Rapunzel's eyes snapped open. But she couldn't see anything. She didn't know where she was, or what was happening. She didn't know if she was lying or sitting or standing. Rapunzel tried to call out, but no sound came from her mouth.

Where was she?

Rapunzel blinked quickly, hoping that it would fix her eyesight. She tried to lift her arms and rub her eyes, but they wouldn't move. After what felt like hours, a small light appeared before Rapunzel. It caught her off guard, and she closed her eyes because of the brightness. Peeking through one eye, she saw that the light was getting closer to her. She opened her eyes, squinting, and watched the light curiously. What was it? Rapunzel felt herself being pulled toward it. Her feet slid on the ground-was it the ground?-and she wasn't able to stop herself. Something was pulling her to the light. It got closer and closer until she felt completely enveloped in the light.

Rapunzel felt her body again.

She never thought it could feel more wonderful. She made a fist with her hand, and released it. A smile crept over her face. Then she wondered where she was now. She thought she heard a voice, but she wasn't sure.

Yep, she heard a voice. It continued to get louder and louder, until it sounded like it was right next to her. She recognized it, too. But who was it? Rapunzel slowly opened her eyes and was extremely glad she could see again. She glanced around for the sound of the voice and saw a man standing over her. At first, she did not recognize him. Once she saw his wide amber eyes, however, everything came back to her.

Eugene.

The captain. He had stabbed her! But then-

"Rapunzel?" Eugene asked quietly. "Oh gosh, Rapunzel!" His face lit up and Rapunzel tried to sit up.

"Eugene!" As soon as her head was off the bed, she felt a horrible pain in her stomach. She gasped and fell back on the bed.

"Rapunzel, be careful. Rapunzel, you're alive! Well, you never really were dead… but you're back! We were all so worried about you," Eugene said quickly. He bent over and kissed Rapunzel's forehead. "Are you all right?" Rapunzel gripped her stomach and said, "All?"

"Yes, all," said a female voice. Eleanor walked up to the bed and grasped her daughter's hand. Jonathan came up behind her and brushed some hair from Rapunzel's face.

"We were so worried," Jonathan said. Rapunzel looked between all three of them.

"Thank you," she said.

Rapunzel was to stay bed rest for a long time. She still wanted to know what had happened to her. Nobody cared to explain. She decided that when Eugene came back with that ice pack, she would demand an answer from him.

Eugene barely had left Rapunzel's side. He did everything for her. Rapunzel thought it was sweet of him, but she really wanted to get out of bed.

"Here you go, Rapunzel, I've got your ice pack," Eugene said, running into Rapunzel's room.

"Thank you, Eugene," she said as he placed it over her wound. "Hey, Eugene? Did I really die?"

The question caught Eugene off guard. She had asked it so simply.

"Well, technically not. Kathryn knew a healer in the castle, and she showed me the way. He said you weren't dead. Yet, anyway," he explained.

"What did the healer do?" Rapunzel asked, pressing a little harder on the ice pack. Eugene paused and then asked, "What's with all the questions?"

"That was two, Eugene. And I want to know," Rapunzel said. Eugene sighed.

"The healer put some potion on your… your wound, which was to make it stop bleeding and to help it heal. Then he gave you another potion that was supposed to wake you up. It took a lot longer than he had expected, so we all thought…" Eugene said, trailing off at the end.

"But it worked," Rapunzel said, reaching out for his hand. "It worked, right? I'm here and I'm fine." Eugene smiled at her and heard someone knock quietly at the door.

"Rapunzel? Oh, sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," Kathryn said, already backing away from the door.

"No, Kathryn! It's fine. Eugene?" Rapunzel said before Kathryn could leave. Eugene nodded and kissed Rapunzel's hand before he left the room.

"Rapunzel, I shouldn't even be here," Kathryn said, even though she stepped into the room.

"Why not?"

"I didn't help you. I was supposed to keep you and Eugene safe from Robert, but… I didn't," Kathryn said.

"You did, Kathryn. If you hadn't shown Eugene where the healer was, I probably wouldn't even be here," Rapunzel said.

"Don't say that!"

"It's true! Without your help, I would have a lot more problems than just a small wound," Rapunzel said.

"You shouldn't even have a small wound."

"Kathryn, come here," Rapunzel said sternly. Kathryn hesitantly sat on Rapunzel's bed. "If you hadn't helped Eugene, I wouldn't be here." Kathryn opened her mouth to object, but Rapunzel stopped her. "No, listen to me! I can't thank you enough for what you did. Don't tell yourself that you did something wrong." Kathryn looked at Rapunzel and felt a rush of gratitude toward her.

"Thank you, Rapunzel," she said. Rapunzel smiled and asked, "By the way, what did happen to Robert?"

"Well, he actually fled the kingdom. He was terrified when he realized he stabbed you. The King and Queen are currently having guards search all over the place for him," Kathryn explained. "So you don't have to worry about him again."

"Neither do you," said Rapunzel. Kathryn smiled and stood from the bed.

"I should be going. You know how Eugene gets when he's away from you for too long."

It had been three months to the day since Rapunzel was stabbed. She was completely healed and had never felt better.

"How does this look?" Eugene asked, stepping back from his painting on Rapunzel's bedroom wall.

"Honestly? Like two sticks on a piece of wood," Rapunzel said, giggling.

"Ouch, Blondie, that was harsh."

"Well, you asked." Rapunzel looked at her painting again.

"You know what yours looks like?" Eugene asked.

"What?"

"Two people on a boat. One, an extremely beautiful girl by the name of Rapunzel, and the other, a devilishly handsome boy by the name of Eugene," said Eugene, pointing at Rapunzel's painting. Rapunzel laughed and said, "Devilishly handsome?"

"You know it's true, Rapunzel." Both of them burst into laughter. Eugene put his arm around Rapunzel's waist and pulled her toward him, giving her a kiss. Eugene didn't notice her raising her paintbrush until she smacked him on the side of the face, causing blue paint to splatter everywhere.

"Gotcha," she whispered. Eugene proceeded to chase Rapunzel around her room (and around the whole castle), flicking paint in her direction. As they ran and ran, Rapunzel thought there was no person she would rather do this more with, than Eugene.

OH MY GOSH IT'S OVER! Final chapter, everyone! I hope this was a good ending, especially the beginning of this chapter.

Thank you to Reverend Lovejoy, Princess Shahrazad, Miss Charlotte Awesome, An Unknown Foreign Beauty, and everyone else who read and reviewed! Love you guys! Until next time,

Pamplemousse07 :D