A.N. Yes, this is me. No, this is not a trick. I could say a lot more, but you've waited long enough.

Chapter Twenty-One

Rapunzel wafted between two worlds not as logical as life and death, but somewhat more arbitrary, like dreaming and existing. They said she was dying, but the weariness within her limbs, within her soul was not one that she could reasonably associate with death—not that she was an expert. It was a feeling that she could easily claim kin with the sensation that ensnared her right before she descended into dreams.

No, it did not feel like she was dying. Yet, she knew with absolute certainty that should she descend into sleep again she would not ever wake up.

Eugene's gaze was cast off in the distance, towards the island, towards the fountain. He believed that it held the solution, that it would save her. She wanted to believe the same, but a part of her wondered… She had been too blessed of late: she'd been liberated from Gothel's bondage, been given Eugene, been returned to parents. She had known too much fortune; perhaps there was none left for her to know.

"You're going to be fine."

Rapunzel's eyes had glazed over in their regard of Eugene, and she had not realized that he had returned his own to fix upon her face. He was surveying her with an anxious glint, worried by the absentmindedness she portrayed. His fear was grave, and yet it did not distress her. Instead, it bestowed a relief within her. She wasn't sure why that was the case; perhaps it eased her to know that her trepidation was one shared by another. Together they could worry; together they could question: what if this is the end?

"What if I'm not?"

His hand, tight and firm gripped hers. "You will be. I swear."

But his voice betrayed a hint of doubt, tiny though it was beneath the resolution he asserted. It was enough.

She feigned ignorance of it, nonetheless, not wanting him to know that she knew that he too could not be sure that the promised fountain would save her, that perhaps this entire journey had been for naught. She wanted him to believe that, whatever waited for them at the end of this, he had done everything in his power to save her.

"Okay."

They held silence for the rest of the brief trip across the waters. Though their progress was slow, the distance was not so great to the island, and soon, they were coming up along its shore.

Eugene helped her to stand, lifting her up, and led her from the wooden ship to the sand of the coast. Her feet fell upon it and she knew: either she would be saved here, or this place would see her die.

"Where do we go?"

"Towards the heart."

The answer came not from Eugene, though the question had been directed to him, but a strange figure, a woman dressed in a long, flowing lilac sleeveless robe. She appeared, seemingly, from out of thin air, golden hair in a long braid flung over one shoulder. Her eyes were a crystal blue, cerulean, like the cloudless sky above. She was, in Rapunzel's good opinion, a beautiful feminine specimen. And ethereal—yes, that was the right word. Unnatural in her radiance, the soft white glow of her skin made Rapunzel wonder if she was—her mind searched for the word she had come across in her books—an angel.

Eugene seemed equally stunned by the sudden appearance of the phantom-like figure. His stance revealed a more fearful attitude than the awe Rapunzel felt. He took a step forward, and positioned himself ahead of Rapunzel in a defensive stand.

The woman's eyes glowed with amusement, her lips curving up.

"If I wanted to harm her, you would not be able to stop me. And I would never waste my energy on killing someone who is already dying."

Rapunzel did not flinch to hear those words. It was not a secret to her. But Eugene did viscerally react to it, his hands curling into fists.

"I can stop you."

He was forceful in his delivery, but it would mean very little if put to the test.

"I know you would try. It will not come to that. I am not here to stop you." The woman's voice, gentle though it was, was not one that inspired Rapunzel to believe that there was any true compassion in her. The woman might not have said the like, but Rapunzel was certain that she was the guardian over the island and, by extent, the fountain that dwelt upon it. That was, without a doubt, the only thing she cared to protect.

Tired of thinking about the woman in broad nouns, Rapunzel broke her silence. "What is your name?"

Her voice was hoarse, her throat dry. She coughed a little. Eugene rounded on her, eyes wide in apprehension. He gripped her shoulders tightly in his hands.

"I'm fine," she promised before he could ask. They both knew it was a lie.

The woman's gaze softened with sympathy, an emotion Rapunzel had not expected to garner from her. "I have no one name, as you do Rapunzel. Like your friend, I am known by some under one, by others another. You may call me what you wish, what I am is far more important. As you are Princess of Corona, and your friend is a Thief, I am the Guardian of the Fountain.

"You are dying," she continued, her soft tone and rhythmic delivery lulling Rapunzel and Eugene alike into a trance-like state. "The Fountain does have the power to restore life to you. But to benefit from its saving grace, you must first prove yourself worthy. A test must be passed, and then you will be given new life. Should you fail…"

She did not finish the statement; there was no need. They all understood. If they could not pass the obstacle placed before her, she would die.

"What sort of—"

"It will reveal itself in time. You will know it when you face it. There is nothing else to be said."

The woman evaporated then, like golden dust.

Rapunzel stood behind Eugene and took a deep breath. "It exists."

It did not matter that there was an obstacle to be faced, a test to pass to prove that she was worthy. There was a fountain; it was real; the journey had not been wasted.

"And we're going to get there," Eugene claimed, taking her hand then and squeezing it tight with promise. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "I am. And I'm not afraid. No matter what—"

"Don't."

"No," she insisted. She didn't know if it was possible, but Rapunzel felt as though she had grown exponentially since her eighteenth birthday. She felt wiser, more mature, less innocent. She understood now that life could be cruel, that death was as natural as breathing. It did not frighten her. She had lived, had experienced greater adventures within the scope of a week than she had within the span of the eighteen years that had come before. She felt no guilt, no shame. She would be sure Eugene felt none in turn. "I want you to hear this."

The pain in Eugene's eyes was evident, and in that instant she felt older than he, stronger even. No longer did she need him to comfort her; now she had to be the one to lend him strength, to console him.

"I know you still…"

"Rapunzel, please."

"…blame yourself. But you can't. You mustn't," she continued on even as he tried to interrupt again. "You brought life to me when I believed I would forever be chained to a tower. You brought me to my parents. And you were ready to die for me. But I chose to save you. That was my choice, not yours. I'm dying now because of that. And then you… You brought me here, you took my life in your hands and you delivered me here. You've done your part, Eugene. You saved me."

She wasn't sure if those were the right words to say, if they could even fully express the gratitude, the sentiments, in her heart. But they were the words that she spoke, the words Eugene heard. And when he did, his eyes grew bright with withheld tears and understanding.

He took her hand then, firm in his, and drew her close, his lips finding hers. It was not a chaste kiss, but the passion in it was not unkind, either. It was a devoted embrace, and it held a promise. That he would see her truly saved. And in it, she believed.

D

Eugene followed her through the forest, supporting her from behind. The fountain lay somewhere within the thicket of trees, and he knew that if any of them were going to be attuned to its location, it was Rapunzel. She did not confirm his musings, but she did not move with any faltering step either. The sudden strength she was demonstrating, despite the evident weariness plaguing her body, was inspiring to behold.

She pressed on, even when she tripped over a broken tree branch in the road, even though she fell then to the floor, even though it skinned her knee.

There were no tears in her eyes, and she forbade him any apologies. He could not have seen, could not have caught her.

He knew differently: he could have stopped it. He should have caught her.

Together they continued on, through the thick foliage. The path they took was rough and, as the minutes passed by at time's command, their progress slowed, Rapunzel's steps becoming more laggard, impeded not by uncertainty but sheer exhaustion.

His eyes scanned her hair for any sign of the chestnut that had once been there, that was now overwhelmed by white. He caught a glimpse of a strand or two.

She faltered suddenly and Eugene froze in his tracks. Her form swayed and he leapt forward instinctively. He caught her this time, her body falling into his waiting arms, her eyes closed.

An icy dread spread through his body, squeezing his heart, suffocating him. He swallowed thickly, emotions rising dangerously in his eyes.

"Rapunzel, please…"

She stirred, her eyes flickering open. Still alive. But barely.

"I don't…"

Resolving himself, Eugene lifted her up. She could not walk anymore. So he would carry her, trusting his own heart to find the Fountain at the island's core.

A trembling arm snaked around his broad shoulders, a weak hand scarcely able to anchor itself in his shirt, clutching almost futilely. Her head lulled dangerously upon his chest, her eyes shut wearily.

"Don't fall asleep on me, Rapunzel. Let's talk about something. C'mon," he urged, his mind searching for a topic as he renewed his efforts through the trees. We're so close. Please. Let me get her there. "What's the first thing you're going to do when we get back to Corona?"

She didn't reply at first, a small murmuring noise the only sound passing through her lips.

"What are you going to do?" he prodded gently, shifting her weight to rouse her.

Rapunzel stirred, just a bit. "Sleep."

"Ha!" Eugene forced the laugh, racing as he was then through the undergrowth. "You're funny, you know that?"

"Eugene, I…"

"I think I might join you for some rest and relaxation myself. I've had enough adventure to last me a lifetime, you know."

"I l—"

"But after you sleep, what are you going to do?"

"Fi…"

"Find?" Eugene suggested as her voice failed. His heart was in his throat. It can't be much further now. "Find what?"

"New dream."

Eugene swallowed thickly.

"With you," she added.

"Okay."

He had not noticed that the trees around him were slowly breaking thinning out, or that the ground beneath his feet was smoothing out. Then they broke through the undergrowth into a clear space and his knees wobbled weakly.

Before them laid the Fountain, its pristine surface unblemished by ripples. It stood upon a small incline, ensnared by a shallow wall of grey stone. Beside it, the Protector waited silently.

Hope exploded through Eugene. "It's here. We made it! Rapunzel!"

She was alert once more, awakened by the promise of her salvation. "We made it?" Her tone was so full of wonder, of disbelief; she had given up a long time ago on surviving.

The woman beckoned him forward when he hesitated, and Eugene hurried to the Fountain. A cup lay upon the wall, ready.

Laying Rapunzel down upon the grass, he took the cup in his hand and lowered it towards the water. Then he hesitated. "The test?"

The woman said nothing, her expression unreadable.

He reached down again, but paused again, the cup poised just above the surface. It could not be as easy as that. After coming so far, he could no more believe that they had actually succeeded. He had expected something more, a rainbow, a shower of light, a choir of ethereal voices, something to show that this was more than just an everyday fountain.

"Eugene?"

Her voice, too soft, called out to him, questioning his reluctance. It reminded him that there was no reason to hesitate. She was primed for death already.

The cup broke the calm of the water, scooping up the liquid and lifting it from its hole.

He rushed to her side then, careful not to spill any, and knelt beside her. His hand raised her head up, supporting it, while the other brought the cup to her lips, and bade her to drink.

Rapunzel sipped deeply, no water spilling from her lips. She drained it all and then, exhausted from the effort, fell back, her breaths shallow, too shallow.

Eugene knelt and waited and prayed. He waited for the glow, for some sign that it had worked.

There was no light or chorus of triumphant rejoicing or any other magnificent affair to show her renewal. It was far subtler than that.

Brown strands gradually broke through the mass of white hair that plagued her head. At the same time, her pale skin brightened with colour, restoring her, rejuvenating her.

Relief flooded through Eugene.

Then pain exploded in his side.

He gasped loudly, his hands reaching for the sore spot. He crumpled over Rapunzel, finding it difficult to breathe.

He lifted his hand; it was stained red with blood.

It was then that he remembered his dream from long ago and revelation filled him. The universe demanded balance. If Rapunzel was to live, he would have to die.

A.N. The words *duh* *duh* *duh* echo loudest in my mind. Don't be surprised if you see the next chapter up tomorrow. I won't make any promises though. Those never seem to follow through anyway. Though, considering its already been written, only an act of God could stop me from posting. *knocks on wood*