Part 1: The Tower
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ~ John 1:5
Rapunzel and Eugene had thought that the happiest moment of their lives was the night of the lantern festival.
But less than twenty-four hours later, that moment had been superseded by this one, when Eugene had come back to life, Rapunzel had been set free, and they finally kissed, giving vent to all the emotion and affection that they had felt toward each other over the last two days.
For a while they barely moved from the floor. Eugene's right hand was still chained to the stairs, and Rapunzel sat half in his lap, neither of them wanting to let go now that they were finally holding each other.
The full story came out haltingly, between cuddles and caresses, bursts of laughter and fresh waves of tears. Eugene told her about the Stabbington brothers' trap, his arrest and intended execution, his discovery of Gothel's treachery, the jailbreak, and Maximus' race to the tower. Rapunzel told him about Gothel's "rescue," their return to the tower, and her realization that she was the lost princess.
When Eugene heard this revelation, he stared at her, his eyes widening in realization. He was about as stunned and freaked out as he had been when he learned about her magical hair.
"She's the lost princess," he gasped, half to himself and half to Pascal, who had climbed onto the stairs and looked amused by his reaction. "I accidentally found the princess. The same one everyone's been looking for all these years. The same princess whose crown I stole."
"I should have figured it out sooner," Rapunzel said bitterly. "All the clues were there. I just didn't want to see them."
"It makes sense that you wouldn't," Eugene said sympathetically. He had known plenty of orphans who did not want to believe obvious truths about their pasts. "You wanted to believe your … guardian … cared about you. But what happened after you realized the truth?"
"I confronted her … which was probably not the best idea," Rapunzel admitted. "I should have just run away. But I was so angry, and I didn't feel afraid of her anymore. I didn't realize how far she would go."
Again, she checked where Eugene's wound had been. His shirt and vest were still stained with blood, but his flesh was completely healed, without even a scar. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it, and when she met his gaze, he was looking at her tenderly. "If I'd gotten here even a few minutes later …"
She hugged him again, interrupting that line of thought. "Don't. I'm here. You saved me."
"And you saved me." He ran his hand through the short brown tufts where her long golden locks used to be. "I'm sorry about your hair. I would've asked, but I couldn't risk …"
"I don't care about my hair," she said. Then she added reproachfully, "Though, you could have waited to cut it after I healed you."
"I was afraid that she'd take you as soon as you'd finished. I couldn't risk that." He rubbed her back, accidentally causing the chain to rattle, as his right hand was still shackled to the stair railing. "Ah—sorry. Do you happen to have the key, or something I can use to pick the lock?"
Rapunzel hesitated, glancing at the window. "I think she had the key in her pocket when she—"
"Never mind," he said quickly. "Maybe a pin, or some tools?"
It took some searching, but Rapunzel managed to find a couple of hair pins from the girls who had braided her hair the day before. With only one hand free, it took Eugene a bit longer than usual to pick the lock. But once the shackle fell from his wrist, he and Rapunzel both stood and immediately embraced. They held each other tightly once more, her head tucked under his chin, the sunlight streaming upon them through the window.
"Thank you," Eugene whispered.
"I think I should be the one thanking you," Rapunzel murmured.
He took her face in his hands, kissed her forehead, and then her lips. Even when they parted, they held on to each other, breathing deeply.
"I love you," he said. "So much."
She knew that already—his actions just now had proven it—but hearing those words made her heart feel like it would burst. "I love you too."
"Well, you're finally free. What do you want to do now?" Eugene asked.
The question gave Rapunzel pause. No one had ever asked her that before—at least, not in such an open-ended, obliging way. Gothel had only ever given her choices within certain parameters.
Now, with Gothel gone and Eugene by her side, the whole world was open to her. She could go anywhere, do anything. It was a thrilling, almost intimidating prospect.
But after her epiphany a few hours earlier, she knew the first thing she needed to do—what she ought to do. She was not the only person Gothel had wronged all those years ago.
"Now … I need to find my real parents."
Eugene smiled, albeit with some sadness, nodding in acceptance. "Then I guess we're going back to the kingdom."
Rapunzel looked at him in concern. "Didn't their guards just try to execute you?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, but they didn't succeed. And if they try again, I don't care." He rested his forehead against hers. "I'm not leaving you unless you or your parents order me to."
She was grateful to hear that. "I'm sure they'll understand once we explain everything," she said, growing excited. "I'll have them grant you a full pardon. We'll replace all those wanted posters with ones that say 'cleared of all charges.' I'll draw your portrait myself so it gets your nose right."
Eugene grinned now. "Sounds good to me."
Rapunzel glanced around the room, finally taking notice of the state it was in. The floor was a mess, with the mirror shards scattered and her long hair—now a dull brown—strewn about like a snake skin. "Can we go now?" she asked, fighting back a shiver. "I don't want to stay here another minute."
"Me neither." Eugene glanced out the window. "Max probably needs to rest a while, but we can camp out in the forest. We'll ride to the kingdom as soon as he's ready."
Rapunzel picked up Pascal and started toward the trapdoor, but Eugene stopped her. "Isn't there anything you want to take with you?"
She paused, considering. Gothel had not spared her any material possessions, but she did not want to take any of the vestiges of this place. It was difficult to see it as her home, now that she knew it for what it had truly been: a prison.
But, she remembered, there was one thing she owned that had not been part of her life there. "Just one thing, really." She went up the stairs, and Eugene followed, curious.
There were two upper rooms, which Eugene had not seen on his previous visit to the tower: Gothel's private quarters, and Rapunzel's bedroom. Like the main room, the walls and ceiling of Rapunzel's bedroom were covered in murals, and the shelves were full of art tools and handicrafts.
Rapunzel went over to the bed and picked up something Eugene recognized: the small flag he had bought for her at the festival, emblazoned with the Corona crest, a golden sun against a purple field.
"Everything else I've ever owned came from her," Rapunzel said, casting a bitter look around the room. She looked down at the small flag. "But you gave me this … and it helped me figure out who I am. It made me remember the first time I saw that sun shape, when I was a baby." She pointed up at the ceiling, and Eugene followed with his eyes. "I've been painting it all my life without realizing it."
He looked down before she did, regarding her with awe. "Have I ever mentioned how amazing you are?"
She blushed as she looked down. "Anyway … this is one thing I'd like to keep."
Eugene leaned against the bedpost with a hand on his hip, smiling crookedly at her. "You know if we go back to the kingdom, and you take your place as the princess, you'll have much bigger flags to fly."
She smiled, folded the flag and put it in her pocket. She stopped at the threshold, cast a final look around her childhood bedroom, then closed the door firmly behind her.
Near the trapdoor, they found a bag Gothel had packed with food and traveling supplies, and decided to take that too. Eugene shouldered the pack while Rapunzel lit a candle to light their way down the stairs.
"I kind of forgot this was here," Rapunzel said, looking down into the darkness. "That's how Mother—Gothel—got in and out, before my hair was long enough to climb. Once that was an option, she walled up the exit."
Holding the candle before them in one hand, and holding onto Eugene with the other, she started to descend the stairs. Eugene closed the trapdoor above them, and slowly, walking hand in hand, they went down the stairs. When they stepped outside, into the sunlight, the wind blew the candle out.
Maximus was waiting anxiously at the base of the tower. He whinnied in excitement when he saw Eugene; but at the sight of Rapunzel, now sporting short brown hair instead of her long golden tresses, he stopped short and snorted in confusion.
"Max, it's me," she assured him, approaching with outstretched arms. He sniffed her, and then gave a grunt of recognition. Rapunzel hugged the horse's neck and stroked his mane. "Thank you so much, Max. You saved Eugene, and you got him here just in time to save me. You are the best horse that's ever lived."
Eugene could have sworn the horse looked pleased, overly flattered.
Rapunzel kissed Max's nose and looked in his eyes, stroking his long snout. "You're not going to believe it, Max. I found out something incredible. I am the lost princess of the kingdom."
Maximus reared back, stared at Rapunzel, then looked to Pascal on her shoulder and Eugene at her side for confirmation. When they nodded, the horse neighed loudly and bowed, bending his neck until his snout touched the ground.
"Oh, you good, loyal horse." Rapunzel knelt and got him to lift his head once more.
While Rapunzel continued talking to the animals, Eugene circled the base of the tower. He was relieved that Gothel's body was nowhere to be found. All that remained was her cloak and clothing. When Eugene picked them up, dust fell from the folds. He grimaced, disgusted but also relieved and satisfied. He threw the clothes inside the tower—maybe some animals would infiltrate the abandoned structure and use the fabric for bedding.
He went back to Rapunzel and Maximus, and they went down to the stream to take a drink and fill some water skeins. Eugene took the opportunity to wash the blood off his skin and clothes. Then he relit the candle and took the horse by the reins. "Let's get going."
At the entrance to the tunnel, Rapunzel only stopped long enough to take a final glance at the ravine. It was beautiful, she could see that, but the tower was so much smaller than it had seemed when she was inside it. Now that she had seen the world beyond—even a small part of the world—she could see how narrow the tower had been. It had been a nice enough place to live, but it had still been a prison, and she felt no regret about leaving it this time.
Eugene carried the candle and led the way through the tunnel. After coming out on the other side, they only walked about a mile before stopping to set up camp under a tree. None of them had slept the night before, and Maximus needed to rest after such an intense run.
Eugene could hardly take his eyes off Rapunzel, partly out of admiration, and partly out of concern. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked gently.
"Of course I'm okay. I'm free, you're alive, and my family is waiting for me."
"I know. I just meant, after everything with your evil stepmother … if you want to talk about it …"
"Not yet. Not right now." Her hand automatically went to her neck, but her long tresses were now longer there for her to fiddle with. She sighed, and then focused on Eugene. "I could ask the same thing of you. I mean, you were … well … dead. I don't know if you realize that, but … I felt the difference. You weren't breathing or moving. You were gone."
He knew, though he could not explain how he had known the difference between dying and simply passing out. "You brought me back, though. How?"
"I don't really know. I was crying, and I sang the rest of the incantation. I guess I still had some magic in my tears? Then you sort of glowed … it was like light was shining inside you, coming out of you … and then you woke up."
Eugene tilted his head. "Wait, so do I have your magic in me now? Am I going to have long, magical hair in the future?"
Rapunzel laughed. "I don't think so. But that's okay." She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, something she had secretly wanted to do since she first saw him. "I like it the way it is."
He grinned and mirrored the gesture. "I like yours, too. Not that I didn't like the blonde," he added, "but, at any rate, you look beautiful either way."
Rapunzel insisted that she was too nervous to eat or sleep, but Eugene convinced her to try some food. Once she had eaten a few bites, she realized how hungry she was, having eaten nothing since the day before.
When her stomach was full, her head began to nod, until finally she leaned against Eugene's shoulder.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought," she admitted. "We walked through the night to get back from the kingdom …"
"Yeah, I'm pretty beat too. I don't know if it's from pacing a prison cell all night, or … well, everything today." He slipped his arm around her and rested his cheek against her head; her now short hair tickled his face.
She hummed in pleasure and shifted to cuddle into him. "Are we really safe here? Or will the guards be after you again?"
"They might be looking for me. But they'll think twice when they see Maximus. At least, I hope they will. I guess he's technically a traitor to the kingdom."
Max, who had been dozing behind them, lifted his head, snorting indignantly.
"Sorry, pal, but it's true. Don't worry, I'm sure the king will pardon you when you bring the princess back."
"I'll make him pardon you both," Rapunzel promised. Max settled down then.
"I guess once we get to the kingdom, everything's going to be different," Rapunzel reflected.
"Yeah," Eugene agreed, though he did not say more. He wanted to bring Rapunzel to her parents, but he did not want to think too much beyond that, because his own future was so uncertain. He would rather enjoy this moment alone with Rapunzel, before he had to share her with her family and her kingdom.
She looked up at him with an almost childlike hope. "Will you stay with me?"
He smiled down at her. "If you want me, and if they'll let me."
"I do, and they will." She held his hand against her heart. "I love you, Eugene Fitzherbert."
"And I love you, Rapunzel."
Maximus and Pascal had the decency to make themselves scarce while the two humans kissed. Then, after a long and sleepless night, they lay down in the sun-dappled shade and fell asleep in each other's arms, feeling safer, more content, and more loved than they ever had before.
They woke a few hours later, and rested a while longer before finally getting up. After a small meal, they were ready to make the journey.
Rapunzel had never ridden a horse before, and she was excited to finally have the chance. Eugene took her by the waist and set her up on the saddle; she immediately turned and lifted one leg over to sit astride the horse. Then Eugene hoisted himself up to sit in front of Rapunzel, who immediately leaned forward and put her arms around his middle. Her hands were clasped over his stomach, close to where his wound had been.
He placed one hand over both of hers. "Ready?" he asked over his shoulder.
She pulled herself up to kiss his cheek. "Ready as I'll ever be."
He smiled, understanding what she meant. Then he flicked the reins. "Take us home, Max."
Maximus neighed and broke into a run—not as fast as earlier, but faster than Rapunzel had ever moved before.
As they rode, the forest became full of new sounds: the delighted squeals and whoops of a young, free-spirited woman feeling the wind in her hair.
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading my first Tangled fanfic!
A few lines toward the end are allusions to songs from Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.
