Rapunzel barely made it two kilometres before crashing down onto her back from complete exhaustion. "Who knew—running could be—so—hard." She gasped out through short, heavy breaths.

Jack glanced over his shoulder. Luckily for them, they hadn't come across anyone else on the road yet. But that didn't keep Jack from expecting this girl's mother to come charging out of the forest at any given moment. They couldn't stop moving for more than a few minutes.

After gathering as much of her hair as he could, Jack silently plucked Rapunzel from the ground. She was still too busy with her whole not-able-to-evenly-breathe dilemma to argue.

She'd said no flying, (an offence in and of itself), but Jack didn't know how much time they truly had to spare, and it would be best not to waste any of it. He'd learned that from his last dealing with Pitch. They had to contact the others as soon as possible for help. If this girl really was as important as she seemed, he hoped the others would hear her plead as strongly as he had days prior. Everyone needed to be at North's Workshop by the time the both of them arrived. Everyone needed to be prepared for the worst—and for major plan-of-attack creation.

"No!" Rapunzel finally managed, just as he was about to step off of the ground. "No flying until we need to." With a few tired pushes, she stepped out of Jack's arms, nearly falling face-first on the road in the process. With a quick yelp, she caught herself just in time.

"Why are you so tall?" She groaned, glancing back at Jack.

"I'm average height," he assured her, trailing at her heel. "You're just short."

Rapunzel opened her mouth to comment, only to shut it again just as quickly.

Clip, clop.

Clip, clop.

Clip, clop.

Jack caught the sound seconds before Rapunzel did, a look of confusion filling her features. Horses. People were approaching them from behind—and fast. Though the probability of them seeing Jack was nearly non-existent, Rapunzel was just as solid and there as everything else in their current line of sight was. Jack lunged forward to pick up the ends of her dusty, golden locks at the same time she made for the woods. Jack had barely touched the ground when he spotted the small caravan rounding the corner, a single horse pulling it forward. Though Rapunzel was stiff beside him, she kept her gaze glued to a clear spot in between the branches, still so determined to catch the truth of her mother's lie. To see that whatever plague she believed had taken over the island was just another fairytale she'd been taught from youth.

Still, the growing fright of seeing the source of the approaching noise had an obvious effect on the girl, who'd both never gotten to experience the outside world, or the presence of other human beings save her mother. Jack had to hold himself back from placing a comforting hand over her shoulder—he had a feeling it would only startle her. But he didn't know what else to do. His only past experiences with such emotions had been with children, who were quite simple to comfort when you could summon a mountain of snow from your very hand.

Rapunzel was coping fairly well, however. Until the caravan came to a full stop before their bush.

Rapunzel scrambled back from the small gap in the leaves, breathing as heavily as hiding could permit. On her shoulder, her chameleon friend did the same. "What are they doing?" She whispered hurriedly, tugging at her hair. "They're coming for us, aren't they? They can sense me."

Jack leaned forward. "They can smell fear," he whispered back.

Horror lit the green in Rapunzel's eyes.

"Relax," Jack tried. He straightened from his crouch, despite Rapunzel's fumbling for his sleeve in a failed attempt to pull him back down. "Shh, shh," Jack said as he brushed her off.

Up ahead, a man and a woman were stepping off of the caravan, the former heading to the back while the latter made it her mission to scratch the horse's long nose. Jack could have sworn he'd seen the horse's hind leg kick in pure bliss. As expected, neither of them paid Jack any attention. He watched as the man shut the caravan doors behind him, heading back to the front with a clump of carrots in hand.

"They're feeding the horse," Jack told Rapunzel.

"Horse?" Rapunzel repeated excitedly at the exact same time that her stomach gave a loud grumble. She rushed to press a hand to it, as if that would quieten the sound. "We should—well, do they look...?"

"Normal?" Jack finished. "Yeah. No infected nearby, that I can see."

Rapunzel nodded. "We should ask them for some food. If they have some, I'm sure they'll be kind enough to spare an apple or... Some grapes? Oh, grapes would be amazing. And do you think they have some bread, too?"

"Sure. Fresh out of the oven," Jack joked, glancing back at the couple. He scolded himself internally for forgetting about human's need for food, and with all of the running she'd just done, Rapunzel must have been starved. He pointed to her as he kicked off of the ground, wisps of air wrapping around his feet in support. "I'll go fetch you something. Stay here."

Jack was grateful, suddenly, that he didn't have rearview mirrors to worry about. He hurried to the back of the caravan, careful for squeaks as he tugged one of the doors open a crack. Dozens of crates full of fruits and veggies displayed themselves to him, filling nearly the entirety of the caravan. He was sure the couple wouldn't notice if a few of them went missing. But as he started gathering a series of select fruit in his arms, the caravan jerked forward, back on its merry way.

And, given the door was still wide open, the movement pushed an entire section of crates out tumbling toward Jack. He stumbled out of the way just in time to avoid being ruthlessly crushed into a humanoid pulp.

Rapunzel gasped for the umpteenth time behind the bush, just as the caravan scratched to its second stop. It was a miracle she hadn't been found out yet. Through the branches, Jack could see her staring at him with accusation in her grass green eyes. When Jack gave her a guilty shrug in response, she hurriedly waved him forward. But a branch cracked underneath her with the movement and, unfortunately, neither of her noises had been overlooked.

"Who's there?" The man from the caravan asked Rapunzel-the-bush, stepping off to make his way forward. He glanced briefly at the spilled food as he walked by, eyes completely glazing over Jack. Jack couldn't do more than stand there uselessly as the man rounded the bush and, (unsurprisingly), spotted Rapunzel.

Rapunzel yelled, leaping away, and Jack dropped the select fruit he'd tucked into the crook of his arm to swipe Twinetender off from where it had fallen to the ground. But, to his relief, the man only raised his palms in surrender, attempting to calm Rapunzel's retreating form.

"I'm sorry," she was quick to apologize, gaze flicking to Jack as he made his way over to her side. "I—I didn't mean to—I was just hungry and didn't—"

"It's alright." The man's voice was slow and soothing as he lowered green eyes. To Jack's surprise, he made his way back toward the fallen fruit.

"What is it?" There came the woman's voice. She stepped off of the caravan, stopping only when her eyes also fell on Rapunzel. Like the man, grey speckled her brown hair, but her eyes were of the softest browns. "Oh. Hello, there, dear. Are you alright?"

Rapunzel's smile was but a flash as she offered a small wave back. "Hi. And I don't really know."

But the woman's eyes weren't on Rapunzel at all anymore—or not on her face, at least. They trailed down the length of her hair with mixed curiosity and question. "Forgive me," she was quick to say when Rapunzel brushed a strand of it behind her ear. Jack reconsigned it as a self-conscious habit. "I don't think I've ever seen so much hair on a single head in the entirety of my thirty-eight years."

Right, Jack thought. Her hair. It would be like a beacon to both her mother and Pitch. Rapunzel seemed to realize that at the same time he did. She rubbed at her wrists, looking at Jack with newfound fear in her eyes. It was all very brief, though, because the man chose that exact moment to walk back over to them. He carried a crate in his hands, full of a variety of brightly-coloured foods.

"For you," he told Rapunzel, who blinked in surprise. "And, if you don't mind my intruding, do you happen to be on route for Corona?"

Rapunzel grinned before Jack could even think to warn her. "Yes!" She exclaimed. So much for her fear of monsters. They were lucky she hadn't taken a frying pan to their heads like she did him.

"We've not much spare room on our caravan, but we'd be willing to welcome you regardless, if you need the lift." He laughed, a short and warm sound, as he nodded to the mess behind him. "After I've finished cleaning, that is."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Rapunzel eyes were bright as she pushed past Jack so fast he couldn't even think to catch her elbow.

"Wait!" He protested.

But Rapunzel wasn't paying attention. "That's so kind of you, sir, thank you so much! I can help you clean up! Really, I don't mind," she added when the man tried to brush her away.

But Rapunzel was already busy plucking Jack's mess up off of the dirt road.

"I don't recall ever seeing you around," the man said after they'd finished. "And Corona doesn't get many visitors... Not any, in fact. That we know of."

"She doesn't go out much," Jack offered, though he knew no one could hear him, save Rapunzel.

"You probably haven't seen me around," Rapunzel told the couple. "I'm not from the village. Well, I don't live there anymore, at least, not since I was a kid. Oh! I'm so rude. We didn't introduce ourselves! I'm—"

Jack cut her short. "Stop!" He warned her loud and clear. She must have caught the urgency in his voice, because she stopped her talking to stare at him. "Not a good idea to throw your name around when we're hiding from people."

Rapunzel bit her lip, gaze flicking to the sky in thought. "I'm Crescent Moon Darnel," she decided after a beat.

"What a lovely name," The woman replied.

"What a mouthful," Jack corrected. But it was better than nothing.

The man smiled, oblivious. "Very lovely," he added, helping the woman back up onto the front of the caravan. "I'm Zacharia Rettersonne. And this is my wife, Liesa."

The woman named Liesa also held her hand out to Rapunzel with a kind smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Crescent."

Rapunzel shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

.·:* *:·.

"And then I woke up in this really damp, dark place—the darkest I've ever been in! It was terrifying," Rapunzel continued enthusiastically as Jack bumped his heel against her shoulder in a half-hearted attempt at getting her to not spill her entire life's story to a couple of strangers she'd just met. But Rapunzel had yet to listen to any of his disapproving shoulder bumps.

"You might as well tell them your real name," he told her, pulling his foot back up to rest on the roof of the caravan. "Now that you told them everything else."

"He brought you inside of a cave?" Liesa asked, scratching at a pleased Baby Tooth laying in her palm. Jack hadn't really been surprised to know they were able to see her—the Tooth Fairy was a world-known Guardian, who billions believed in. Unlike Jack.

Rapunzel nodded. "To save me, yes."

"That's awfully sweet of him."

"Thank you!" Jack exclaimed from the roof.

Rapunzel eyed him a moment before turning back to an attentive Liesa. "Well, that's not what I thought at first. I had no idea how serious the situation really was, you know? And—" That was where Jack tuned himself out again. With a sigh, he fell back down on the roof, staring at the blazing, midday sun resting high in the sky. The Rettersonne's had mentioned before they'd left that Corona was only another six hours' ride away. He'd been glad to know they weren't stuck walking after he'd learned that. Flying would've been much faster.

Clip... clop... clip...

Jack barely caught the new, distant sound, what with the horse galloping away in front of them. But—no. It was another one. Another set of hooves approaching. He was sure of it.

"Rapunzel," Jack sat up just as his suspicion was confirmed. In the far distance behind them, the silhouette of a single rider came into view. "Someone's coming. We should hide until they pass in case it isn't someone we want to see right now."

And so the believer's attention had finally been caught. If he'd known that was all it would take, he'd have done it sooner. Wobbly and unstable, Rapunzel tried to get to her feet to see overtop the caravan, only to find herself too short to look. Still, she looked back down at the couple as if she had seen. "Someone else is coming down the road. Would you mind if—?"

"Hey!" Zacharia immediately pulled the reigns, bringing them to a stop. It surprised Jack, how quick he'd taken to action. He waved Rapunzel over, rushing to the back of the caravan where he pushed over several crates nearest to them. When he was finished, he motioned for Rapunzel to lay onto the wood. When she obliged, he pulled down the thin fabric laid atop the food and piled it over her small body. Without another word, he pulled the crates back into place and locked the both of them inside. Seconds later, the caravan shifted beneath them as they continued on their way.

Jack sat quietly over the crates, upset that he hadn't had the chance to go back outside to keep watch—her mother couldn't see him, and he knew Pitch wouldn't be nearby since night hadn't yet fallen.

But, most importantly, he craved to see if he'd been right in this worry.

"Jack?" It was Rapunzel, whispering from underneath the fabric Zacharia had buried her in. "Are you there?"

"What's wrong?" He asked in answer.

She hesitated a moment, sniffling. "I—could you come under with me?" It was obvious from the sound of her voice that she'd already been crying. Carefully, Jack made his way to the back of the small box-of-a-carriage and slipped inside Rapunzel's tiny, temporary shelter. She was sitting upright now, hugging herself into both her knees and glowing hair. Tears stained her face.

"What if it's her?" She whispered.

Jack knew exactly who she meant. "Then it means she's not stuck in that tower like you were so worried she'd be."

Rapunzel nodded, setting her cheek down onto her knee to gaze up at him. "She must be so scared. And worried. And so disappointed. Oh."

Jack cocked his head, not believing a word she was saying. "Come on. I doubt you could disappoint her."

Rapunzel smiled, a sad pull of her lips. "Then it's obvious you don't know her."

Jack drew his brows together, but before either of them could say more, the caravan suddenly came to its fourth halt. Outside came the sound of a second horse approaching, stopping somewhere near the front.

"Excuse me!" It was a woman's voice, thick and smooth. Jack recognized it immediately and, from Rapunzel's alarmed reaction, she did too. Her mother. She'd already caught up to them.

Outside, Jack heard the faint sound of the Rettersonne's gasp.

"Gothel?" Came Liesa's voice.

"Well, well, well," The woman named Gothel drawled. "If it isn't Corona's no-good thieves. What a lovely surprise indeed." 

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*Edited, (May 27th, 2020).