Jelsa

Chapter Eleven: Mother Knows Best

       We continue running through the long tunnel underneath my house, and I grow thankful with every step that it was built. 

 "Rapunzel!!" Mother Gothel sings. "Don't forget mother knows best!" For a moment I stop. 

2 Years Ago...

       Looking at myself through my eyes realizing I'm the lost princess, there's nothing I can do but sit on my bed. I can hear the woman I called my mother for 15 years coming up the stairs asking me what's wrong. Like she cares. 

"Rapunzel? Rapunzel what's going on up here?" she wonders. "Are you alright?"  I step out of my bedroom whispering to myself.

"I'm the lost princess." I huff.

She sighs. "Please speak up Rapunzel you know how I hate the mumbling."

This angers me. "I am the lost princess." I look at her. "Aren't I?" I command. 

       Gothel's surprised look on her face confirms my question. It's as if I wasn't supposed to realize my potential. 

"Did I mumble mother?" I step towards her. "Or should I even call you that?" Trying to play it off, she makes excuses, making it seem like I'm the crazy one. 

"No mother. It's all you." I push her off me.

"All I've done is protect you from the horrible world out there." She touches my shoulders.

I move away from her. "No." I demand. "You are what I should be protected from."

Gothel scoffs. "It's not like they would've raised you right anyway."

"Because you never gave them the chance! And it's not like anyone's giving you a metal for good parenting. You thought hiding me in a tower was a great idea earned you the gold medal, but wait, it wasn't me you wanted, it was my hair. Nice."

"You want to be a big girl." She gives me a scary look. "Fine, just don't come crying mother. When you get hurt."

I scoff. "Hopefully you'll have dropped dead before that happens. Thanks for nothing but shitty self-esteem." 

       I use our hook to glide down to the ground and fall on my ass because Gothel breaks it before I hit the ground. Awesome. I stand to my feet and walk off into the woods. I know she thinks I'll be scared enough to come back, but I'm going home. My real home. The walk is long, and my feet are killing me when I reach a bar. It has the sweetest name, so I walk in. Unfortunately, it was a very bad idea. 

       But I'm a big girl, so I take a seat at the table, and ask for water. The only good thing that woman ever taught me, was that in the face of an unknown situation, never make it known I don't know what I'm doing. She showed me this lesson, and I'll never forget it. As I'm resting my feet, a creepy old man approaches me. Oh great. 

"Hey, there pretty lady." I can smell the alcohol on his breath, but I let him finish what he's saying. "You want a drink sweetheart?"

"No thank you. I'm good." 

       I finish my water, and promptly stand up and walk towards the door. There's no way I'm staying here any longer no matter how bad my feet hurt. 

"Hey! You!" The old man runs up to me. "Don't be shy, have a little."

"No!" I push him away. "Get away from me!"

"Hey!" a voice says. 

       A young man that looks kind of older than me, stands not too far from me and the old man. 

"Leave her alone!" he throws a knife perfectly shattering the shot glass. "I don't want you coming back here Lyle! Stupid drunk." He mumbles. 

       The creepy man runs off, and the guy walks me out grabbing his knife on the way. Of course, he can't forget that. If I'm honest, it was extremely cool, and kind of hot, but I'm the damsel in distress. I can't let him know I desire the tricks of the trade-in knife throwing. 

"Thanks for your help, I don't know what I would've done." I say. The standard sentence.

"No, of course, you wouldn't." He sighs happily. "Woman love being saved." 

I give him a look. Is he for real with that crap? 

"No but honestly, I hate creeps like that. I just help any way I can." He puts his hand out for me to shake. "Eugene Fitzherbert." He says. I shake his hand. 

       What was that? Why did act like an ass, and then become nice? That literally doesn't make any sense. 

"Rapunzel."

"Really? That's an interesting name. Okay Rapunzel, I'll take you wherever you want to go. Just name the place." Eugene says.

"I want to go to the castle. I'm the lost princess."

"Really?" He looks at me closely. 

       Eugene gets very close to my face, then backs away from my face. 

"Yeah, I see that. A beautiful woman...wearing no shoes?"

"It's a long story." I hide my face.

Eugene takes my face. "Well, I'll take you there, so I'd love to hear it." He smiles sweetly.  

       Eugene and I start our walk to the castle and my thoughts never seem to leave my head. For a moment we walk in silence. 

"I have to ask, why do you act so rude, and then switch and act like a gentleman? Wouldn't just be easier to be a good guy all the time?" I ask.

"Not all the time, I grew up in foster care, and there, being a good person gets you nowhere. Kids are ruthless. I'm sorry if I acted like an ass, I'm just used to switching. It does help that I have an alter ego. When I was a child I would read The Adventures of Flynn Ryder, and when I needed to be fearless, I was Flynn."

"Well, before I tell you my life story, I want to make sure I'm talking to Eugene."

"You got it." he gives me a soft smile. 

       As Eugene and I are on our way, I tell him what I know about me growing up with Mother Gothel. How she was manipulative and made me feel like I was worth nothing but I loved her anyway because I thought she was all I had. it was as I grew up that I got tired of her antics and eventually found out I'm the lost princess. As I finish, I ask Eugene to promise me something. 

"Anything." He says.

"I want you to meet my parents, and if I should leave for any reason, please make sure to check on them regularly. I know it's a lot to ask since we only met but-"

"I'll do it." 

       I give Eugene a hug and a kiss on the cheek before knocking on the door. Guards open the door, and after explaining who I am, they allow us in. After a few days of struggling with my powers, I meet Storm, who offers to take me to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. As much as neither my parents nor I wanted me to go, we knew it was the right thing to do, so I left. I promised myself I'd never forgotten about Eugene.