Guardians and Angels

Chapter 9: Jack

I've seen girls freak out during scary movies. They'll shriek or jump but laugh about it afterwards. They usually gasp in fright and then giggle at their reaction to something so trivial.

Rapunzel didn't.

It was as though she was reliving a nightmare. Like a person reacting to a trigger from their PTSD. When she started screaming, she flung herself into my chest and wrapped her arms around me in hopes of comfort. Scared would be understatement; she was petrified and horrified.

Even when we switched to a comedy, I kept her in my arms to show that I was there for her. For the first part of the movie she refused to loosen her hold on me. Her grip could be likened to a snake, but it wasn't considered a bother to me. Just as long as it made her feel better, then I didn't mind.

My usual mischievous charm was swapped with a deep concern for my blonde friend and I refused to allow her to feel scared anymore. I wanted to know what had her so frightened- cause it obviously wasn't something in the movie. It went much deeper that. But she needed comfort, not an interrogation.

After thirty minutes or so, whatever was bothering her had faded out of existence. She slowly began laughing and became more engaged with the movie, making funny comments and acting like she could talk to the characters. I still kept a close eye on her but so far everything was going okay.

"I take it you're feeling better?" I whispered into her ear.

She looked up at me and nodded her head with a small smile. "Thank you." Her voice held a fragileness in it as though she were saying a prayer of gratitude.

"Anytime, Princess."

She lifted her head to look at me better and giggled a little bit. "When did that become my new nickname?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "You said you've always wanted to be a princess. Besides, it fits you perfectly."

She smiled even more before turning back to the movie.

At the end of the movie, I found that Rapunzel had fallen asleep in my arms. I didn't mind all that much, in fact, I found it funny.

"Look at Sleeping Beauty," I whispered to Hiccup.

He glanced over at me and saw Rapunzel nestled into me and chuckled. "I have my own Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, gesturing to Merida who was in fact sleeping with her head in his lap.

"Well, what do we do now?" I asked after I laughed at Merida, who was slightly snoring.

"Do you think you could carry Punzie to Merida's room and I'll take Mer?" he asked as he lifted Merida up in his arms.

I scooped Rapunzel up, careful to not wake her up, and followed Hiccup down the hall. Surprisingly, she was very light and wasn't that hard to carry. She remained asleep as I laid her down in Merida's bed next to her friend. We pulled the blankets over them so that they wouldn't get cold during the night and whispered goodnight to them. Hiccup gave Merida a sweet little kiss on the forehead before we left the room.

I took one last look at them and chuckled silently to myself. Merida was an absolute mess, her hair was extended over her face and she let out soft staggering snores. Punzie on the other hand, was very peaceful and calm, with a tranquil smile taking place on her face as though she didn't have a care in the world. Her long blonde hair was flawlessly fanned out along the pillow and framed her face perfectly. Overall, she just looked cute.

"Can you give me a ride home?" I whispered to Hiccup as we made our way to the front door.

"Yeah, sure."