“See for yourself!” the talking brother replied, pointing toward the water.
Rapunzel looked and saw Flynn standing at the helm of a small ship.
She called to him. But Flynn didn’t call back or turn to look at her. Rapunzel was crushed.
The brutish men behind her laughed. “A fair trade: a crown for the girl with the magic hair,” the one brother said. “How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever?”
Rapunzel didn’t understand. How could this be happening? Had Flynn betrayed her, trading her and her magical hair for that thing in his satchel—that crown, which would bring him some reward money?
“No. No, please. No!” Rapunzel shouted as the brothers approached. And then she ran. She ran as fast as she could into the darkness.
Sadly, the braid that had held her hair up all day had begun to unravel. It caught on a branch, holding Rapunzel back! Terrified, Rapunzel struggled to get free. From behind her, she heard a loud clatter and some thumps.
Rapunzel looked back warily.
“Oh, my precious girl!” Mother Gothel said, brimming with emotion. The Stabbington brothers lay at her feet, knocked unconscious.
“Mother?” Rapunzel gasped. Mother Gothel threw her arms around the girl. Rapunzel hugged Mother Gothel, too, and finally broke down and cried.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?” Mother Gothel asked.
“No. I’m fine, but, Mother, how did you…?”
Mother Gothel was wringing her hands. “I was so worried about you, dear! So I followed you. And I saw them attack you, and…Oh, my, let’s go, before they come to.”
Rapunzel paused and looked back toward Flynn. He was sailing farther and farther away.
“You were right, Mother,” she said, nodding.
Her eyes were blank and her heart was numb. So Flynn was the liar. “I’ll never leave you again.” Rapunzel had never felt such deep sorrow in her entire life.
“I know, darling. I know,” Mother Gothel said as she held Rapunzel tight. Mother Gothel’s voice seemed sad and sympathetic, but a small smile curled at the corners of her mouth. The evil woman had planned the whole series of events. She had tricked the Stabbington brothers into helping her trap Flynn and tie him, unconscious, to the ship. She had promised them a girl with magical golden hair who would bring them great wealth. And then she had betrayed them, knocking them unconscious. It was all for the sake of another lie. Mother Gothel had to make Rapunzel believe, once again, that Mother Gothel was the only person in the world whom she could trust.
Out in the harbor, the ship was now moving toward the dock, but not because Flynn was steering it. The Stabbingtons had knocked him unconscious and lashed him to the mast.
Following Mother Gothel’s instructions, the brothers had tied the crown tightly to Flynn’s hand. They knew what would happen when the palace guards found the drifting ship. Flynn Rider would be going off to jail.
Flynn was still unconscious when the current slammed the small ship into the dock. Two nearby palace guards heard the wood splinter. They looked over and saw Flynn Rider, the man on the WANTED poster, standing at the ship’s helm.
Flynn was jolted awake just in time to see the palace guards running toward him. He looked around in confusion, having no idea how he had gotten on the ship.
Then he heard a palace guard say, “Look! The crown!” And Flynn remembered the Stabbington brothers. Flynn knew they must have set him up, but all he cared about was what had happened to Rapunzel.
“Rapunzel? Rapunzel!” Flynn shouted out desperately.
The only witness to the whole sequence of events was Maximus. He knew he was supposed to keep Flynn out of trouble for twenty-four hours, and he was not happy. He snorted angrily and followed as the guards hauled Flynn off to the palace jail. Then he galloped straight toward the gates of the kingdom. He had to find help.
While the guards were busy locking up Flynn, Mother Gothel led Rapunzel back to the tower.
Rapunzel went directly to her loft. Pascal still clung to her hair near her shoulder, hoping to help somehow. But Rapunzel was dazed by everything that had happened. She couldn’t believe Flynn had taken the crown and left her. As she slumped at the edge of her bed, her hand strayed to her pocket, from which she pulled out a small kingdom flag—purple, with a gold sun on it. She stared at the flag and sighed, thinking of Flynn, the friendly thugs in the tavern, the people in the kingdom. What had gone wrong? Pascal heaved a sigh as well and turned blue, reflecting Rapunzel’s sad mood.
Rapunzel looked at poor Pascal. At least she still had one friend. Playfully, she tossed the little flag at him. She wanted to see him turn a happy yellow again.
“Oh, come on,” she said to him, as she always did when he turned blue on her account. “It’s not that bad.”
Rapunzel looked at her painted wall. That sun seemed to be everywhere, showing up in bright spots on the painting. She could see them now. Rapunzel slowly focused more closely on her handiwork. The kingdom’s sun fit into every small blank place on her mural. All these years, without realizing it, Rapunzel had been incorporating the outline of the golden sun in the empty spaces of the picture!
A flood of images suddenly filled Rapunzel’s head. She recalled Flynn saying that the lights were floating lanterns that the kingdom sent up every year on the lost princess’s birthday—her birthday. She remembered the mosaic of the royal family. The King and Queen were holding the lost princess. The Queen and the baby both had green eyes just like Rapunzel’s. She remembered her reflection in the mirror when she placed the crown on her head.
As Rapunzel looked up at all those golden suns, everything fell into place. Rapunzel, at last, knew exactly who she was.
“Rapunzel?” Mother Gothel called up to her. But there was no answer. Mother Gothel, anxious to be on her way and put this whole nasty business behind them, slowly began to climb the stairs to Rapunzel’s room.
“Rapunzel, what’s going on up there? Are you all right?” she asked impatiently.
Mother Gothel’s eyes grew wide when she saw Rapunzel standing above her on the stairs.
“I’m the lost princess,” Rapunzel said softly.
Mother Gothel tried to dismiss it all. “Oh, please speak up, Rapunzel. You know I hate mumbling,” she snapped, but Rapunzel saw the fear in the older woman’s eyes.
“I am the lost princess, aren’t I?” Rapunzel repeated loudly and clearly. “Did I mumble, Mother?”
Mother Gothel froze. Her mind ran wild. Her secret was finally exposed. Desperately, she tried to regain control, saying brusquely, “Rapunzel, do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?”
Rapunzel walked past Mother Gothel and went down the stairs. Mother Gothel had lied to her. She had been lying to her ever since she had stolen her away from her true parents.
“It was you!” Rapunzel said coldly. Now she was thinking of Flynn. Mother Gothel had set him up. “It was all you!”
“Everything I did was to protect you,” Mother Gothel said, pleading with Rapunzel. “Where will you go?” she suddenly asked sharply. “He won’t be there for you!”
Rapunzel turned and looked at her. “What did you do to him?” she demanded. She felt her heart swell, her love for Flynn giving her the courage to stand up to Mother Gothel at last.
“That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes,” Mother Gothel said cruelly.
“No,” Rapunzel murmured, horrified. “No.”
Mother Gothel could see that Rapunzel was upset, and she moved closer to make the most of the opportunity.
“Now, now. It’s all right,” Mother Gothel said in her most soothing voice. She held out her arms as she always had. “All is as it should be.”
“How could you do this? I love him,” Rapunzel said.
Mother Gothel reached out to pat Rapunzel’s head as if she were a small child. “I know you think you do, dear,” she said in her silkiest, most soothing voice.
“No,” Rapunzel said firmly as she grasped Mother Gothel’s outstretched arm. “You were wrong about the world, Mother. And you were wrong about me. I am not stupid, and I am not small. And I will never let you use my hair again!” Rapunzel twisted Mother Gothel’s arm and pushed her away. The older woman stumbled backward and crashed into her full-length mirror. The mirror shattered, its broken shards dropping to the floor. Rapunzel turned and defiantly walked away.
Mother Gothel glared at her. “Fine,” the older woman said under her breath. She had given Rapunzel her chance to go back to the way things used to be. Now Mother Gothel would use stronger means to keep the girl with the golden hair imprisoned.
In the kingdom’s jail, Flynn sat in his cell, wondering where Rapunzel was and whether she was hurt or in trouble. He blamed himself. If he hadn’t stolen the crown, he never would have gotten mixed up with those Stabbington brothers.
“Let’s get this over with, Rider,” a jail guard announced as he unlocked the cell door. Flynn knew he was in trouble. After all, he had stolen the lost princess’s crown. The punishment was death by hanging.
Still, he was more worried about Rapunzel. As two guards escorted him through the jail, Flynn spotted the Stabbingtons in one of the cells. Breaking free from the guards, he grabbed one of the brothers by the collar.
“How did you know about her? Tell me, NOW!” Flynn needed to know what had happened, how they had known about Rapunzel—where she was!
“It wasn’t us. It was the old lady.”
Flynn tightened his grip, but the guards rushed up and pulled him back roughly.
“Wait, wait!” Flynn shouted to the guards. “Wait! You don’t understand, she’s in trouble!” He didn’t care that they were leading him to his death. He needed to save Rapunzel!
Suddenly he heard a ruckus outside. Flynn’s jaw dropped. The thugs from the Snuggly Duckling had arrived! And they had come to break Flynn out of jail. Flynn didn’t know how or why they had come, but he leaped at the opportunity.
Swinging his chains, he knocked over the two guards. He and the thugs raced outside and headed toward the kingdom’s gates. The thugs punched and smacked and wrestled the royal guards to the ground. Finally one of the thugs grabbed Flynn and put him on a wheelbarrow. Then, using the barrow as a seesaw, another thug jumped on the other end, launching Flynn into the air. He landed perfectly on Maximus’s back. The horse snorted at Flynn. He hoped Flynn had finally noticed what an excellent horse he was. Maximus had galloped to find the thugs from the Snuggly Duckling and lead them to Flynn.
“Shut the gates! Shut the gates! Shut the gates!” the guards yelled. Maximus charged! The speedy horse zipped right through the gates as they slammed shut. Safely outside, Flynn and Maximus raced to save Rapunzel.
“Rapunzel!” Flynn yelled as he jumped off Maximus’s back. No answer. “Rapunzel, let down your hair!” he yelled again, desperately hoping she was safe.
Swoosh! Rapunzel’s long blond hair glided out of the window and down the tower. She was alive! Grasping her hair, Flynn climbed up the tower as fast as he could. At last, he made it to the window and hauled himself inside.
“Rapunzel, I thought I’d never see you again!” Flynn exclaimed. Then he stopped short and gasped. In the darkness, he saw the shards of a broken mirror on the floor—and heard the muffled sound of Rapunzel’s voice. She was kneeling on the floor across from him. Mother Gothel had chained her to the wall and gagged her. Rapunzel’s eyes were wide with fear as she struggled to warn him…Then Flynn felt the sharp point of Mother Gothel’s dagger against his back. He crumpled to the floor in pain.
Rapunzel cried out through the rags stuffed in her mouth. But Mother Gothel stared at her coldly and said, “Now look what you’ve done, Rapunzel. Oh, don’t you worry, dear. Our secret will die with him.”
Rapunzel could not speak, but now she understood: Mother Gothel intended to leave Flynn here to die!
Rapunzel needed to save him with her hair!
Mother Gothel unfastened Rapunzel’s chains and dragged her toward the secret trapdoor in the floor. “And as for us, we are going where no will ever find you.” Mother Gothel yanked Rapunzel, who was struggling against her with all her might.
“Rapunzel! Really!” Mother Gothel shouted. “Enough already! STOP FIGHTING ME!”
But Rapunzel did fight—as hard as she could—until the rags fell from her mouth.
“No!” Rapunzel cried out in defiance. “I won’t stop! For every minute, for the rest of my life, I will fight!” Rapunzel was stronger now, stronger than she ever had been. At last she knew the truth. She knew everything, and she understood everything clearly. “I will never stop trying to get away from you.” She drew a deep breath, refusing to take her eyes off Mother Gothel. And she made her choice. “If you let me save him, I will go with you.”
“No!” Flynn cried out. Rapunzel needed to be free from this woman. “No, Rapunzel!”
But Rapunzel kept her gaze on Mother Gothel. “I’ll never run,” Rapunzel promised. “I’ll never try to escape. Just let me heal him. And you and I will be together. Forever. Just like you want.” Rapunzel knew that her promise meant she would never see Flynn again, but at least she would know that he was alive, living outside in the beautiful world filled with wonderful, kind people. Her voice barely a whisper, she repeated, “Just let me heal him.”
Mother Gothel’s eyes narrowed for a moment before she let Rapunzel go.
Rapunzel ran to Flynn. He was still lying on the floor, doubled over in pain.
“Rapunzel, no!” he said weakly. “I can’t let you…” His voice faded as he clutched a shard of the broken mirror. He would rather die than have the lovely, spirited Rapunzel live the rest of her life imprisoned in some secret tower with Mother Gothel.
Using his last ounce of strength, Flynn reached up and, in one swift motion, cut off Rapunzel’s hair.
The long golden locks fell to the floor and turned brown, depleted of their magic. The short tufts of hair on Rapunzel’s head also darkened.
“No! What have you done? NO!” Mother Gothel was clutching the brown hair that lay on the floor. The hair on her head turned white; her skin shriveled. Stumbling, she staggered across the room. She was aging rapidly, and quickly disintegrated into nothing more than a pile of dust. The evil woman was gone forever.
But Rapunzel was looking at Flynn. He was dying, and there was no magic left in her hair to save him! “Oh, no! Eugene! Don’t go. Stay with me!” she sobbed. “Don’t leave me. I can’t do this without you.”
“Hey,” Flynn whispered with his last breaths. “You were my new dream.”
“And you were mine, too.” Rapunzel leaned toward Flynn as he closed his eyes.
Desperately, she began to sing. She wanted to bring forth some bit of magic from her shorn hair to save him. But the magic was gone with her hair.
Distraught, Rapunzel could not hold back her grief. She wept, cradling Flynn’s limp body.
A single golden tear fell on his cheek.
Flynn stirred. Though she didn’t know it, Rapunzel did have one last bit of magic left deep inside her, and it was contained in that single golden tear. Flynn’s eyes fluttered open.
“Rapunzel!” he whispered.
“Eugene!”
Flynn was alive!
Rapunzel returned to the kingdom with Flynn by her side. By now, everyone had heard about the return of the long-lost princess. (The thugs from the tavern were not exactly a quiet group, especially when it came to romance.)
Clutching Flynn’s hand, Rapunzel followed a royal escort to the palace. Soon they entered the throne room.
Rapunzel heard a voice that seemed far away but actually was quite close. A royal guard was addressing her parents: “Your Majesties, this way. There she is!”
And then she saw them: the King and Queen. Rapunzel looked into their eyes. She knew. Their love seemed overwhelming, filling the room and Rapunzel’s heart.
Flynn, too, felt over
come with emotion as he stood back and watched. Rapunzel, with her emerald-green eyes, looked exactly like her beautiful mother. As for the King, his eyes, aged by years of worrying about his daughter, suddenly brightened.
Unable to hold herself back, the Queen rushed to Rapunzel and held her tight. After a moment, the King joined them. Weeping with joy, the King and Queen knew, just as Rapunzel did. Their daughter, their precious child, had come home at last.
It did not take long for word to spread throughout the kingdom. A joyous celebration ensued. The people of the kingdom did what they had done for eighteen years, launching a thousand lanterns and then joining together in the palace courtyard to dance for—and this time with—their beloved princess.
And after that? They all lived happily ever after.
Tangled Junior Novel Page 6
