The Darkness Within

Chapter Nine

Jack's heart crumbled at the sight of her easily falling under Pitch's spell. It couldn't have been that easy to persuade her. Unless... She wanted to. The Guardians were all still frozen in shock from Rapunzel's performance. But that finally ceased when North stomped his big foot on the ground, causing everything to shake.

"Blast that Pitch! He has taken Ro as one of his pawns. It is our job to get her back and stop him before it is too late. Prepare yourselves. I fear this fight may be different than the rest." The Guardians nodded, heading back to their sanctuaries to gather weapons and replenish their energy. Jack simply looked at the wood of the workshop floor, saddening that he had lost his darkened flower. North placed a hand on his shoulder; a sincere smile on his face.

"Ve vill get her back." Jack smiled back. Satisfied, the giant man walked away. But as soon as he did, his smile faded once more.

"I hope so..." The winter spirit muttered. He walked around the workshop, watching as the yetis and... Yetis prepared for the big fight. There was so much commotion going around. Jack just needed a place to think. He slowly found his way to the window that he normally sat by, all alone. Pulling his hood over his head, he sat on the bench and pulled his knees close to his chest. He didn't understand. Why was he getting all worked up over some girl? Was it because he knew her before? Or was it because he loved her?

"Jack..." A voice whispered.

"Huh? Who's there?" He jumped off of his seat on the bench, grabbing his staff.

"Up here..." The voice continued to whisper. It was gentle and sweet. Jack looked outside the window, up into the sky above. The sun peaked out from behind the clouds.

"Hello Jack." He couldn't believe his ears. The Sun, Sonja, was actually talking to him.

"Sonja...? But... How? You rarely talk to anybody. Why me?"

"Because, Jack. Rapunzel needs your help."

"How can I help her? My voice isn't enough. She's blinded by the darkness."

"That is true. Maybe sound cannot help her. But feeling can." Jack arched an eyebrow.

"Feeling? Like what?"

"Like memories."

"Memories? But what-"

"I trust that you can figure it out.  Just think about it. What helped you realize you were a Guardian?"

So Jack was left there, alone again. He thought about what the Sun had said. What helped him realize he was a Guardian? Suddenly, it clicked. The boxes of teeth. Those... They held memories. He had to get to the Tooth Palace. The quickest way there was through the snowglobes. He couldn't let North know he was taking one, so he had to be sneaky. The winter spirit tip-toed past the yetis, making his way into North's office. He scrambled through his things, careful enough to remember to put his items back where they were. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glittery little snow globe sticking out of North's coat pocket. Jackpot. He quietly took two snow globes, sticking one in his sweatshirt pocket. One to go, and one to come back. Holding the small orb close to his cold lips, he whispered, "Tooth Palace" before dropping the glass ball on the ground. A portal emerged from the globe; a beautiful pattern of colors spiraling around in a small circle. Taking a deep breath, Jack dove through.

As requested, the portal took him to Toothiana's Palace. He watched as the baby tooths scurried about, following Tooth's every command in an instant.

"Sector 255! Sector 830! I need that in sector 12!" She barked.

"Um... Tooth..." Jack slowly walked over to his friend. The colorful fairy immediately stopped what she was doing and became the sweet girl he always knew.

"Hi Jack! What can I help you with?"

"Is it alright if I... If I see Ro's memories?" Her bright smile faded.

"Jack, you know I shouldn't give out the teeth all willy nilly! Something could happen to them."

"I know! I know! But I need to. Just, please... Trust me on this." He pleaded with his crystal blue eyes, adding in an awkward smile to seal the deal. He knew she loved his teeth. She couldn't resist. Tooth was holding on strong, but she couldn't handle it. Just the way he smiled... It made her melt inside, just like the other fairies.

"Oh, alright! But return them safely without a single tooth missing, got it?" She said as she handed him a small golden case of teeth with Rapunzel's picture on it. The Rapunzel he knew so long ago.

"I got it." He chuckled as he took the teeth, finding somewhere to be alone with them. He found a beautiful blossom tree with a nice rock to sit on underneath it. Perfect. The winter spirit went to sit down, feeling the cool breeze of the mountains calm his stressful nerves. And, taking a deep breath, he pressed his fingers to the golden case, opening it. And just like that, memories flowed through his head. Rapunzel's memories.

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"Jack!" Rapunzel called out. She threw the skates off of her feet and ran to the hole in the ice, watching and waiting. Waiting for Jack to crawl out of the water and be okay. But it never happened.

Later that day...

Hours passed, and there was no sign of him. Of Jack. The princess gave up hope and scooped up her skates, heading back home to the castle. Jack was gone for good. Her heart broke into a million pieces.

The sun felt bad for Rapunzel. She had lost someone nearest and dearest to her heart.

Knowing what was to become of Jack's fate, she allowed a tiny droplet of herself to fall to the Earth below. And from that drop of sun, grew a magic golden flower. The sun called out to the princess, hoping that she would see the flower.

"Rapunzel... Rapunzel..." She whispered.

"Huh?" Rapunzel turned, looking for the source of the voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a golden light shining behind a bush.

With her curiousities peaked, she went towards the bush. Pushing the leaves out of the way, she saw the magic golden flower. Rapunzel reached out to touch it. As she did, the flower faded away into gold dust. Her hair became golden blonde and grew to be about 70 feet long. "W-what's happening?"

"Rapunzel..." The sun whispered.

Rapunzel looked up to find the source of the voice. "Sonya... The sun? Like in my books?"

"That's right, Rapunzel."

"What happened to me?" The princess asked.

The sun explained that she had given the golden flower to Rapunzel as a gift. And since she touched it, she was given immortality and the gift of healing. But instead of being overjoyed, Rapunzel was horror struck. She would never be able to see Jack again. Not in the afterlife, at least. He was gone forever.

Because her heart was still darkened by his loss, her hair became black and her dress became a light purple. "What have you done?!" Rapunzel was sure the sun had done this, but it was not her doing. As she looked at the grass beneath her feet, it became grey, dying in almost an instant. As she looked back, she saw that her long hair was having the same affect. "No, no, no!"

Realizing that she was too dangerous for her kingdom and that they would never accept her, Rapunzel ran deep into the forest, never to be seen again. She lived in the forest for three hundred years, trying her hardest to forget her old past, for it would only cause her pain. And it worked. She forgot everything. She tried, at least...
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Jack jolted, the vision of her memories ending.

"Rapunzel... I'm so sorry..." He looked up at the sun, sadness in his eyes. "I'll make it right. I promise."

"Jack!" Toothiana flew frantically towards the winter spirit. "The nighmares...." She breathed quickly, trying to make her breathing normal.

"They've been released."