A/N: Okay, I know this chapter is on the short side, but I really wanted the campfire scene to be it's own chapter. And I cannot wait to write that part! It's one of my favorite parts of the entire movie. I enjoyed writing this part a lot, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

As always thank you for reading/reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.

Chapter 9-The Almost Drowning

"Great perils have this beauty: that they bring to light the fraternity of strangers."
-Victor Hugo

The relief I felt at escaping both our pursuers and the stone pillar lasted mere seconds. Because The Big White Horse had successfully knocked down the beams that held the dam, water began to rush into the tunnel around the pillar. Flynn and I heard the rustling of the water, and we both glanced behind us. Water was rapidly rising up, and if we didn't get out soon, we would be overwhelmed by it. We ran further into the tunnel, hoping that we would find some way to escape.

However, all we could find was a very stony dead end (yeah, funny how that almost came true). Flynn immediately dived into the mounting water, and I assumed he was searching for a way out. Meanwhile, I futilely tried to find some kind of weakness or soft spot somewhere in the stone wall. I remembered my trusty Hesty, and hit the rocks with her, hoping that she would able to make a dent. Dear listener, I should have known better. I mean, if Hesty couldn't make a dent in a Viking, then there was no chance that she would be able to make a hole in an even harder stone wall. But I still kept trying, with all my might, to make some sort of progress.

Flynn resurfaced, and pounded the stone walls with his hands, searching for the same kind of weakness as I. I heard him cry out in pain as he scratched his hand, and I thought briefly, that if the circumstances weren't as dire as they were, I would have offered to heal it for him. Even though he had hurt his hand, he dove back into the water. Impressed by his persistence, I continued to hit Hesty against the rocks. If he wasn't giving up, then neither am I. After a long moment, he resurfaced again, this time completely subdued. "It's no use," he told me as he rubbed his hand across his eyes. "I can't see anything."

Unwilling to concede defeat, I took a deep breath and plunged into the icy water. You know, listener, it's actually interesting now to think I actually believed that I could see something when Flynn could not. I mean, I hadn't even swum before! But I was desperate. Anyway, I had probably only dived down about two inches before very strong arms pulled me back up. Once I reached the surface (which wasn't that much; the water was almost to our chests), Flynn turned me to face him, and pushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. "Hey, there's no point! It's pitch black down there," he informed me.

Now I was the one who was completely subdued. For the first time, I realized that there was absolutely no escape for us, no chance at finding a way out. We were going to drown in this tunnel. Out of all the possible ways to die, I thought, I didn't think the way I would go would be drowning in a tunnel. I wondered what it will be like to drown. I hoped it wouldn't be painful. A painful death sounded terrible to me. Suddenly realizing that I was living my last moments on earth, I decided to make a final list of acknowledgments to the people I loved:

To my dearest and oldest friend, Pascal- Thank you for being my constant friend and companion. I would have been so lonely in the tower without you. And I'm sorry you're going to have to die with me.

To my trusty weapon, Hesty- Thank you being such a great defender and assisting me in this journey. I never could have captured Flynn without you….

FLYNN! All of a sudden, I felt even worse than I had before. Not only had I dragged myself into this mess, but I had also had brought Flynn down with me. If I hadn't persuaded him to take me to see the lanterns, he'd probably be safe somewhere. Oh, why hadn't I listened to my mother!

I forced back a sob. "This is all my fault," I said tearfully. "She was right. I never should have left home." Now I couldn't hold back the tears any longer and I began to cry even harder than I had earlier that day. I pressed a hand to my face, determined that the least I could do was apologize to Flynn for getting him into this. "I'm so…I'm so sorry, Flynn," I managed to choke out before I finally succumbed to my tears.

I heard him sigh. "Eugene." Completely confused, I stopped crying. Who on earth is Eugene? "What?" I asked as I looked over at him. He seemed fairly calm for someone who was about to drown. I almost wished that I could face our fate as peacefully as he was.

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert," he confided. "Someone might as well know." Someone might as well know- because we're about to die, I finished in my head. Touched that he trusted me enough to tell me his true name, I couldn't help a smile. Since we're going to drown, I decided, I might as well tell him my secret too. It's not like he would ever be able to tell anyone. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing," I told him.

He looked even more surprised at my secret than I had at his. "What?"

Suddenly, my thoughts turned in a new direction besides resignation. If I can get my hair to light up, maybe we would be able to find a way out of here. "I have…magic hair that glows when I sing!" I repeated, this time with hope in my voice.

The water was almost to our necks now, and I took a deep breath and shut my eyes before I started singing the incantation. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine….." The water quickly rushed over our heads, and I desperately hoped that I had sung enough to make my hair light up.

I had. My hair glowed, and I opened my eyes again (just in time to see a very shocked looking Flynn put a hand to his mouth). I searched all through the water, hoping to see something that looked like a way out. At the very bottom I saw some loose rocks. I darted a glance at Flynn, hoping he had seen it too. He had, and dove quickly down to the bottom. I followed (after making sure I had both Hesty and Pascal), and helped him pull the rocks apart. Hand over hand, we both ripped the rocks apart, hoping that we would find a way out.

Flynn's (No, not Flynn; he was Eugene now) hand was the first to clutch air. We tumbled headfirst into what appeared to be a river and as soon as we could, I followed him as he made his way to the shore.

Once we made it to the shore, I took a deep gulp of air. My lungs felt like they were about to explode from holding my breath so long, and I was overcome by a coughing fit. When it was over, I was happy to find that the four of us were safe and very much alive. "We made it," I said relieved.

Since we were safe now, Eugene expressed his incredulity in regard to my hair. "Her hair glows," he said with wide eyes.

Overwhelmed with the joy of life, I couldn't help but say happily, "We're alive! We're alive!" I bounded out of the river (Hesty in my hands), ecstatically taking in all the wonderful aspects of nature I thought I would never see again- beautiful trees, lush grass. I took a deep breath, wanting to soak it all in.

"I didn't see that coming," I heard Eugene say ruefully.

If I didn't know better, I thought, I would say he was almost on the verge of…panic. No, beyond panic. I needed to stop him from completely losing it. "Eugene," I said, attempting to get his attention.

I didn't. He was still stuck on my hair. "The hair actually glows," he said to Pascal. Dear listener, that's when I knew I had to get his attention now. Since when did he pay any attention to Pascal? Usually he treated my chameleon with calm indifference. "Eugene," I repeated.

"Why does her hair glow?" he asked Pascal, now completely hysterical.

Uh-oh, better hope he hears you this time, Rapunzel. There's no way he would talk to Pascal if he was totally sane. "Eu-gene!" I said, very loudly this time.

Finally, he heard me. "What?"

Now that I had his attention I wasn't sure what to do with it. Should I tell him that my hair could heal? Since we had a near-death experience, I realized that I did trust him enough to tell him about my hair's powers. He had shown that he trusted me enough to tell me his real name. I know that his birth name shouldn't be that earth-shattering, but I knew (in his case) that it was. I could tell that the audacious Flynn Rider wouldn't want people to know his name was something as nerdy as Eugene. That would ruin his whole image. Can you imagine a great thief being called Eugene? Of course not. I mean, what would people say, "Oh, watch out for that bandit named…Eugene?" Yeah. I can see why he changed his name.

However, I also found that Eugene fit the image of him that I had in my head- the nice young man who complimented me, and who cared about my feelings when I had first left my tower. Yes, I finally decided. I was going to tell Eugene about my hair.

"It doesn't just glow," I told him finally, as I pulled my hair out of the river.

He darted a glance toward me, and then toward Pascal, holding his hand all the while. I'd better heal that. "Why's he smiling at me?" he said.

Oh, Pascal, I thought fondly with a sigh, don't torment him. He's going to have enough to deal with when I finally heal his hand. A corner of me wondered what his reaction would be when I did heal him. This is going to be very interesting….