Hi! :) So I'm currently writing the second to last chapter. I can't decide if I'm sad or a little relieved...The current word count is 62,720. That is more than I could have ever hoped for this story, and I'm not even done yet! :)

Okay, so there's some stronger religious themes in this. If you don't want to read it, skip the part with Lucy and Eugene at the end. There's nothing really plot-important there; it's pretty much filler but I wanted to include it because Lucy and Eugene are talking about Aslan. I mean, I hope you don't skip it, but it's not really super, life-changing important (well, actually...). Anyway, this is a really slow chapter and it's really wordy and the end is kind of awkward-ish, so I'll try and update with a more interesting chapter tomorrow! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled or Narnia. Surely you know that by now. :( Please enjoy and review! :)

UPDATE: I fixed a typo. Thanks splattermusic! :)

Chapter XIV – Rapunzel's Worries and Lucy's Hopes

Rapunzel paced her bedroom floor. Pascal stared at her from the vanity. The rug on the floor had begun to show wear from her constant pacing for the last twenty-four hours. Ever since Susan had informed her that the King and Queen of Corona were only a day away, give or take half a day or so, she had been going insane with worry. She jumped as she heard Susan's voice from the other side of the door.

"Rapunzel?"

"Come in," she replied meekly.

The door opened slowly and Susan walked in, carefully shutting the door behind her. As Susan sat on the vanity chair (looking uncomfortably at Pascal in the process), Rapunzel returned to her pacing. The princess sighed audibly. "Are you okay?" Susan asked, somewhat worried for her friend's sanity.

"Terrified," Rapunzel said in a small voice. She paused from her pacing and looked from the Queen to the floor.

"Why?" Susan asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen and a half years, dreaming about what it might feel like to have a real family. I mean, I loved my moth—Gothel…but I always wanted to have a real family, who didn't care what I looked like or how I acted or if I had a best friend who happened to be a chameleon. What if it's not everything that I dreamed it would be?"

"It will be," Susan said confidently.

"And what if it is?" Rapunzel asked carefully.

"That's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream."

Rapunzel gave a little laugh. She felt an extreme sense of déjà vu. Had Eugene said the same thing to her on the boats while waiting for the lanterns? She felt that it was. But the feeling was almost the same as when she had been waiting for the lights. Rapunzel had been dreaming about having a real family for her entire life. What if her parents weren't happy with her the way she was? What if they were expecting some happy-go-lucky princess-y type who wasn't an emotional wreck? Would they like her or would they turn her away?

"They'll absolutely adore you, Rapunzel," Susan said, sensing the princess' uncertainties. "Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" Rapunzel asked, looking warily at the Queen, who, in turn, nodded. "Where are they?"

"Just outside the grounds of the Cair," Susan said. She laughed. "I feel like we're discussing the attacks on Narnia. Don't be afraid, Rapunzel. They're not going to hurt you."

"Did Peter leave?"

Susan was silent as she hesitated before answering, "He left this morning. He wanted to stay and see your parents, but he and Edmund had a huge row last night. It was frightening. Peter left to search for Lucy. I'm in charge of Narnia while he's gone."

"Queen Susan! Princess Rapunzel!" a voice called. The two young women exchanged a glance and bolted to the door. They ran into the hall and nearly knocked over a dwarf. "The King and Queen of Corona are nearly here!"

Susan and Rapunzel dashed into action. They ran back into Rapunzel's room. The princess grabbed Pascal while Susan slid her shoes on her feet. Rapunzel was about to run out the door when Susan cried, "Rapunzel! Shoes!"

Rapunzel groaned. "Do I have to?" Susan gave the princess a reprimanding look. "Fine…but only because they're my parents." The blonde quickly slipped her feet into the lavender shoes that were lying on the floor. Placing Pascal on her shoulder, Rapunzel followed Susan out the door, her braid swinging behind her. The women ran down to the front hall of the Cair.

As soon as they halted (Rapunzel ran into Susan, and if it hadn't been for the railing of a set of stairs, both girls would have tumbled over onto the floor), they began to collect themselves. Susan fixed her golden crown, and Rapunzel adjusted her skirts. Oh, how she hated these long dresses!

Edmund entered more calmly than the girls did, and he looked over the women. The King avoided Rapunzel's eyes. Once the front doors of the Cair opened, the three walked outside and into the sunshine. Walking up the stairs was a party of about thirty people, with two people leading the way. The King and the Queen. Edmund heard Rapunzel inhale sharply. He hadn't realized how nervous she must have been.

"Hello! Welcome to Narnia!" King Edmund called out.

The two adults reached the top steps. "I am King Harold," the man said, and referring to his wife, continued, "and this is Queen Julia."

"I am King Edmund, and this is Queen Susan. And, of course, Rap—er, Princess Rapunzel." Edmund mentally hit himself because of his blunder. "As you know Queen Lucy was kidnapped, so that's why she is absent. High King Peter wished to be here to see you, but he left this morning to go search for Queen Lucy. It was a highly urgent matter. Narnia is now in Queen Susan's hands."

Both Susan and Edmund could see that the King and Queen and Princess of Corona were not paying attention. The three were staring at each other. Suddenly, Queen Julia embraced Princess Rapunzel, tears streaming down her face. King Harold crossed to the other side of the hug and joined, enclosing his wife and his daughter in his arms. The three were overwhelmed with emotions and sank to the ground. Susan and Edmund didn't know what to do, other than stand there and watch the happy reunion.

After what seemed like an eternity, the King released his wife and daughter, and stood. The other two followed. They were all smiling widely, glad to finally be together. "Well," Susan said, "we'll just let the three of you catch up. Rapunzel, if you want to show them to the sitting room—"

"Oh, yes!" the blonde cried. She grabbed her parents' hands and pulled them into Cair Paravel. The King and Queen exchanged a thrilled look as they tried to keep up with their daughter. King Harold and Queen Julia weren't even paying attention to their surroundings because they were so excited to be holding hands with their daughter. Soon, they had arrived at the sitting room. Rapunzel quickly curled up in an armchair, and her parents sat down opposite her on the sofa. They were reluctant to let her out of their grasp, but neither said anything to their daughter.

"So…" Rapunzel said, biting down on her lower lip. She had absolutely no idea what to say or how to say it.

"Your name is Rapunzel?" King Harold asked. Queen Julia could've slapped him for asking what their daughter's name was.

"Yes," Rapunzel said. "I know that you named me Helene, but I didn't know that until I came to Narnia, and I wasn't sure how to respond to that. I've always been called Rapunzel."

"It's a lovely name, dear," Queen Julia said. "What was your life like before you came to Narnia?"

Rapunzel knew that her story would take a long time to tell, but she didn't care. "Well, I lived in a tower with my mother—er, Gothel. She told me that I was her daughter. As long as I can remember, I wasn't allowed to leave the tower because she said that people were bad and the world was dangerous and scary. She said that people would want to cut my hair off for themselves and use it, but if it's cut, it turns brown, loses its power, and doesn't grow anymore. But I believed her. One day, I came across a little chameleon and he became my best friend." She pulled Pascal off her shoulder and held him in her hands. "This is Pascal. He was my only friend in the tower. He understood me, too. Anyway, every year on my birthday, I would always see these lights in the sky. It was the most magical thing I'd ever seen. Moth—Gothel told me that they were just stars, but I knew that wasn't true, even though I didn't know what they were. I painted pictures all over the walls of the tower and had a large mural of the lights. I just felt like they were meant for me. Does that make sense? I guess they really were meant for me. At least, that's what I found out when I made it to where the lights were.

"Well, it was the day before my eighteenth birthday, and I decided that I was going to ask Gothel if she would take me to see the lights for my birthday. She became angry with me and said that it was too dangerous outside of my tower and she wasn't going to take me. She left again—I don't really know where she went—and then a man climbed into my tower! I hit him over the head with my frying pan and he fell unconscious. I stuffed him in my closet before my moth—before Gothel could come home. I asked her to get me some paints for my birthday, but the kind I wanted was only available somewhere that took a three day journey. She left, and I confronted the man in my closet. I had never met another human before, and I had never met a man before. It was exciting and frightening at the same time! But I tied him up with my hair and Pascal woke him up. It turned out that he was Flynn Rider. He had a satchel with him that had a crown in it. It felt right when Pascal told me to put it on my head, but I didn't know at the time that it was actually mine. Anyway, Flynn woke up and I persuaded him to take me to see the lights or I would give him his satchel and the crown back, because I had hidden it.

"We left and stopped at the Snuggly Duckling. At first, I was afraid of the people in there, because they were ruffians and thugs and Moth—Gothel had told me not to trust them, but they were actually very nice and helped us escape when the guards came looking for us. Flynn and I nearly drowned in a cave, but I sang to make my hair glow—I'll explain that later—and we found a way out with barely enough time left. We managed to escape and stopped that night to rest so we could make it to the kingdom the next day. Gothel found us and warned me not to trust him, but I didn't believe her. She had found the crown and the satchel and gave them to me to give to him, saying that all he wanted was the crown. I didn't believe her. I thought that he liked me. I thought we were friends.

"On my birthday, we made it to the center of the kingdom. It was the best day ever! There were celebrations going everywhere and people were having such a good time! Well, I started some dancing and soon everybody was having so much fun! And then everyone started going to the boats! Eugene—that's Flynn Rider's real name: Eugene Fitzherbert—and I got on a little boat and went out to the middle of the lake. Seeing the lanterns was the most beautiful and exciting thing I've ever done! It was the best part of my life ever! I gave him the satchel, but he said he didn't want it. But then he saw something on shore and we had to go over there. He took the satchel and left. I went looking for him, but I ran into two men and they said that he had left with the crown. Then Gothel showed up and saved me from the men. She took me back to the tower and I was prepared to live there for the rest of my life.

"But then I saw that I had been subconsciously drawing the sun all over my room! And then I remembered the two of you standing over me in the nursery and then I realized that I was the lost princess! I confronted Gothel about it, and she confirmed it, but then she decided that we had to leave. I don't really know what happened to Eugene, but I heard him at the base of the tower, calling, 'Rapunzel! Let down your hair!' and Gothel tossed my hair out the window so he could climb it. I was chained up and gagged so I couldn't escape or tell him to leave. He climbed my hair and it was too late before he realized that it was a trap. Gothel snuck up from behind him and stabbed him! He fell to the floor, bleeding everywhere. Gothel began to take me down a secret set of stairs, but I fought and fought and fought and said that I would stop fighting and I would go with her if she let me save him. So she did. I saved Eugene's life but then I had to go with her." Rapunzel was crying, but she continued her story.

"We walked for weeks and weeks. Eventually, we came across a party of Narnians. I later found out that it was King Peter and Queen Lucy on their way to Corona and to see you. But Gothel and I continued on. Eventually, we found a cave and stayed there. Gothel left to a nearby town to get supplies and food while I didn't break my promise and stayed in the cave. But then I decided that I couldn't do that anymore. I ran. Eventually, I made it to Cair Paravel with the help of Mr. Tumnus. He's a faun. Then I met Susan and Edmund. I've lived here since. It's all been very fun and exciting! And soon I'm going to go off with Edmund! He's going to take me to see the Stone Table and some other parts of Narnia. But we aren't leaving for a while, so I can be here with you!"

"That's very good, Rapunzel," Julia said, smiling from ear to ear. She couldn't believe that she was looking at her daughter.

"This Gothel woman didn't hurt you did she?" Harold asked, going into protective-father mode. As Rapunzel shook her head to say 'no', Harold continued, "And what did you mean by your hair glowing?"

"Oh," Rapunzel said. She closed her eyes and sang, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine; make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine; heal what has been hurt, change the fates' design; save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine; what once was mine…" The King and Queen were left aghast by their daughter's hair. "It does more than just glow," Rapunzel explained. "It can heal wounds, too. That's how I saved Eugene."

"Where is Eugene now?" Julia asked.

"He's gone," Rapunzel said, looking at her hands, which were folded in her lap. "He took a ship to Galma, and now I don't know where he is."

Julia looked at her husband. Both of them saw how hurt their daughter was over this man. She must have cared for him more than they could have realized. The Queen opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door to the parlor opening. It was Edmund.

"I'm sorry, your majesties," the Just King said, "but, if you don't mind, we need to discuss strategies and where the armies will be."

"Of course," Harold said, standing. He looked at his daughter. "I shall see you again at supper." Harold followed the young man out of the sitting room, leaving Julia and Rapunzel alone.

The two women sat in silence for a few minutes. Rapunzel didn't really know what to say.

"So, Rapunzel," Julia said, "I'm afraid I don't know much about you. Would you mind telling me some of your favorite things?"

"Okay," Rapunzel said cautiously. "Well…I like to bake. And I like to sew. And I like to dance. And I like to read and paint and run and explore. I like doing most things, actually. Susan has been teaching me how to do a lot of new things. For example, Susan and Lucy have been teaching me archery. At first, I wasn't very good at it, but I'm getting better! Edmund and Peter tried to teach me how to use a sword, but I wasn't very good at it. My hair kept almost getting cut off, and that absolutely can't happen. So I think I'll stick with archery."

"Rapunzel…" Queen Julia hesitated before she continued, "I am very sorry about Eugene. How much did you like him?"

"I love him…um, Mother," Rapunzel said, realizing that she didn't know what to call Queen Julia. It felt strange to be calling someone other than Gothel 'Mother'. Father wouldn't be much of a problem, as she had never had a father before, but Mother was something completely different. Gothel had raised Rapunzel, and Rapunzel loved Gothel, despite what she did. "I know that seems irrational and naïve, but I really do. I love him. And I miss him."

"That's understandable, darling," Julia said. "And what about Edmund?"

Rapunzel stiffened. "What about him?"

"I'm not blind, dear. I've seen the way he looks at you. I saw it when we first arrived, and when he walked into this very room just moments ago. There is something in his eyes that makes me believe, without a doubt, that he cares for you very deeply. How do you feel about him?"

"He's one of my best friends." Rapunzel chose her words carefully. "I…I did like him…I liked him a lot, but I love Eugene. I don't know if that even makes sense."

"It does," Julia said calmly. She understood completely. Her daughter loved Eugene, but she loved Edmund, too. And Julia could see that it was tearing her daughter apart from the inside out. She decided not to bring it up again. "Are you and Susan friends?"

"More than friends," Rapunzel said. "Susan is like my sister. I mean, I don't know what having a sister is like, but Susan is my very best friend. Lucy is very sweet, too, but Susan and I get along so well! We stay up late sometimes, just talking."

"What about, um, your chameleon friend?"

"Pascal? He's my other best friend. I've known him for almost my whole life!"

"Now, Rapunzel, when you get back from your adventures around Narnia, would you like to come live with us at home in Corona?"

Rapunzel looked torn. "Well, yes, but I love Narnia, too!"

"You could come visit Narnia," Julia said, understanding that her daughter might not want to come back to Corona at all.

"I suppose," Rapunzel said. "Do you want to hold Pascal?"

Julia's eyes widened. "Oh, dear…no, thank you, darling. I wouldn't want to hurt him."

"You won't hurt him!"

"Well, maybe later, dear."

"Alright…" Rapunzel said. "Why don't we go see my room? I've painted the walls in there some, but it's very nice and has a great view of the sea!" Rapunzel stood and continued chattering as she led her mother out of the sitting room and through the halls of Cair Paravel toward her bedroom. Julia was content that her daughter was happy, if not a bit eccentric.

Lucy and Eugene got to know each other very well in the time that they were together. While they were still somewhat formal and stiff around each other, they were slowly becoming friends. Lucy tried to tell Eugene about Aslan, but it was difficult because Eugene had a difficulty understanding that a single Lion could control everything in the world. Eugene tried to tell Lucy about the rest of the world, but she didn't really see it through his eyes because she had always seen it as a Queen or as a schoolgirl, never a common person.

Eugene knew that they were nearing Telmar. They should have been there by now, but the huge storm a few weeks ago blew them off course, and they had to recover. For the most part, Eugene and Lucy had been left alone, with the occasional guard coming down to bring them food and water, and to make sure they were still alive. Eugene knew that once they reached Telmar, Lucy and he would be separated. If they were going to escape, they needed to have a plan, and they needed to act upon it quickly and correctly.

The two captives were eating their meager lunch in silence. Before Lucy started hers, Eugene noticed that Lucy had closed her eyes and bowed her head, as she did before every meal. When she looked up and began to eat, Eugene asked her, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Whatever it is that you just did."

"Pray? I'm thanking Aslan for His protection and the food."

"Why? He's just a lion."

"He's not just a 'lion.' He's the Lion. He and his father, the Emperor-Over-the-Sea, created this world and many others. Aslan and his father lead all of our lives."

"I still don't see how He can," Eugene said. "For example, I'm deciding to take a bite of my food right now." He did so. "Aslan didn't eat it for me or put the food in my mouth and force me to eat it. I did it of my own free will."

"But Aslan is the one who gave you the ability to eat and gave you the food."

"I'm pretty sure that a man gave it—"

Lucy sighed, "You have to think beyond that, Eugene. Aslan is the one who put you on this ship. He has a purpose for everything; we just don't know exactly what His purpose is. Please, Eugene, you have to believe me. Aslan has a purpose for you, and He loves you. I have hope in Him, and I place my faith in Him, and then I'm not afraid anymore."

"Who said I was afraid?" Eugene asked defensively.

"I can see it in your eyes," Lucy said. "But I have hope that Aslan will protect us and guide us home, though it may not be easy. After all, if Aslan is with us, then what can man do to us?"

"Kill us," Eugene said sardonically.

Lucy frowned. "But then we'll be in Aslan's Country, if you love Him and trust Him and believe in Him. You'll see, Eugene. I am determined to make you see Him."

Eugene was determined to end this conversation. He was tired of Lucy shoving her beliefs down his throat…but he did see reason in them. It would just be so easy to accept that this Lion, Aslan, was ruler over all. But Eugene was stubborn and he didn't want to give in that easily. It wasn't in his nature to just give into what was easiest.

The two sat in silence. Lucy regretted not being able to make Eugene believe, but she knew that he had been on his own for his whole life. He was used to trusting himself and not being able to rely on anyone. He had told her his life story, up until he was on the ship, and she knew that any alliances he had with anyone, even Rapunzel at first, were only façades. No one trusted each other and then they would run out on each other, as Flynn Rider had done to those brothers that had helped him steal the crown. Eugene Fitzherbert had spent his entire life running from other people's help because he didn't know when or if he would be burned by them.

Lucy couldn't imagine living like that. Her siblings and parents and friends had always been there for her. She couldn't live on her own. It was hard enough being here with only one person who cared for her well-being. And Lucy couldn't imagine living with no family. She had always been aware of the fact that there were orphans in the world, but she couldn't imagine being one until she had spoken with one and learned all about his life. How would her life be different if she hadn't grown up with Peter, Susan, Edmund, and her parents? What kind of person would she be? Lucy didn't even want to think about that.

So Lucy didn't think about it. She merely closed her eyes and thought, Aslan, please help Eugene to see You. And please keep us both safe. We have to get home to our friends and my family. I trust you, but I just have to get back to Pete, Ed, and Su! Please, Aslan…

And Lucy felt comfortable and safe and warm. She felt Aslan's presence. He comforted her in her time of despair and loss.

Eugene felt alone. He saw that Lucy was smiling to herself and wondered why. He couldn't understand why she felt so safe in the face of so much danger.