have to be right? Why couldn't she live a life like the girls she saw in town today? I didn't seem fair, but betrayal wasn't fair was it? Life wasn't fair. It was amazing how just that one word could make her whole world shift back to the sad state it started at. It was almost a tease. A wonderful life was laid out before her – a life away from that tower – but it was yanked out from under her, and here she was, staggering upon the weak legs that had carried her this far. Everything had to have been a dream, but it seemed so real. The pain was real, no doubt.
Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself to fall asleep. Maybe she would wake up in the morning to a world where they made dictionaries that were somehow void of such a pitiful word.