A/N: I'm completely overwhelmed by the reviews for last chapter! you have no idea how much they meant to me. Just...thank you. I'm so glad you liked it. And I'm sorry that the ending wasn't better. I thought about just leaving it when she closes her eyes in anticipation but I decided it was too cruel of a cliffhanger. So i added the last sentence.

This chapter was sooooooooo hard to write. It took me forever and I felt so bad for Rapunzel. But I hope it turned out okay. Somehow I have a feeling writing the rest of this will be much more difficult that some of the other scenes. Oh well. I AM going to finish this story. ;) I go back to school next week and I know that if I don't finish it soon, it won't get done. Because I don't have much spare time when I have classes, and even when I do, I doubt that I will want to spend it writing (as much fun as this is).

Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.

Chapter 16-The Betrayal

"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."

-This is Spinal Trap

My dear listener, you have been so patient with me, and so I feel it incumbent upon me to warn you that here begins the very…black and dark part of my story. I will assure you now that everything does end up all right in the end, but things will be quite grim for a while. But isn't that how life can be sometimes? Things have to become worse before they become right again? Maybe you know the truth of that yourself. I sure do. And when I look back on this part of my life, I am always thankful that my heart had been whole coming into it. Otherwise I don't know how I would have bore everything that happened. As it was, my heart would shatter more than once before it was all over. If my heart had been split before, there might have been nothing left of it at all.

Well, now that I have warned you, where was I in my tale?

Oh, right, I was on the boat with Eugene, waiting for his kiss- the kiss that should have been but never was. I remember my heart beating rapidly in my chest, the eager anticipation, and the joy that I felt knowing that he might indeed feel the same way about me that I did about him. I waited patiently for him to kiss me, and I must confess that I was confused when he drew back away because he didn't seem like the kind of man who would lose his nerve. His hand moved from my neck to my shoulder and I opened my eyes. To my surprise, he seemed…quite troubled-like something had gone terribly wrong.

"Is everything…okay?" I asked tentatively, unsure if I even wanted to hear the answer.

Instead of troubled, he now looked downright distracted and worried. What could be bothering him? "Huh?"

I was about to repeat my question, when his expression cleared, like he had finally heard what I said. But the anxious look in his eyes did not. "Oh yes," he said, and squeezed my hand. "Yes, of course." I must confide in you, dear listener, that his assertion that everything was fine was the kind of reassurance that wasn't comforting at all. Something was wrong, even if he wouldn't tell me what it was.

"I just...uh…need to…row back to shore."

I followed his eyes with my own as they settled on the satchel next to me. My mother's cautions about him began to ring like warning bells in my mind. He's only with you because he wants his crown. Trust me, as soon as you give it back, that's how fast he'll leave you. If he really cares about you, test him and see if he runs. Could she be right? I began to feel sick- sick in heart and in mind.

I can assure you that the row back in tense silence did not pass pleasurably for either of us. But finally we did reach the other side, and he jumped out and pulled the boat onto the shore. I searched his eyes carefully for any indication that he was about to bolt, but there seemed to be a curtain between them and his emotions because I couldn't find anything. That might sound heartening, but it wasn't at all. During our journey, I had become quite abet at reading the emotions in his eyes and even if he was completely annoyed with me I could still clearly tell. The fact that they now seemed devoid of any emotion whatsoever was very disturbing, to say the least. What is happening?

Suddenly, I realized that he was speaking to me. "I'm sorry, everything is fine." I don't believe you. If everything was truly all right, then he wouldn't be talking so tersely. He picked up the satchel…his satchel. With the crown. My stomach dropped down to my feet. Was he going to leave me now? "There's just something I need to take care of," he said.

"Okay," I said, even though it wasn't. It wasn't at all.

"I'll be right back," he told me, then turned and walked away into the mist.

I watched him go, my stomach now in knots. Pascal crawled onto my shoulder, and I could feel his tension. "It's all right, Pascal," I reassured him. "He'll be back." Won't he?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I don't know how long I waited in the boat, but eventually I grew tired of sitting and climbed out of it. I didn't know where else to go, and he said he would be back, so I leaned my head against the end of the boat. I tried my hardest not to think about what would happen if he didn't come back for me, but I have to admit, I was quite unsuccessful. My thoughts traveled in a continuous tangled circle- He's going to leave me! No, he's not. He cares about you, remember? He almost kissed you! He just did that to make me care enough about him to let him have his satchel back. No, he didn't. Remember Eugene Fitzherbert, the sweet orphan? Do you think he made that up? Well, he is a thief-maybe he's a good liar and actor too. But don't you recall the way he looked fondly at you and how upset he was about his mother? Not to mention the truth you found in the letter! So what? He still is off somewhere with the satchel!

Ultimately, I couldn't stand my mental debate any longer and I tried to just wait patiently and hope for the best. And once I had decided that, I saw a man coming back toward me through the mist. Eugene. Relief covered me like a warm blanket on a cold day.

"Oh," I said with a reassured smile. "I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me." He didn't respond, and I was about to say something else to him. But shockingly, the shadow of the man I thought was Eugene split in two-two shadows that were much stronger, taller, and heavier than he was. My relief turned into another emotion that I had become quite familiar with during this journey-fear. The men continued to walk toward me, and I recognized them as the two Burly Red Men from yesterday's chase. What did they want with me? I thought they were after Eugene, or Flynn Rider to be precise. Did they catch him?

"He did," one of them informed me.

"What?" I asked, recoiling. He did? He ran off and left me? No, no, Flynn Rider might have done that, but Eugene Fitzherbert wouldn't. Right? Maybe they were lying, though how they would benefit was unclear to me. "No, he wouldn't."

Burly Red Man #1 gestured to a boat on the lake. "See for yourself."

I gave him a questioning glance and then looked in the direction that he pointed. "Eugene?" I caught a glimpse of a small boat through the mist…..with a man of Eugene's stature directing it. "Eugene!" I called futilely. My heart sank down to my feet. From all appearances, it seemed that he had left me. How could he do that for just a crown? After all we had been through together? After what had almost happened between us on the lake?

Burly Red Man #1 was speaking again, and stroked the back of my hair. "Fair trade-the crown for the girl with the magic hair."

I turned toward them nervously. Eugene had…told them about me? In exchange for the crown?

"How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever?" he continued, pulling out a large bag.

Instantaneously I knew what he had in mind, and in that moment I realized what complete and utter terror felt like. My heart sped rapidly, my eyes widened in fear, and I wanted to flee from them as much as I had ever wanted anything in my life. "No, please," I begged. They both began to walk closer toward me, menacingly.

"No!" I screamed in panic. "No!" I turned and ran as fast as I could away from them, thinking nothing but I have to get away, I have to get away. Suddenly, I felt my hair catch on a log and I began to pull at it, determined to free myself. Then, quite unexpectedly, I heard a loud groan and my mother call, "Rapunzel!"

Completely surprised, I stopped tugging at my hair. My mother was here? "Mother?" I said. I cautiously walked back to where the Burly Red Men were, hoping that I hadn't imagined hearing her voice. Incredibly, Mother was here, a branch in her hand, and the Burly Red Men, unconscious at her feet. Relief flooded over me like a wave. Mother was here!

As soon as she saw me, she dropped the branch. "Oh, my precious girl."

"Mother!" I ran into her arms, and she held me close for a minute. My heart rate began to slow, and the terror I felt receded. Mother had rescued me!

"Are you all right?" Mother said, concerned. "Are you hurt?" She touched my face carefully.

As grateful as I was that she had saved me from the horrible Burly Red Men, I couldn't help wonder how she had found me. "Mother, how did you…" I asked.

She placed her arms on my shoulders. "I was so worried about you, dear," she said, fretfully. "So I followed you and I saw them attack you!" She pulled me into another hug. "Let's go, before they come to," and began to pull me away.

But I wasn't quite ready to leave. I paused for a moment, looking for Eugene's boat on the lake. I found it and watched forlornly as it grew smaller and smaller. How could he have left me like that? Worse, how could he have told them about my hair? He knew that it was a secret! I thought he cared about me. My heart ached with the knowledge of his betrayal, and my eyes welled up with previously un-shed tears. I realized bitterly that my mother had been right about him the whole time-he did take off as soon as he had his crown. Oh, why hadn't I believed her before I gave my heart to him?

Slowly, I turned back toward her. She had a glowing lantern in her hand, but set it down once she saw me and held her arms open. I ran into her arms again with tears falling down my cheeks. "You were right, Mother," I sobbed. "You were right about everything."

She picked up the lantern, and held me close. "I know, dear. I know."

Slowly we began to make our way back home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The journey back to the tower, dear listener, was agonizing. For one thing, it took at least a few hours if not more. For another, my mother scolded me about leaving, and of course, that was unpleasant. And finally, my heart shattered because Eugene had betrayed me, and I couldn't stop crying for more than a few minutes at a time. But we finally reached the tower, only a few hours before dawn. And as soon as we were back home, Mother told me to go sit on my bed, and she would make everything right again.

Of course, I found that hard to believe. Because how could anything be all right ever again? I know that people use the term a broken heart quite often and loosely, to the extent that it is almost a cliche now. But believe me, that was exactly how my heart felt that day-like it was it completely and irrevocably broken in half. Can you imagine somebody, whom you grew to love and trust deeply, break your confidence like that? Eugene's treachery had left a deep wound in my soul, and if he had reached inside me, torn out my heart, and then ripped it to pieces in front of me I doubt it could have hurt more than it did already. Because that is exactly how it felt. I kept crying and sobbing while I waited for my mother to come back to me. I reached into my dress pocket, and held the piece of fabric that Eugene had bought for me in my hand, wishing that things between us could have ended differently. Eventually, though, I stopped wishing and crying and instead of feeling miserable, I felt completely numb with shock. And that is the way I remained when Mother entered my room, a basket in her hand, and began to pluck out, one by one, the flowers in my hair. She tried to comfort me, but to be perfectly honest; nothing she said made me feel any better. She also attempted to make conversation with me, but I found that any words I could have said froze inside me and I couldn't speak at all. The silence continued until she finally plucked out the last flower.

"There!" she said. "It never happened." She stood up, and began to walk to the door, the basket in her hand. "Now wash up. I'm making hazelnut soup!"

Hazelnut soup was my favorite meal, but I couldn't muster up any enthusiasm. I remained silent, staring at my hands.

She sighed. "I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there," she said. I was conscious of her voice, but it felt like it came from very far away.

She continued when I said nothing. "The world is dark, and selfish, and cruel. If it finds even the smallest ray of sunshine, it destroys it." And with that, she left the room.

Once she left, I unfolded the piece of fabric in my hand and I remembered-I remembered the festival, the lanterns, and the wonderful townspeople. I decided that Mother wasn't right about everyone in the world because I had met some lovely people. But she was right about Eugene. I tried to hold back the memory of when he had given it to me-the way he had smiled at me, and the way his cheek felt close to mine- but I couldn't. Another wave of sadness threatened to drown me.

Mother was wrong when she tried to convince me that my journey had never happened. And she was wrong when she attempted to tell me that everything would be fine.

Because, as I sat there on my bed, completely devastated, I wondered how anything could ever be all right again.