Blue Skies, Prompt #13, Waiting (Tangled)
Title: Waiting
Author: yappichick
Prompt: One minute I held the key / Next the walls were closed on me / And I discovered that my castles stand / Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand (Viva la Vida by Coldplay)
Fandom: Tangled
Characters & Pairings: Rapunzel/Eugene, Gothel
Rating & Warnings: PG, but this sucker is angsty. Before you get your pitchforks out, don't say I didn't warn you.
Word Count: 485
Summary: What if Rapunzel didn't get her happily ever after?
It was dark, this cave that Gothel had found for them after Rapunzel had healed Eugene of his mortal wound in their tower. Unlike her former home, this cavern had no window to the outside, no way of marking how many days had passed since her birthday.
She had a dozen candles lit around the den, each casting a haunting shadow on the rock walls. Bound by the promise she had given to Gothel, Rapunzel always found time moved more slowly when she was alone, as she was now.
Pascal had tried to follow her into her new abode but the cold-blooded reptile couldn’t handle the bitter chill of the cave and was forced to leave Rapunzel.
She was forsaken.
Rapunzel closed her eyes and banished the negative thoughts. Eugene was alive. He was safe. Everything would be alright.
As she opened her eyes, she heard heavy footsteps approaching from the direction of the mouth of the cave. Those weren’t the sounds of Gothel! She grabbed a pot -she had left her frying pan with Maximus on her birthday - and crouched in the corner.
The footsteps got closer; her grip on the pot handle tightened.
A long shadow entered the cave. She knew that shadow. It was-
“Eugene!” She dropped the pot and flung herself at the love of her life.
He spun her around. “Blondie! You know, you don’t make rescuing you easy.” He pulled back and winked before lowering his lips to hers.
When they pulled apart, she looked at him in astonishment. “How did you find me?”
He grins. “Oh, it was easy once your frog showed me the way.”
She returned his smile and touched his hands, his chest, his face. He had rescued her!
“Let’s get out of here,” he urged. He grabbed her hand and started pulling out of the cave.
Rapunzel hesitated briefly. Hadn’t she promised to stay with Gothel forever?
Eugene must have known what she was thinking. He gives her hand a tug. “You aren’t breaking your promise, Blondie. I am breaking you out of here.”
That was good enough for Rapunzel! She started running to freedom. But, to her horror, as they got closer to the entrance, her hero, her Eugene, started fading away before her eyes. “No, no, no, no,” she pleaded. But it was too late.
Eugene was gone.
Rapunzel sat up straight, gasping. Sweat trickled down her face. Her hair was wrapped around her body as a result of her tossing and turning. Her eyes focused on the half-melted candles and recognized the now-familiar rock walls.
It had all been a dream.
She let out a hushed sob, but it was not quiet enough. A blanket rustled in the near darkness.
“Oh Rapunzel, do go back to sleep. You know how your nightmares affect my beauty rest.” The sentence was punctuated by a heavy sigh.
She swallowed thickly and forced herself to forget her dream. “Yes, Mother.”
Author: yappichick
Prompt: One minute I held the key / Next the walls were closed on me / And I discovered that my castles stand / Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand (Viva la Vida by Coldplay)
Fandom: Tangled
Characters & Pairings: Rapunzel/Eugene, Gothel
Rating & Warnings: PG, but this sucker is angsty. Before you get your pitchforks out, don't say I didn't warn you.
Word Count: 485
Summary: What if Rapunzel didn't get her happily ever after?
It was dark, this cave that Gothel had found for them after Rapunzel had healed Eugene of his mortal wound in their tower. Unlike her former home, this cavern had no window to the outside, no way of marking how many days had passed since her birthday.
She had a dozen candles lit around the den, each casting a haunting shadow on the rock walls. Bound by the promise she had given to Gothel, Rapunzel always found time moved more slowly when she was alone, as she was now.
Pascal had tried to follow her into her new abode but the cold-blooded reptile couldn’t handle the bitter chill of the cave and was forced to leave Rapunzel.
She was forsaken.
Rapunzel closed her eyes and banished the negative thoughts. Eugene was alive. He was safe. Everything would be alright.
As she opened her eyes, she heard heavy footsteps approaching from the direction of the mouth of the cave. Those weren’t the sounds of Gothel! She grabbed a pot -she had left her frying pan with Maximus on her birthday - and crouched in the corner.
The footsteps got closer; her grip on the pot handle tightened.
A long shadow entered the cave. She knew that shadow. It was-
“Eugene!” She dropped the pot and flung herself at the love of her life.
He spun her around. “Blondie! You know, you don’t make rescuing you easy.” He pulled back and winked before lowering his lips to hers.
When they pulled apart, she looked at him in astonishment. “How did you find me?”
He grins. “Oh, it was easy once your frog showed me the way.”
She returned his smile and touched his hands, his chest, his face. He had rescued her!
“Let’s get out of here,” he urged. He grabbed her hand and started pulling out of the cave.
Rapunzel hesitated briefly. Hadn’t she promised to stay with Gothel forever?
Eugene must have known what she was thinking. He gives her hand a tug. “You aren’t breaking your promise, Blondie. I am breaking you out of here.”
That was good enough for Rapunzel! She started running to freedom. But, to her horror, as they got closer to the entrance, her hero, her Eugene, started fading away before her eyes. “No, no, no, no,” she pleaded. But it was too late.
Eugene was gone.
Rapunzel sat up straight, gasping. Sweat trickled down her face. Her hair was wrapped around her body as a result of her tossing and turning. Her eyes focused on the half-melted candles and recognized the now-familiar rock walls.
It had all been a dream.
She let out a hushed sob, but it was not quiet enough. A blanket rustled in the near darkness.
“Oh Rapunzel, do go back to sleep. You know how your nightmares affect my beauty rest.” The sentence was punctuated by a heavy sigh.
She swallowed thickly and forced herself to forget her dream. “Yes, Mother.”