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She was binded to the damning walls of her old home, before it so drastically and unforgivingly transformed into a prison. A different form of prison, one where there would never be any option to escape the sight of a woman whom had kidnapped her as a babe, one where a theif could never climb in and change her life completely. It had always been her doom of a sort, yet seemed at first so familiar, comforting even despite her mo....Gothel's absence for the many years she grew up with only a mindset to please the woman.
But now, the painted walls and wooden beams of charted stars, of an anxious yet determined girl gazing towards the long-awaited lanterns, even the gentle touches of delicately placed colour to encircle the main piece were duller, held an absolute strength of the lie she had so naively believed for eighteen long years. No, this was hardly a home, this was not where she belonged. Free from the wretched woman, reunited with Eugene in some way as if he may still be alive at this moment, that is where she was truly meant to be.
If the woman had done so before, for the years she was kept inside the tower with no stairs, no doors her 'mother' had proclaimed, she may have been lying again. Lying about his inevitable death, a method in which to try and console the young girl in any sorts. She just wished and prayed he was ok, for now there seemed no hope of doing anything otherwise as her thin wrists twisted against the metal bondage.
Within the darkness of the remaining space of the tower floor lay the shattered glass, a mirror where the woman once admired her youth, took Rapunzel's gifts to her advantage in the need of vanity and beauty. The woman herself was grinning in the shadows, staring out of the window to a world below in which Rapunzel would never see again. Tears fell down her cheeks, the reality that her former mother mocked this ripped freedom from her 'daughter'.
But that grin slowly turned into one of madness, even in darkness the young girl could see the way her eyes shone with revenge, could know simply from her mother's frantic movements to her cloak that there was something seriously wrong. More so than it had been before, yet she could not hold a grasp of what the reason for the woman's reaction had been.
And then, she heard his voice. As if her body had frozen in position, the breath leaving her lungs, Rapunzel came to the overwhelming realisation that it was Eugene, and the yells for her name were ones of hopeful rescue and a reunion with the girl. To save from the hag that stood eagerly at the window. She should feel complete relief, gratefully thankful, overwhelming love for Eugene that her prayers had been answered, that the man in question from only a few minutes prior had not fallen to the murderous hands of a noose.
But, as the girls hair collected into Gothel's hands, a shine of metal reflecting against the floor from the dagger that hung at the side of the woman's blood crimson dress, she knew that there were only plans to kill the man she loved.
No! She yelled a muffled cry, finally allowing her lungs to breath again, to make an utter of a sound for the first time since the protests she made of an attempt to escape the cloth and chains that trapped her now. For she could only do just that: yell, protest, and cry feebly in the sincere hopes Eugene would not fall to Gothel's trickery. But as the golden tresses, the only reason for Rapunzel's kidnapping in the first place, were thrown out of the window, she knew that there could be no hope for stopping the determined, strained voice she had heard.
Could be no relief as the hair tugged against her roots, knowing the weight could only mean that Eugene was climbing. And so she would scream and cry, despite the restrain and limits of the muffled noise from a cloth. Could he hear her? Had he known her hair was all an expedient to murder in Gothel's plan of victory? No, how could he know?
He was coming close, her fear was growing immensely and Gothel's malicious grin only widened in expectancy with the plans to kill from within the shadows of burgandy curtains, a grip tightening on her weapon of choice. It was then that her breath caught in her throat once more as his heroic figure hauled over the wooden sill, unware of such impending horrors that she feared awaited him.
"Rapunzel! I'd thought I never see you again!" He called out, drawing in air to slow down the breaths from the climb between words. But as his head lifted in the hope to see his beloved awaiting him, there was the image he hoped he would never have to face. Her desperate cries, quiet yet held no lack of extremity, the chains that held her back only so far away from the wall and the loving gaze he had learnt for her face to hold had dissapeared to one so distraught and in pain.
Now was the time for everything to be done, he could not lose, even as Rapunzel's fears grew with the swimming dizziness in her eyes at the sight of Gothel drawing near.
But to her prodigious relief, he never once hesitated as he ran towards Rapunzel before Gothel could impale his side with the strong grip of a dagger in which he held no recollection of, the power, the choice of death at her mercy. But Rapunzel begged and yelled for him to see, her wide, fearful emerald orbs hinting the suggestion that allowed Eugene to whip his head around, to see the once forboding sense of inevitable doom. Death too be close to reaching his weakend, yet ultimately determined stature in the need to save the one he loved, the skeletal hands preparing to grip his being, its master the woman whom the Stabbingtons had referred to.
But he would not be facing death this day, would not be ripped away from Rapunzel so quickly when he had only just got her back. But if it so came to it, he would do it in a heartbeat for her freedom. The adrenaline rushed through his veins, allowing such quick action only Flynn Rider could hold, his body diving forwards towards the glinting light reflected off of steel, the preparation to fight such an old woman.
But through the darkness, she was much different in Eugene's mind to the one that had appeared with an evil glint in her silver eyes, for she was not an old lady. He knew even despite her age, a calculated risk he determined was because of Rapunzel's binds, the meaning to his beloveds desperate shouts for help in which he had to fight the urge to forget the impending fight and race across the tower floor to the beautiful girl, the woman was much more dangerously cruel.
Seemingly, the haggered look she held was one from clear ageing, the ugly truth that what had faced his predicament - she was not as old and ill as he wished to have perceived. In spite of raven coloured curls, containing stray hairs of steel and creases of appearing wrinkles on the sharp contours of her face, a close to death, crumbling woman was nothing in front of his eyes.
But he had no time to dwell upon the stupid belief that this would be an easy fight, he had to stop anything from harming Rapunzel, her desperate whimpers from underneath the cream coloured cloth that covered her mouth only further caused his stomach to churn with anxiety. Eugene Fitzherbert worried and with the need to reach her finally and tell her everything would be ok once the hag had been disposed of properly, Flynn Riders instincts kicked in. Now, there could be no error, could be no time to dwell upon matters that should not have caused the uneasy feeling to grow in the pit of his stomach, not when there were much higher things at stake.
And so with the longing to fight, to kill the dreadful woman whom had done this to Rapunzel, he dived his fist forward in the attempt to do anything damaging. Even if the hag had been caught off guard, she quickly slid herself out of Eugene's direct fist in the line of her abdomen.
She laughed, cackled as if to say that the man's attempts were feeble, weak and almost too easy to fight off. She continued this rhythm of thrusting her dagger, a deadly dance across the tower floor as one fought for Rapunzel's freedom, the other doing just the opposite. The continuity was painful, fail at piercing the theifs skin, avoiding any hits and finally followed by the abhorred laugh.
Yet even as his grunts rumbled from his voice, even if the fight was not being won, he knew that it also wasn't being lost. And as long as he was still standing, kneeling, strewn across the floor or any other position of guard against the woman, he would never give up on Rapunzel.
If he let his guard down for one second, there could be no hope for a victorious fight. And even though he swore to do just that, sending his fist towards the hag, his feet shuffling across the tiles, the sudden click of metal caught his attention for just a split second.
He should not take note, the hag had not realised, and so neither should he. But as the chains rattled against the ground and the slightly louder cuffs of metal clanged on the floor, it was something he could not ignore.
Shuffling around, he caught Rapunzel's gaze for a split second as she ripped the cloth from her mouth using the now free hands and gripped the ends of her hair. The hag too had suddenly seen the escaped girl, forgetting the theif in the overwhelming change from fight to her. But Eugene was not missing anything this time, and so it seemed neither was Rapunzel as she flung her golden hair and pulled the dagger straight from Gothel's hand.
The deadly weapon now lay farther away, out of reach from Gothel's touch. Eugene took that opportunity only to run towards the dagger that lay closer to him than Rapunzel's mother, the witch seemingly having the same idea as her cloak swayed behind her with the urge to do whatever she deemed necessary. But the woman who seemed to have aged rapidly since their fight began was too slow for the quick stance and movements of Flynn Rider, the man now having a tight grip on the handle, standing guard protectively in front of Rapunzel.
"You've lost, you can't win this. I won't let you have her" Eugene growled in ire, his deeply angered tone conveying only utter hatred and animosity towards the woman who would dare do anything to hurt the girl he had grown to love with overwhelming certainty. Standing there, guarding Rapunzel's trembling form with a hand gripped in hers, the other holding a murderous weapon, he knew he could not fail.
"Ahaha, see Flynn Rider, you just don't understand, she will always be mine" The hag cackled, somehow having a lead despite being in harms way, the daggers sharp movements from Eugene towards the woman seemingly having no effect. He all too wearily had no time to comprehend as she screamed Rapunzel's name reverberantly for all to hear, her haggered form charging foward with palms outstretched.
Eugene was ready, the dagger positioned perfectly as he moved backwards with Rapunzel still in hand. She gasped loudly as Gothel inched closer, but he was ready. He had to be. You need to save Rapunzel, she is the best thing to have ever happened to you, you can't lose. She is your light in the darkness, Eugene thought to himself as the hag dove forwards and was ready to enact such a deed he could not expect.
Reaching out and attempting to steal the dagger from his grip was only the expectation Eugene had in mind, thrusting the dagger once more allowing his hold on Rapunzel to let go for only a second. But as the skeletal hands and form shoved into the pair, sending both falling over to the ground, Eugene knew now he was at mercy to the hag. She had yelped a surprised and shocked cry from behind, him forgetting the dagger that clattered on the ground for a split moment to turn to see she was ok.
Crumpled in a small form, her legs in an l-shape, she was dazed and unaware, just as he was. There was no sign of injury, he whispered only gratitude in his mind that the fall had not caused Rapunzel to succomb to a concussion or worse against the tower walls now closer than they had first been. But then that clarity, that reassured feeling ended as her face turned to one of panic once more yelling his name in deep trepidation.
Eugene! She cried as he finally knew the dangers, cursed himself as he all too suddenly realised that the weapon was no longer tightly in his grip. He had been lucky this time, again and again. That luck would end though, he knew it would even as he turned sharply towards the dagger aimed straight for his stomach. Protect Rapunzel, do not let her get hurt, his last thought of heroism before the weapon penotrated his left leg, the only method of avoiding the hands of death. The tears sprung in his eyes as he collapsed, gripping to the wound in his thigh now spewing with blood.
He felt dizzy, yet he knew that cry from Rapunzel's lips as she called his name, knew only her soft hands had gently touched his cheeks. Open your eyes, she is not safe yet, you cannot do this, Eugene's subconscious screamed out to him. You are pathetic and weak, this is not Flynn Rider, the other voice whispered in a melancholic tone over the slowed time of reality. Both a devil and angel on his shoulders, telling him there was no time to waste now.
The strength surged through him, enough for him to come to reality once more, seeing Rapunzel standing guard of him this time. No, don't fight her, please get up, his thoughts whispered out loud, knowing Rapunzel had heard as she spoke something he swore he would never want to hear from her lips, not when he was the one who should be saving.
"Eugene, it's going to be ok, just hold on, please" only her soft words could reassure the waves of pain that rushed through his leg, only her voice could somehow dull the ache and blood still erupting from the unforgiving wound. There were voices again, he heard her high pitched laugh, speaking the words of "mine" and "kill". No, you cannot give up, Rapunzel is in danger.
He opened his eyes, the shapes were blurry sure, but that could not stop the energy pulsing through his veins, the limp and heaviness of his injury would not stop from his body feebly lifting itself up to his knees.
It was not a battle, nor a fight with daggers thrust forwards or frying pans swung heavily and forcefully. Rapunzel was standing her ground, Gothel held the weapon at her side as the two yelled, as Rapunzel cried for any sort of mercy from the woman whom she thought she loved so dearly. And as the words slowly resonated in his ears, there was no hesitation to stand fully.
"...Mother no! Please, no, stop this!" Rapunzel's weakened voice cried out as Gothel gripped the cloth again, the attempt even stronger than the first time. Eugene was clambering to his feet, the hag having now noticed as even despite the woozy feeling and nausea that corrupted his body, he gripped Rapunzel's hand from behind. She squeezed it sincerely, spoke a thousand words of gratitude that Eugene was here, although her voice was aimed towards her fake mother.
"You will not win Gothel, you're too late!" She yelled, the determination clear in her voice for there was no hint of anxiety underneath, no sense that she was going to back down. And Eugene was proud, even as he hunched over with the pain returning in his leg, the girl was fighting back.
Subsiding from his injury, he lept in front of Rapunzel, before Gothel could cover the girls mouth with the cloth she held in her hand. Eugene knew what they did, he had so painfully seen the Stabbingtons do it to innocent victims of theivery in an attempt to escape capture, the fabric always laced with a drug that could knock someone unconscious in a few short seconds. He could practically smell the dreadful stuff from where he stood.
"We will never stop fighting you, for as long as you are still alive, you cannot harm Rapunzel. I will never let you get close to her again!" Eugene unconsciously held his arms out as a barrier, knowing there was no other way. She held that dagger still, how he wished it could be forgotten, could be disintegrated to dust in the hope the metal could cause no more harm. However, he was wrong, even if he had not known it in that exact moment.
"It seems that we are facing rather a serious predicament, if i cannot have her. Then neither. Will. You!" what those words had meant screamed an urgency so dire, Eugene's mind now racing with a million thoughts of a plan. Her attempts once again at using the dagger brought the pair back into action, a dual for a lovers life.
That continous stance brought to the surface led Rapunzel into a hectic frenzy to both protect Eugene who was despite the energy, limping still, and to finally make her freedom real. Gothel was lunging forward yet the two never gave in as Rapunzel used her hair to grip at Gothel's wrists, where as Eugene had the power of a fist. Eugene should get Rapunzel out of this, he had first thought but quickly became entirely grateful she had not given in as her golden tresses whipped Gothel's arm holding the dagger away from what could have been a cut to Eugene's face.
They had that lead once more, for although Gothel was still looking to be relatively in her prime as the raven curls swished from side to side with every movement, there was the clear sense she was slowing, however.
But then that pain erupted again, and as if time slowed and his world was coming to a halt, he heard her scream. For Gothel had noticed their growing triumph and caught Eugene off guard for an instant, throwing a harsh swing with the dagger at his wounded leg again. He cried out, falling as his vision blurred with the salty taste of tears descending from his eyes.
And then, as if it hadn't already, time stopped with her cry for help. He blinked away the mess falling from his eyelashes to see something so horrific that his body could not protest this time. For in front of him, Rapunzel knelt down on the floor, Gothel's hand lifting up her defiant face by the chin, the other gripping tighter to her forceful wrist. But then she ripped her head his way, seeing her trembling with only the eyes of emerald boring into his soul, screaming the words of both a wish for saving and mercy from the woman.
"Like i said, if i cannot have her, seeing as she continues to disobey me, you will not either" even if the words rung in his ears any faster, even if his body could crawl forward any quicker than it was now, he desperately could not stop from that image playing in front of him as if hell on earth had arrived to burn his heart to ashes. The dagger at first intended for him with not an ounce of regret in Gothel's eyes, thrusted forward and penotrated Rapunzel's stomach, pulling out again covered in that abominable crimson blood. Her blood. And Eugene could not get there in time.
As if his world had been tilted off axis, as if the room could start spinning, he saw Rapunzel crumble to the floor, Gothel dissapear into the shadows and the ache in his leg to grow numb. What had she done? His mind screamed in agony. You failed! You failed at saving the one person you swore to protect! His thoughts yelled again and again, until they were no longer in his mind, the utterance of a desperate plea ensued from his throat.
"No...no no no no, Rapunzel! God no!" He yelled, the world all too bright, too painful, all too completely heart wrenching as his body dragged his bleeding leg across the floor. You do not have time to spare! He spoke through his whispering thoughts, ones naming only means in which he should have done better, that he should have fought for her harder.
Biting his lip roughly through the pain, he crawled on both knees towards Rapunzel, the love of his life wrenched out on the floor like a broken doll, that dreadful colour emanating from her lilac dress. He needed to get there faster and so he surged like that of a crushed spirit, yet still fighting to be there for her in her final moments.
When he finally reached her, he could immediately tell her breaths were shallow, that her eyes were sprung with hot tears and her golden hair laid in a heap against her head. His heart could only tear into pieces as he lifted her tiny form delicately onto his knees and moved back against the wall. He gripped her head with his hand and weeped into her shoulder, speaking desperate pleas to tell her not to die.
"No....i..you can't die, no Rapunzel please" he whimpered, a destroyed shell of his former self as he crumpled like a piece of paper. When all hope seemed lost, it was only then that he had remembered, her magic hair! That would heal her, and then he knew that all was not lost. He would save her from the destructive death, this would not be the last time he ever got to see her.
And so he sang that line when remembering the tune from the first time he heard it at the fire, awaiting the miracle, awaiting the golden glow to shine from her silky hair, but as many times she weakly coughed his name, the seconds ticked by through the horrid realisation that it was not working.
"Eugene" she uttered more urgently, allowing him to finally stop singing, to open his eyes that were squeezed shut in agony, and stare back into her squinted once emerald ones that had lost their colour to a faded green.
And as his hand lifted her head up gently, as his other held onto her hand against his tear stained cheek, he knew that his heart would die with her this very day. And he could not stop it.
"It...it only works on others....not...not me" it was the phrase that seemed to have ended it all, and when Eugene finally knew it to be true, he only had the desperate urge to do something he hadn't all that time ago. Back when two strangers had come to realise their love for eachother, hands connected in the bonds of hope, that flutter of a dream coming true as the lanterns shone in their eyes. And that perfect kiss, so innocent yet intense it would be if it had not been for Eugene's realisation to the Stabbingtons across the lake on the shores of the forest.
She could see his intent, and even despite the pain that came from the wound, even as the world slipped away from her grasp with every second, she would not hesitate to do the same. Eugene knew this and before she got the chance to attempt at moving her weakened frame, he lifted up her head, tears swelling once again in his eyes and placed the most blissful yet heartbreaking kisses against her soft lips.
And even if he wished for it to last a lifetime, the incredible flutter he felt in his stomach with her mouth against his, he would not and could never waste the few breaths she had left. He needed to say something, anything to tell her how sorry he was, though he feared she would not have enough time to even comprehend the words that would come out of his mouth. However, he wanted nothing more than to tell her how much he loved her, to say I love you without the finality it would bring. This could not be goodbye, and although it was, he would not believe it. And then, the words came to his mind and as he watched her weaken with every breath, he knew there could be silence no longer.
"Rapunzel, you were my new dream" his voice whispered, fearing if he said it any louder, it would break and crack into a flurry of tears. She smiled weakly, and he could only ever thank the heavens that she was not going to suffer with knowing how he felt, and how she felt in return.
"And you were mine" she laughed so quietly, it broke his heart. And with the proclamation of her love to him, she drew one more breath before her head fell to the side against his hand, her own grasp on his face slacking until she was limp.
Rapunzel was dead. He wanted to cry, but the anger overcame his being as he screamed out her name. As the fury under the surface had finally broken free, he cried and smashed his fist against the wall.
All that came after was those dreadful voices in his mind yelling even louder, his own screams mixing with Gothel's ever growing laughter, the cackle as Rapunzel lay dead on the floor. When seeing their faces, he could not control it any longer, the king and queen looking down on him to tell him he had failed. And with the loneliness sinking in, the desperate plea to leave this life forever, he finally had to succomb to the darkness, a tower dissapearing into ashes.
And then that scream resonated as he opened his eyes to the darkness of a different kind. But even though it took seconds to realise, the overwhelming relief that he was lying on the bed in their bedroom of the castle filled his mind. The horrific sights of losing Rapunzel were all just an abhorred, petrifying dream, whispering the fears he always had of seeing his beautiful wife for the last time at the hands of that woman.
He allowed himself to breathe in the cool night air, trying to calm himself down as the images of her blood, of the dagger, of his body not moving fast enough in time to save her plagued his vision every time he closed his eyes. He dragged both palms down his face, the sweat lingering there on his temples, wishing that the panic would just go away.
And then her voice whispered in his ear.
"Eugene? Are you ok?" His wife who he was so afraid and distraught of losing had answered his desperate call. The tears suddenly came and only he could get up to face Rapunzel sitting over him with an anxious look across her features. And then he drew her in to a hug in which he needed so urgently, to know she was not in fact dead in his arms.
At first she was shocked but soon returned the gesture with squeezing just as tightly back. The tears fell from his eyes onto her shoulders, most probably staining her blue nightgown, but, he had no care, for she was here, and wasn't going anywhere.
"Don't ever leave me, please" he spoke in a hushed tone, knowing that with the way she melted even more into their tight embrace, there was no way she ever would. And even if he had feared all had been lost, feeling her body against his now, smelling the sweet scent of vanilla from her soft, brunette hair, he knew that she was his and he was hers- not even death, magic or demons could rip the two apart.
"Eugene, i would never leave you. I love you so much" she whispered back and with that, he pulled away gently just enough to be closer to her face, to take in her beauty. And, just like the lanterns, their eyes shone with that same love, stronger now if that could even be possible.
And as he kissed her so deeply, so passionately, he knew forever that they would never grow apart from one another. And knowing Gothel was gone, knowing Cassandra was no longer a threat, having no doubt that all harms of the moonstone and sundrop had been lost from this world, there would be no goodbye for a very long time.
And that was all Eugene could ever ask for, to spend every moment with the woman he loved. And for the many, many years they were to be together, he could have no doubt that their love would ever fade. For in the arms of his wife, he felt complete, safe and still remained that same man who would die for her in a heartbeat. They had saved each other that fateful day, and they would plan to continue for as long as they both lived.