ミ☯ 𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ☯ 彡

1.4 | A New Dream

The next morning had arrived, and Eugene paced anxiously around his dim cell, the sunlight filtering through the barred window casting long shadows across the stone walls. His thoughts were consumed with worry for Rapunzel and Rosalie.

As long as they were safe, he clearly didn't care what became of him but he desperately wished for some sign that both girls were all right.

With a heavy sigh, he grasped the cold iron bars of the window as he leaned his forehead against them. The morning light did little to lift his spirits.

The sound of the cell door unlocking and creaking open snapped him from his reverie. He turned to see the captain of the guard, stern and unyielding.

"Let's get this over with, Rider." He told him.

"Where are we going?" Eugene asked, hoping against hope for a different answer. The captain's silence and stony expression spoke volumes.

Eugene's hand instinctively rose to his throat as the grim realisation settled in. "Oh." He murmured.

***

Meanwhile, back at the tower, Mother Gothel was carefully unbraiding Rapunzel's hair, her hands gently removing the flowers as Rapunzel sat on the bed, her expression clouded with sorrow.

"There. It never happened. Now, wash up for dinner. I'm making hazelnut soup," Mother Gothel announced, forcing a smile. Her smile faded when she noticed Rapunzel's lack of response, her energy drained, unable even to look up.

"I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you about what was out there. The world is dark, and selfish and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it." Mother Gothel sighed, her voice laced with feigned sympathy, before leaving.

Rapunzel sat there, holding the purple cloth with the royal crest in her hands, her frown deepening.

Pascal, sensing her distress, snuggled against her, his usual vibrant green now a melancholic blue.

Lying back on her bed, Rapunzel clutched the cloth Eugene had bought her, staring up at the ceiling.

Her eyes traced the familiar patterns of her artwork, the same recurring sun symbol she had painted countless times without knowing why.

She repeatedly glanced down at the cloth and at her ceiling, the gears in her mind slowly turning.

She then sat up, her breath catching in her throat, remembering the sun symbol from her earliest memories, glimpses of it in her crib as a baby.

The faces of the king and queen flashed vividly in her mind. Her thoughts raced back to the murals in the village, depicting Rosalie and the older lost princess. The pieces were falling right into place.

She remembered standing in front of the mirror with Rosalie, both of them wearing the tiaras.

Rapunzel gasped, her eyes widening whilst she staggered back against her white dresser.

Her heart pounded with the unexpected and overwhelming realisation - she was the first princess and Rosalie was her little sister.

***

Back at the castle, moments later, Eugene was being escorted by guards down a dimly lit corridor, the echo of their footsteps filling the silence.

Eugene's mind raced with worry for Rapunzel and Rosalie, until two familiar faces caught his eye.

Passing by a cell, he noticed the Stabbington brothers, sparking a flame of fury within him.

Without thinking, he shoved the two guards escorting him, sending them sprawling to the floor.