Don't Let Go

Part Five

(NOTE: When Rapunzel sings in this chapter, it is to the tune of the first part of "When Will My Life Begin: Reprise".)

Rapunzel is walking down the hallways of the castle one day. She is on her way to the main entrance, to head out and go into the village. Pascal is sitting on her shoulder, happy to be coming along for the ride. But before Rapunzel can go any farther, she notices her father and mother discussing something quietly with each other down another hallway. She hides behind a tall pillar to overhear their conversation without being seen. Pascal instinctively attempts to blend in by turning the same color as Rapunzel's dress.

"She keeps asking what's wrong," King Frederic is saying. "We're going to have to tell her sometime. If we don't, she'll no doubt just find out anyway. She's a very smart girl."

"Of course she's a smart girl, she's our daughter," Queen Arianna says. "But I just don't believe that now is the time to tell her. Something like this might devastate her, and there's no telling what she might do."

"I guess you're right, in a way," Frederic says. "But she still deserves to know."

"Eventually, just not now," Arianna says.

Rapunzel watches as her parents walk down the hallway in the opposite direction. Once she sees that they are out of sight, she leans her back up against the pillar and slides down to the floor. Pascal climbs off of her shoulder, sits on her knee, and pats it comfortingly.

"What am I gonna do, Pascal?" Rapunzel says. "They're keeping a secret from me, and from what it sounds like it's a pretty big one!"

Pascal all of a sudden turns a dark shade of blue, the color he turns when he sees Rapunzel upset but doesn't know any way to help. The princess recognizes this, and picks the chameleon up in both of her hands. "Oh, I'm alright Pascal," she says after giving him a quick kiss atop his head. "I just don't like knowing that a secret is being kept from me, especially when it's my parents that are keeping the secret. I guess it's because my entire life the woman I thought was my mother kept her true identity a secret from me, so I don't want my real parents to ever do anything like that..."

Pascal shakes his head, and Rapunzel guesses that he means her parents could never do anything like Mother Gothel!

"I know they're not doing it to hurt me, they're doing it to protect me," she says. "But still... I can't help but feel a little hurt. It's only natural, right?"

Pascal tilts his head in a thoughtful manner. Rapunzel manages a smile, places her friend back on her shoulder, and stands up. But she still stays where she is, staring down the hallway in the direction her parents went in. Softly she starts to sing:

"Look at my life, I have what I've always wanted

Look at how much my parents care for me.

But they need to see, by my past I'm still haunted

Do they? No... 'cuz then they'd know...

Rapunzel falls silent, causing Pascal to look up at her questioningly. "If they knew how badly I still feel about my past, they'd know not to keep secrets from me," she says. "I don't know what to do, Pascal..."

Pascal points with his tail in the direction her parents went. From years of being friends, Rapunzel understands what he means.

"I've tried asking them," she says. "They never tell me what's going on!" But Pascal is very insistent. Suddenly, Rapunzel sees Eugene coming down the hall.

"Oh! You think I should ask Eugene to talk with them," Rapuzenl says, misunderstanding. Pascal looks in Eugene's direction, confused, and then begins to shake his head quickly. But Rapunzel has already made up her mind. "Oh, Eugene!" She calls.

Anna has still been having coughing fits lately. Every time she has one, her heart sinks lower. And she can tell that Elsa is terrified too, though she has been trying to conceal it. She has been trying to do things with her sister, fun things, to get everything out of their minds. At the moment, the two siblings are skating on a pond of ice that

Elsa has frozen.

"Ugh... I'm no good at this!" Anna laughs as she falls for what feels like the fiftieth time. But Elsa reacts quickly, and Anna lands on a soft pillow of snow instead of the hard ice.

"You'll get it," Elsa says with a smile.

Anna is still amazed at her sister's powers. "It's just so... natural for you," she says.

"Well, ice is a part of me," Elsa says as she glides gracefully over to Anna. She then extends an arm and helps her sister back up.

"I wish I had powers like you," Anna says, her arm latched around Elsa's so as not to fall again.

"I do too..." Elsa says as the two skate along the ice together. "But you are still amazing, just the way you are."

Anna smiles, but suddenly she stops. This forces Elsa to stop as well.

"Anna, what's wrong?" Elsa asks as the smile on her sister's face disappears.

"I don't know, I just feel... really tired all of a sudden," Anna replies. Suddenly her legs fail her, and she falls down to the ground.

"Anna!" Elsa says worriedly, kneeling down beside her sister.

"I can't... I can't stand anymore. My legs, my whole body... are so weak," Anna says as she begins to cough.

Could this be the extreme fatigue that the nurse had talked about? The exact symptom that the two sisters hoped they would never see? "We've got to get you to the nurse!" Elsa picks her exhausted sister up from behind, pulling her up from under her arms. She then pulls her sister along with her, creating a path of ice to skate on for quicker transportation all the way to the palace. "It's okay Anna, I've got you!"

"Please, the nurse! I need the nurse!" Elsa shouts as she bursts into the palace. Some of the guards come and take Anna from her, rushing the princess to the nurse. Elsa follows closely behind.

"What happened here?" The concerned nurse asks at seeing the limp Anna, who now has her eyes closed.

"I don't know, she... she just fell to the ground, and was unable to stand up again," Elsa says with tears in her eyes. "She said she felt weak."

The guards now lay Anna down on a bed. The nurse gets as close as she can to Anna, placing a concerned hand on the princess's face. "Princess Anna, can you speak to me?" She says.

Anna doesn't open her eyes, but her lips move to form some muffled words that Elsa can't understand. "What did she say?" Elsa asks.

"She just asked what's happening to her," the nurse replies. When she looks back at Elsa, the queen can see her eyes tearing up. Now Elsa knows something is really wrong.

"She has it, doesn't she?" Elsa asks hesitantly. "The illness from Parynia?"

The nurse nods as her lips begin to quiver.

Elsa falls to her knees. A tear escapes from her eye, but freezes on her cheek before it can fall. There is suddenly a circle of ice all around her. She cannot believe this is happening... Her sister now has a fatal illness, and doesn't have much time left.