Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (rewrite)

Not at my command

When the sun revealed its flames, Eugene, Rapunzel and Cassandra decided to take some rest. The guards could follow their path and probably had found out they moved in the directions of the spikes, they had to stay ahead.

Eugene walked towards Rapunzel who sat on one of the many fallen tree trunks. The spikes pierced through the trees, making some snap off. 'How are you feeling?'

'Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just tired.' she said with a smile.

Eugene shook his head while he looked her in the eyes. 'Please don't do that.'

'What?' Rapunzel picked a daisy in front of her and put it in her hair.

'You know what I mean.' He took the flower out of her hair and crouched next to her. 'We should talk about it.'

'About what?' The smile on her face, it meant she was hurting, so much she couldn't handle it.

He didn't want to name what was nibbling at her heart, but if she was going to lock her feelings up, he would pull them out himself.

'Your dad.' Rapunzel stared at him. 'Your mom.' Still the same face. 'Varian.' The corners of her mouth shook. 'Can I please stop now!'

'I told you I'm fine. See?' She pointed to her smile. Eugene clenched his fists.

'You're not! I'm not! Nobody is! The pain won't go away if you pretend it isn't there! Last time...'

'Eugene, stop.' She interrupted him. The words punched him in the face. A tear escaped from his eyes, which he quickly wiped away. He had to be strong, for her.

He took a deep breath. 'Fine.' he said with gritting teeth. 'I'm always here.' He couldn't force her and even if he could, would that even help? However, what she did right now wasn't healthy either. She had done the same when she escaped Gothel: For weeks she pretended to be fine until everything came crashing down.

Someone had tried to kill her, again. The attack on the Day of Hearts wasn't the first time. She got lured into a cave on the edge of the city by a so-called mage who told her he could cure her sadness. Eugene realized something was up with the man: His tattoos were from a foreign country, but the damage had already been done. By some miracle he healed her, but all her trauma that had been festering in their cages bursted out and flooded her mind.

A week long she had been fighting herself in her dreams, before she woke up. At first she tried to lock her feelings up again, but quickly enough she realized it wouldn't hold. Together with all her loved ones, including her parents, she was able to give everything its own spot. That didn't mean she got rid of all of them. They were still there, only this time they stopped haunting her in her everyday life. She had to deal with them when they popped up, but they only revealed themselves in certain situations. All her memories would scream, if she accidentally locked herself up.

Eugene felt powerless. He would have done anything to help her, but what more could he do than be there for her? He couldn't just rip her pain out of her. That would only leave more scars.

He walked through the forest towards a small clear water steam where Cassandra refilled their water bottles. She looked over her shoulder. 'You alright?'

'She's doing it again.'

'Yeah, I noticed. It's a war she has to wage herself.' Cassandra stood up and put her hand on his shoulder which brought him a little comfort.

Eugene sighed. He could keep talking about her, but there was no point. 'And you?'

'It sucks, but you already knew that.' She gave him a somber smile and walked towards their horses.