The last goodbye

Several months after Flynn left the kingdom to move to Naples, Rapunzel found him. He was startled when he heard a knock at his door—few people visited him unexpectedly—and even more so when he opened it to see her standing there.

"Rapunzel?"

"Hi!" She said nervously.

"Um…hi. Uh…what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. I gotta say you are not easy to find! And you changed your name again? To what? Gia…batiste…basil?"

"No, it's Giambattista Basile."

"Oh, uh, yes, I meant that. But why do you call yourself that?"

"Well, I met those siblings here in Naples. The brother is a poet and composer, and the sisters are singers. We got along so well, and they kind of…adopted me as their brother. So, I took on the last name Basile and they helped me choose a first name. And now, I live here with them and also started writing some poetry myself."

"Oh…and are you happy? Did you…find someone else?"

"No and no. And what do you care? You didn't want to marry me and share your life with me, remember? Apparently, I'm so unbearable that a life with me seemed like a prison!"

"Look, I'm sorry. We could get married now, it's all right with me now, just…come back."

He sighed. "Look, if you only change your mind about marriage when I walk out on you, then you're not really choosing me—you're just afraid of losing what I brought into your life. And honestly, that hurts more than all the rejection you've given me. I love you deeply, more than I thought I could love anyone, but you made it clear that truly being with me felt like some kind of burden or trap. I could never force someone to love me or see me as a blessing when they only saw me as a cage. Now you say you're ready, but it's not because you finally see my worth. It's because you're scared of the silence I left behind. I wanted a life with someone who truly wanted me, not someone who only wakes up to that idea when I'm already gone. That's not love—it's regret. And while I still care for you, I've learned to care for myself too. I wanted a partner, someone who cherishes me as much as I cherished them, not someone who sees me as a last resort when I'm gone."

"But...but..."

"And besides, you hurt me very much, Rapunzel! You implied that being married to me would be some kind of prison as if I wanted to take away your freedom! What did you think of me? This especially hurts considering I never once acted like I wanted to control you or restrict your freedom. Heck, I even died for your freedom once, remember that? That's how much I love you. I wanted you for who you are, not to change or confine you, and I was willing to follow you wherever you wanted to go. But you were acting like I was asking for some kind of prison sentence. All I wanted was to marry you so we could actually be together in this society—to love openly, to share my life with you. I wasn't asking you to give up your adventures, I just wanted to be part of them! Was that so terrible?"

"I...I didn't think..."

"How could you even think marriage was a prison? I mean, my adoptive sister Adriana is married, and her husband just took his horse and went to the market while she went into the woods to take a hike. Do you think he now has her chained to his horse or something?"

"Oh, but..."

"Rapunzel, you can still do anything that you could do when you were single when you are married. And you can also go anywhere without your partner when you are married, but you can't go anywhere with your partner or do anything together if you are not married because our society doesn't allow that. And out of a good reason! There is nothing more humiliating for a woman than to get pregnant out of wedlock."

"I..."

"I would have given you everything, the sun, the moon, the stars, if I could have. If you would have let me. I would have done everything to make you happy. All I wanted in return was a yes, a promise that we will stay together and the chance to...well be allowed to share my room with you. Marriage isn't optional if you want a love relationship. It's necessary. Without it, no one would have even allowed us to be alone in the same room, let alone build a life together. Everyone already called our relationship a scandal, and I wanted to change that. I wanted us to be together in an official, legal way. To love you openly and proudly. Why was that so terrible?"

"But I've changed! I now—"

"And what if you change again? What if your doubts return the moment life gets hard? Look, I'm sorry but if being just engaged to me scared you so much that you had to run out of the room, then maybe that's a sign that I'm not the right one for you. I love you. I always will. But love isn't about chasing someone who keeps running from you. You said no—twice. And I just don't think you would truly be happy with me, even if we got married now."

"But people make fun of me because you walked out on me. And now I don't have anyone there who stands up for me all the time, who agrees with me every time."

He sighed, his voice kind but firm. "Well, I'm really sorry about that, and those people are awful for treating you that way. But...maybe now you at least know how I felt."

She blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"

His voice grew quieter, tinged with sadness, as he looked into her eyes. "Because that's what I went through in the kingdom almost every day. Most everyone—especially Cassandra—insulted me and made fun of me constantly. And I didn't have anyone to stand up for me either. Not even you." She started to speak, but he held up his hand, his tone unwavering.
"You always stood by and said nothing. Worse, you defended Cassandra every time, no matter how cruel she was to me. Do you remember what you did to 'please her'? You painted my face on a punching bag so she could mock me even more. Do you know how much that hurt when I found out? To see the person I love more than anything go out of their way to humiliate me? I never said anything because I loved you. I kept hoping, foolishly, that you'd see how much it hurt, how much I needed you to have my back, the way I always had yours. But you didn't. You didn't even notice."

She looked away, shame filling her face. "I...I didn't realize."

His voice softened but remained resolute. "No, you didn't. And that's why this isn't just about marriage. It's about respect. It's about love that goes both ways. And I can't go back to being the only one who gives it, while the person I love tears me down—or lets others do it for her. Look, sometimes people fall in love several times before they find the one and I'm clearly not the one for you. I mean, we clearly want such different things. I want a real partnership, something built to last forever, with a promise to stay together no matter what. But you…well, maybe you just wanted a friend with benefits. Someone who agrees with you all the time, who always gives in, and who never asks for anything in return. But that's not love. At least, not the kind of love I believe in."

Her shoulders slumped as she let out a deep sigh. "Maybe you're right. Perhaps we're just too different. I should go." She hesitated, then added quietly, "But I'm sorry for how I treated you. Truly."

He nodded, his expression softening. "And I'm sorry for how everything came out. I really am. But I'm glad you came. At least now, we've said everything we needed to. And at least now, I got to see you one last time…before we part forever." He paused, his voice faltering slightly as he added, "But just so you know…I will always love the girl I found in that tower."

A tear slid down her cheek as she managed a small, bittersweet smile and whispered, "And I will always love the man who found me in that tower."

He took her in his arms, and they shared one last hug while tears slid down their cheeks. "Goodbye, Rapunzel."

"Goodbye, Eugene."

They stood in silence for a moment, memories of their time together flashing between them, before she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, finally at peace, a man who had loved deeply, was hurt deeply, and ultimately found the strength to let go.

But his lingering love for Rapunzel never fully faded. He often thought of her as the "what if" of his life, the person he could never quite forget. Yet, the pain she caused and the sacrifices he had made for love left him deeply scarred. The thought of opening himself up to such heartbreak again felt unbearable. For Flynn, love had become something bittersweet—a joy he could no longer afford.

Still, his life in Italy was rich and fulfilling in its own way. His adoptive siblings, the Basiles, and their families, became his closest companions. They shared laughter, creativity, and loyalty, filling his days with warmth. Flynn may not have found romantic love again, but he found a different kind of family, one that cherished him for who he was.

He lived to the age of 66, his stories bringing him a modest but meaningful legacy. Years later, one of his adoptive sisters published his collection of fairy tales, ensuring his work lived on.

Finally, Rapunzel came across a copy of Flynn's fairy tales and read the story of Petrosinella. As she read, she recognized their story beneath the embellishments and realized how deeply she had hurt him. Though it brought her a sense of closure, it also reinforced what she already knew: that she had blown her chance at love with him and would carry that regret for the rest of her life.

In the end, Flynn and Rapunzel both found lives of their own—lives shaped by their choices and their loss. While neither could rewrite the past, they both left behind legacies that told their stories in different ways.