A/N: I wasn't sure what time of day this would be, because the lantern stuff was at night, but then Eugene was riding Max to the tower in what looked like mid-day… so let's say this is the afternoon. Okay? :P I know that this chapter isn't too great, but I hope it's alright. I tried to make it longer. :) Also, I imagine that Rapunzel would only know mother Gothel as "mother", so she refers to her as "her". I figured it was shorter than "the woman I called mother".

Chapter 3- A Little Rain

Rapunzel landed on the ground, with a few tears in her eyes. She'd had quite the day so far. Crying was allowed. Eugene took her face in his hands, and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "It's gonna be alright," he soothed. "And look! Max is here, and he's going to take us back to the kingdom. So no tears." Rapunzel smiled, and went over to Max to pet him. Max whinnied to greet her. He wouldn't have recognized her without all that golden hair, but he recognized her dress, and her eyes, and her smell.

Rapunzel was a little sad that they wouldn't be walking- there was so much more to explore by foot. "Eugene, could we maybe walk there, for at least some of the trip?"

Eugene chuckled. "Somehow, I knew you'd say that. But you're not wearing any shoes, and you don't have any magical hair to heal any cuts you might get." At seeing her face fall, he added "but you can ride Max, at a slow walking pace, and I'll walk along with you. Does that sound like a good plan?"

Rapunzel smiled. "Okay! Yes," she said.

Rapunzel had never been on a horse before, and it was very odd at first, but Eugene held her hand, and she got used to it eventually. Pascal perched on her shoulder, quite fond of being high up. Maximus felt proud to have the lost princess as his rider. Rapunzel was still excited to see the world, and even though she had been to the kingdom before, along the same path, she still found things to be curious and excited about. Sadly, the sky was filled with dark storm clouds, and during their journey, it began to rain. Rapunzel felt the first raindrops fall on her head. Surprised, she shook her head and looked at the sky. "Eugene, what was that?"

He looked up at her. "What was what?"

"Something fell on my head."

Eugene laughed. "That would be rain, Blondie."

The rain was becoming more consistent now. "I think I know what that is… I've seen storms from my tower before. I asked her all about them. She mentioned rain." Pascal climbed up on top of Rapunzel's head, and stuck out his tongue to catch raindrops to protect her. It didn't really work, but he tried, and Rapunzel appreciated the thought. Rapunzel continued, "It's really… strange. I don't know how I figured it would feel, really. Not on top of my head, and not surrounding me. Once, I stuck my hand out during a rainstorm, just to see how it felt. But it's different, now, all over my whole body. I can't just stick my hand back in the tower and make it stop. But I don't think I mind it." She laughed. "Imagine how awful it would be, in the rain, with all my hair. It gets so heavy when it's wet, and it's hard to deal with… Sorry, I mean, it got so heavy when it was wet, and it was hard to deal with."

Eugene smiled at her, and kissed her hand. "Do you miss it?"

"My tower, or my hair?"

"Your hair."

She sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair with the hand that wasn't holding Eugene's. "Yeah, I do. I miss the weight of it, and I wish I still had it so I could heal people with it."

Eugene looked at her lovingly. "Always thinking of others, aren't you?"

Rapunzel blushed under his gaze. It was a rhetorical question.

"Blondie, do me a favor, will you?" Eugene smirked.

She nodded. He gently lifted her off of Maximus, and put her down on the muddy ground. She felt the mud between her toes, and the wet leaves.

"It feels so… smushy!" She sloshed around, loving the feeling of the earth beneath her bare feet. Max nudged her shoulder, as if to say "c'mon, let's go. There'll be mud puddles in the kingdom". Eugene got the hint.

"Just a second more, Max." He pulled Rapunzel close to him, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Pascal turned a bright red, still on top of Rapunzel's head, and Max whinnied, and raised his eyebrows, as if to say "I was waiting for that". Then Eugene lifted Rapunzel up, and put her back on Max, much to her dismay. He held her hand again, longing for some connection to her. Rapunzel was quiet for a few minutes, until Eugene broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about?"

Rapunzel sighed. "Love." She thought for a second more, and continued. "She always told me that love was when you care about someone, and you want to protect them, and be with them forever. And, that's true with you, but it's something more. It's just… pure happiness. I think that's love…" She looked at him in a cute, sad sort of way. "Is that love, Eugene?"

He chuckled. She was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "I think so, Blondie. I think so."

By then, the rain had stopped, though only Pascal had noticed. He climbed off of Rapunzel's head, and onto her arm. He smiled at her, genuinely happy for her. Then he noticed something off in the distance. He poked Rapunzel, trying to get her to look.

"What is it, Pascal?" Then, she saw it. "Oh my gosh, Eugene, look!"

He saw it, too. "That would be a rainbow. It comes after a storm."

"I've only seen them from my tower."

"Like almost everything, it seems."

She sighed. "Basically. I'm sorry. It's just all so real." She decided to change the subject back to rainbows. "I didn't know something so beautiful could come after such grey skies."

Eugene nodded. "Sometimes, even after the worst, darkest moments in life," he looked at Rapunzel, and continued. "You find something beautiful."

Rapunzel smiled, though she wasn't sure if he was talking about her. She had hoped so. Eugene was about to kiss her again, but Max grunted, as if to say "we have to keep moving." Basically, every one except Max had forgotten where they were going and why. "Someone has to stay focused," he thought.