"I've given you everything you could have ever wanted," Mother said as she kicked the door shut behind them. Rapunzel's wrists ached beneath her grip. "I've given you everything, and yet you refuse to help me in return. You betray me like a lovesick fool. Did you really thing an immortal would look twice at you if you were without power?"

Mother pulled her to the four-poster bed, bending to rip the blankets down so she could strip away the thin sheet beneath. Rapunzel's gaze lifted to find the leather-bound sketchbook sitting untouched atop the opposing nightstand. So close, she thought hopefully. If she sung his song, would Nightlight come to fetch his prize for Katherine?

Rapunzel gasped when Mother yanked her across the room and to her knees. "You're working with the dark man," she bit out as her wrists were pulled forward. "You're the one who lied and betrayed me, Mother."

"You're naive if you think that to be true."

She twisted the sheet tightly, knotting the fabric carefully around Rapunzel's wrists, bounding them together. Rapunzel earned a hiss when she attempted to move away, letting herself instead be tied to the legs of a heavy wardrobe.

"Please," she whispered, raising her voice slightly as she lifted her head to gaze at Gothel. "I don't want to be here. I'm scared."

Gothel pursed her lips, dark curls draping prettily over her cheeks. "Scared of what?"

"Of him," Rapunzel admitted. "Of here. Of this." Of you.

"Which is why I'm here to protect you."

Before Rapunzel could think to say more, Mother Gothel stood to motion at the sketchbook sitting so far away. "I learned a great many things from this book," she told Rapunzel. "Do you know what it is?"

Rapunzel shook her head, which summoned what she could only describe as a snarl to Gothel's lips.

"Then why were you so keen on sneaking away from your room to fetch it?"

Nightlight's figure flashed through her head. A sense of danger filled her—the same one that felt as if she were tiptoeing around a million shards of broken glass. She dared not mention Nightlight. But, without him, how else could she have learned of the items existence?

"Jack," she tried desperately, deciding it would be best not to mention escape. "Jack mentioned it once during our travels. I thought I'd recognized his description. I was curious to see how it worked."

"Well," Gothel hummed, turning her back as she approached the book. Rapunzel heard a thunk! as she pulled it open. "Your intuition was correct."

Something small and cold pressed against Rapunzel's hand. She inhaled sharply, shifting until she caught Pascal's tinted stone-beige head peeking out from beneath the wardrobe. She could only sigh in relief, in time for Gothel to face her again, book tucked open in the crook of her arm.

"My lineage of magic runs deep, did you know? Much deeper than that of your ridiculous Guardians. How is it you knew of them, by the way? Did Kozmotis tell you during his visits?"

A crash sounded from outside the room, drawing both of their attentions over to the door. Silence followed, and then—there. The loud scuff of a boot.

Hope flared in Rapunzel's heart. Help! He had come! She could feel it in her gut.

The sheet fell away from her wrists as Gothel shuffled curiously toward the closed door. Rapunzel took the opportunity in hand, shoving herself to her feet with a push of her palms against the floor. Gothel startled, stopping to watch as Rapunzel made to slip fast around her until—

"Ah!" Rapunzel yelled, pain flaring at her scalp as Gothel caught the tips of her hair. Without thought, Rapunzel twisted in her grasp, reaching blindly toward the woman who had raised her, reaching deep within her for the power that had been silenced. Her fingers caught against a chain. She tugged, clawing for Gothel to release her hold, until the pull of the chain suddenly gave way.

Heat flowed inside of Rapunzel's gut in a harsh wave. It felt like a breath of fresh air, like a weight had lifted itself from her heart. She caught sight of a warm glow tinting her hair, shining bright and strong. A warm flare as she struggled to push herself to freedom.

Gothel hissed, suddenly, releasing Rapunzel's hair in one harsh flinch. Rapunzel stumbled back on her feet, fingers grazing the ground. She spared no second to evaluate what had happened. Instead, she spun to meet Gothel's alarmed glare, the book still clutched tightly in her arm, and tossed thought out of the window. Her fingers wrapped around the body of a candelabra, fear engulfing her.

And then she brought it down over Gothel's head with a choked cry.

She could at once see her loving mother again as Gothel fell limply to the hard floor. She gasped mournfully at the sight, trying not to let herself think about what she had done. She's breathing, she reminded herself. She's hasn't been harmed. It was out of self defence. But the guilt had already begun to consume her.

She barely noticed Pascal jumping onto her arm as she bent to retrieve miss Katherine's sketchbook. You're not safe yet. The reminder rushed through her head just before song could dance along the tip of her tongue. Don't call Nightlight yet. They can't know he's here.

Rapunzel's heart raced wildly as she twisted the golden knob of the door. She pulled it open a crack to peak out into the hall. What had been that crash? Had it been anything she needed to worry herself about?

She thought of Jack, then. Of his bright, colourless face and icy blue eyes. Of the glint in them whenever mischief reached his mind. She pressed the book tightly to her chest. Was it him? Had he found her?

A boot-scuff sounded from her right moments after she'd entered the hall and shut the door behind her. Adrenaline pumped through her veins—and she turned in time to catch a familiar, brown-haired man stepping around the corner, arms raised in defence.

"Relax, blondie," Flynn Rider said. "It's just me."

A conflicting rush of emotions filled her. He'd betrayed them once, been the one who'd caused her capture. Had his apology meant anything? Would he do it again? And if he was here...

Rapunzel stepped back. "Where is he?"

"On his way," Flynn said, pointing to the large window beside them. The one she'd sent Pascal out from. "He planned to come in from the back. He should be around here somewhere."

"Then we wait," Rapunzel said. But could they risk that when Gothel was on the verge of waking in the other room?

"Or," Flynn drawled, "we leave indications for him to find and head to the roof."

Rapunzel squeezed the sketchbook. She had no other choice than to follow him, didn't she? She searched for the familiar warmth in her heart, finding it almost immediately. If he tried anything... At least she had her power to help her forth. It had worked against Gothel. It had burned her. But how much could she rely on it when it had failed her so many times?

Flynn lowered his chin, his movements slow as he motioned her forward. "I'm not here to rat you out," he insisted again. "I promise. But the faster we find your Ice Man, the better."

Jack. He was close. He was here.

Rapunzel spared one last glance at the door. Flynn was offering to help her; she could follow him or risk a route on her own.

In the end, she found that company was a difficult choice to reject.

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5 more chapters to go! What do we think of Flynn? Is he worthy of trust after what he did?

*Edited, (May 8th, 2021).