Chapter 5: Rapunzel's hair
A waning gibbous moon hovered over the plains of the high Andes. Jack stared up at the moon in the starry, night sky. Hiccup was sitting beside the purple fire that Toothless had made, nursing his crippled foot. He was wincing while he examined the mangled remains of the appendage that a couple of hours earlier had been a working leg. Merida was sitting on the opposite side of the fire, determinately avoiding Hiccup's gaze. Rapunzel was still out cold. They could tell because Rapunzel was snoring so loudly that her long, blonde hair was flapping around her head.
At long last, Rapunzel woke up. 'Oh you're awake then,' Hiccup said, looking over at her. Merida smiled patronizingly. 'Yeh cannae pull the wool over this boy's eyes can yeh,' Merida said, smiling sarcastically, 'Well done, yes she is awake. 7 outta 10 for observation.' 'Less of Princess Rapunzel,' Jack chuckled, floating over, 'More of a Sleeping Beauty.' Everyone chuckled... well, except for Rapunzel. 'What is so funny?' She asked, disgruntled. Everyone fought to keep a straight face. 'Nothing,' they all said together.
'Ow!' Hiccup yelped, grabbing his bleeding leg. 'What happened to your leg?' Rapunzel asked. Hiccup stared at her, dumbfounded and a little insulted. 'What happen...? Rapunzel, you were there and conscious at the time. Was it that memorable?!' Rapunzel gave Hiccup a slightly guilty look. 'Sorry,' she said. 'SORRY! I've lost my leg again and all you can say is "sorry?"' Hiccup yelled. Tears of anguish were running down his cheeks. 'Ach, here comes the water-fall,' Merida grumbled, lying down on her back.
Jack rolled his eyes. He expected Rapunzel to look at least slightly abashed, but if anything, she had a crafty look in her eyes. 'Oh, you won't have to worry about that,' Rapunzel said smiling. Hiccup looked extremely confused. Jack and Merida were also looking confused. 'Give me your leg Hiccup,' Rapunzel said, holding out her hand.
Looking even more bewildered than before, Hiccup held out his leg. Rapunzel took it in her lap and wrapped her long, blonde hair around his mangled limb. He winced as the hair tightened around his injuries. Merida and Jack looked closely at the hair. 'Hiccup, please don't freak out,' Rapunzel said gently to Hiccup, 'And that goes for you two as well.' Hiccup was now feeling slightly worried and was starting to have second thoughts. 'Um, maybe this was not such a good idea.' Rapunzel sighed, closed her eyes and began to sing.
'Flower, gleam and glow,
let your power shine,'
And indeed, Rapunzel's hair began to glow golden. The gold glow ran down her long blonde hair. Merida was rarely impressed, but this time she was slack-jawed with amazement. She was going to have to shoot a lot of arrows to vent her frustration of being amazed. Jack smiled toothily. 'Cool,' he said. Hiccup was looking mildly panicked. Toothless was just staring.
'Make the clock reverse,
bring back what once was mine,'
Hiccup turned his gaze from Rapunzel's face to his injured leg.
'Heal what has been hurt,
change the fates design,'
The gold light flowed down Rapunzel's hair that was wrapped around Hiccup's leg. He felt a strange tingle.
'Save what has been lost,
bring back what once was mine,
what once was mine.'
Rapunzel unwrapped her hair. Hiccup gasped. His leg was healed. He ran his hands over his revived limb. He began to remove the rest of Rapunzel's hair. CLUNK! Hiccup's metal foot fell off. In a frenzy, Hiccup pulled off all of the enchanted hair. His foot, the one he had lost to the Red Death, had regrown. He pulled it up to his eyes. His jaw dropped. He lowered his foot and stared at Rapunzel. A tear rolled down his cheek. He stood up and placed his foot upon the ground. He wiggled the toes.
He ran over to Rapunzel and hugged her tightly. He squeezed. Rapunzel was wheezing and began to turn blue. 'Hiccup', she gasped, 'Hiccup, let go of me.' Hiccup released her. 'Oh, sorry.' 'How did yeh do that' Merida asked, bending close to examine the hair. 'It's a long story,' Rapunzel said, tapping her fingernails together. 'Long time to tell it,' Merida said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Rapunzel sighed.
'Well,' she began hesitantly, 'It started with the sun.' She took a deep breath and continued. 'Once upon a time...' 'EURGH!' the other three moaned. Even Toothless seemed disgusted by this childish beginning. 'Okay then, I'll start over.' She took a second breath. 'Once, long ago...' 'Can yeh nae tell the story without a fairy tale beginning?' Merida said, her head resting in her hands.
'In that case...' Rapunzel said stiffly, and taking a third breath she continued, 'Several hundred or so years before I was born,' she paused. 'Yes?' the other three said. 'Just waiting to see if you would actually listen this time,' Rapunzel quipped before carrying on. '... a single drop of golden sunlight fell from the heavens.' 'I'm used to hearing stories featuring the moon,' Jack said leaning back on a rock. Rapunzel glared at him. 'Sorry,' he said, holding his hands at shoulder height.
'Anyway,' Rapunzel continued, 'From that drop of sunlight grew a magic, golden flower which had the power to heal the sick and injured.' She gestured to Hiccup's leg. 'What has this got tae to with yeh hair?' 'Yeah, coming to that,' Rapunzel promised. 'Several centuries later, in the nearby kingdom of Corona, a queen was about to have a baby, but she suddenly fell ill.' Rapunzel closed her eyes. 'The king sent out all his people to look for the flower and after a long search they finally found it.'
'The flower was made into an elixir that the queen had to drink. The magic of the golden flower healed the queen and a healthy, baby princess was born with beautiful golden hair.' Rapunzel twirled her own hair through her fingers. Jack picked up on the hint. 'Was this princess's name Rapunzel by any chance?' he asked. Rapunzel blushed. 'Yeah,' she said. 'As if it was nae obvious enough,' Merida said. 'I didn't pick up on it,' Hiccup said tentatively. 'No surprise there,' Merida said smiling cheekily.
'And I'm guessing the healing abilities of the flower passed down to you through your mother?' Hiccup said turning to Rapunzel. 'Umm,' Rapunzel hesitated, 'I suppose.' Merida lay on her back. 'Ah could really go for a good dream right about now.' 'We should be getting some any moment now,' Jack said, smiling. Sure enough, floating through the skies were streams of golden sand. 'What's that?' Rapunzel asked, pointing. 'Dreamsand. Go to sleep and have some really pleasant dreams,' Jack yawned, closing his eyes.
And they all went to sleep. Unfortunately, Jack's prediction wasn't exactly what he hoped it would be.
His world was dark and Jack was terrified. He was falling through the pitch blackness, nothing visible in front of his face. He held his hand an inch in front of his eyes and waved vigorously. Nothing. It was cold. Very cold. Jack didn't normally feel the cold so the fact that he could this time worried him greatly. 'Hello?' he tried to say, but his voice was suppressed. Nonetheless, his voice echoed through the empty space.
He heard another echo. 'Jack, is that you?' It was Rapunzel's echo. 'I'm here,' Jack tried to call, but an echo was all that left his lips. 'Rapunzel? Jack? Where are you two?' Hiccup's echo called through the blackness. 'Ach, I thought we'd left you behind,' came Merida's echo. 'This time, I heard the joking in your voice,' Hiccup echoed. Merida sighed. It was true, she was starting to feel less prejudice against Hiccup.
Rapunzel shuddered. 'Did you feel that?' she asked, her voice echoing to her companions. 'Yeh mean that weird creeping chill?' Merida echoed back. 'Yeah, can you feel it too?' 'Nope, just a wild stab in the dark, which is incidentally what you'll be getting if you don't start being a bit more helpful.' Jack and Hiccup sniggered and then gasped. The cold swept over them all again, chilling them to the bone. 'Oh gods,' Hiccup echoed, holding his arms close to his chest and shuddering.
The darkness cleared slightly and Jack could see his friends floating in the black fog. 'Jack! There you are!' Rapunzel cried, waving to him. Jack swam through the blackness towards them, waving back at her. 'Jack!' Hiccup yelled. Merida waded through the treacle-thick substance that passed for air here, towards the rest of the group.
Something moved in the shadows. Jack whipped around. Nothing. A hiss sounded in the distance. Rapunzel twisted, panicked. Hiccup tried to move away, though he wasn't very successful. Even Merida felt worried. A rumble echoed. Something black with shimmering deep red eyes rushed them. They all screamed... and awoke.
Jack stared at the sky, breathing deeply. Hiccup, Rapunzel and Merida seemed a little traumatized as well. 'W-w-what the h-h-hell was th-th-that all about?' Hiccup gasped, rolling onto his front and pushing himself up. He was as white as a sheet, as were Rapunzel and Merida. Jack knew he must look little better.
'I know someone who could give an idea as to what's goin' on,' Merida said. She picked up a snowglobe that had rolled out of Jack's pocket. 'How's this work laddie?' Merida asked. 'You whisper your destination to it, shake it and then throw,' Jack said still lying on his back. Merida lifted the snowglobe to her lips, whispered something and threw the snowglobe forward. A portal sprang into being and before anyone could react, they were tugged into it. 'Not again!' Hiccup yelled.