A.N. Hi everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I was terribly busy for the longest time and only now managed to write this particular chapter. Unfortunately, I don't think many of you will enjoy it. It's crucial to the plot but doesn't feature a lot of Eugene/Rapunzel moments. It's also horribly short. It was longer at first, but I chose to cut it off at the point that I did because it felt right that way. At least it means that the next chapter will be up shortly, hopefully within the week.

Again, a large thank you to everyone who continually reviews my story. Your praise is uplifting, especially since I'm working on my own novel at the moment. So thank you. A huge thanks to PampleMousse07, MMShadowWolf, RadosianStar, defunkatated, Leon, xbecbebex, PenAndInkPrincess, HeIsAllINeed, artychick7, jayni1000, PrimaBallerina13, Twisp, PrincessSharazad, and C.A. Penny. Your words of encouragement are always appreciate *Big hug*

And now to our story:

Chapter Six:

For a few seconds, Eugene froze, paralyzed in fear. He could not grasp what had happened. Still holding onto Rapunzel, he expected her to open her eyes again, to laugh once more and twirl around without a care in the world. But her body remained limp in his hands, her eyes closed to him.

"Rapunzel," he whispered desperately, shaking her anxiously. Cradling her head, he brushed a hand across her cheek. She was burning up. "No. Rapunzel? Rapunzel!" His voice rose over the relatively silent crowd as he held her close to his body, his mind stuck in a place of uncertainty. He was still hoping for her to sit awake and kiss him reassuringly. But her lips were unmoving, her rising and falling chest the only true sign of life.

The world around him seemed to blur to nothingness as he held her, some of his panic draining away as he clung to the realization that she was still alive. And finally, his feet could walk again.

Gathering his wits, he lifted her up, so that her tiny feet dangled over the side of his arm and her head rested in the crook between his shoulders and neck. People were already beginning to stare and it was only a matter of time before someone recognized him. The king and queen were somewhere in that crowd, probably already beginning to hear whispers about their daughter. To try to get through the dancing pairs would be suicide no doubt. The thugs too remained on the other side of the square, too drunk to be of any help. Glancing up towards the palace, he saw Vincent and knew his only hope lay with him.

He started at a walk, afraid that going any faster would lead to him tripping and tumbling and Rapunzel falling…He cut the image off before her head could hit the floor, forcing all his energy on alerting Vincent to the situation. And then a call rose up from the crowd.

"He's taking the princess!"

Eugene could hardly take a chance to see who had called out or how the crowd was reacting. In his hands, he held the most precious gift of all and the clarity of the king's words were falling down on him. He should not have come; if they attacked him now, she would suffer too. The only blessing was that they could not possibly know it was him yet; the other blessing: that they had alerted Vincent to his predicament.

Racing down the steps, he reached just as the king and queen burst through the stationary crowd. It was only then that he realized how still the square had become. Handing Rapunzel delicately over to Vincent, he turned to face the villagers, aware that no one would protect him now.

As he removed the hat from atop his head, a cry of outrage rose from the crowd. The king and queen jumped in fear as the people forgot they stood amongst them. Guards were running down from the palace, gathering the royals and escorting them from the square. The group of celebrants hardly seemed to take notice as the injustice of Flynn Rider's escapes sunk in. Even if the guards were to try to calm them down, it would do no good. He could see the look in their eyes as they stood together. They wanted revenge and they wanted it now.

"He should be hanged!" one voice cried out, inciting multiple more into occurrence.

"Hanging is far too kind," another protested, "We should tie him up and leave him in the forest for some starving beast."

Eugene cringed as an image of razor sharp teeth and talons pervaded his mind. He'd been warned, but he had thrown caution to the wind. No one would come to his aid now. Any second now, the crowd would converge on him. This is it Eugene Fitzherbert. Prepare to meet your maker, Flynn Rider. There was nothing to regret at this point, except a lifetime of crime. But even that did not fill him with much guilt. He would not go back and change that, not when it had led him to her.

And perhaps he did hold one regret: that Rapunzel would always be nothing more than a dream. And with that there was also a blessing: that she would not have to see this, to see his final downfall. He could only hope that she was well. And in this moment when he should be concerned with his own misfortune, he could only think of her lying still and death-like.

It made him sick to know that something was wrong and that he could do absolutely nothing about it. And as helplessness rained over him, his emotions quickly transformed into uncontrollable ire.

"Come and get me then!" he shouted angrily, spreading his arms wide, inviting them to do their worse. "Come on!"

A hush descended on the crown and then, in eerie synchronicity, they began to move forward. He braced himself for impact, refusing to close his eyes, even if his heart was pounding with fear. Some of the men drew away from the group, faster than the others. They would show him no mercy, he could tell by the glinting maliciousness in their eyes.

Only a few feet away, Eugene placed a last thought towards Rapunzel and waited for the inevitable. And then they were on him.

The first man to reach him, landed a well-aimed punch on his cheek. Filled with great force, it sent him sprawling to the ground. Pain radiated in the spot, but it was about to become much worse.

"Stop!" A single voice rose above the jeering crowd. It sounded familiar to his ear, but he could not quite place it. His mind was buzzing angrily as a foot connected with his stomach, and another with his back.

"I said STOP!" The voice was closer this time, but the face to go with it remained blurry in his mind as the pain raced through him.

The voices of the angry crowd were dying down, listening to the single person. He opened his eyes; his vision was slightly hazy, but through the blur of colours, he could see his attackers being drawn away as someone bent down beside him.

It was Vincent.

"You okay, Rider?" He placed a hand on his arm.

"What do you think you are doing?" This was the voice that had called off the wild dogs, the voice that had saved him. Glancing up, he could clearly see the king standing between him and the crowd, flanked by the guards and some of the Snuggly Duckling thugs.

With Vincent's help, Eugene managed to stand, ignoring the throbbing ache in his head. He was aware that people were glancing at him, wondering what had brought the king to his rescue. It was something Eugene wondered about too.

"Claiming justice for ourselves!" a voice called out from the very back of the group.

"Is that what you call beating a man senseless?" the king countered, his voice tinged with ire, "Is that justice?"

The crowd began to mumble amongst themselves, unhappy with their monarch's apparent ignorance. "He's done us a great more injury," a man at the front of the group commented unwaveringly, "And it would seem as if your guards are incapable of keeping him under lock and key. Forgive us if we felt it necessary to take control of the situation."

Silence fell as an atmosphere of discomfort took over. Even Vincent cringed noticeably enough for Eugene to realize as he continued to lean on the man for support.

"Cal," Vincent hissed in the silence, calling over a nearby soldier to take his place as Eugene's support stand. Passing over his burden, he crossed over to the king. "Sir, you don't have to take this," he whispered low in his ear.

Phillip smiled gently in Vincent's direction, touched by the captain's undying loyalty. Rushing after his daughter in fear, he had hardly noticed Eugene's plight until the loud cries reached his ears. Desperately wanting to ensure Rapunzel's safety, it had taken much of his self-control to turn the other way. Looking into the square though and witnessing the brutality being shown, he could have hardly considered apathy. Even Vincent had been riled with anger to see the way the boy was being treated.

Uncivilized was the word he had used; it seemed too kind. Savage was far more apropos.

"If I do not tell them now, we will have an uproar on our hands, one you will have to quell as peacefully as possible. Better to avoid that particular mess tonight."

"Telling them won't change that," Vincent insisted. But Phillip would not hear it.

Turning his attention back to his people, he assumed the role of superiority, hoping to appeal to them through his strength. "You think I am being unjust only because you do not know the truth," he spoke, "The man you know as Flynn Rider…" A chorus of angered whispers rolled in again. Phillip ignored them, continuing unabashed, "…has not been punished and will not be punished."

The whispers of the dissent escalated to loud cries of contempt. "Because," he continued loudly, over the vocally upset people, "He saved my daughter. He is the one who found Rapunzel and returned her to me. He has my gratitude and I wish he had yours too."

This had the crowd's attention as they dropped into silence. The hush that fell over the group was so abrupt, like water dashed upon the flames to douse a fire, leaving only a slight hissing sound to dissipate in the air. All eyes were on him.

Unable to meet their gazes, Eugene cast his head downwards, their stares like knives piercing his skin, leaving him feeling more broken and bruised than he already was. His thoughts turned to Rapunzel again. He wanted to be by her side, to hold her hand, to make sure she was well. But as long as the crowd lingered with vengeance imprinted on their hearts, he remained a captive of their inability to forgive.

"But your majesty…" a voice began to call out before being quickly cut off by the king.

"Now is not the time for you to fall into debate," he said with firm finality on the matter, "My daughter has taken ill and I will not be away from her side for much longer. This man is not your enemy. Respect my decision and return to your homes."

Eugene felt a rush of gratitude as the king turned to face him. He was extremely humbled by the king's support. He stood up a little taller as the man approached h, firmly believing that the crowd would disappear and he would be able to see Rapunzel, to be there for her when she awoke.

And then a sharp pain erupted on the side of his head and he collapsed to the floor, swallowed up by the darkness of his unconscious.

He was falling through an impenetrable blackness that slowly faded into blinding white light as he continued to progress in his downwards manner. There was no sign of a bottom to this descent, no end in sight. Somewhere in the distance, someone was singing a hauntingly familiar melody. It raced through him, coursing through his veins, filling him with dizzying warmth. She was singing to him, calling out to him, trying to heal him.

Flower gleam and glow.

Let your power shine.

Make the clock reverse.

Bring back what once was mine.

Heal what has been hurt.

Change the fate's design.

Save what has been lost.

Bring back what once was mine.

What once was mine.

"Rapunzel!" He shouted her name as the last few notes died away, the warmth they had brought him fading too. A cold chill swept in again as he continued his plunge into nothingness. Where was she? Could she be here with him, lost somewhere in the whiteness? Where was here?

My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert.

I have magic hair that glows when I sing.

There was his voice, floating out, words he had not spoken. They came through the air, disembodied, followed by her voice again. They swirled in his mind, fragments of a memory: of a cave and water rushing in to drown them.

The light was slowly fading now into shades of grey. There were figures, shadowy images, behind the foggy bleakness; pieces of his memory, no doubt.

I've been looking out a window for 18 years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?

It will be.

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

Well, that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

The grey curtains lifted as the word dream continued to reverberate in the silence. Behind it, he saw himself sitting in a boat while lanterns danced around. He held Rapunzel's hand in hers; her eyes were shining as they serenaded one another.

And at last I see the light.

And it's like the fog has lifted.

And at last I see the light.

And it's like the sky is new.

And it's warm and real and bright, and it's like the world has shifted.

All at once everything is different, now that I see you.

"Now that I see you," he whispered as the shadow of himself leaned forward, brushing a hand across her face. In that moment, he had been prepared to kiss her, to pronounce his love and then that moment had ended. He had been foolish seek out the Stabbington Brothers, but he had no time to regret his decisions as another scene began to play out to his right.

He could almost feel the pain of the dagger slipping through his flesh as the devil-woman stabbed through his projection. To detach himself from that moment seemed impossible as he watched his shadowy image collapse, Rapunzel clawing to get at him. Watching the series of events, reliving each second of it, was painful, but he could not drag his eyes away from it.

You were my new dream.

And you were mine.

Eugene felt a weird tugging in his stomach as he watched himself die, as he watched Rapunzel sing over him, her tear falling onto his cheek. The clarity of it all was stifling.

Are you watching carefully?

The voice that rang out held no familiarity in his mind. Rough and female, it forced him to close in on the scene, watching as the lights erupted from his prone body, spiralling in the air. He watched as Rapunzel looked on in awed bewilderment, and then he saw something. He could not be sure of what he had just witnessed, but whatever it had been, it was important. His mind had leapt, had pulled in the fleeting spectre that had passed in a quick second through the golden beams.

Do you understand?

The voice was back, wrapping his brain up in a tangle of confusion. No. He didn't understand. What was he supposed to understand? What had he just seen?

But before he could bring himself to contemplate the scene, his feet finally touched ground. Stuck in a land of grey, he did a full 360 before realizing that fog surrounded him on all sides. He stumbled forward, trying to break through the dense clouds, but the further he ventured forward, the deeper he immersed himself in the smoke, the denser the fog became until it enveloped his entire body, stifling him as it clogged his nose.

Falling to his knees, Eugene struggled to take a breath. He was being suffocated by this sea of grey. All attempts to escape it proved futile as his mind began to lose control and his vision blurred. This haze would be the death of him.

Flower gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine

There was that song again, and her beautifully melodic voice now coming to dispel the fog. Gratefully, he took a deep breath as air once more entered his system, the oxygen feeding him life. As the grey smoke faded away, he could make out her figure standing in the distance. No, not standing: dancing. Twisting and twirling to some silent beat, her long golden hair seemed to envelop her entire being in a cocoon as she spun and spun. Seeing him in the distance, she excitedly waved him over. He hurried to her instantly, ignoring the uneasy qualm in his head as he reached for her outstretched hand.

As their skin came into contact, Rapunzel came to a jarring halt. Her eyes bulged as her faced turned blue. In horror, Eugene watched as her hair turned brown and her skin paled to ashen grey. "Eugene," she choked before collapsing to the floor.

He grabbed for her, trying to stop her fall, but he could not reach her. She was inches from his grasp, but it was as though an invisible barrier had come up between them, hindering him from preventing her descent. Rendered useless, he could only watch as she crashed against the ground, her eyes opened unseeing to the world. Dead.

The barrier between them was gone now. Throwing himself on the ground, he clung to her body, his tears falling on her face, unable to do anything but stain her cheek in salty liquid.

"Eugene."

Her soft voice resounded welcomingly in his ears as he raised his eyes to stare at her.

"Rapunzel?"

Had his tears worked? Was it possible? Those green eyes, so wide, so frightened scratched at his heart. He held her tighter, wanting to make her realize she was safe when something sharp plunged into his abdomen.

A sharp pain shot through his body as he drew away from Rapunzel, hardly able to believe. But there she sat, a long dagger stained with blood gripped tightly in her hand. She looked surprised, as if she too could not understand what she had just done. But then, ever so slightly, tiny smile crept across her face as her hair began to return to its golden state once more, shimmering brilliantly.

He collapsed to the floor as his blood pooled out around him at an alarming rate. He applied pressure, trying to staunch the flow, but it was for nought. Death was coming.

Looking back at Rapunzel, mortification registered as he saw her delicately licking the blood, his blood, off the blade. "Thank you," she whispered as she crawled over to him. Dipping her finger in the crimson liquid, she drew a cross on his brow.

"Why?" he gasped as the pain grew too strong for him to control. His body was shutting down, but he had to know, had to comprehend her reason for killing him.

She leaned in, cradling his head in her hands. He was trembling uncontrollably now and she leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his lips. "It's the only way," she replied gently.

Her response echoed in his head as darkness overcame him. And as he slipped away, it was her name that resounded in his head.

Waking up, Eugene felt strangely at peace. The remnants of his dream were still clear in his mind, but the pain had not followed him back into reality. He could still see her face, surrounded by her long golden locks, a trickle of blood spilling from her pink lips, trailing down her chin. The image was ingrained in his mind, but it did not disturb him as it should. There was a reason for it, there was something he understood now, something important…but what? He could sense the realization in the back of his mind, but he could not quite grasp it here in reality. In his dream, it had seemed so clear, but now it was a muddled knowing.

"Welcome back, Mr. Fitzherbert."

That voice.

Eugene sat up abruptly, only now noticing that he did not know where he was. This place was unfamiliar in every detail. From the drab curtains drawn over the windows, holding back the sun, to the burgundy cupboards lining the walls of the room, he could not place himself. Even the smell, alluring and exotic as it was, gave him no sense of his location. The only thing of familiarity was the voice, the harsh female voice from his dream.

Now, in reality, he finally faced its owner. Standing in the doorframe was an olive-skinned woman with the sharpest blue eyes he'd ever seen. They were captivatingly electrifying; haunting. She was unlike anyone he'd ever seen; tall and slim with a small mouth and an even smaller nose. Her hair was long and ebony, but streaked with solid lines of white. Her clothes too were out of the ordinary. Dressed all in scarlet, she seemed to be tangled in a single shroud that wound around her body, hugging her figure. An ethereal beauty.

"Where…"

"A better question would be who," the woman suggested in her deep, resonating voice. He could detect an accent too now.

"Fine. Who are you?"

The woman smiled slightly as she manoeuvred herself into the cramped room and began to rummage through some drawers. "That is not important. Your dream, however…"

"My dream?" Eugene snapped abruptly, beginning to feel agitated, "What…"

"Please," she interrupted him with a certain sharpness, "Let me speak. And when I am done, you may ask questions." Not giving Eugene a chance to respond, she shoved a bowl into his hands. "Hold."

Too stunned to speak, he held it obligingly while she began to pour contents in. "You are Eugene Fitzherbert: rescuer, lover, friend. You are Flynn Rider: thief, brigand, murderer. But who are you really?"

"I..."

"Hush," the mysterious woman chided, "The dream you had was not normal, because I made you dream it. Now tell me what you saw."

"You made me dream it?"

She nodded impatiently, grabbing the bowl from him and beginning to churn the ingredients together. "Now tell me, what did you see?"

"Memories," Eugene began to tell her, not really wanting to, uncertain if he could trust her. But if telling her was what it took to get him out of this place, he would do it. "I was falling and I saw flashes of moments from my past…"

"Like what? About who?"

He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What does it matter?"

"Was it Rapunzel?"

Eugene froze as the woman spoke her name, letting it slip casually, knowingly. "How do you…"

"Mr. Fitzherbert, I know you have questions for me, but before I can start answering them, I need to know what your dream was. If you insist on leaving things out, it will only make things worse." She paused, but as Eugene failed to respond, pressed on. "So you relived moments with Rapunzel?"

He nodded. "Yes. And then I was on the ground, surrounded by fog, unable to breathe. And she sang to me and the smoke lifted and I could see her, dancing and I went to her and touched her and…"

"She died," the woman concluded for him, a spark of excitement glinting in her eyes, "Of course. And then what?"

"Umm, I don't remember," Eugene lied, unable to bring himself to reveal the rest.

Frowning, she put the bowl aside. "No matter how bad it might be, you have to tell me what you saw. It is vital that I know. You must trust me now."

Her voice was soothe and as her hands grabbed his, his heart began to accelerate. Could he really trust this stranger who knew too much? "I was crying and she woke up. But then she stabbed me and drank my blood."

"Did she say why?"

"It's the only way," Eugene relented, glad to be done.

The woman's face remained impassive as he did. Remaining silent, she poured the mixture into a glass. A greyish colour, Eugene cringed at its revolting appearance. It did not disturb her thought as she lifted it to her red lips and swallowed a good dose of it.

Placing the glass back on the wooden table, she reached for something else, her back facing Eugene. Questions raced through his mind and frustration took over as he waited for her to explain. "Will you please tell me what's going on?" he finally demanded when she continued to ignore him.

Her eyes were hard when she turned to face him. "It is as I feared," she replied solemnly, "The princess, Rapunzel, is doomed to die."

A.N. *Hides away in fear* So…what did you all think? Good, bad, wonderful, horrible? Please let me know in a comment, constructive critique, or general encouragement. You might be completely confused at this point but confused is good. Answers are coming in the next chapter promise. And Rapunzel will be in the next one. The story is just beginning. Stick around 3

Faith