SET YOURSELF FREE: tangled

Set Free

this is inspired by Defenseless by thefoghaslifted on ao3! i really liked this au and so i just really wanted to continue it ,, i highly recommend reading it before this one because it'll add more context !!

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Rapunzel took a shaky breath as she stepped into the room. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, too nervous to look up and face the problem she was there for — the problem she wasn't even sure she could fix. What if she couldn't? She had left her kingdom for nearly a year, put her subjects in danger, and even lost her best friend — but what if it was all for nothing?

She could feel Varian tense up around her arm; he was just as nervous as she was. If it didn't work, at least Rapunzel would still have Varian by her side. Even after everything he had done, she still cared for him deeply. He was just a kid for crying out loud. If Quirin couldn't come back, then she'd be there for him. That was a promise she vowed to keep.

Finally, Rapunzel lifted her head. She held her breath as she looked at the orange amber encasing Varian's father. Further into the room, behind broken tables and small black rocks, was Eugene, still frozen in the amber as well. Tears welled up in her eyes; this was the first time seeing him since before she left. She wanted to reach out and touch him, tell him she was here and everything would go back to normal soon. She would ask him to marry her, so they still belonged together even when they were apart.

Varian let go of Rapunzel's arm. He took a breath and looked up into her eyes. "Ready?"

She nodded. Walking forward, Rapunzel released her hair from the braid it was in and threw it around the amber. She turned back to Varian and picked up a bucket filled with water, "Once I start this incantation, I won't be able to stop it, and it could seriously harm you, your father, and Eugene," Her mind flashed to the Great Tree and the danger she had put her friends in. This was dangerous, she knew that, but it needed to be done. She placed the bucket in Varian's hands, "So I'm trusting you to snap me out of it once they're free."

He smiled at her, comforted by her hands on his shoulders, "You can trust me, Rapunzel."

Rapunzel took a deep breath, "Wither and decay..."

Her blonde hair immediately began turning black.

"End this destiny..."

The black spread to her scalp, covering every single inch and strand of her 70-foot long hair.

"Break these earthly chains..."

Her eyes opened, but instead of her bright green eyes, they were nothing but a black void.

"And set the spirit free."

Varian glanced up at the amber, and he gasped as he saw it begin melting away. At the top, the letter Quirin had written for him had finally become free. "It's working," he muttered in disbelief. "It's working!"

The amber melted down onto the floor, thick and gooey. In the middle of the room, Quirin was halfway out, his consciousness slowly returning after a year of nothingness.

"Dad!" He stepped forward but turned around to see Rapunzel still trapped in the horrifying trance. The incantation continued to spill from her mouth, repeating over and over in a twisted, lullaby-like song. Varian splashed the water onto her, but it immediately evaporated into vapor. "Wake up!" He put his hands on her shoulders, just as she had done moments before, but he yelped as his gloves burned and melted away. "Rapunzel!" Varian begged, "Snap out of it!" He stared into her null eyes — absolutely nothing. It was as if she was possessed, barely even a sign of life except her voice. "Rapunzel...Rapunzel?" Looking down, he closed his eyes and frowned, "You didn't give up on me...I'm not giving up on you."

Abruptly, Rapunzel gasped, and her hair returned to bright blonde. Her eyes fell closed, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Varian kneeled down to her level, "Are you okay?"

She blinked a few times, waking from her moment of darkness. She looked into his eyes and pushed a strand of hair from her face, giving him a soft smile.

He returned the gesture, pulling her into a hug, "Thank you." He turned and sprinted towards his father, "Dad, Dad! Dad, you're alive!"

Rapunzel watched as Varian fell into his dad's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. She clumsily stood, still shaken from the incantation she had once again recited. An anxious feeling rose into her stomach as she looked around and stumbled around various objects scattered on the floor. She took one last look at Varian before heading to the back of the room.

Eugene.

There he lied on the floor, groaning quietly. Rapunzel felt her eyes water again at the sight. She slid onto the ground, not even bothering to look where she was going, and lifted him into her lap. "Eugene," she whispered, tears falling from her cheeks.

His eyes fluttered open, staring up at the princess. "Rapunzel."

She gasped and pushed herself down, hastily wrapping her arms around him, "Eugene!" She murmured into his neck, trying to catch her breath as she cried, "I thought I lost you again, I thought-"

"Hey, it's okay, Sunshine, I'm okay."

"I love you. I love you so much. I never want to lose you again, Eugene, I..." She pulled her face away to look at his face. She placed a hand on his cheek and leaned forward, resting her forehead on his. "Marry me."

His eyebrows raised, "What?"

"I want to be with you forever, Eugene," she bit her lip, fighting back a loud sob. "You've done so much for me. You shouldn't have to wait for so long just because-"

"Rapunzel, I am perfectly fine waiting, okay? I told you I'd be patient, and I'm not going back on that. Ever. But now this is kinda awkward because I was trying to come up with the perfect plan to propose to you again."

She giggled and pressed a kiss to his lips, "I'm so glad you're back."

"Well, I'm so glad you're safe. Now, where's everyone else? How's Corona doing? Is Varian okay? Am I gonna get to annoy Cass again?"

Rapunzel's face fell. Yeah, he's got a lot of catching up to do.

* 1042 words (December 6, 2021)