Fate (Merricup)

Eleven- prisoner in the tower

When Jack came to, the first thing that he was aware of was the pain in his head. Next was how painful his ribs felt, where the shadows had struck him. Then it all came rushing back, how Pitch had broken the deal, how he had-

He clenched his fists, forcing his eyes close, willing the image out of his mind. He should never have trusted him, should never have let his guard down! And now, now.... Hiccup was...

He yelled in frustration, punching the wall angrily. "Damn it, Hic!" He choked. "Damn it all to hell."

After he had calmed down slightly, he looked around him, trying to figure out where to go from here. Hiccup...he might not be able to save Hic, but Punzie and Emma...they still needed him. And that princess too. Merida.

He owed it to Hic to help her get out of here.

Looking around, he could see that he was in the dungeons. His staff was nowhere in sight. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he was about to do. Magic was dangerous, without his staff, he could very well bring the entire castle down without meaning to. Magic was unpredictable.

Deep breaths. "Alright." He muttered, standing in front of the gate. "One." He narrowed his eyes, focusing his magic in his palms.

"Two." He could feel it, the magical energy. Pulsing through him, bending to his will.

"Three."

~~~

A slight tremor shook the room, causing the baubles on the dressing table to smash onto the floor. Gothel looked up, wary. "What was that?" She asked, looking at the blonde girl next to her.

"I don't know." Rapunzel answered, glancing over at the door. Was it Jack? Emma snuggled nearer, hiding her tearstained face. Rapunzel looked down at her, hugging her. She was sad about Hic's death, they all were.

She glanced over at the redheaded princess, curled up in her corner. She hadn't said a word since her arrival, but Rapunzel had heard her screams and shrieks as she had been dragged from the throne room, and heard her sobbing. She assumed that this was the princess that Pitch had ordered them to bring.

"Hmph." Gothel frowned. "I'll go check with Pitch." She walked over to the door. "Don't even try to run away, flower." She said, looking at Rapunzel. "I'll just catch you again." With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving.

After she left, Rapunzel gently set Emma down, and went over to the redhead. "Um... Hello?" She said timidly. The girl turned around, looking at her. "Are you the princess?" She asked.

"Don't call me that." She snapped. "It's Merida."

"Look. I just need to ask you something. Jack- is Jack alright?" She asked. "Was he hurt?"

She blinked. "You're Rapunzel. Aren't you, lass?" She asked slowly.

Rapunzel blinked. "How did you know?"

"Hic- he told me. About you and Jack." Her eyes teared up at the mention of Hic's name. She blinked them away furiously. "Jack.... Jack was hit. By a fearling."

A lump formed in Rapunzel's throat. A fearling...? "He needs help-"

"We already went to a witch-"

"No! That's not enough, now that he's in here!" She panicked. "Shadows are at their strongest here, and if he stays here-" she stopped. She couldn't say it. He couldn't..

"He'll what, lass? Say it!"

"He'll die." She whispered. She slumped into the chair. "And I can't do anything about it, because I can't leave this place!"

"We can get out, the door isn't locked." Merida said.

"No, it isn't." Rapunzel said.

"So why aren't you trying to get out of here?" Merida asked.

Rapunzel sighed, looking at her. "Go ahead and take a look outside the door." She said.

Merida raised an eyebrow, but went over anyway. She pulled the door open. "What-" she blinked, looking down. All the way down. "What?" The ground was so far from here... How had that witch gotten out of here?!

They were trapped in the tower. "How..?!" Merida gaped. She could try climbing down, but this high up...there was always the chance that she would fall. And a fall from this height...

"Witch. Sorcery, remember?" Rapunzel sighed. "She magicked it into this after I tried to escape."

"So we're stuck. There's no way out of here." Merida said defeatedly.

"Well...." Rapunzel bit her lip. "There is a way out."

"Really? How...?" Merida asked.

~~~

"This is crazy." Merida said, helping Rapunzel with her hair. "There's no way it would support my weight! Not that I'm heavy, but! This is hair!"

"My hair." Rapunzel said.

"Which is magical!" Emma finished.

Rapunzel let her hair down, letting it reach the ground. "Are you sure this is safe?" Merida asked. "I mean, you do have a lot of hair, but..."

"Mother- Gothel, used to do this everyday, when we lived in the tower. So yes, I'm sure this will work." Rapunzel said firmly. "And anyway, it's not like you'd weigh more than her." She tied a length of hair around Merida's waist. "Don't worry, even I've done this before!" She smiled encouragingly.

"Alright then..." Merida said, starting to climb down the hair. "Wait, what about you?"

"I'll stay here. Emma is safer here. Just get Jack out of here!" Rapunzel said. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Now go!"

Merida nodded reluctantly, climbing down the hair. "I can't believe that lass has this much hair...." She murmured.