A/N: I'm actually...quite pleased with this chapter! I really really like it. And I hope you do too.

As I'm sure you know, I'm nearing the end of my story. :( I know, I'm sad too. I'm going to miss Eugene and Rapunzel a lot.

There will be around two chapters after this, and then the Epilogue. And then it will be done and I'll be back in school. Crazy!

I do appreciate and read all you reviews! thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.

Chapter 18-The Miracle

"Love has no age, no limit; and no death."

-John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles."

-Willa Cather

I don't know how long I stayed like that-Eugene's lifeless body in my arms. It could have been minutes. Or it could have been hours. I doubt I'll ever know. Because I generally do not like revisiting this event in my life. So all I can tell you is that I remained seated in tower, with his head in my lap, for quite some time. I knew, deep in my heart, that I could….technically go to the King and Queen, my….parents. But I couldn't bear to leave him quite yet. I gently ran my hand across and around his face, trying to memorize every single contour of it. I felt my heart ache in sorrow, and I knew that he had taken part of it with him, wherever he had gone.

Now I'm sure that you expect me to say that I began to sob. You would think that I would have immediately wept. But I didn't. I know, it is surprising to me too, even now. All I can say is that I hurt too much to cry, I was too numb with grief to do anything but think. I thought about each minute that we had ever spent together, and I repeated them over and over in my mind until every lock of his hair, every facial expression, every look in his eyes was exactly as I remembered it:

When I had first saw him, unconscious, in my tower

How he had first introduced himself to me with that suave wink and smirk

His strange…. "smolder" face

His teasing of me when I told him that I had named my frying pan

His kindness when I argued with myself about leaving the tower

His compliment of me when we were in the tunnel beneath the Snuggly Duckling

How he had smiled at me for the first time

When he had told me his real name

The compassion in his eyes when I told him about my hair

The sadness I had seen in him when he told me about his family

The way he had looked at me when he saw my hair braided with flowers

His cheek next to mine when he gave me the purple piece of fabric with a golden sun on it

His arms around me when we danced together in the square

How he had said my name tenderly on the lake

Our almost kiss

And lastly, how he said that I was his new dream right before he died

As soon as I remembered that, something unlocked within in me, and I knew that tears wouldn't be far behind. Because I realized that-regardless of whatever had happened yesterday-he still loved me, so much so that he would have rather died himself than let me live in bondage. He felt the same way about me that I did about him and he dreamed of us, just like I did. But it was too late now. Too late for a future together. I was doomed to love alone. Her knife had seen to that. My heart throbbed with loneliness for him.

And even though I knew it was hopeless, I found myself singing softly the second half of the incantation:

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

I brought my face close to his, and a single tear trickled out from one of my eyes onto his cheek. Because I knew that what had been lost wouldn't be saved, what I once had wouldn't be brought back. My love was gone, and no amount of singing would return him to me. The tears began to flow even faster, and I finally began to weep in complete grief. Oh, Eugene, why did you have to leave me?

I don't know how long I cried, but eventually I became aware of golden glow start to shine from his wound. I watched, in complete amazement, as the light began to fill the room, bathing both of us in its radiance. My eyes widened in astonishment as it suddenly turned into the shape of a great flower. What in the world? The flower fell back down to his chest, and I stared at it, as the wound began to fade away, then disappear completely. Like it had never happened.

Hope rose within me. Could it be possible? Could he really come back to me? I tentatively reached a hand out to touch his chest. And I felt something that I didn't think I would ever feel again-his heart beating. I tried not to rile myself up with happiness, and so I gazed into his face once more. I have to make sure.

His eyes fluttered open. "Rapunzel?"

I inhaled sharply. Was I dreaming his voice? Maybe I had fallen asleep, and this was all a nice dream… ."Eugene?" I whispered tentatively.

The-person-who-might-be-Eugene breathed. "Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?" he said with a smile.

And then I knew it was him. It was my Eugene. Because no one else would say something that ridiculous after they had died. I threw my arms around him, gleefully. "Eugene!" He gently pulled me onto his lap, and buried his head in my shoulder, like he couldn't bear to leave me, like I was a treasure he couldn't lose. Complete joy welled up inside me. He's back! My love was back! I pulled away for a moment, because I wanted to see his eyes once more. They were just as beautifully brown as I had remembered, and they shined with total love for me. I laughed, because I was giddy with happiness now. I then very impulsively pulled him toward me by his collar, and kissed him earnestly. He seemed quite surprised at first, but then his hand cupped the back of my head and he returned my kiss rather….enthusiastically. And I felt the pieces of my heart, that had been broken by him, bring themselves back together again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After we finished our kiss, I knew it was time to talk. I had questions for him, and I needed to tell him about my revelation too.

"Eugene," I said. "I have a question for you."

He seemed more interested in kissing me again than in any questions. "Yes, it would be my pleasure to kiss you." He cupped my face in his hands.

I shoved his hands away. "Eugene! Do be serious!"

He smirked, and I felt my insides melt. "I am. I'm serious about kissing you."

Although I wanted to kiss him again too, this wasn't the time for it. Maybe another deal is in order…. "All right, Eugene Fitzherbert, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

His eyes began to sparkle, and I knew he remembered, like I did, the last time I had said that-the day we met. "And what is that?" he asked.

I smiled. "You answer my questions, and then you can kiss me again. That is my deal."

He pretended to consider, and stroked his chin. "Hmmm…okay."

That was so much easier than the last time. "Great." I took a deep breath, because this wouldn't be an easy question for me to ask, or for him to answer. "So….what happened to you last night?" I asked hesitantly.

His expression changed instantly-from playfulness to gravity in a matter of seconds. And somehow I had the feeling whatever had happened wasn't good. "Well," he said at last. "I took the satchel because I wanted to give it back to my partners. I didn't want it anymore. I had found something….much better." He gave me a meaningful look, and I knew he was talking about me. I was more special to him than any crown ever would be. My heart warmed deep inside me. "But-" he said.

I knew he had reached the crux of the matter. And it was bad. "But.." I encouraged.

His expression darkened, and I could tell that remembering this made him angry. I could further tell that he was not somebody whom you wanted to see mad. Because it would not be pretty. "But they didn't want it," he said finally, his eyes shifting away from me. "They wanted you instead. Your….mother had told them about your hair."

My stomach turned to cold knots. My…"mother" had told them? She was even more heartless and uncaring than I thought! "My…" I breathed, unable to say anything further.

He met my eyes again. "Yes. I tried to somehow…talk them out of it, but they overcame me. Knocked me out. The next thing I knew I was tied to a boat, the crown in my hands. And far from you," he said with regret.

In that moment, I realized he had never intended to leave me at all, had never been the one who had betrayed me. It was my so-called mother once again. Would the list of her lies never end? "And then what happened?" I asked softly.

"Then….the guards found me, put me in prison. I paced all night, because I was so worried about you. In the morning, they…were going to hang me. Did you know that?" he said, shaking his head. His eyes shifted away from me again.

My heart went out to him. This was not easy for him, and I almost felt guilty for asking. But I had to know. "Yes, I knew that," I whispered. "But you must have gotten away somehow or you wouldn't be here."

He held my eyes once more. "The thugs from the Snuggly Duckling broke me out. Max told them what happened. I rode him straight to you, as fast as I could."

Even though I knew this was a solemn time, I couldn't help a slight smile. Maximus had helped him out! "I told you he was a good horse."

His eyes began to lose the some of the ruefulness. "Yeah, yeah," he said, his tone light. "Try not to gloat too much about that.

My eyes twinkled. "Oh, I won't."

Then his expression turned grave again, and he took my hands in his own. "But, Rapunzel, they're still after me."

My reaction to that was threefold- part said so what, part said it doesn't matter to me, and the last part….realized that if I indeed was the princess I could possibly do something about his situation. "Well," I began. "I may be able to help you with that."

His eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

I guess now's as good a time as any to tell him about me. Hopefully, he won't….freak out too much. "Well, since you've been nice enough to tell me about what happened to you," I said. "Then I should tell you about something that happened to me."

His face turned into an expression that I was quite familiar with-his nonplussed look. "Okay…"

Hmm. He looks like he did when I told him about my hair. "I have…something I want to tell you. And don't…freak out, okay?"

Then, he gave me his "why would I freak out" look again.

Why do I feel like I've done this before? Oh, maybe because I have. I took a deep breath. "Eugene….I'm the lost princess."

Dear listener, do you remember how he looked when my hair glowed, when I told him about my hair? Well, multiply them by about a thousand, and you might get close to what he looked like then. He was more than surprised, more than dumbfounded, more than incredulous, more than shocked. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes were so wide I was afraid they would pop out of their sockets. "What?" he managed to say finally.

I sighed. I knew he was going to freak out. For somebody who could be so unpredictable, he was pretty predictable when it came to me revealing secrets about myself. He always acted the same: completely bewildered. "I am the lost princess," I repeated.

More wide eyes and open mouth. "What?"

"I'm the lost princess," I said again.

Still no change. "What?"

I regret to tell you that I became…a little impatient then. "Eugene!" I barked. "Do I need to hit you with Hesty again? I'm telling you, I am the lost princess!" Never mind that Hesty is still somewhere in Maximus' saddlebags.

He shut his mouth, and his eyes went back into their sockets. "Okay," he said, almost calmly. "So you're the lost princess."

Finally. "Yes," I affirmed.

To my amazement, he almost…smirked then. "Well," he said smartly. "That's no surprise."

Uh-huh, riiight. Then what was that little freak out about? "Oh, really?" I asked tartly.

His eyes began to twinkle and a smile spread across his face. "Yeah. You've always been a princess to me."

I let out a groan, while he laughed. It's a good thing I love you so much, Eugene! Otherwise I'd slug you right now.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

I am pleased to tell you that we both behaved much better after that. Well, maybe one of us did. Once he informed me that I needed to fulfill my end of the deal and I complied; we left the tower for the last time on Maximus. And I won't lie and tell you that it was completely easy. Because it wasn't. It had been my home for 18 years, and I was a little sad to leave it. But I was happy to be with Eugene again and was excited about the possibility of reuniting with my parents. We enjoyed the rest of the day together with some of our other friends. Can you guess who they were? Yes, we went back to The Snuggly Duckling. Are you surprised? We actually had a lovely time there, and I thanked them profusely for rescuing Eugene. They shrugged it off, but I could tell that they were pleased.

Anyway, after our visit, if you can believe it, the sun was low in the sky and Eugene told me we would have to camp out again. But I wasn't anything other than pleased. Because the last time we did that, it was one of the best nights of my life. And how could this one be any different?